Well, I’ve said it before…and I’ll say it again:
Mexicans know how to P-A-R-T-Y!!
Mexico’s school system is set up to include 3 levels of Kindergarten. Kids can start Kinder 1 at age 3, and by age 5 they are in Kinder 3 and preparing for graduation. I was pretty surprised when I received a cap and gown from the school, on loan for the Kinder graduation ceremony. For real?
We showed up to a full-on ceremony for Ella’s class.
She received a diploma and a pencil bag gift with custom pencils that had our last name spelled with a different vowel than necessary. No wonder they didn’t announce it correctly!
Ella’s Kinder 3 class
One of Ella’s beaus. She has told me that she has soooo many boyfriends that she is worried she doesn’t know which one she will marry some day. Oh, to be a 6 year old again!
Ethan isn’t ready for school, yet.
Maiya’s all about the graduation cap…
After the ceremony they set up tables and had a catered lunch for all of the families. Tacos…YUM!
During lunch, our friend managed to get a decent photo of us. No food in the teeth or boogers hanging out!
After a couple hours of eating and visiting, they started a children’s round of musical chairs. I’ve never seen anyone set up the chairs quite like this. They set them up side-by-side, alternating which direction they faced (instead of setting them up back-to-back, like we do in the US). It makes more sense this way, because it creates a bigger distance between each chair!
All of the kids who participated were graduates, with the exception of Maiya, who they allowed to play. However, on the very first round Ella beat her to the last seat. Maiya immediately had a look of disbelief, and began to have one of her sad, quiet crying moments. Ella jumped up out of her seat immediately, and told Maiya she could have the chair and that she would go out. All of the parents “ooh’d” and “ahh’d” over Ella’s sweet gesture…but Maiya was inconsolable, and so Ella continued the game. I was proud, nonetheless!
She did quite well, and was very serious about watching the next available chair as she walked. She made it to one of the very last players, but in the end, the boy with the bushy hair in blue won, and the boys in his class ran up to congratulate him!
Next, they said it was the parent’s turn. WHAT?! ADULTS playing MUSICAL CHAIRS?
Somehow, they coaxed us into it, and switched out the kiddie chairs for adult-sized ones. The competition consisted of mostly moms, with a few dads squeezed in (literally).
The competition was tough, but I managed to scoot my bum under the bums of many others who thought their seat was a sure seat. I was sat on at least three times. Hehehee….
After getting many of the men out (single bum-edly), the competition was left to some Moms…
After all, we do have the smaller bums…
Alas, I was not the winner…but we all had a great (and embarrassing) time!
When is the last time YOU played a truly-competitive game of Musical Chairs?!!
After the games, which were just as compelling as 카지노 커뮤니티, parents were kicked out, and the kids stayed OVER NIGHT for a sleepover AT the school. Can you even imagine that happening in the U.S.? NO CHANCE!
It’s true! All of these 5 year olds stayed overnight with their teachers and ate snacks, watched movies, and maybe slept a little…or maybe not. I love that I live in a place where a liability waiver doesn’t have to be signed for any physical activity, and I know I can know Ella’s sweet teachers well enough (also my friends) to trust them watch my daughter for an overnight party at the school. How cool is that?!
Ella was a wreck the next day, sleeping most of it, and also throwing up (which meant that she had a lot of junk and perhaps didn’t sleep at all, as she claimed)! Haha!
At times it can drive me batty that the school here can’t seem to do anything SIMPLY. Everything is over the top and grand! But I must admit that it certainly adds to the entertainment value!
Bring it on!
