Creating Community Traditions
It’s that busy, eventful, happy/sad time of year again, when teachers, children, and their families celebrate endings, say good-bye for now, and anticipate what is coming next. As a new-ish program – All Seasons Preschool of Eagan is finishing its third year – we are especially sensitive to these tender transition times.
Lately I’ve been realizing what an essential role celebrations and rituals play in creating a close community, especially as we are just beginning to grow. As an intergenerational program, the seniors at Lexington Pointe are an integral part of those emerging rituals.
Last week all the preschoolers went upstairs for our “Senior Send-Off,” an end-of-year ceremony we invented and have done at our Eagan preschool only once before. (Covid prevented us from gathering in June 2021.) Already we consider it a tradition. The grandmas and grandpas who know us best gather in the Community Room to celebrate and congratulate those children who will be going off to kindergarten next year. We pass out plastic kazoos to the seniors and they hum an exuberant rendition of “Pomp and Circumstance” as the children, dressed in their “fancy clothes,” march into the room.
Each preschooler who will be moving on is called to stand in front of what can only be described as an adoring crowd of seniors. The teachers present each child, saying a few heartfelt words about what they most appreciate about each one: their kindness, their creativity with block construction or painting, their helpfulness, curiosity, or sense of humor. The teachers present each “graduate” with a flower as the senior audience applauds. We sing a few of our favorite songs together one last time. After the ceremony, grandmas and grandpas eagerly greet each child and wish them well and a happy summer. Children move row to row giving handshakes, high-fives, and hugs. Like last year, the chef brings big, decorated cupcakes for each child to take home.
Though this was only our second official Senior Send-Off, everyone already thinks of it as a tradition. It’s an event we will count on from now on to mark the end of another school year. It would not feel right to do it any other way; we can’t skip the kazoo processional, the flowers, the singing, or the cupcakes. All of these elements are now endowed with deep meaning.
There’s something very comforting about doing the same thing in the same way at the same time every year. Along with setting a rhythm to the year, traditions build anticipation. We can count on it; we can look forward to it. Younger preschoolers know they will get their flower next year, just like their older friends did this year. Seniors know they will be part of the kazoo chorus again next June. Other traditions we do with seniors that we’ve already invented in three short years include the spring Pancake Party and the famous Water Wars held on the deck of the seniors’ dining room at the end of our Water Camp. The grandmas and grandpas talk about these events all year – like repeatedly asking when Water Wars is happening, saying they “wouldn’t miss it for the world.” These new, permanent traditions are the rituals we “always” do with our people, that draw us closer and solidify our identity as a true community.
