Graduating from preschool can be such an amazing and fun time for your little ones. If you are planning a preschool graduation, the first place to start is what applies to the class.
Do you keep it school themed or is there a different approach that makes more sense? I put this blog together to give you some ideas and direction when it comes to celebrating your students.
What Should you do for a Preschool Graduation?
A preschool graduation should be a fun and light hearted event. You can do many things like:
- Singing songs
- Giving awards
- Give out little diplomas
- Throw graduation caps
- Give gifts
What Does Graduation Mean in Preschool?
Graduation preschool is the first academic milestone in your child’s educational journey. It signifies that your child has grown to the point of being able to move on to kindergarten!
What is the Purpose of a Graduation Ceremony for Preschool?
The purpose of a graduation ceremony for preschoolers is marking a milestone. They have successfully obtained and mastered the skills to go onto kindergarten.
The graduation ceremony is a good time to show the parents how far their students have come.
Fun Ideas for Your Preschool Graduation Ceremony
While it may be a big deal, your children may not understand that. They won’t want to stay still and present, so I put together some great ideas to help the ceremony go smoother. However, it doesn’t matter what you plan, our top tip is to keep it as short as possible.
Preschool Graduation Themes
The best ideas are ideas that apply to the entire class. Is there a book, movie, or subject that the entire class loved? These would make excellent theme ideas!
Rainbow
This fun and colorful theme is a guaranteed hit with your little ones. With just a few items from the store, you’re sure to build a celebration that they won’t forget any time soon!
Outer Space
If you’ve got a bunch of mini astronauts, this theme is perfect for you! Keeping their attention through the ceremony won’t be a problem with this fun and exciting celebration.
Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a book that almost every preschooler loves. If your class falls in this category, capitalize on it and make their celebration one to remember!
Oh The Places They’ll Go
Dr. Seuss’s books have entertained children with their silly rhyming for decades. This creative theme uses that joy to create a fun environment for them to celebrate their accomplishments.
Superhero
Nothing says childhood like superheroes. Just add some additional superhero decorations to these invitations and graduation programs for a fun ceremony your kids will love.
Bright Future
Preschool may be the first step in an academic career, but that doesn’t make it any less important. This fun party idea will celebrate your little ones while getting them excited for their next step!
Hollywood
Since they are walking for their graduation, why not make it a walk of fame? This Hollywood-themed ceremony will be a perfect way to make them feel important and celebrated!
Smart Cookie
Every preschooler loves cookies. This cute graduation theme is sure to provide a ceremony that they will enjoy almost as much as the treats!
Helping Hands
While your preschooler has grown over the year, so has their sense of responsibility. This cute helping hands-themed graduation is a great way to celebrate your little helpers!
Apple and Caterpillar
While it may not be original, an apple-themed graduation will still make for some great memories.
Western
Teaching preschoolers can feel like a rodeo at times. Why not embrace that chaos and give them a wild celebration that they will enjoy?
Jungle
The jungle is a completely wild and untamed place, kind of how preschool feels at times. It is also full of many different animals to learn about. Using this theme is sure to make a fun and enjoyable celebration.
Preschool Graduation Songs
Songs are great for graduations! Little ones always love showing off their vocal and memorization skills and graduation is the perfect time!
Let’s Graduate by The Kiboomers
This song is perfect for preschool graduation. It is easy for the kids to remember and is all about saying goodbye to their preschool year!
Thank You Miss Patty
If you are looking for a song with a lot of meeting behind it, then this one is perfect. It’s all about showing gratitude to everyone who helped them succeed in their first academic undertaking.
We’re Moving Up to Kindergarten by The Orchard Express
The name says it all. Send your little ones to the next year with a catchy song, while saying goodbye to preschool at the same time.
Graduation Song for Preschoolers by Little Story Bug
This catchy sing-along is perfect for your little ones. It will help them understand what they can expect on graduation day as well as remind them what they learned over the past year.
On My Way by Pevan and Sarah
Saying goodbye to preschool, saying goodbye to friends and teachers, and talking about everything they’ve learned, this song does it all. It also has some easy-to-learn lyrics as well as some fun simple actions to dance to!
Preschool Graduation Photo Booth
Photo booths are a great way to make memories and celebrate milestones. Photobooths allow for little ones to be fun and silly!
Large Preschool Graduation Backdrop
The photography backdrop adopts digital printing technology to ensure a highly clear pattern. Vivid colors, crisp lines, and non-toxic materials are used with confidence and will not fade.
