Don't Let Him Fool You

Jacob started kindergarten this year and it's been a bit of a challenge. If you've been here a while you remember that I had to pull him from the preschool he was in because it became more of a daycare than a place where they were learning and being prepped for kindergarten. He and I worked on his letters and things throughout the summer before he was going to start school but I knew he was going to be a little further behind some of the other kids in his class. When I took him out of the preschool he didn't even know how to write his name-it took us a couple of hard weeks to get that mastered. All in all I think pulling him was the right decision.

When he started school this year they assessed all of the kids and pulled 5 out of the regular instruction for 30 mins a day for one on one time with the teacher's aide that stays in their classroom. I knew as soon as they said they would be doing that Jacob would be included in that group. He just wasn't retaining the letters like he should be at that point. He went in the group and while I was nervous it proved to be unfounded. The teacher's aide was the best thing to ever happen to us. She is single handedly responsible for putting Jacob where he is today and I am so thankful for her! She did what I couldn't in getting him to understand and retain things that he would need next year and in years to come in school. We have been incredibly lucky with getting two wonderful kindergarten teachers this year and it has been such a breath of fresh air.

Just about 3 weeks ago we received a letter saying that Jacob had been reassessed and no longer needed to be in the group. While I was incredibly proud of the progress he has made I was a little sad too. I worried about him not having the one on one time with someone there to reinforce and teach him things. He's done well since being back in the group all day though so once again concerns unfounded.

Everyday they come home with homework and a book to read. Recently we've added what they call popcorn words to the mix. Those are a group of words that they should know before they move on to 1st grade. I had not worried about them so much during the first part of school because my main concern was making sure he was remembering the letters more than anything. Now that he had those down I knew we had to tackle the words and with how easily frustrated he got when he didn't know something I knew it was going to be difficult. He complains every single day when he comes home about having to do flashcards. He has done very well and now knows all of them until we add new ones to the mix and he doesn't know those yet. He ALWAYS complains about them. Just the other day we finished them and he was telling me how much he hated doing flashcards-until I walked in the room about 10 minutes later and he was standing in the corner playing with them. BUSTED!!!!! Of course he also just came up to me while I was typing this and asked if he could practice them for a while too :) I think there may be hope for him after all!!!