Reading

At the end of kindergarten there are a handful of kids that are pretty good readers.  Really good readers in my opinion for kindergarten.  They love it.  Scott was not one of those.  He really didn't like doing any homework let alone something as hard as reading.  It didn't bother me and was very evident that his mind was just not ready to learn in that way.  All I cared about last year was Scott enjoying school and getting along with kids which he did.  He loved his friends.  He learned social skills and confidence for which I am so grateful for!  In some ways I think the American school curriculum needs to go back to how it was when we were kids.  We push these little kids to do these advanced things at such a young age and half the time half the class is just not ready or mature enough.  I feel like we think the younger we start them, the better they will be when that isn't always the case.  I tell parents with a crying 3 year old that if they wait a year there 4 year old who wants to be there will actually grow to love swimming better and have a much better learning experience.  I am sure the trend with eventually shift again as do all trends.

With that said, I was really hoping that the transition to first grade would go alright since it is so much more academic.  It is a year full of learning.  He begged me to do swimming and soccer which worried me a little bit.  I didn't want to get involved in too much and not have down time, but so far it has worked out really well.

The kids get to either play at the playground or at home for about a half hour before we do homework and piano before we are off to sports.  After sports we usually play with friends at the field or pool, come home and eat and it is bedtime.  So it is school stuff first and playtime after.  So far it is going well!  We have to be pretty routine oriented which I am not used to but is a good thing.

Last night Scott said he is enjoying reading.  It helps that he memorized a ton of sight words that help him read.  What a difference from last year. I can't believe how much he has matured and actually wants to learn compared to last year just doing the minimum and.  Don't get me wrong, if he had the choice he would be outside with friends or watching tv, but that is probably like 95% of kids.

I am grateful for these amazing programs that have been invented to make learning easier and more fun for these kids.  I am grateful for his teacher.  I am enjoying help him learn. It is fun for me.  I feel blessed that I get to be the one that gets to teach him and see him grow at home.  It is awesome!

Last night Scott told me that I wasn't very good at drawing.  I laughed, agreed, explained we are all good at different things and asked him what he thought I was good at. He said I was good at being a mom. It made me feel good.  Lots to work on but at least he thinks I am good enough.  The amazing thing about kids is that they think there parents are the very best mom and dads in the world.  Sadly, that changes in the teenage years.