Graduation Photo Booth
This graduation photo props frame is printed with cartoon graduation caps, gowns, and a graduation scene, which is a unique design to make your photo more vivid and full of personality. You can share inspiring graduation images with your friends through social networks.
Funny Mouths
These funny mouth lips photo booth props can make your photos look different, silly, and fun, helping to add a kind of interesting atmosphere to your graduation!
Graduation Photo Booth Props
These props are thoughtfully designed, vibrant, fun, and interactive to help you make your photo booth experience more enjoyable, creative, and exciting. They are durable and able to be used by your kids as toys after you’re done with the ceremony!
Graduation Props 2023
Celebrate your graduation with flair with these graduation photo booth props. They are the perfect addition to your pictures commemorating your child’s advancement to kindergarten!
Preschool Graduation Outfit Ideas
Making sure your little ones look their best on their special day is something every parent worries about. Here are some great options to make sure they look the part on their special day.
IZOD Boys’ 4-Piece Set
Your little man will be a show-stopper in this outfit! A special occasion deserves a special outfit!
Gentleman Summer Outfit
This outfit is another nice preschool graduation outfit option for your little man! Cute, classy, and perfect for the occasion.
Straight Outta Pre-K T-Shirt
If you are going for a more casual look, this t-shirt is adorable and fun! Let everyone know your little one is straight out of pre-k!
Ruffle Summer Dress
Graduating preschool is a huge milestone that calls for a cute dress for your little girl! This dress is perfect for making them look their absolute best on their special day!
Sleeveless Beach Sundress
This dress is another great option for your graduate girl! Adorable, versatile, and perfect for making your little girl feel amazing!
Preschool Graduation Crafts
As the school year comes to a close, it’s time to start thinking about what environment you want to have your ceremony in. So why not spread the artwork of the graduates for everyone there to enjoy?
Dream Big Little One
This cute coloring craft is perfect for your preschoolers. Have them draw/color themselves to post at the ceremony with their name on it for a cute alternative to taking their pictures!
When I Grow Up
It’s always neat to see what your child wants to be when they grow up. Have them color/draw themselves on this page and then write their name and dream job for a fun decoration at graduation.
Magnetic Graduation Ribbon Picture Frame
These cute award crafts are a great way to commemorate the completion of a grade or program. Kids will have fun picking out their favorite color of ribbon to assemble and adding their very own mortarboard hat.
Printable Memories
Looking back to the past is always an interesting experience. This fun activity will definitely produce a lot of memories for your little graduate years down the road, some of them pretty cringeworthy!
Graduation Coloring Pages
Coloring is the favorite pastime of almost every preschooler. Turn them loose on these coloring pages to get them excited for their big day!
Last Day of School Crown
The last day of school is always bittersweet. Help your little ones celebrate the last day of school with this cute craft!
DIY Graduation Caps
Graduation is all about celebrating your little one’s achievements. Why not let them express themselves with some handmade graduation caps?
Graduation Handprints
Graduation crafts are all about remembering. This handprint craft is a perfect reminder of how much your little one has grown, in more ways than one.
Graduation Star Picture Frame
The colorful self-adhesive foam pieces make these frames simple and fun to put together for every student. Kids will love taking it home to hang up on any magnetic surface to remember the fun they had during graduation.
Graduation Paper Hat
These paper graduation crowns for kids are designed in cute graduation cap shapes with golden shining tassels and 6 bright colors. The colorful stickers allow your kids to express themselves in many different ways.
Preschool Graduation-Themed Snacks
If there is a party, there have to be snacks. Here are some great graduation snacks that everyone will enjoy
Puppy Chow
Puppy chow is one of the favorite snacks of little ones in the Midwest. This blog tells you how to make this easy treat, but I hope you love your chocolate and peanut butter if you’re following it!
Swiss Roll Diplomas
Little Debbie has some great graduation treat ideas! These Swiss Rolls diplomas are my favorite! If you aren’t a fan of the licorice, just tie a ribbon around the Swiss Rolls for the same effect!
Funfetti Cups
Wow your guests with this creative and simple dessert idea for a graduation party. The best part is you can adjust the colors to fit your school’s colors or your child’s favorite color!
Veggies and Dip
Prefill disposable containers with different types of dip, then chop up your veggies and place them sticking up in the cup. These veggie dip cups are easy and simple, yet so yummy!
Mini Cupcake Graduation Caps
Nothing says graduation like a graduation cap. These treats are a perfect themed snack to keep your partygoers satisfied!
Fruit Kabobs
Fruit Kababs are such a simple, yet easy-to-make snack for any occasion. The bright colors they provide to your snack table will also serve as a fantastic decoration that everyone will enjoy.
