Kindergarten

Wow! Baxter started kindergarten this year. It has gone better than I ever could have imagined. It is a trend at some of the schools here, especially the private schools to hold boys back until they are six. I was skeptical that Baxter was ready but when I found out the local public school was half day we decided to send him fully expecting to re-due full day kinder next year. His transformation has been amazing! He is still the same boy, extremely active. He loves to talk to his friends and needs be reminded not to do that while Mrs.Ringlever (pronounced ring lover, how great is that!) is teaching. By the second week of school reading just clicked. I have been working with him on and off thru the summer but he just got it and now he is a full fledged reader. This has been one of the most rewarding things for me to watch as a mother. Last week we had our first parent/teacher conference. She showed us all his state testing from the previous month. He was well above grade level in EVERY section. She was most impressed with how well he did with the math section she gives the kids a word problem, a child can earn up to 8 points first they need to understand there is a problem to solve, then how to solve it, getting the correct answer, etc.. Mrs.Ringlever said he did it so quickly and easily she went ahead and gave him the subtraction word problem which he also solved with no problem. She said she wanted to give him the multiplication one but they are only allowed to go one step above grade level. The kids are only suppose to recognize 3-5 sight words and when he took the test he knew 30, now he knows over 200 because I have him read a book to me and do the flash cards he & I have made every night. I'm curious to know when or if he will ever really be able to sit still but all the teachers I know assure me it will happen in time. I was working in his class a couple of weeks ago and every single child was listening quietly, and watching Mrs.Ringlever give her lesson with one exception, you guessed it my son! He was turned around, looking at the ceiling.. When I asked her about it she said that this is an improvement from bothering other kids while he himself is not listening. Mortified! He is extremely out going and has lots of friends which makes me happy for him. I hope he continues to enjoy school, friends & learning. And that I continue to let him be himself!