maygoodbyes

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PREPARING FOR KINDERGARTEN, GRADUATION, & SAYING GOOD-BYE:

From Stormie:

Field Trip: Take the children to visit a real Kindergarten, especially if the one in your area is where the children in your class will be attending.

My favorite way of doing an "End of the Year Program"The key word for me is simplicity -- as I was taught. No certificates, caps and gowns, or grand performances -- just a simple little program. I've divided the preparation into 3 parts below but it all comes together and is presented in one evening:

Part 1: Approximately three weeks before the end of school, take the children to the "stage" every day (or area where the "program" will be held) and begin practicing (actually it's reviewing) favorite songs and fingerplays, explaining to the children why you're doing it.

Part 2: Additionally, you might act out a favorite storybook. For example, the book Caps For Sale, by Esphyr Slobodkina is my favorite as there are basically two speaking parts: the peddlar and the monkeys (who all speak in unison). The way we did it at my all time favorite workplace was as follows (this will only make sense to you if you've read the book -- I bought mine at Wal-Mart so you should be able to get it easily enough):
Our director narrated (or read) the story as the children acted it out. We usually had at least one child in the group who was most vocal so he/she was chosen as the peddlar. At the appropriate place in the story, the director stopped reading so the peddlar could walk back and forth saying, "Caps for sale, caps for sale, fifty cents a cap!" (We had each child bring a cap from home with his/her name on it. The peddlar carried them in a small clothesbasket rather than wearing them on his head as he does in the book. He walked back and forth on a pretend street -- the stage). As the story continues, our little peddlar sits down under a cardboard tree and places his basket of caps beside him. While he's asleep (snoring dramatically), the other children (the monkeys) sneak up and get their caps, place them on their heads, then go perch themselves in pretend trees. (We used our gross motor climbers for trees. Children were perched at various levels). Later in the story, when the monkeys talk back to the peddlar, they all point their fingers and speak together -- it's just great! And so cute! By the way, let me say that all teachers and assistants were extras on stage to help the children as needed.
>^..^< CLICK HERE TO REVIEW ANOTHER ONE OF MY FAVORITE PRESENTATIONS. YOU CAN RETURN TO THIS PAGE FROM THERE
Part 3: After the stage presentation, invite parents to the classrooms to see what's on display. To collect display items, keep back the best examples of the children's artwork and other creations throughout the school year ( I like to praise the children when I really like something they've done, and ask them if I might keep it for awhile. They usually quite proudly answer "Yes"). Make sure you collect several items per child. On the night of the "program," display all these works on the walls and/or tables. One neat way to show off wall hangings is to place colored picture frames around them -- you can buy cheap ones from thrift stores. Parents will love walking through such an "art gallery." You can also include things like young plantings the children have started, photographs of special moments throughout the year, etc. A few refreshments are always a nice touch too. I WANT TO CREDIT THE ABOVE TO ALL MY FORMER CO-WORKERS AT TEMPLE ISRAEL PRESCHOOL (ESPECIALLY LINDA) IN COLUMBUS, OHIO. I DOUBT THAT ANY OF THEM STILL WORK THERE AFTER ALL THESE YEARS BUT THEY DESERVE CREDIT NONETHELESS.

"Good-Bye" Gift Ideas For the Children From Us, Their Teachers: I have found the neatest "saying good-bye" gifts at dollar stores, especially in their "party favors " section. The price is neat too because you can buy things in bulk. Suggestions: Yo-Yo's (4 in a package), large sticks of colored sidewalk chalk (several in a package), tiny containers of play-doh (several in a package), plastic stencils (10 in a package), and tiny hand-held pinball games (4 in a package). Of course, coloring books and miniature candy bars are always neat to throw in their gift bags too. Other things I've seen that would be nice are: a small matchbox car for each boy in the class (there's at least two in a package), and a hoop bracelet for each girl (I've seen them in groups of 5). But my favorite gift idea would be to give each child a book, but that can get expensive.
By the way, all the above suggestions are good ideas for other times of the year too when we give the children gifts.

Here's a really precious "Graduation/End Of the Year" idea from Tamara McLemore, HeadStart Teacher, Oklahoma:
Hello Stormie! I wrote a poem that you can use if you would like to. I was wanting something special that the children and their parents could keep through the years. I printed it out using the "First Grader" font style and left plenty of room at the bottom of the page so that the child could put his/her handprint. I dressed it up with swooshing stars around the poem. It was really cute!

