It's been a busy May and it's not even quite over yet. Probably the biggest excitement was that Blake "graduated" from Peace Lutheran Pre-School. His end of the year program was on May 23rd and his last day of school was actually on May 25th. We were given a little booklet of his work from throughout the year, complete with his year end assessment. Boy, did my heart swell with pride when I saw that! There was a checklist of milestones that most kids know by now and he knew all of them. They included:
1. Colors
2. Days of the week
3. Numbers 1-10
4. How high can you count with no help? 100
5. Shapes - circle, rectangle, square, triangle, oval and diamond
6. Capital letters
7. Lower case letters
8. Coins - penny, nickel, dime and quarter (he was one of only a few children who knew them)
9. His address
10. His phone number (he was the only kid in his class who knew it.)
His teacher's comments were:
"What a smart young man you have in Blake. He always surprises me by what he knows and doesn't forget it. He would ask intelligent questions about things he wasn't sure of. He is doing much better about his talking too. (Side note --- He LOVES to talk). We have really enjoyed having him in class. I'm sure he will do well in all things."
So..it might not sound like a big deal to everyone else. However, his teacher gives very little feedback throughout the year unless you constantly ask, so you never really know how he's doing or if he's where he should be. The main reason that I was concerned about his development is because I was a little on the fence if he should start kindergarten next year because of his late birthday (July 30th). So, he will be young for his class and a lot of people have strong opinions both ways about sending him or not sending him. His teachers have reassured me on several occasions that they feel that he's definitely ready for kindergarten. I guess I will know for sure this week. On Wednesday he has to go to Maple Valley for "observation" as they call it. They will see if he is ready but don't call it a test. As far as I know, they read him a story to see if he can sit still through it and then maybe ask him a few questions. I know he will have no problem with that because we read every night and he LOVES it. :-) It really is hard to believe he is getting this big. But I could not be a prouder momma!!
The funny thing is, that many of those items 1-10, I taught to Blake in the car. We spend close to 40 minutes a day in the car going back and forth to Sandusky. Rather than turning on the DVD players (which is always tempting), we spend the time constructively by playing games like I Spy, counting, (if he wants to play a game on my phone he has to count to 100 first!), we think of things that start with a designated letter, we work on our phone number (he also knows my cell phone number) and our address. It amazes me what sponges these kids are and how quick they pick up on things. The great thing is, is that now Cora knows so much of this stuff just from listening to Blake and I. I asked Blake one day what my cell phone number was and Little Miss Cora belts out our home phone number! She's 2!! :-) It's a good reminder to me that they are always listening, are eager to learn and can retain so much at this age.
Mrs. Rachow giving Blake his diploma.
Our graduate!
Giving his sister a quick squeeze!
Me & My Boy
Blake & his daddy
My little man!
I think is favorite part is getting dirty!!
