The Exit of Preschool

We had a big milestone last week, yes preschool graduation, and I’m proud to say that I made it without crying through the ceremony. I was a little weepy the day before preschool graduation but held it together that day. I know to some it may seem weird (especially those without kids) but graduating preschool is a really big deal. It’s a big deal because next year Jenna will go to school all day, 5 days a week. She will no longer go to a church for school, have a teacher who believes in God (most likely), will be surrounded by kids who may or may not be kind to her, we’ll be surrounded by parents, who as we’ve already encountered are not kind, and our influence becomes less (in hours anyway). It’s a big change and we’re a little nervous but ready for the next chapter. Jenna could not be more excited.

The morning of graduation she was giddy with excitement. She wanted to know when she could start kindergarten and was highly disappointment when I told her it was three months away. She can’t wait to go to school all day and be a big kid.

The preschool goes all out with their graduation. They wear cap and gowns, sing several songs, each kids perform a talent (anything from singing a song, counting, dancing, etc. Jenna’s was counting in 3 languages, English, Spanish, and German. She did a great job!), they each recited a Bible verse, and they ended with the Lord’s prayer. It was incredibly entertaining and we loved every minute of it.

I continue to be sad that we won’t be going to school with any of the kids in her class and I’m trying to keep a good attitude that we can’t walk next door to school next year as well. God see’s the bigger picture, He knows her needs (and ours) more than we do. In fact I was reflecting back on how we even ended up in the preschool we went to and I know it was the hand of God that took us there. Now I’m trusting that His hand is leading us still, even if it’s through not wining a school lottery. Ironically Jenna’s verse she recited for graduation was Psalm 91:11 “He will command His angles concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.” I hung on to that every time she practiced saying it because I know that yes indeed He is guarding her ways, even as she heads off to elementary school.

So as Jenna exits this door as a preschooler and walks on to become a kindergartner we’ll go knowing that God has more in store than just school but a world that needs His love and we get to be a part of a bigger story. Some may just see it as elementary school but to us it’s all a mission field and a training ground for her future.