Number SIX! You have been counting down this birthday for months because so many of your friends have already turned six and now it's your turn! And just like every birthday before this one, I'm sitting here wondering where this past year went?!
Our schedule has been very busy since you started kindergarten and I have such mixed feelings about your first year of school. You are lucky and go to a fantastic school and you have the best teacher, but I don't think we prepared ourselves for the high standards that this school strives for and because of that, you have struggled a little bit. You know all of the information that has been taught, but taking timed tests has not proven to be effective at showing how much you have learned. Let me just say that I am not a fan of these silly tests! The one thing you truly did struggle a little with was phonics/reading and you have been pulled out of the classroom daily for about 30 minutes in a small group since January for some one-on-one attention, which you absolutely love and what a difference that has made! You have shown a huge improvement in reading and aced the test! It's so fun to watch you read pages from a book and learn to write sentences. You are reading on a level 4 now, which is right where you're supposed to be! I am so proud of the hard work and progress you have shown in school!
You have made some great new friends at school this year. Everyone loves you and enjoys your company. The kids that you seem to be the closest with in your class are Lucien, William, Caleb, Sydney, Ava and Kyriana, however, your entire class is pretty close. You are getting sad about leaving kindergarten behind and going to 1st grade because you won't be with your entire class, but you are lucky because you know so many other kids from the other classes. Like I said, everyone loves you and it makes me happy to know that you are such a good friend!
A big change that I have started to notice is that your confidence level has seemed to drop. You seem unsure of yourself and your ability to do things sometimes. You recently told me that you would be last doing hurdles at school because everyone is faster than you, but that actually wasn't true! You did great and I was so proud! I have seen you hide a little behind your teacher when standing in front of your class to tell a story. You get frustrated and want to give up when something is difficult, whether it seems small like drawing a picture or big like riding your bike without training wheels. Sometimes you gravitate towards the back of the line or crowd. Little things like that. I want you to be more confident! I want you to know that we don't expect you to be the best, we just want you to do YOUR best and be happy about that. We are so proud of everything that you do!
You took tumbling classes with some friends for a few months and did t-ball this past year. You didn't love tumbling and t-ball was a so-so experience. We want to keep trying activities until you find something that you do love and something that makes you feel confident and proud. You recently told me that you wanted to give basketball a try, so we'll be looking into some summer options. In addition to that, you're ready to give swim lessons a try and plan on taking a few art classes this summer.
It's going to be a busy summer with new baby sister in the mix! You are getting very excited about her arrival and have definitely warmed up to the idea of having a sister instead of a brother. You are happy now that you don't have to share anything with a boy! :-) You are always giving my belly a hug and talking to her. She doesn't have a name yet, but you have suggested Trixie Morales Barrett as your pick! I think that I'm going to let you hang on to that special name for your little girl one day. ;-) You are already such a great big brother, but I'm really looking forward to seeing you take on this role again now that you are a little older.
You have really gotten into Legos this year, especially Star Wars Legos. You love Star Wars anything! You tell me about playing "Droid Express" with your friends during recess and your friend, Sydney, has even worn her hair like Princess Leia to school so she could play Star Wars with you! You love playing Lego Batman and Lego Star Wars on the Wii and you and Daddy just recently went to the movies to see The Lego Movie. Your favorite shows are Paw Patrol, Sponge Bob and Avengers. You are getting so creative and so good at drawing pictures. Your teacher has made several comments to me about how animated you are in your artwork at school. You are still sleeping on a small bed in my room, but we have talked about getting you a bunk bed set for your room and you are actually excited about that. You just lost your first tooth and I adore your new toothless grin. It definitely makes you look like a big kid!
A lot has happened this past year and we have a busy year ahead of us! I'm looking forward to all of our new adventures! Happy Birthday, Baby! I love you tons!!
Love,
Mommy
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