Ian is registered for kindergarten!

Can you believe it? Our little man will start kindergarten in September. He was so excited to go to the big school today. He did great at the evaluation and answered the questions that were asked of him. I wasn't in the room with him, but he spent about an hour with the school psychologist and her team. They evaluated his fine motor, coordination and language, and he is right on track for his age or better for most things. Being a December baby, there are some parents who have asked whether I'll hold him back a year. The social worker mentioned it and said that she wasn't in favor of holding back. My only concern is that he can be shy and withdrawn in big groups and strange situations. However, when we left today, he asked if he would be going to this school tomorrow, so I think he's ready!

4-22-09: Thought I'd provide a few more details about the experience. We had to wait in the hallway for our turn. The administrator, Jackie, and the nurse had offices on one side of the hall, and the social worker was across from them. We got there a little before 9:00, which was the first appointment slot. I think they grouped us because we rotated around to each office. Anyway, we were waiting to meet with Jackie and the social worker came out and sat down with us and started talking to us. When Ian wouldn't say hello, she said, "Well, he's right, he shouldn't talk to strangers, so let me introduce myself." Ah, yes. I now have to teach Ian about "stranger danger".

So the conversation went something like this:
SW: "My name is Ms. Shulman. What is your name?"
Ian (squirming in his chair and smiling at her): "Ian."
SW: "How old are you?"
Ian: "Three."
SW: "You're three?"
Ian: "No, I'm FOUR!" (laughs hysterically at himself)
SW: "I didn't think you were three -- you're a big boy!"
[Somehow the discussion got around to siblings.]
SW: "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
Ian: "Yah, LIA!"
[SW and I start talking and Ian interrupts.]
Ian: "I have THREE babies! Max, Dylan and Lia."
[SW looks at me in surprise.]
Me: "No, they're not all mine. He has two little baby cousins."
SW (looking relieved): "Oh, I was wondering how you made it in here!"

I wound up chatting with Ms. Shulman for more than just our official session because she would come out of her office in between parent meetings and chat while she waited. She was very cool. We talked about how Ian is a December baby (as is she) because our school district cut off is December 31 and there has been a trend for parents to hold their kids back, either because they don't think they are ready or to give them an advantage. She wanted to let me know that there would be children quite a bit bigger or more advanced than Ian as a result, but at the same time, she doesn't believe in holding them back if you don't have to. I have to admit, I was a bit worried about Ian, but he was so excited to be at the big school and to see all the children, I'm not worried anymore. I told him when we went that there would be lots of kids, but because school starts at 8:30, all the kids were already in class by the time we arrived. Ian turned and said, "Mommy, I don't see any kids."

My last meeting was with the psychologist after Ian spent an hour with her team. On the coordination tests, apparently Ian cannot skip. Come to think of it, I don't think we've ever asked him to do it. I guess we'll be working on that. On the language test, he knew all of his body parts except for "wrist" and "heel". I guess we don't talk about those a lot. Well, he knows where they are now. They didn't ask him what sounds letters make because he's only 4. Had they asked him, he would have known. They gave him words and asked what letter they started with, though. He knew the words that started with a single consonant sound like "s" or "b", but couldn't identify consonant blends like "sh" or "ch". But he was right on track for his age. I find these tests interesting because he may not know where his wrist is, but he can tell you how many claws a T-rex has!

When we were leaving the school, he saw the playground and said, "Mommy, the school has a park!" And when we got to his pre-school, one of the teachers asked him if he met a lot of other children at his new school and Ian said enthusiastically, "Yeah, I saw a lot of friends!" I think he's going to do very well! And as Jeff pointed out, we haven't even mentioned to him the part about getting to ride on a school bus!