Yep, we sing songs for the parents and hand out certificates and portfolios (and I'm handing out a disc of photos taken throughout the year) and say goodbye!
We have a little celebration/award ceremony in the classroom and a party with parents invited (after the awards are given, I don't want a competitive feeling about it). Each child gets an award certificate that I do as an encouragement to them (i.e., Best Smile, Best Dancer) and a Kindergarten Completion Certificate. I keep it simple. I was a TA years ago for a teacher who said, if we make K graduation such a big deal (caps, gowns, marching, diplomas) then it takes away from the meaning of larger accomplishments.... I have to say I agree.
No, we do not have a graduation. I am certainly not against graduation. I give all of you that do have a graduation alot of credit. I am always exhausted by the end of the year and can't imagine having to plan another event along with the rest of the end of the year craziness! I have always wondered, however, how kindergarten graduations got started. I mean, K is just another grade in our building. 1st grade, 2nd grade etc... doesn't graduate, so why K? The 6th grade is the highest grade in my building and I could see having a ceremony for them because they are leaving, but not K. My kids will be around for 6 more years. Learning has just begun for them.
We do have a "graduation ceremony." Each class sings and performs a song for the parents. Then we eat cake, drink punch, take some pictures and say our goodbyes! It's a happy, but sort of sad day...
We aren't allowed to call it "graduation" (they want the only real graduation to be HS-then supposedly they have something to look forward to). We do have an awards ceremony where they get a certificate and sing a little song.
Our kindergarten classes hold a graduation celebration in the gym. They sing some songs, get a "diploma" and then have cake and juice with their parents. In past years, they have had their graduation the day after the Grade 8 grad and have then been able to take advantage of the decorations, etc. we have up. This year, however, their graduation is before the grade 8s, so I'm not sure what they will be doing.
I do not have a graduation but rather an end of the year "Celebration of Learning". It is a celebration of every child's individual accomplishments. This is something that can easily be done in any grade, not just K.
our school does have Kinder graduation; it's alot of work and the parents love it. But, I think it's crazy to have a Kinder grad and an 8th grade grad (which we don't, but I've heard about them)...but then, again, that's me. Graduation should be for the exiting 12 graders.
Hijack...(sorry) We have a grade 8 graduation as, for our students, that signals the end of elementary school and the move to high school. In some places, it has become a huge affair which I don't understand; we have a ceremony in the school gym, pizza, cake and a dance for the grads. As I explained to my son, we did always expect that he would graduate from grade 8--so no limo for him!
My friends and I had a limo for our 8th grade graduation. However, we all went to the same school K-8 so we felt like it was a big deal!
This is the situation for our kids as well--grade 8 grad is important. Not (on my budget) limo important, but important none-the-less.
Yes, we have Kinder "graduation" or promotion. I personally don't like it and wouldn't mind if we don't do the ceremony. In the past we did the ceremony together (it was crazy) and this year we decided to do something simple in our own classroom. Just hand out certificates and have refreshments and then bye-bye!
That's kind of how I feel...One person on my team really wants to do something next year, and the other person doesn't seem to really care either way. I feel like it's a little unnecessary now that kindergarten is "just another grade" in elementary school. It's not like they're going from a half-day play-based program to a full-day academic program. They're already there! So if we're going to do it in kindergarten, why not 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc? Kudos to those of you who have a graduation program, though! I'm sure it's fun and the families and kids love it. Maybe someday we will do one and I will enjoy it...
Yes, and it is way overboard. I think the teachers compete with each other or have to due to one or two of the K teachers going overboard. Then we have to give a 5th grade ceremony. We don't want to call it graduation, so we were calling it Honor's Program. But then all of the kids want something (understandably), so I like the idea of calling it A Celebration of Learning. I'm so stealing this title!
That's what I worry about, too...It would be nice if it were short and sweet. A parent emailed me asking if we had a graduation. Apparently, where her son went last year (he went to kindergarten at a private school and repeated it at our school this year), they had a ceremony with caps and gowns. I think that is a little overboard. A celebration of learning sounds much more appropriate!
