P-man Started Kindergarten Today!

Please forgive my late-summer hiatus. August is usually a crazy month for us, and this year was no different. We had fun spending time with family, going up north to the lake, and playing in the water. Today is, in my mind, the end of summer because P-MAN STARTED SCHOOL TODAY!

P-Man on his first day of Kindergarten

I didn't weep. I did get a little misty-eyed though. I am so proud and excited for my big boy and can't wait to begrudgingly pull information about his day out of him when he gets home. We went in for a brief Kindergarten assessment on Tuesday and I am happy to report that P-Man's reading was off their charts. He is going to meet with the school's gifted & talented specialist for another assessment and then get put in a pull-out reading group. I can't wait to see the results of the specialist's assessment. Every inch of me, especially the inch that went to school for elementary education, knows I shouldn't care so much about his reading score. I really, really want to know where he is at though. I don't even know what unit of measurement or test type the district uses yet. Are they a Lexile district? Do they use the grade levels as benchmarks? It will be interesting to find out. It will also assist me in choosing books for him.

Right now P-Man is reading beginner chapter books that have just as many illustrations as standard picture books. We cleared the library of the ones that match his current toy interests, for example Lego Ninjago books. In preparation for Kindergarten, I tried reading some of the 'Junie B. Jones' series to P-Man, but he didn't have any interest in those. It has been very interesting to see what he gravitates towards at the library.

I am just beginning to read the book Raising Boy Readers by Michael Sullivan (http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Boy-Readers-Michael-Sullivan/dp/1937589439). My dad got his hands on an advance proof copy and passed it along to me. I have read Mr. Sullivan's research on the topic before and he was definitely an inspiration for this mommy blog. This new book, out in January 2014, is written for parents and lists over 300 books labeled "boy-friendly". I can't wait to try some of his suggestions with P-Man.

As this school year progresses, it will be interesting to see what P-Man's school does to keep him interested. For now I will anxiously await news from the specialist and look to Michael Sullivan for suggestions to read at home.