What a month!! June 2014 has by far been the craziest!! I had my work BBQ that required prep time, then it was major crunch time for the Grad! The theme was "Picture Me!" so the decor was to revolve around pictures. Luckily, I had a ton of pics on my computer from Kindergarten to now. I volunteered at many events where I took pics of all the kids, not just Maelie. There were also pics from many parties, Maelie's and other kids'. I started off by getting 350 pics finished at Costco, then mounted them all on black card stock. These pics would then be used to decorate all around the gym.
The day before the grad, we spent 9 hours setting everything up. We had helium donated to us so we used it for arches and awesome decor! Sadly, the helium did not like the heat and humidity in the gym overnight and it all fell down by morning!
This was the view from the front of the gym. That golden arch at the back is one of the 2 that fell down overnight.
This is on stage... this gorgeous arch is the second one that fell..
This one survived as he was mounted on a pole. His twin was at the other end of the stage.
Here is the treat table for the grads.
I made grad chocolates (not sure if they all survived! It was so hot in the gym! I know they all disappeared though....
These hats were made with small 4 oz cups upside down. I covered them with black cardstock added a square at the top, and a tassel from the dollar store. Inside were a few candies. It's amazing what we can do with these little cups!! :) I am glad I got a case!
These were little 1 X 8 tubes with candies, and a scallop circle and grad cap at the top! I am thankful i got the cap die at Crop a While not too long ago!
The kids marched around the gym, walking up via the red carpet. Then they were called alphabetically to get their fake diplomas. It was very touching because an empty chair had been reserved for one of their classmates that passed away tragically in the third grade. His mom was at the grad because she gives out an art award in his honor every year. This year was extra special as it was the year her son would have graduated from grade 6. She said she lost it when she saw that they reserved a spot for him. What a good bunch of kids. They will never forget Brandon.
Here is Maelie with her teacher!! Congrats Maelie! I am very thankful she had Mr. Millard this year!
Cheese! :) - In this pic you can see behind the girls that there are pictures hanging with clothespins. This was the case ALL around the gym! There were no bare spots!
I set up a photo booth at the back of the gym with various props for people to take pictures.
Here is Maelie and a few friends... and Mr. Millard photo bombing from behind the curtain! :)
This was a practice shot with the picture frame at home the day before.
By then end of the grad, I realized I didn't even get many pics of Maelie! Too busy running around!!
The kids danced a bit outside, the weather was PERFECT, the BBQ was wonderful, we could not have asked for more!
Isabelle, one of the moms, made the cupcakes. These were my favorite! They completely went well with the BBQ!
At the end, I encouraged parents to take home the pics of their kids that were on the wall. Parents and kids went around taking the ones they wanted. We also had the class pics from K-6 for both classes. It was really nice to see how they changed over the years! I got a LOT of positive comments from parents and kids. I am extremely proud of how it turned out!
It's now 3 days after the grad and I am still recuperating! LOL It was mentally and physically draining, but it was well worth all the efforts!!
Congratulations Maelie!! You are done with grade school! Off to another challenge now.... but first, enjoy your summer!!
