It is that time of year when all the little boys and girls that will begin Kindergarten have to take a test to assess where they fall in school. I guess this is to see how much work the teachers are going to have ahead of them in the fall. Thomas went for his test earlier this week and did great for a five year old. He had to spell his name and of course he did throw a capital A in there. I thought it was great he spelled his name correctly. "Thomas" is not an easy name to spell for a 5 yr. old. He did not get any points for spelling his name because of the capital A. Then the teacher asked him to draw a picture of himself. He loves to draw and of course he is at the stage where his head is tiny and everything else is huge. Well, she showed me what he drew and it was only a circle. He told the teacher he did not know how to draw hands and feet. All she was looking for was a face. I think he may have misunderstood. So he did not get any points for that either. He could count though and he could count objects and he knew his ABCs'. Oh, he also knew the name of his Preschool. I think that is wonderful. Not all kids know the name of their preschool or where they go to daycare. They were not giving points on that. I am not bitter that he did not get a good score but it strikes me funny where they placed their emphasis. So far of all the parents I have talked to they all said that their kids also threw in a capital letter in their name too. Jack did the same thing when he was tested. Notice I have picked somewhat simple names for my children. I feel sorry for some of these kids that have these insane names that they have to learn to spell. We did put some thought in to that when we named the kids. Of course Mark wanted something that sounded good over the PA system. He has great aspirations for our children's sports careers. HA HA!!
The other way we picked our names was to go outside and scream it off the deck. I know that sounds a little strange but if you really think about it, you spend a lot of time yelling that name and it should sound good. Back to our subject. They had the kids cut a rectangle out of a piece of paper. Thomas is left handed in most things although he can color and write with both hands. The teacher said he had trouble holding the scissors. I didn't tell her this but I don't let him use scissors. He does use them in preschool though. She showed me the rectangle and he did really good down the side and when he started going across the top he got a little jagged. Then he gave it to the teacher and said here you finish it. So there is another area he did not get points. Oh well, I guess they will have plenty to teach him in Kindergarten. For everyone getting ready to take their Kindergarten assessment, don't sweat it. If they knew everything before they started there would be no reason for Kindergarten.
"Life is an adventure, especially with young children. Enjoy it all because in a flash their grown and gone."
