Theo is officially 5 1/2, and he has accomplished 100 days of Kindergarten! We could not be more proud of him. Having a kid in school everyday is hard work. Theo has grown a lot this school year and he (we) love his teacher and his school very much.
Theo is reading at an early reader level and improving everyday. He can read some Dr. Seuss books, which is really fun. He is writing sentences on his own (sounding it out) and brings home adorable little letters to us after each of his writing workshops every week. At home, we do all sorts of math problems that he is getting really good at! We have a dry erase board and put new problems on it everyday. He can even add double digit numbers!
Theo just began piano lessons and we are going to give it a whirl for a little while and see if it sticks for him. He loves music and excels in this area at school. Theo also recently transitioned from ice skating lessons to a hockey clinic that takes place every Saturday for one month. We are trying it out and seeing how he responds to it. We shall see if he wants to move forward with more formal lessons. We will probably start soccer again in the spring/summer. The kid needs to be busy and does best when he is provided a lot of structure. We have our challenges for sure, and Theo is an incredibly curious and physical kid, but overall he has made some great developments this year and has strengthened his ability to deal with frustration and disappointment. He is very loving and sensitive and is getting better and better with teaching, sharing with and loving Ruby.
Here is his progress report from Ms. Laura:
“Theo continues to make a positive and successful adjustment to Kindergarten. His natural curiosity, creativity and excitement for learning and sharing have grown and certainly motivates those around him. During shared readings, Theo actively participates by making and sharing predictions and using strategies for tackling unknown words. Theo is extremely excited about reading independently and is constantly finding words within words, pointing out sight words and noticing rhyming words. Theo’s sight word knowledge have greatly improved. A next step in his reading development will be to read for meaning and reread when something does not make sense. Theo continues to demonstrate a strong creativity, which he shows through his drawings, writing, stories and dramatic play. In writing, Theo has made great progress at adding labels to his stories. A next step in writing will be to expand on his ideas and add pages to his stories. In math, Theo can successfully count objects well beyond twenty. He immersed himself in our measuring and comparing unit in which students measured and compared the lengths of many objects around the classroom. Theo was successfully able to use descriptive vocabulary such as shorter than and longer than when describing the attributes of objects. Theo also expressed a lot of excitement and curiosity during our shapes unit. He always enjoyed playing a game called “Guess My Rule” in which students have to guess a common attribute among several shapes. I have so enjoyed watching Theo develop his confidence, perseverance, self-motivation and problem-solving skills. Theo is an outspoken, energetic and animated student and continues to work on keeping his hands and feet to himself, especially when frustrated. He has made great efforts to use more expressive language to work through a problem with a peer and continues to work on using the most appropriate language during conflicts. Theo can continue to work on following the directions and rules of the classroom. Theo has also made great progress at implementing his daily routines independently. He has shown that he has great leadership skills and can use that confidence to make safe and successful choices. To support Theo at home, you can continue to reinforce letter sounds and sight word recognition. Encourage him to read his “just right” books to you. With these books he will continue to work on sight word recognition as well as utilizing strategies for tackling unknown words. Theo can practice writing by labeling objects around the house, making grocery lists, writing recipes and continue writing stories. He can practice his math skills by counting around the house, grouping objects into categories, measuring and comparing objects, or describing shapes around the house. I have so enjoyed watching Theo mature and develop into the student that he has become and look forward to his continued growth in Kindergarten!”