Popcorn and M&M’s
This might sound like a bizarre combination, but the salty and sweet work so well together! This is a perfect and easy party snack.
Pigs in a Blanket
Is it really a party without pigs in a blanket? This easy-to-make snack is perfect for any party, and graduation is no exception!
Strawberry Shortcake Skewers
This cute twist on a classic dessert is a guaranteed hit with your guests. An added bonus is that they use premade biscuit dough which means they are super easy to make!
Soft Pretzel Bites
Soft pretzels are a snack almost everyone loves. These soft pretzel bites are a snack that your guests will love without a doubt.
Preschool Graduation Books
Commemorate this special time in your child’s life with a cute book. Here are some of the top picks I found.
Be Brave Little One
Celebrate the courage and bravery in every child with Be Brave Little One, from the bestselling author of If I Could Keep You Little. Perfect for cheering someone on, this story affirms how bravery can show up in all different ways!
Hooray for You!
The perfect preschool and pre-k graduation gift, Hooray for You! is a celebration of You-Ness, the grand sum of mind, body, and heart that makes every person truly unique by bestselling author Marianne Richmond.
Goodbye Preschool, Hello Kindergarten
Going to kindergarten is exciting but it can also be stressful for young children. This easy-to-read and beautifully illustrated rhyming children’s book is the story of a sweet and adorable little duck named Max. Follow him as he says his goodbyes, centers himself and looks forward to starting something new – being a Kindergartner!
Kindergarten, Here I Come!
This adorable picture book celebrates all the familiar milestones and moments shared by every single kindergartener. Whether it’s the first-day-of-school jitters or the hundredth-day-of-school party, every aspect of the kindergarten experience is introduced with a light and funny poem–not to mention charming illustrations.
You Are Ready! The World Is Waiting
With Eric Carle’s signature bright illustrations featuring an array of charming animals, You Are Ready! encourages us to be open to new possibilities and be brave in the face of the changes and challenges that life lays in front of us.
Preschool Graduation Gift Ideas
What’s graduation without gifts? Here are some gift ideas to make your little graduate feel celebrated!
Ideas for Gifts from Teacher
Saying goodbye to your students is always hard for both sides. These gifts are a great way for them to think back and remember what an amazing teacher you were!
Mini Animal Plush Toy Card Set
These mini-stuffed animals are perfect for teachers to give to students! The stuffed animals even come with a loop to hang off their backpack next year!
LED Pop Tubes
What makes the tube fidget toy a truly great gift is the exciting, stretchy spring part that not only can be twisted and reshaped but also makes a satisfying popping sound that will capture kids’ attention and chase away boredom!
Multicolored Fidget Toys
Fidget toys are designed to amuse and entertain everyone. Surprise your kiddos with this fidget toy for girls and boys, or purchase a fidget toy for self-care.
Keychain Clicker Fidget Toy
These fidget keychains come in soft, calming shades. Blue for calming, pink for love, yellow for happiness, and more–find your favorite color and relax!
Fidget Toys
These toys will save parents and teachers a lot of time and energy. Children will be very excited when they receive them and will enjoy these school classroom awards and carnival prizes for a long time.
Ideas for Gifts from Parents
Graduating from preschool is one of the first big life events for your little ones. Here are some great ideas for gifts to make sure they know how proud you are!
Matching Letters Dinosaurs
The high-quality educational toy can reinforce several things your preschooler learned this year, such as color, sorting, and letters, and help with fine-motor skills. Since the heads and tails all intermix and fit together with each other. Any of the heads fit with any of the tails
I Crushed Pre-K Shirt
I Crushed Pre-K is a cute monster truck graduation shirt or monster truck graduation gift for monster truck lovers who are graduating from Pre-K or preschool. Amp up your cute monster truck graduation shirts for boys and monster truck fans.
Graduating Princess Shirt
Your pre-k princess is now a graduate and the world needs to know! Help your princess tell the world with this cute shirt!
Graduation Bear
This graduation bear is something that your graduate can hold onto for a lifetime! It would be cute to get a bear for every graduation your kiddo has!
Butterfly Necklace for Graduates
This graduation gift includes a butterfly necklace, a graduation card and a gift box. The gift box is in the shape of a mortarboard, which fits the graduation theme very well.
Any graduation is a special time for your kiddo and your family. Commemorating the event is important and creating memories that last a lifetime.
I hope that you found tons of ways to make your little ones’ graduation special and memorable.
What is your favorite theme or favorite gift? Let me know in the comments below!
