2012 Mini-Hops Preschool Celebration

These days, it seems schools have a graduation for everything. You make it to Winter Break and there's a ceremony to "graduate" to the next term. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but sometimes it seems that way. Which is why I like that our preschool calls today a "celebration". It's the culmination of many of the things the kids have learned since September all rolled into a 30 minute exhibition by the kids. I remember when they did this last year and just being amazed by the display they all put on. This year was no exception.

The ceremony opened with the Camden, Ethan, and the rest of their class sprinting as fast as they can around a circle of shapes. Camden and his friend Ty have a friendly rivalry and challenge each other to be the leader. I think Ty is actually faster than Camden, but they both can scoot. Side note...We served the boys spinach for dinner the other night. We were having trouble convincing them to eat it until Kim said, "If you eat your spinach, you'll be able to run REALLY really fast!"

Camden responded, "Faster than Ty?!" And he proceeded to scarf down his entire serving of spinach. Also inspired by the potential to catch Ty, Ethan followed suit.

During the track meet around the circle, the kids are instructed to FREEZE, find a certain shape with a certain color, and perform a maneuver (ie. lunge, tree pose, toe touches, safety rolls, etc.).  The running is interspersed with skipping and hopping. It's enough to get them sufficiently warmed up for the their next routine...the floor exercise(s).

This is the part of the program where they show off their abilities to jump, crawl, and somersault.. Camden is quite proficient at many of the moves. Ethan has the somersaults down, but still working on some of the other moves like the handstand and backwards somersault. They both try very hard and seem to really enjoy the gymnasium.

The final act ends with the talent portion of the program. This is fun to see come together because we get to hear bits and pieces from the boys at home like this. The kids had a set of four songs: "Two Little Blackbirds", "Little Peanut", "Tiny Tim", and "I Can Sing a Rainbow". Nothing's more adorable than watching them sing songs they've learned and acting them out. I applaud Miss Kris and Miss Cyndi for their patience and persistence in working with all the kids.

All in all, it was a very entertaining ceremony which ended with each of the kids receiving their diploma for the year. Yes, I realize that a diploma generally signifies a graduation, but in this case it represents the end of the ceremony. We all came away thoroughly impressed and thankful for such a quality preschool program.

Miss Kris, Camden, Ethan, Miss Cyndy

It's been a great year and we have really enjoyed having Camden and Ethan at Mini-Hops Preschool the past two years. Miss Kris and Miss Cyndi are fantastic teachers and we have seen a tremendous amount of growth in our two young men.  Camden and Ethan will be moving on to new preschools next year (more on that later), but we'll definitely miss the teachers and friends at Mini-Hops.

Other notes...Each student received a booklet documenting something about each of their classmates. For example, when Ethan grows up, he wants to be a "superhero robot". While Camden strives to be a "scuba diver who jumps out of a pool." One of the girls in the class, Rayna, proclaimed that she would be a "teacher for big kids." Ethan states that pineapple and strawberries are his favorite food. Camden indicated that macaroni and cheese is his favorite, which is interesting since he has turned down mac and cheese every single time we've ever tried to offer it.

Top: Ty, Ethan, Evan - Bottom: Camden, Tallulah, Rayna

Ty, Camden, Ethan