What's All the Celebrating About?

Celebrate has to be one of my favorite words of all times. From my point of view it ranks right up there with joy. Every culture celebrates something. In the context of interacting with kids- be it as a parent or as a teacher- celebrating is more than just throwing a birthday party or participating in holiday traditions. It is an essential part of the training process to develop happy and productive adults of the future.

One of the most impactful books to influence my parenting and teaching is "The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness" by Dr. Edward M. Hallowell. More beneficial than any teaching pedagogy class or comprehensive curriculum was grasping the concept of 'successful learning and lifelong joy' explained by Hallowell. He goes into detail to discuss how the five step cycle of connect, play, practice, mastery, and recognition, repeated over and over again, is absolutely essential to a child's capacity to experience a meaningful life rooted in confidence, awareness, and values.
No one can deny that if you love your children (and students) you desire for them to live rewarding and happy lives. These steps are simple, but profound in their importance to that end.  I could go on and on about how much thought and daily effort I put into embedding the first four steps in my students' school experiences, but the purpose of this post is to make a case for the remarkable value of recognizing the early learning milestones that are achieved in preschool by celebrating with a graduation ceremony.

Over the years I have met naysayers that don't understand why five year olds are wearing graduation gowns and tassels and carrying diplomas. My response to this (after expertly hiding my internal teacher reaction of "are you kidding me right now?!") is that preschool graduation is the perfect way to show pride, approval, and support of the learning process. It absolutely creates a positive connection between family and school and demonstrates the value placed on each student's achievement as a learner and their growth as a person. Huge milestones are reached in the three to five years of age window and what a powerful validation to a child's sense of worth and well-being to publicly recognize those!


I wish you could feel the excitement and pride that exudes from these little prekinders and their families on the night of our ceremony. But luckily, the advantage of a blog is getting to see photos of such an event, which is the next best thing! I appreciate the families that gave me permission to share some special moments from our celebration "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" from last year that prove a preschool graduation is truly a worthy endeavor.

A few songs, handshakes from the principal, a diploma, a reception with cookies and photo ops, with some preschool artwork on display doesn't sound that complicated, does it? And yet, an identity as a successful learner is established. It's like making a huge desposit in their mental and emotional bank account. Equally important is the chance a ceremony like this gives the school and parents to prime these kiddos for another walk across a platform thirteen years in the future when they will graduate from high school. And let's not be naive here. Some kids will face very real disillusionment, extreme frustration, and hardcore temptation to give up before that. My hope is that by early instilling in them the belief that they are a success in the realm of education, that they are a valuable member of their school community, and that they are on this earth for a purpose that only they can fulfill, that they can find the will and determination to reach that goal, even when the going gets tough. Because we chose to recognize their mastery in preschool and help them keep the achievement cycle going, they will continue to take risks- to connect, play, practice, master, and recognize their value as a person that makes this world a better place.  And that, my friends, is what the celebrating is all about!