Home of the Four Trans

Nathan is only 4.5 years old, but in 6 months he’ll be an official Kindergartner! I still vividly remember the day when Loi and I spoke of how old we’d feel when we’d have a child in Kindergarten–and that was when Nathan was only a mere month old! The day will soon come, but the process begins now (only to better remind me of the little time I have left with my preschooler! **crying inside**).

We just attended a School Readiness info session about the kindergarten programs in our school district. The curriculum has definitely become more academically rigorous where children are expected to reach a certain level of literacy and math level by the end of the school year; 2/3 of the day’s program is focused on reading and writing; they do a lot of journal writing, how cool is that?!?! I appreciate how the class is broken down into smaller groups by skill level so that the children are working with the support of peers and teachers best matched for them. They also have physical/life/earth/health science, social sciences, art, and music integrated into the curriculum. I found the program to be well rounded.

By March, I need to have together his paper work, medical records, screenings, and etc. to enroll him in school. We’ll then attend the school’s orientation and open house. By September, he should be a full fledged public school going boy! Then, the fun begins: back to school shopping for supplies, parent volunteering, PTA meetings. With the school allowing many opportunities for parent involvement, I’ll be able to continue my active role in Nathan’s academic life, which I find crucial at any age but especially important during these formative years.

He’s grown a lot in this last year not only on an academic level, but also on a social level; he’s able to regulate his feelings better and is more outgoing in new environments. Based on what I see in my son, I do feel that he’s ready for Kindergarten. I’ve also enrolled him in our local School Readiness Program to introduce him to the type of environment he’ll be in when the school year begins to hopefully ensure a smooth transition.

My boy is growing up!

Two days a week, Nathan also attends a preschool program at Justin’s school where he acts as a model typical child for other children to learn from. Today, one of his teachers came up to me during Justin’s snack time to tell me how “precious” and “kind” Nathan is. At first, I thought, “My Nathan? The one who fights with his brother and sometimes has a hard time sharing?” The teacher went on to explain how he enjoys helping her help the other children. He also shares well with the other children and even shared a part of his snack with her. She said the way he talks is just too precious (I absolutely know what she means by this–he’s quite the articulate talker). She also reported that Nathan talked about his baby brother. That, I already knew. Nathan is very proud and protective of his baby brother and always makes sure that those around him know this. This moment with his teacher made my day that much sweeter knowing that my son is not only brilliant, but so kind and sweet.

Watch out, world. Nathan is coming.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 11th, 2010 at 12:27 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.