Of Pirate Parties and Pre-K Graduations...

The end of school always brings running around with it. This week, Will's class had a pirate publishing party (say THAT three times fast) and Alex graduated Pre-K.


What's a publishing party? It's when the classes work on projects for a few weeks, and then 'publish' their projects - make a cute little report book up and such - and parents and family to come visit, ideally. Will's class worked on pirates this past month, so he wore his Jolly Roger finest to school that day (a very cool tee from Savannah with the pirate flags of some of the most famous pirates in history, plus his skull & crossbones bandanna) and I contributed two bags of - you guessed it, Pirate's Booty - to the party. I brought Alex with me, dressing him in his Pirates of the Caribbean shirt to make sure he felt like he was a part of things.

The Pirate Boys!

Will's teacher this year is one of those teachers who really goes the extra mile with getting the kids involved in their learning. At the end of each school year, she goes all out and decorates the classroom for one major theme to end the year on, this year's theme being Under The Sea. Since pictures are worth a thousand words, let me just pause here to show you.

That's a classroom. How cool is this? There are fish, crabs, jellyfish, and even a plush Orca hanging out in the classroom with the kids. Last year's class theme, the rain forest (complete with hanging vines and snakes) was tough to beat, but it looks like she may have topped herself. It was fantastic.

We got to review all the kids' projects and comment on them, and then we pretty much just hung out. I snapped this cute shot of the boys - I love when they think no one is looking and you can really see how much they enjoy each other's company. Despite the fact that they get on each others' nerves constantly.

And then, it was time for Alex to graduate Pre-K yesterday. And I actually didn't fall apart into a puddle of sobbing motherhood. I think that may have been due more to the irritation at the rude parents and assorted family members who kept shoving and standing in everyone else's way - seriously, if you're in the front row, what the hell do you need to stand for? Sometimes, adults are more infantile than the children.

Anyway. It was Alex's day, and he was awesome. He sang, he danced, and ultimately, became a graduate.

Of course, having received his little diploma early on, he got bored pretty darned quickly.

So now, it's on to Sesame Place and a great summer.