Delaying Kindergarten

As parents, Paul and I are always second, triple, well infinity checking/thinking about/reconsidering choices that we make and will ever have to make for our children.  Most recently - the decision to send Kip to school this year, or keep him home.

He technically could have started kindergarten this school year, since his birthday was 10 days before the cut off age to start.  Several weeks were spent really thinking about this choice.  I called the school counselor of the elementary school he would attend (the one Ryker currently attends) and she told me, "well you can't caudal him forever..."I knew my mind was made up.

I was NOT going to allow a child-less "counselor" of an elementary school, judge me or attempt to give parenting advice.  I know my boy, and I wasn't going to let a randomly assigned, specific date on a calendar, determine the fate of when a child turns school aged. 

My Kip - he is a boy, a rowdy, loud, wild...BOY.  Additionally, he is a child of Paul and mine, so height is not in his cards.  We uprooted his sense of security and changed everything on him in the course of just 2 months time.  We had JUST relocated to a new state.  Gave him a brand new home for him to adjust to.  Two months prior he just had the addition of a new sibling added into the family.  Plus the fact that the school year started a month before we even moved into our new house, which would mean he'd not only be brand new to this school lifestyle, but he'd be the brand new kid who was trying to adjust in a classroom of kids who had already had time to adjust to the back to school groove for a month.  Given all this, seeing the big picture, and wanting nothing but success for the start to his school journey -  we chose to keep him home this year. 

I just pictured my sweet Kip, the new kid, never exposed to any setting other than home, being forced to be at school 8 hours Mon-Fri after all these new changes in his life...and all I could think about was melt-down central.  Crying, tears, tantrums, and bad behavior all because we were just throwing way too many lifestyle changes in such a short span of time at him - new baby, new house, new state, school...

While I'll never know what actually would have played to fruition, I stand firm in knowing that the decision we made for him... Best decision ever.

He has blossomed.  He has more patience, is a better listener, shows interest in doing "school" type activities at home now, can sit still for longer periods of time, shares amazingly well, and is much better about verbalizing his needs/frustrations now.

I have confidence that when he starts school next year - in Kindergarten or first grade (K is not required in MS, so we could just place him in 1st if we choose) he will be much better prepared to succeed.

I adore the best friend relationship that has blossomed between Kip and Jovie this year.  I watch as they interact and play together all day long, and sneak in learning opportunities without them really realizing they are learning - mixing colors with finger paint, writing on dry erase boards, playing tic/tac/toe, board games, baking, singing songs, cutting shapes out of paper, sorting multiple different objects into same object piles... I've been part of his learning.  I can honestly say everything he knows I've played a major part in his learning of these skills, which amazes me.  Really.  He can write his name, will draw an awesome looking ninja turtle, knows his colors, knows most his letters and can write them, sings songs, builds amazing things with Legos, gets his own self dressed/undressed.  I don't feel like our decision to delay school has hindered him in the least.  If anything, it has allowed him the potential to continue to thrive, and be better prepared for when his school journey starts.

I've seen his compassionate heart grow - tearing a dried fruit strip in half because it was the last one, so he could share with Jovie (neither she or I asked him to do this), reaching out his hand to help pull his sister up a steep hill, pushing Jovie on the swing at the park, snuggling Hartley in the mornings, helping me clean up the house when it is too messy for me to handle anymore, pulling out the kitchen chair so Jovie could get up easier, opening doors to help me get inside when my arms are full, giving Ryker his most prized lego mini figure just because Ryker wanted it. 

Don't get me wrong, he is also a typical 5 year old who cries when he can't find a certain toy, and blows a fit about what he does/doesn't want to eat at any given time...but overall, he is a great kid.

So for this year, I'm savoring this great kid, being home for the last year ever.  It goes way, way too quickly.  They are babies, and then you go to sleep and wake up, and all the sudden...he is 5.  I just want these years to slow down for goodness sakes.

Just a few Kip quirks lately - 
This picture - he had been asking for radishes for the longest time.  We've been reading Peter Rabbit stories, and he watches the show, and knows that those rabbits LOVE radishes.  Imagine his disappointment when he said "it is a red ball that tastes like dirt!"

 Nerf guns.  He loves them.  He sneak attacks and shoots people and then laughs uncontrollably.  He loves a good Nerf gun war too.