We just have an end of the year 'Celebration' where all four K classes sing some songs together, individually and our principal gives alittle speech. We used to do diplomas and awards and it just became a big mess. We keep it short and simple and when it is over the parents are encouraged to take their children out for a special celebration and most of them do!
It is a big Tado at both schools I have taught at for K, I have always done an end of year picnic for preK but this year...they are having a program and I am not jumping for joy over it! At the rate things are going these kids are going to be "graduating" every grade with a big production and it will become meaningless to them. They won't have a big production for each year they work in the real world now will they? Just my opinion!
I voted that we have graduation but we don't call it graduation. It is a celebration of the kindergarten year. This way if they are repeating next year it's ok because it's just to celebrate their accompolishments this past year. Each child receives a certificate. The students are singing six songs for the parents. After they will have cookies and milk.
The year I taught K there was nothing in place at my school, so I put one together on my own. I would do it again in a heart beat! They are just soooooo proud of themselves and it was a fabulous day!!!! We sang songs, read poems, showed a slideshow, gave out diplomas, ate and celebrated. The parents absolutely adored it! I can't wait to teach K again!!!!!!
We do not have K graduation. We do not have pre-k graduation. At one of my prior schools we did a joint pre-k/k concert at the end of the year. Kindergarten isn't even required in the state of IL. There is nothing to "graduate" from- you are simply promoted- you can't retain children in K here either (that is an entire different thread). What irks me more than K graduation is 8th grade graduation. Schools here are still "grammar schools" PK - 8. There is a huge celebration from 8th grade to high school- problem is many of these kids don't make it through high school. 8th grade is the last hurrah- what can you do with an 8th grade education these days?
we do have a kg grad. this year we have the theme of under the sea so all the decoration and the songs must be related to the theme. we have KG1 and KG2 students dance and sing for the grad. and we give a "diploma" and it's a veeeeery big celebration we hold it in the big playground. hana
We had kinder graduation my first year teaching, but the teachers opted to end it that year. For the past four years, the kindergarteners join us during Field Day. The kinder teachers said that the graduation was far too much work for them. From the diplomas to the cap and gown to the food--it was quite a lot of planning and preparation for the teachers.
We have one and its a BIG "to Do" and all the teachers are required to attend. Lets just say, I'm not the BIGGEST fan... I'd probably like to call it more of a celebration, because I feel like it does really take away from 'real' accomplishments sucha as graduating high school.
What does a 5 year old need a diploma for anyway? It feels a little wasteful to me (especially since we have a reception for this in addition to an end of the year party)
"Real" accomplishments?! Sorry, , it just makes it sound like the only 'real'/true/meaningful accomplishment is the ending point, where we finish. What about where and how we start and what we do to get there? There is so much to celebrate along the way! I hardly think that graduating high school students feel ripped off that Kindergarten students are being recognized for a successful entry into the school system. I do like your openness to calling it a 'celebration' vs graduation though, rather than just nixing the whole thing. Also, in response to the last post: I don't think it's so much that 5 year olds "need a diploma" but rather to celebrate the completion and accomplishments of a 1st year at school. A right of passage into the first "Grade". Kindergarten IS a BIG DEAL!!!
No... but we did have a program. When we went to full-day K last year, they realized there wasn't enough space in the music and PE schedules to give K's the same amount of time as the other grades, but they still had to provide for plan time for the teachers- so we have a person hired solely to do Kindergarten Specials (And 1 1st grade music class)... it's a combined music/PE class that they get 4-5 days a week (my school still gives 1 day of PE with the gym teacher, the other buildings don't, so they have 5 days of K-special). To celebrate the end of the year, they put together a program that they did on Friday. Started off with some of the Jolly Phonics jingles she taught them at the beginning of the year to go along with the letter sounds they're learning in class... went into their yoga unit, and finished with some dancing (current unit) and end-of-the-year songs. they did a GREAT job
