Kindergartener

My kid is in real school! Like, he has to be there. No more casual, skip-a-day-for-fun daycare. And with that comes a whole new routine for the family. Checking backpacks, bus schedules, occasional homework projects, reading logs... This is our future for the next 15 years!

Adam was more than ready and more than excited for his first day of Kindergarten. Daddy took him to the bus stop (the bus!) and said he climbed eagerly aboard without a look back. And second and third days and all since then were just as easy.

Adam is in a half-day Kindergarten program, and we were really hoping for the full day option because of how prepared he is. Alas, we didn't win the lottery for that (still sitting steady at #10 on the wait list) and after debating the private school option, we decided for social and emotional reasons it would be best to be in a class of his peer and neighbors. We sometimes forget he's still a five year old.

Two days before the start of school we had orientation where we took him in, showed him around, met his teacher and visited his classroom. I had a moment, just a short wisp, really, when the assistant principal was assuring us parents that there would be plenty of people on hand at all times to look after our precious ones where emotion washed over me. Blink, blink, look up, exhale, blink. Ok, whew. I'm good. We're good. My 5-year old is growing.

His favorite parts of his day continue to be recess and riding the bus. (He is so afraid of missing the bus!) Once a week he enjoys Library, too.  I really miss not being in his classroom each day, as I was for preschool. Even those short pick-ups and drop-offs were a great way for me to familiarize myself with what's going on in the classroom, recognize other students, and chat with his teacher casually. Now I feel removed, and it's discomforting.

Early in the year the school conducts MAP testing to gauge the students' levels coming into Kindergarten. Adam scored in the 99th percentile in both math and reading, and we just got word that this classifies him in the school district as gifted. Strangely, this is designation that will remain throughout his school career, even if he tests lower later. Unfortunately Kindergarten doesn't offer any gifted services for this age at this time, but in future grades those programs will be available.

We met with his teacher for parent-teacher conferences, and we were told that he is at a mid-first grade level and his reading ability is at a second grade level (comprehension level, though, is first grade). Skipping grades was mentioned but is not something we want to do. He's above the other kids in his classroom, so the challenge becomes how to engage him and interest him during more basic lessons and not have the attitude that he's better than his peers or even teacher. He tends to be very impulsive, having trouble waiting his turn to answer and keeping quiet once he finishes the work. While classmates are working on writing the word of the day, his teacher has him writing sentences with the word. She started him on an online reading program where she can read stories and answer questions, and she can follow his progress. He's had to work on using appropriate voice volume in the hallways and in the class and patiently sharing with his classmates. We've made some changes to his home routine to assist in this effort (and sharing with his brother is a work in progress), and this is all the more reason that he remains with his same-aged peers to get a handle on the social and emotional requirements of school.
 


Some things about Adam right now:

Current favorite movie: Monsters University

Current favorite phrases: And Guess What? (repeat this every other sentence when telling a story)

Current favorite toy: Anything Lego. He loves watching YouTube videos about Legos, he loves looking at Lego catalogs, and his Christmas list contains several new Lego sets. He is also very aware of the recommended ages on each Lego set. (This one's 5-12! or Mommy, do you think I could to a 6-12 set?)
He is overly concerned about the battery charge on devices, and if it's anything less than 89% he needs to charge it asap and/or will only use the device while it's plugged in.

Not into superheroes but blue collar workers instead (construction workers, garbage me, truck drivers, etc). These are his career aspirations.

He still takes piano lessons weekly and is starting to read music and recognize the appropriate keys.

He is very observant and picks up quickly on advertising slogans. The other day he wanted to play the "Discover App" game, where he pushes the Freeze button and I stop and wait until he Unfreezes me. If you've seen the commercial you know what I'm talking about. Or, he'll say "Awesome Sauce" from another Discover card commercial or that something is a "Two in One", like the Intel commercial. So, maybe it sounds like he watches a lot of TV... but he takes after me and has marketing in his genes! The other night he even made up a commercial for a random toy, complete with sale price and website for purchase.

American Ninja Warrior -- this was huge for him over the summer when the episodes were on, and we couldn't go to a park without him creating a Ninja course and scaling obstacles. On a number of occasions he wanted to take his shirt off, because most of the Ninjas race shirtless. He can tell you all the names of the competitors, their nicknames, their occupation, etc. His memory is unreal. While he's no longer engaged in the show like he was a couple of months ago, it's now Sam's preferred show.

Snow boots -- Yep, still loves those dang boots! And most recently has loved a pair of UK blue pants with a white stripe on the side. He loves to dress himself, and we've had to tell him that not everything matches these pants.

Wii -- recently he has discovered that there is more to the Wii than MarioKart and really loves Wii Sports and Wii Resort, particularly the Bowling, Boxing and Sword Play. Sam loves watching and will often bring us the Wii controller to have us turn it on (Adam is always happy to oblige).


All in all, we couldn't love this kid more! Watch out, world.

The Nina, The Pina (but not) The Santa Maria

Fourteen-hundred-and-ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue. We recently took Adam to see replicas of Christopher Columbus' famous ships that docked in town for public tours. The Nina was built by hand without power tools and is considered to be the most historically accurate Columbus replica ever built. The Pinta was actually built larger than the original. Both were created by The Columbus Foundation. I was most struck by how tiny these ships are! I cannot imagine spending months onboard on an ocean crossing. No windows below, very small deck space, the smell of pine tar (which seals and makes the ships black). These ships are actively in use by the crew of volunteers who sail with the ship and lead the tours from city to city. Because the crew lives on board, we could not go down below into the private cabins. I had hoped to see it set up as it would have been with supplies, livestock, sleeping arrangements, food prep, etc., and I think it would have given us all a better picture of how primitive life in that time was like. Volunteers run the tours now in exchange for free room and board. One girl I spoke to had just been on board for 2 weeks, and another girl had been there for 6 weeks. Both said it was an awesome experience. I think Michael wanted to sign up and cruise around the country for a stint. For me, the thought of going on a river cruise on this boat made my stomach turn, honestly. (I'll prefer my cruise ships with a solarium and silly towel animals, thankyouverymuch.) Adam had a great time running around the ships, using the pulleys, and manning the cannons. Sam had a great time with his feet firmly planted on dry land. (Sam and boats don't mix.) It was pretty neat to see them docked alongside the skyline of a modern city and wished we had seen them in motion with all sails down. It must be an impressive sight.