Being a parent is one of the most rewarding positions I have ever filled. I get "paid" with hugs, kisses, and lots of love and smiles. As a mom of three, I am constantly on the go. My children are 8, 5, and 2. As the school year winds down, my husband and I were faced with one of the most difficult decisions we've had as a parent thus far.
Let me back up a bit and tell you that Tyler started Kindergarten only 9 days after his 5th birthday. He cried the first three weeks of school EVERY day. The first day of school he cried over an hour in class. It was a difficult transition for him even though he had gone to daycare/preschool most of his life!! At the beginning of the year he began to have troubles in class. He has a hard time focusing. Instead of doing his work, he's daydreaming about recess and P.E. Halfway through the school year, his teacher told me that she could tell he was working hard and we were studying hard at home. She said that unless something drastic happened between Christmas break and the end of the year, she thought he would be okay to move on to 1st grade, although Summer school was a good idea to keep him on track. I was elated to know that he was doing so well because to be quite honest, I had gone into the year with the realization that more than likely he would be repeating Kindergarten.
Now, we're back to present day. Last week, on my Tuesday volunteer day the teacher asked me to go over sight words with the kids each individually. I was happy to do so. When it came to my son, unfortunately he was below basic on his recognition of the sight words that we'd worked so hard on earlier in the year. I was immediately concerned. By the end of the day his teacher had contacted me not only about the sight words, but about his reading scores for the end of the year as well. He had only moved up one reading level (which is where he should have been around Christmas break). We immediately scheduled a conference with her.
Brien and I met with the teacher the very next day during the children's activity period. I tried to hold it in, but I could do nothing but cry as we tried to decide his fate. I could only think of all of his friends moving on to 1st grade and him having to start all over again next year if we hold him back. I left the school, got in my car and cried...I cried to myself and I cried out to God to give us the answers we need on whether or not we should hold him back. The teacher left the decision up to us, saying her gut told her to hold him back because of his age.
Over the next few days, Brien and I talked to each other, we talked to Tyler and we sought the advice of friends and family who know Tyler well. I am so thankful for my preacher's wife who is also an educator. I took her Tyler's writing samples, sight word recognition, and reading scores. She shed a lot of light on things for both my husband and myself. She said that if it were her son she would definitely retain him this year. She made very valid points about his age and maturity level. If we were to send him on to 1st grade, he would be starting out behind! We already struggle with trying to study and keep up. 1st grade is more work, harder work, and more responsibility so we're basically starting out behind the 8 ball so to speak.
After talking with her, Brien and I came home and talked to Tyler and he seemed to be excited about NOT going to summer school and repeating Kindergarten. We did explain to him that his friends would move on to 1st grade but that he would be able to make new friends...and that the friends that he plays baseball with would probably be starting Kindergarten next year and that he might have some of those friends in his class! He was very excited about that fact.
It was a hard decision...probably one of the most difficult ones I've had to make concerning my little Tyler thus far. I know they will only get more difficult! But, the reason I post it here is just in case someone else might be going through the same thing. Just know that you are not alone. I know it is tough to know that this one decision you make will have a direct effect on his entire academic life! We were in constant prayer and sought lots of advice from friends and families. It was not a decision that we entered into lightly. We are happy with our decision and feel like it will be the best decision for him. Only time will tell.
Being a Parent is NOT for the Weak!
http://www.crazyworkingmom.com/2011/05/being-parent-is-not-for-weak.html
Today is the first official day that I am working from home with all three kids. So far it's great...they are still sleeping! I am going to try getting up with the boss (hubby) leaves to go to work. This should give me a few hours to get office work completed while they are asleep. Of course there will be times when I have to do office work after that time frame, but the majority of the necessary work can be completed during their sleep time. (fingers crossed)
Tyler ended the year with water day, and oh what fun he had! They rotated to 5 different stations and got to do all sorts of activities involving water. Thankfully the weather held out and it didn't rain on them. It also wasn't miserably hot like I remembered it being during Shelby's Kindergarten water day. Tyler's class began with a relay. It was boys versus girls as they put on rubber duckie floaties and ran around a cone and back. The boys dominated in this challenge. Next up was the bubble station. The boys tended to migrate to chasing the bubbles that the girls were making. The third station was popcicles and sidewalk chalk. This was our halfway point, so popcicles were very welcomed! The fourth station was sponge relay. The kiddos were to take a sponge full of water to a bucket, but they had to hold the sponge of water over their heads and squeeze it in the bucket. The team with the most water in their bucket at the end was the winner. This was Tyler's favorite and where I got some great shots of him running, like the "hulk face" shot you see below. The final station was a wading pool filled with water. The kids were to step in and grab out various sea life sponges with their toes. Unfortunately by the time we got to this station many other dirty toes had been in it so the water was gross and there wasn't much water left. This didn't seem to bother the kids in the least, however! They still enjoyed and had a wonderful day over all. Here are a couple of photos from Kindergarten water day:
