I am calling it our old fashioned summer.
The younger kids have almost nothing scheduled - no camps, no swimming lessons, no t-ball. Nothing. I know, it is nearly un-American!
Instead of rushing them from place to place, we are hanging out together.
We are walking the dog, planting flowers, chatting with neighbors, cutting grass, reading books, rollerblading, and riding bike! We are talking a lot and laughing a lot and relaxing even more!
Joshua's BIG accomplishment this summer is that he learned to ride a two-wheel bike! One morning I went to work and he could not do it. I arrived home late - at 7 pm - and spied my littlest two peddling around the neighborhood loop. I was more than ready to stretch my lags after a long day behind my desk, so I took off after them. As I got closer I noticed that Joshua NO LONGER had his training wheels!
When I caught up to my kids, I gave JG a huge high-five! I told him I was shocked that he did not need his training wheels anymore.
He shrugged and said, "Brenna taught me! I am faster now!" Then he took off, faster than I had ever seen him go, easily keeping up with his sister and his best buddy.
The really cool thing about Joshua learning to ride a bike is that he did it right on time! Five is the average age to learn to ride a 2-wheel bike. Average is something Joshua has not been when it comes to motor skill milestones. Three summers ago, he was WAY behind. At 2.5 he could not run or jump. Slowly, with much work on his part and a fair amount of sneaky strategy on my part, he has caught up. However, THIS is the first motor milestone he has hit right on the nose!
In fact, the only area in which he may be just the littlest bit "behind" remains in school skills. He does not enjoy writing, drawing, coloring, painting, etc. . . At. All. Thus, he colors and writes more like a 3.5 or 4 year old than a 5 year old. He can write his name. He can also identify letters and numbers, but he hates to! He wants to climb and imagine and play, play, play.
So - he will spend another year at Montessori. Because he is SO ready for Kindergarten in so many ways - socially, attention span, intelligence, motor skills - it has been a hard call for me. He has made it even harder! He repeatedly says, "Mom! I want to go to real Kindergarten!"
Finally one day, I explained why I thought he should wait another year. I explained that in Kindergarten he would be expected to learn to read. He would be expected to spend much of the day at a desk/table. He would need to write words and sentences.
He has not suggested "real Kindergarten" again!
Once in a while I still doubt my decision. If I throw him into school there is a good chance he will swim rather than sink. He is a competitive little guy. Sinking is not something he accepts easily, so chances are he will figure out how to swim!?! However, it is not worth the risk. Not. At. All.
As one wise friend told me, "I don't think you can go wrong by waiting."
And really, shouldn't we all take more time to play?
I know I am working on it!
