Taj is a kindergartener! Kindergarten! Ha! It seems silly to say that he started school because he started school when he was 3 years old. Preschool at Hillcrest, UPK at Bemus last year, and this will be his actual second year at big boy public school. He knows the ropes by now, and really enjoys school! I'm so glad both boys started school young, its only an advantage- socially and intellectually. They are both ahead of the game academically and I have never had to worry about social anxiety or separation anxiety. This school year, however, marks the first year that Taj is at school FULL DAY (8:50am-3:17pm), a little over 6 hours, 5 days a week! This has been a bonus. I started observing last year and over the summer how much both boys needed to be stimulated and socialized more than half a day, especially since they are done with naps completely. School provides just that, plus Taj loves having lunch with his friends, and they enjoy alternating art, music, guidance, library, and gym time. Taj's Kinder teacher is Mrs. Kinal, who is very easy going and soft spoken- very calming for the kids and we are grateful Taj has her.
sweet ride to school!
standing in front of his classroom
at his desk
ice cream play date with his buddy Gavin after school,
to celebrate a wonderful school day
His first day of school was a success! It was a long day for him at first but he quickly adjusted. School started Thursday, so Taj attended school the 2 days of that first week and then the following week we were off to Europe for 5 weeks!!! His teacher and principal were very supportive and encouraging about our 5 week travel, they both confirmed what I believe along: the things kids are exposed to while traveling internationally and what they learn first hand (cultures, languages, cuisine, traditions, comparing and contrasting) is something you are not able to acquire from a textbook or by sitting in a classroom. They wanted me to send them photos from each week of our trip, so the teacher could share them with the class. While we were traveling throughout the 3 countries, Taj kept a travel journal where he would draw what he saw and loved, he would practice his writing, document the German and Czech words he was learning, the foods he loved, the cousins he met, and then we had some photos printed and included them on each page! Its a travel journal that will come along with him on future travels…. and he is SO proud of it. I had to make sure we carved out time to do it on our trip, but it was easy during train travel and flights, and down-time at hotels and at Babi & Deda's. Right when he returned to school, he brought his travel journal to class, stood in front of the class, and excitedly flipped through each page describing everything, AND even teaching the class how to count in German and Czech!!!! The teacher was floored, she was so impressed by his enthusiasm, confidence, and how much he enjoyed speaking, sharing, and teaching! I was beyond impressed. My little shy Taji sure was not shy that day. I was SO happy what an impression the trip had on him and how he still to this day loves to talk about it with his friends and adults.
Upon returning from our travels, Taj hopped right back on the school train and did incredibly well academically. His writing is so neat, and he's still perfecting when to use upper and lower case letters. He is writing sentences and trying to spell out words he hears! He began to read, and knows many sight words. He is reading Beginner Reader books, and can practically read the books by himself. The best part is how excited he is about reading!! We practice reading at home a lot and he does have weekly homework worksheets that allow him to practice math and writing at home. His first Parent Teacher conference and report card was a success. Mrs. Kinal believes he is one of her best students, always on "green" (these color behavior cards, and green signifies good behavior), he aims to please, and is very respectful. She mentioned he is a very good story teller, so descriptive when summarizing what he reads, and a strong reader. He loves to challenge himself in his work and pushes himself to try to write and spell out words. He sometimes rushes through his work though, especially when it comes to Math…. it may be that he is a bit lazy but also distracted socially! He has so many friends in his class, and they are all good kids and adore him. Sometimes after school I see them running up to Taji and giving him a hug and he has this little girlfriend that everyday after school walks up to him to say bye and give him a hug. Its so cute. At his conference, his guidance counselor even pulled me aside to show me this picture he colored that impressed her. It was a character "carebear" coloring activity they did in her class and all the kids colored within the lines but leave it to Taji to be the only one that, as she referred to it "thought outside of the box" because after he colored the picture he drew extra things on the white space of the paper, related to the picture, and then described it to her in so much detail. I'm bragging a bit now, but seriously, couldn't be prouder! He may not always be a very good listener or patient kid at home, but he sure is a star student and respectful with everyone else wherever he goes. Isn't that always the case, the mommies get the worst of it :-)
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