Graduation Gifts:
Preschool and Kindergarten

One kind of graduation gift celebrates moving forward, and another evokes happy memories. After so short a time period, memories are somewhat limited for this age group - but Mom can prepare ahead by saving photos, the child's drawings, and other memorabilia for a custom yearbook. The cover can feature a photo of the child, the school, or the diploma if one is presented.

Personalized items are popular graduation gifts among kids of this age level. You can send a photo of the school (or the logo, if there is one) to a printing company, to be transferred onto such items as a T-shirt, a jigsaw puzzle, or the child's own mouse pad to use at the family computer.

Favorite toys, games, or other activities from school, that the child does not have at home, are sure evoke happy memories. Ask the teacher which activity the child has particularly enjoyed, and select a gift that will not soon be outgrown. Building blocks, musical instruments, and a tunnel to crawl through remain fun for kids well into elementary school years.

Forward-looking gifts for graduates might begin with a desk and chair. A child's own desk in a quiet place will help to establish good study habits right from the start. A nice companion gift, perhaps from a sibling, would be a supply of crayons, pencils, and activity books.

Some of the cool things that big kids use in school will make your Kindergarten graduate feel quite grown up. Items that won't be used in first grade can be used at home (lots of kids like to play school) or saved and proudly admired until needed for school. Examples:

• Book bag
• Lunch box and Thermos bottle
• Notebook or sectioned spiral pad
• Pencils in a pencil case
• Wristwatch
• Wallet with photo sleeves
• Change purse for lunch money
• Umbrella

Well chosen books are favorite graduation gifts among preschool and kindergarten kids. A book of words or a picture dictionary is a timely gift for a graduate of kindergarten, who is in the early stages of reading. These books are available in many languages and are extra useful to kids like my bilingual grandson.

I like to give books that are charmingly illustrated and fun for adults to read to kids or help the child to read aloud. Arnold Lobel books are excellent examples (my grown kids still love the Frog-and-Toad stories and "Mouse Tales," and so do I).

A set of bookplates is another affordable gift from a sibling. Children like to identify their own stuff, and bookplates encourage them to build personal libraries. Bookplates can be purchased in stores, or downloaded to your computer for printing (perhaps on self-stick labels). Or, you can design some yourself if you are feeling creative.

...from Junior High or Middle School
...from High School
...from College, University, or Grad School
...of (almost) Any Age, for Fun and/or Profit