Preschool Summer Party

Last Wednesday was the last day of preschool.  Tralee has been in a preschool co-op this year.  There were six students total, and each student's mom took turns teaching for two weeks in a row.  We had a teaching outline and routine to follow, and it was a lot of fun!  I was lined up to teach the final two weeks of preschool, and thought it might be fun to have a party for the last day instead of the regular preschool routine.  The topic was "Summer" so we had a summer themed party complete with carnival games, summery food, and lots of playing outside.

Rainbow fruit kabobs were one of menu items.  I also made a plethora of peanut butter and jelly/honey sandwiches, a veggie platter, homemade guacamole, homemade black bean salsa with tortilla chips (not homemade), and lemon-infused water.  The other moms were invited, and each contributed a delectable as well.

The picture above is of the kids doing a relay race.  I had them each pick a mask, and then complete the entire relay as that animal.  It was classic.  They got to keep their masks as a prize for completing the relay.

We also played the, "throw the penny in the fish tank" game.  I put toy fish inside clear plastic cups filled with water, and gave each child a turn throwing pennies in a cup to win a fish.

We did the "pick the rubber ducky from the pool" game.  The rubber ducky had a shape on the bottom.  The shape they picked determined which prize they would win.  I also let them keep the rubber ducky they chose.

Another game played was, "throw a dart to pop a balloon."  Each balloon had a piece of paper inside that had a shape, number, letter, or emotion on it.  Depending on which piece of paper was inside the balloon meant a different prize from the various prize boxes.

In the end I let the kids toss a giant dice, and whatever number it landed on meant how many more prizes they could pick.  I think those were all the games.  After they were done I laid out a picnic blanket for the wee ones, and they ate.  Then they all played.

I set up our bouncy house, the trampoline was jumped on, and the kids all took turns crashing into each other and running over the picnic blanket with the Powerwheels four-wheeler.  Luckily there weren't too many tears shed from kid-os getting hurt!

The moms visited while the kids ran amok.  I'm pretty sure everyone enjoyed themselves.

Before everyone went home, we had a little graduation ceremony complete with certificates for each child.  Their name was read, they went up and shook one of the mom's hands, were handed their graduation certificate, and we all cheered.  It was a lovely way to wrap up a successful year of preschool.

After the party was over, I told my kids mommy needed to rest.  I had stayed up WAY too late getting things ready for the party, and wanted some shut-eye.  Jim was out-of-town, so I sent him this picture right before I attempted to get a little sleepy sleep:

I think I shut my eyes for a total of 11.3 seconds before Tralee came in with a book and requested that I read it to her.  I obliged.  Such is the life of a mom.

I can't believe Tralee will be heading off to REAL school this fall!  Crazy!