For Trevor, Kindergarten was a HUGE change. He has a lot of confidence, so he sometimes thinks he can do it all without ever really knowing what is going on. Going to a new school, being the youngest at the school (relatively speaking), with a new-er teacher, so she was getting her footing as well, Monday through Friday, it was a huge change.
Wednesday was their ceremonial graduation, and besides a few songs, his teacher also made a dvd of all of the class pictures she took throughout the year. She had taken a picture of each of the kids on their first day of school and then closed it out with a picture of each of the kids in a cap and gown. The same cap and gown picture was our brochure picture with the note "Class of 2022."
It is kind of interesting that he happened to be wearing the exact same t-shirt the day of this picture, so it doesn't even look all that big on him. I'm not sure if these are the 5th grader's cap and gowns or not, but I really can see him 12 years from now at his High School Graduation.
Going through this year, it is amazing to me how much Kindergarten has become such an academic year for the kids. He did know how to read at the start of school, but now he is reading at a 3rd grade level. His math skills have also improved, but we have been studying more on reading. From about November of school on, he brought home a "book in a bag" every night. I required him to read it at least 3 times, unless the book was over 30 pages long. After the first time, he had to tell me what the book was about (developing reading comprehension). His learning goals were done after the first 2-3 for Kindergarten standards. By the end of the year, we were doing spelling tests. I still read to him as a nightly ritual, but now we have started to read chapter books. It was a little bit of a struggle to get him to agree to it, but I got him James and the Giant Peach, and after we were done, he said he really liked it. I took him to the library and he picked out a funny little comic-type book called The Boy Who Burped Too Much. It was too easy for him, but he read it on the way back from the library. He really likes to do reading activities. He loves science books as well. He likes to read about sharks, volcanoes, oceans, and whatever other books we can get.
He developed a few new friendships over the course of the year. It will be interesting to see what happens next year. There is a possibility (we will know for sure next Friday) that he will be in a multi-age class next year. Half first graders, half second graders. He learned all about the goings on of his school. They have news crews that broadcast every morning. They have crossing guards to help kids walking to and from school. He hasn't been able to learn about music or phy-ed classes, that will be next year. He loved his library day. He can't wait for lunch and recess time next year. They got to practice lunch last week. Through all his experiences, I think he might have his eye on the news crew. We'll have to see how it goes.
He still has his tough days, but I'm hoping that he is growing out of the tough behavior. The good thing about it is that his teacher can pass along things that worked well in helping him not get so frustrated so quickly. We asked him again if he is excited, happy, or sad about being done with school tomorrow. He said he was a little sad that he wouldn't get to see his friends anymore. I wonder if he is confusing preschool with Kindergarten. It is a new experience to be in a new class, yet have your old classmates in another class, so you would still get to see them. I'm interested to see what happens with this summer. It will be another adventure, I'm sure.
Way to go Trevor!
No comments:
Post a Comment