Gavin had his preschool graduation this week. He was so excited, and I think also very proud to get his certificate. He had been going to the Child Development Center (CDC) since he was two years old, it has been a huge part of his development. When he started there, he was completely "non-verbal and low functioning" - in layman's terms that means he couldn't speak and he was in his own little world all the time. Now he is just a social butterfly and sometimes talks too much! When he gets around his school buddies he is definitely the class clown. His speech is by no means perfect or on par with a typical five year old, but his social skills have really come a long way. Having him in this school has been great. They have been able to let Gavin's naturally sweet personality flourish while setting rules, getting him accustomed to school routine, and always pushing the limits of his abilites. I doubt he would be even nearly ready for kindergarten next year if he hadn't had the awesome teachers and classroom experiences he's had for the past 3 years.

To kick off the ceremony, the teachers herded all the graduates up onto the stage and they sang two songs together. Gavin was right in the middle of all his friends, just belting out the words like a little rock star. Every now and then he would pause for a second to yell out "Mama! Daddy!" Pointing to us in the audience. Though somewhat lacking in tonality, (Simon Cowell might say "He's a tad bit pitchy") he made up for it with robust volume and energy. Gavin is actually a really good singer, I catch him all the time singing to himself. This performance just turned out to be a little more "Punk Rocky", since he had a big captive audience. He always has to be the "Black Sheep" these days, it seems.

The actual receiving of the diploma was pretty funny, too. He was so excited, but he sat nicely right next to his teacher, on the edge of his seat. It took forever for his name to be called, since it's toward the end of the alphabet. As each child walked (or ran) to get their diploma, their picture was put up on the screen. Gavin couldn't wait to see his picture up on the screen, which I'm sure to him looked like a giant flag. If you've been following these posts, you'd know a little about Gav's flag fascination. He is very proud of his diploma, and he's been carrying it around with him all week, even to bed! Here's a little excerpt of "Brown Bear, What Do You See?"