Kindergarten Superstar

Two months of kindergarten have flown by... and what a different boy we have! Alex is thriving in this new world... he is actually interested in writing and coloring! He sounds out words to figure out how to spell them!! While he's always been a bright, inquisitive kid, it is phenomenal to see his energy pushed towards reading and writing.



This weekend Alex was the proud care-taker of "Happy the Bear". Happy resides in the classroom and one student takes him (her??) home over the weekend and then, with the help of their parents, writes about all of Happy's adventures.



Alex took the responsibility seriously and took Happy with him where ever he went. He also arranged Happy's dinner plate with food from Jameson's kitchen set. He spent a good part of the weekend talking with Happy, holding Happy, and pretending with Happy. It was great to see this caregiver side of him--stuffed animals (besides his much-loved Pirmy) don't usually fall on his radar.

Apparently, Kindergarten has not only been great for Alex---but Alex has been great for his Kindergarten class! Because Alex is one of the older (and, by nature, more well-behaved kids) he has helped a few kids learn the ropes--whether it be how to buy milk during lunch, how to sit still during circle time, or how to stay in a line in the hallway. In addition, one mother of one of the girls went as far as to call him "the Heart Throb of the class." My Alex??!! Yes, many of the girls have crushes on him, or have declared to their mothers that they are "in love" with him. I don't think Alex really notices; he's too busy playing the marble game inside, or running around playing Star Wars or Storm Chasers outside to pay much attention to the flock of girls!

The only downside to this great leap in intellectual development is weekends... Alex's normal day is so full of activity and learning that he gets so easily bored on the weekends. More than once this past weekend, as I balanced the fussy tyrannical teething toddler on my hip and was cleaning the kitchen or preparing food, Alex said, "Mama, what can I do?" or "Mama, what can just you and I do together right now??" It took all of my maternal instinct to reign in the voice in the back of my head that screamed "I don't care!! Can't you see I am busy?? I just want to be by myself running or sitting in a serene coffee shop drinking coffee and reading a good book!" (just to keep the parenting police at bay, I did my best to redirect him to a constructive activity---and redirect my thoughts to something more healthy!)

Ah... but such is life with young children... in the same breath you can be enormously proud and in love and yet going out of your mind!

Brotherly love... pretend punches (or so I hope!):