Holding a graduation ceremony for children who are leaving nursery or pre-school is getting more popular, but is it the right thing to do?
It has been reported that some nurseries in London are charging £25 just for a ticket for parents to attend their child’s graduation and other settings are charging for the use of a gown and mortarboard: This is just a money making scheme, surely!
I understand that having a child move on from a nursery to ‘big’ school is a milestone that parents want to remember with cute photos of their child’s graduation, but is this a step too far?
My youngest son was given a book as a leaving present when he left his pre-school in preparation for starting school.
He was excited by this as the youngest of 4 boys, he was always telling people that he was a big boy.
He sometimes liked to copy what his older brother did and on one occasion we saw him pretending to read one of their books; he told us to be quiet as he was concentrating on his book ( he was actually holding it upside down, but it made him feel older than he was.
He would have loved being a part of a graduation ceremony especially if his brothers had been able to attend to see him,
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I am wondering how long it will be before registered child minders feel under pressure to hold their own graduation ceremonies for any children leaving them to start school!
I used to give the children a small gift, such as a book as a token to remember their time with me.
They also had their observation booklets that I kept for every child using the nursery education grant to fund their early learning with me.( I know that some of the children and parents still have these).
When I achieved an outstanding grade for my last Ofsted inspection one child appeared in the local newspaper with me ( I had written permission from his parents to do this)
Has your child hsd a graduation ceremony at nursery?
Please share your experiences.
As always questions and comments are welcome.
Until next time.
Karen
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A group of us who are registered childminders who run / use a stay and play hold a graduation party in July for the children who won’t be back in September , we have an entertainer and party food and they have their picture taken in a gown and hat . We don’t charge the parents we cover the expense ourselves and thd parents and children love it .
That sounds lovely, Penny, wish I had thought of it when I ran the child minders drop in group
I think that the idea of graduation ceremonies at that age is absolutely ridiculous and way over the top! A small tea party is quite sufficient!
I tend to agree, Fiona, thanks for stopping by
We did a kindergarten graduation, and it was fun and lighthearted.
Sounds perfect, Michele
Mine did but there was no cloak or mortar – they just got a certificate and sang a few songs or did a performance or something…then we all (parents and kids) had a party at the preschool. I have become a little averse to anything which becomes price prohibitive to families – because of the pressure or exclusion factor.
That sounds perfect, Lydia, thanks for stopping by with your comment
Every milestone should be celebrated but there is such a thing as over the top! An end of school party and perhaps a certificate so that every child feels they have achieved is a lovely gesture and helps to build confidence.
That makes perfect sense to me, Pamela, thanks for sharing your thoughts
I’m not sure I would use either ‘right” or “wrong” here. I think its cute and i remember mine being excited about the attention she got at these types of things but I certainly wouldn’t have been paying that kind of money to attend
Thanks for taking the time to read my post and leave your comment, Jeremy
back from #dreamteam and I still wouldn’t pay that. Hope you’re having a good summer karen
And what a summer, it’s been so far!Jeremy, I apricate that you take the time to read my posts and leave comments
I definitely didn’t have a graduation ceremony from preschool! My younger sister did have a musical play with her class and other activities representing “graduation” when she left Kindergarten and went into first grade, which is also considered a major milestone here. (I would’ve had one too, but left that school six weeks before the end of Kindergarten.) Both of us also got a book with all our projects from Kindergarten, but not from preschool. Then again, this is all (nearly) thirty years ago. My oldest niece will be three in September and my sister is going to train to be a nursery worker and the group she’ll be doing her training at, are all three-year-olds, who will be leaving to go to Kindergarten when they’re four. I’ll ask her about graduation ceremonies once she’s worked there for a while. #DreamTeam
Thanks for sharing this with me,Astrid