Sticky Fingers and Big Wet KissesSticky fingers and big wet kissesDirty toes and stars with wishesSplashing through puddles and hugs too tightAfternoon naps and sleepless nightsI'm growing so fast, I'll soon be grownSo I've made you this handprint for your very ownSo tuck it away and keep it, pleaseSo years from now I can seeHow much I changed as time went byAnd you can always remember my...Sticky fingers and big wet kissesDirty toes and stars with wishes......

I love this healthy "end of the year" idea sent to me from JoAnna Clark:
Hi Stormie! I wanted to share an activity we are doing for the last day of school: I was looking through a children's cookbook when I saw a trail mix recipe. It involved setting out bowls of different items, like peanuts, raisins, chocolate chips, M&M's, dried fruit, etc. Then you give each of the children a spoon and a ziploc bag and have them put a spoonful of each desired item in their bags. I thought it might be a fun idea to put the kids in small groups and have different colored footprints leading around to the different bowls. They have to follow the colored footprint "trail" assigned to their group to make the trail mix. We're calling it a "Happy Trails" Party because we are having it on the last day of Pre-K.

What a great idea this is from Kim D., Southaven, MS:
Pizza Party Picnic: I know many people do "end of the year" parties, but with all the clean-up that comes with packing up at the end of the school year, we have moved our party outside. We do a "Pizza Party Picnic." It is really inexpensive and parents usually donate the drinks and paper products. We spread our red and white checkered tablecloth on the ground, and the whole works. While we are picnicking, I pull out my HUGE basket that has our "end of the year gifts/treats" for the children. All the excitement is outside and the clutter and trash are contained to our small area on the tablecloth.

I love this poem from Sandi who tells me she reads it aloud to parents at graduation:
Your Flowers
I've worked with your flowers and helped them to grow
I'm returning them now but I want you to know
These flowers are precious and dear as can be
Love them, take care of them, and soon you will see...
...........what I saw.....:
I saw bright new blooms every day
That grew and blossomed in such wonderful ways
In September, just buds, but in January, blooms
Now lovely blossoms I return to you this June.
Remember, these flowers, as dear as can be
Though rightfully yours, will always, in part, belong to me!

From Michie, in New Jersey:
Graduation: Hi Stormie, My kids (as I affectionately refer to them) put on a great show last year for our Pre-K graduation: Our theme was "It's A Small World." The children danced, and they sang "It's a Small World," "El Coqui" (from Wee Sing All Around The World), "ABC Rock" (from Greg & Steve) and "You Are My Sunshine." Their favorite book for the year was "Miss Nelson Is Missing" so we did an excerpt from it and one of the girls dressed up like her -- it was fabulous! In accordance with the theme, we also had our parents make/bring foods representing various countries. It was a huge success! This year the program will revolve around the children and their parents. I'm not sure about the entire program yet but they will be singing a great song called "A, You're Adorable, the Alphabet Song."

From Janis, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada:
Hi Stormie, I am working on a farewell gift for my students and wanted to share an idea that a parent and I are working on: We are making a booklet for each child of all the poems and songs we have done all year. We're putting a picture of myself and the individual student on the cover of their booklets and then a collage of all the other students from their class on the back. It's pretty inexpensive and such a good keepsake!

From Gail, in Moss Bluff, Louisiana:
T-Shirts: Hi Stormie, this past school year the room mothers for our kindergarten classes came up with the most adorable idea for our end of the year gift to our students. We had each child draw a picture of themselves and print their own name on a piece of white paper (the moms asked us as teachers to do the same). The moms reduced our "drawings with names" on a copy machine to make them all the same size, and arranged each classes drawings in a circle with the classroom name above. They then took the designs to a local T-shirt shop. Each child and teacher received a T-shirt with their classes' self portraits on the front and "Class of 2005" on the back. Thank you, Carey and Brandi, for such a wonderful idea that turned into an awesome keepsake!

From Angee Duvall:
Giving Books As Gifts: Stormie, you mentioned how you would like to give books to each child at the end of the year, but it's expensive. Well, here is how I am able to do that -- for FREE: I do Scholastic book orders in my home preschool and save up my bonus points. Then, I use my bonus points to "purchase" a book for each child.
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