Last updated on October 15th, 2023 at 11:09 am
Life is full of big and little milestones, but not many are as sweet as when your twins put on a cap and gown and march down the aisle with their fellow Kindergarten classmates after finishing a year of hard work and fun.
I GUARANTEE your eyes will well up with tears because for a brief second, you’ll think about their high school graduation and you’ll realize that will be upon you just as quickly.
So, to commemorate this legendary milestone, here are some tips to make Kindergarten graduation even more precious.
1. Graduation ceremony prep doesn’t happen the day of, or even the evening before.
You’ll want to plan ahead with some home decorations, special outfits, memory boards AND PLEASE make sure your phone is charged and your memory has room on it. You will hate yourself if your camera dies in the middle of the third round of “Mary Had A Little Lamb” and you didn’t capture that amazing memory.
2. Start off with a good breakfast!
No one likes a meltdown, and your Kindergarten teacher will probably have the day planned with the precision only a Kindergarten teacher can have.
I’m sure she will leave some wiggle room in for meltdowns for emergency bathroom breaks, but let’s set the day up for success with a good breakfast.
3. It’s time for a new tradition.
If you haven’t gotten into the habit this year of taking their picture in front of your home on the first day of school, think about taking one today.
It’s fun to compare the first day picture with the last day picture so you can see how much they have grown. Even though you may have bought shoes twice that year because their toes were bursting at the seams, side by side you can see how big they got in just a few short months.
4. “When I grow up I want to be….”
Ask them, film it, save it, savor it.
5. Get there early to get a good seat. If you plan on filming the entire ceremony, consider investing in a monopod (also get a mount adapter).
For $20 on Amazon and your arm won’t feel like it’s falling off and it won’t be shaking as you cry when they call the twins name.
6. Before you invite your whole entourage, ask the school how many folks can join you.
If it’s just the parents, try to understand, but maybe Facetime grandma in so she can see her pride and joys.
7. PLEASE, don’t forget to make a little something for the teachers.
You don’t have to spend a zillion dollars, you don’t even have to spend a buck. Have your twins “write” a note to their teacher thanking her for a great year. You can dictate what the kids say in a card to her, but take a moment and acknowledge all they have done for your kiddos.
8. When it’s time to celebrate, go big! Balloons, decorations, and cake…don’t forget the CAKE!
Show the kids that hard works pays off and today is all about them. This day is unlike a birthday. A birthday comes automatically, but graduation, they earned that!
9. It’s OK to cry. I still get a frog in my throat thinking about the twins’ Kindergarten graduation day and that was 8 years ago.
Pack your tissues and skip the mascara so you don’t scare the kids.
10. TAKE A FAMILY PHOTO!
Stop the world from spinning for a moment. Take in the milestone and take a family photo. Get in front of the lens for a change and smile big. This milestone isn’t just for the twins. It’s for you too. It may not have been the smoothest road for you. Heck, it may have felt like you were off-roading in a car without shocks for a few years, but you made it. Today is their celebration, but you’re the one who will enjoy it most.
11. I’m giving a lucky 11th tip for you: set aside an hour a few days after the graduation.
Upload all the pictures to Shutterfly or a service like that. You’ll thank me later when your phone or camera crashes and you forgot to back it all up. While you’re there, make a photo gift or two to give grandma. If you want, go one extra mile and take that family photo (from tip 10) and put it onto a holiday ornament. Yup, they sell them all year. Hang it on your tree proudly year after year and remember that one day when your twins started growing up.
(Great, now I’m crying again.)
Natalie Diaz is the Pied Piper of twin families around the globe. Founding Twiniversity — the world’s leading support network for multiple birth families — in 2009, she’s become a global influencer for this small niche community. Reaching over a half a million families a week through Twiniversity’s Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube channels, she takes her Women In Toys Wonder Woman Award Nomination for Social Media Influencer very seriously. Moms and dads of twins flock to Twiniversity’s social media channels to find resources, ask questions, explore new products, and find community and support from other twin parents. Natalie is a true connector, bringing parents from all walks of life together, breaking past cultural differences, to share in the highs and lows of parenting twins.
