Gabe Graduates Kindergarten!

On May 4, 2015 Gabe participated in a graduation ceremony for kindergarten. He was very proud to graduate and as I reflect on all he has accomplished this year in school, I'm very proud too!

His biggest gains have been made in handwriting and reading. He has really struggled with penmanship and has come a long way from day one of kindergarten. When he entered kindergarten he already knew several sight words, by first semester he had the whole kindergarten sight word list mastered. Then he mastered the 1st grade 1st quarter list and we stopped doing sight words because, well, HE WAS READING! The first time I saw him read a book not from memory with some sight words and some words that had to be sounded out I was ecstatic. It is an incredible feeling watching your child make those connections in reading. I would consider him an early reader, he's always been interested in letters, letter sounds, and words. Now we're moving into blended sounds and more complicated letter/sound rules for reading. He likes to read from his first child's Bible in the morning while I read from mine. It is just awesome to have the time and the ability to be at home with him in the mornings to witness this.

These last couple months of school there has been concentration on telling time, and simple addition and subtraction. Gabe can do the math without much effort, but he will tell anyone who will listen that math is his least favorite thing about school. His favorite part of school is of course recess, followed closely by lunch.

He's made many new friends and tells me at recess he and some of the boys play "chase" with the girls. He promises it's just a game and the girls want to be chased and it's kind of like playing tag. I'm glad to see his social skills blooming too.

At his last parent teacher conference his teacher, Mrs. Lang, said he's just a wonderful kid and she believes he's fully ready to enter first grade in the Fall. We asked if there were any behavioral issues that needed to be addressed at home and she said, "Well, he likes to talk a little, well a lot, but the important thing is he will stop when asked." What a relief, as a parent, to hear. Obedience in school has been a primary goal for our children so we're glad to see Gabe doing what he's supposed to!

At the ceremony there were somewhere near 500 people there to witness the receiving of certificates. When the paraded the kids in I could tell right away Gabe was freaking out. When he gets nervous he gets extra goofy. He's not a duck on the water...it's more like an alligator thrashing a boa constrictor. His face was beet red and it took him a bit to calm down. So, that's why all the goofy faces from the photos.

Brad Shaffer, a local photographer (I used to babysit his kids...who are now high school graduates!), took the kids' photos before the ceremony. I thought Gabe's was a perfect shot of who he is. Happy and care free. I ordered a package, but if you're reading this and interested in ordering your own...here's the link to do that.