Yesterday the final celebrations of the school year of the Kindergarten took place. We all celebrated together in the beach of Daskalopetra, with the children, family and friends. The children did some plays and dances and the oldest ones graduated and said their goodbyes. But in order for all of that to happen, in the Kindergarten we had been preparing for some months for the occasion.
As soon as the Easter vacation was over and we all went back to school, we started preparing the plays. I was working in only one of the classes in which we had three different plays. As a volunteer I was in charge of the costumes. The teacher showed me the inspiration for the plays and both of us decided how to make the costumes. We decided to do hats personalized for each children showing their character. The first play was called Ο Πρίγκιπασ Λεμονής. It was about a lemon prince who was sick and was cured by the love of an onion princess, all surrounded by the people of their kingdom, who were different types of vegetables. I started making the drawings of each vegetable and checking in with the teacher, and after having her approval, I started the process of painting and creating the hats. After this was done, we started with the second play. This one was just for the smallest kids, the ones that stay one more year in the school, and was called Eπτά Ποτάμια, and it was about different colored rivers that come together and create a rainbow. The process of the costume making was the same and I made the hats for all the children. Finally, the last one was just a song with a dance for the oldest kids. This song is the one that would be played at the end of the celebration with their capes and graduation hats.
Another part of the preparation was the rehearsal of the plays and songs. This took over a month and a half. The kids rehearsed the songs everyday. It was a very chaotic time as not all of the kids were happy with their character and we had to make changes, and also it was quite difficult for them to pay attention and to behave for the rehearsals. But at the end of the day, they practiced and learned their roles. As the final celebration was coming, I started helping the teachers by putting all the kids activities and drawings into their bags and preparing a final craft of a sailing boat where the kids draw how they thought their summer would be.
Finally, the day of the celebration arrived. The celebration was at 6pm on the beach of Daskalopetra. It was prepared by the parents association and everyone was there. Once I arrived I said hi to the kids that were playing and to some parents. I looked for the teachers and we started gathering the kids for some pictures. After this, we got ready and started the plays after putting the costumes for the kids and introducing the play. It all went smoothly and everyone loved it. Once both classes had their plays, it was time for the final song of the older kids who graduated. They were all wearing their capes and hats and at the end of the song, they threw them up in the air.
Once it was done the kids run to play again and to eat some food, as I enjoyed some time with the teachers and the kids too. I said goodbye to everyone, specially to the kids who I will not see again for a while. It was truly special to be able to be a part of their lives and to see them at the end of a stage of their lives, specially after being with them for so long.
