Model of unconventional learning

Reid(5, turning 6 next week…crap!   I need to be planning a party) has always been Nirvana’s island of quiet in the middle of chaos.   He has a quiet, laid back spirit.   He is always thinking, creating and then thinking some more.

My little surfer dude. He is the one happily living in a surf shack between his skyscraper brothers. He has a June birthday so last year we made the decision to wait on Kindergarten until he was 6.   I really felt like he wasn’t mature enough and was concerned about his ability to hold his own. So this year we played. A few months ago he had the obligatory Kindergarten entrance testing.   When the School Director went over the results with me I was a bit shocked.   Reid doesn’t talk much so I had no idea that he had grasped so much information.   She strongly encouraged placing him in first grade next year and after discussions at home, we agreed. One problem…the Kindergarten that he missed last year covers the first year of math and phonics.   I got online and ordered the curriculum and we have been working on it since that time.   The last thing I want to do is feel like I am pushing him into 1st grade unprepared. While working with him on math and phonics it became apparent that his handwriting was atrocious.   Hours of coloring, painting and Lego building haven’t helped his penmanship. I got back online and purchased a handwriting curriculum. Each morning he does a page in each subject.   It doesn’t take him very long.   He usually finishes it before I can get the kitchen breakfast mess cleaned completely with a few prompts from me. He is a daydreamer. He never interprets the instructions quite like others do. The papers are really messy and usually have extra doodles in the margins – it is all part of his charm. Yesterday, he called me over to see what he had accomplished. He was beaming. Look mom!   I did this whole page with my eyes closed.

May God bless his first grade teacher.