Last night, we celebrated a VERY special occasion - the wrapping up of Mia's last days in Kindergarten. The evening consisted of; a Church Service, Picnic, evening walk in the city, and then a Sleepover at the School (for Mia). In German Kindergarten, you keep the same teachers and class for 3 years (each year a few children leave to go to school, and a few new kids come in, but other than that all stays the same). After 3 years, to be leaving - it really is a big deal. It is a very bitter sweet time, because in September she will begin school, and I think it has finally hit me that Mia is growing up.
The church service was quite magical. Her Kindergarten is affiliated with a beautiful 400 year old church that sits right in the middle of the city. When we walked in, there were candles lit and name tags and gifts for the children. There was also a special visual display lined up of the different stages that they have already been through (baby bottle, shoes for learning to walk, a potty for toilet training, a bag for going off to Kindergarten, and then there was a space in the line where the kids could stand to show what stage they are in now. On the other side of where they could stand was a school bag so that they could visualize what the next stage coming is. They all shared in a little ceremony and then after that all stood in a circle with a candle in the middle. They each received an individual blessing while their families touched their heads at the same time - This is the point where I lost it...I had no idea that I had these emotions, but all I could think about was this little girl from China who is so happy, and so grown up, and now she is being blessed in a cathedral in Germany to go off to school next year, with her proud family holding her (It was almost too much to take). It was a very memorable experience. I managed to get myself together, and afterwards we all walked behind the church to a courtyard to enjoy a picnic dinner with the other Vorschule Kind (the small group of kids going off to school in September) and their families....
Now the real the fun came in... all of the kids running around in the evening anticipating with much excitement what was to come. Later, similar to saying goodbye to the bride and groom at a wedding, all of the Vorschule Kind lined up to go for their evening Nacht Wanderung (evening walk/hike). At this point, we waved goodbye to Mia, and off she went for a city walk with her friends (and teachers), only to be picked up in the morning after a fun sleepover at her school (on the walk they had a photo scavenger hunt, where they had to find certain places in the city - and then they went back to their school, where all of the sleeping bags, and pillows were waiting. Again, more tears....
The parents left behind, got to climb the Church Bell Tower, to see the views of the city, and try to catch a glimpse (with no luck) of our babies walking around the city.
This is not quite the end of Kindergarten, we still have a few more celebrations, but this is the big one that Mia has been anticipating all summer. One of the sweetest parts of the evening was to see the excitement and pride coming from not only Mia, but Bailey and Camden as well - they adore their little sister. It is definitely bitter sweet!!!
The church service was quite magical. Her Kindergarten is affiliated with a beautiful 400 year old church that sits right in the middle of the city. When we walked in, there were candles lit and name tags and gifts for the children. There was also a special visual display lined up of the different stages that they have already been through (baby bottle, shoes for learning to walk, a potty for toilet training, a bag for going off to Kindergarten, and then there was a space in the line where the kids could stand to show what stage they are in now. On the other side of where they could stand was a school bag so that they could visualize what the next stage coming is. They all shared in a little ceremony and then after that all stood in a circle with a candle in the middle. They each received an individual blessing while their families touched their heads at the same time - This is the point where I lost it...I had no idea that I had these emotions, but all I could think about was this little girl from China who is so happy, and so grown up, and now she is being blessed in a cathedral in Germany to go off to school next year, with her proud family holding her (It was almost too much to take). It was a very memorable experience. I managed to get myself together, and afterwards we all walked behind the church to a courtyard to enjoy a picnic dinner with the other Vorschule Kind (the small group of kids going off to school in September) and their families....
Now the real the fun came in... all of the kids running around in the evening anticipating with much excitement what was to come. Later, similar to saying goodbye to the bride and groom at a wedding, all of the Vorschule Kind lined up to go for their evening Nacht Wanderung (evening walk/hike). At this point, we waved goodbye to Mia, and off she went for a city walk with her friends (and teachers), only to be picked up in the morning after a fun sleepover at her school (on the walk they had a photo scavenger hunt, where they had to find certain places in the city - and then they went back to their school, where all of the sleeping bags, and pillows were waiting. Again, more tears....
The parents left behind, got to climb the Church Bell Tower, to see the views of the city, and try to catch a glimpse (with no luck) of our babies walking around the city.
This is not quite the end of Kindergarten, we still have a few more celebrations, but this is the big one that Mia has been anticipating all summer. One of the sweetest parts of the evening was to see the excitement and pride coming from not only Mia, but Bailey and Camden as well - they adore their little sister. It is definitely bitter sweet!!!
2 comments:
OK, you had me crying too. And it is something about these little ones from China that make my eyes leak tears more easily! Hugs!
okay...i'm WAY behind on your blog...but tears are streaming just the same ~ wishing there was more of this in the states !
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