Silas' Awards Ceremony
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| the BEST Kinder class EVER. |
I mean, he is just great. For anyone that doesn't know him, if you were to ask me to give a few words to describe him - oh gosh - it'd be a long list. To throw out a few: soft-hearted, loyal, imaginative, witty, loving, genius, zealous for learning {he calls himself a "geek"}, confident, etc.
Confident. Growing up pretty insecure {and still struggling towards that tendency}, this is something I would love. Confidence is an attribute Dusty and I want to instill in our children. Overconfidence - nope. Confidence, yes. Really, I could make my whole post about this and ramble on and on. To try and sum it up quickly, I want my children to grow up believing in their God given abilities and live in that. I don't know anyone that wants to see their child struggle - that's just a given. But I pray that my kids will be able to realize who they are, how God made them and to use those gifts to the best of their abilities -- all the while honoring and serving the One that gave them those gifts in the first place.
I have realized that I have never spoken about mine and Dusty's decision to have Silas do Kindergarten twice. I guess it's not something that necessarily needs to be brought up, but occasionally people that don't know the story or the reasons will be like, "Huh? He's in Kinder.... again?" with that inquisitive look, wondering why, but not wanting to ask. Also, I'm so not a debater and I feel like it's a personal decision we made for Silas and will make for Eli and Jeremiah as well. You may agree, you may disagree - that's that. I guess parts of me didn't want to hear any negative comments. But regardless, it's called Redshirting. Heard of it? It's when you delay your child's {typically boys} entrance into Kinder {or in our case, double up} so they are the oldest in their group. This is a decision that we did not make lightly and thoroughly discussed with Silas before he began Kinder last year.
This has nothing to do with intelligence, but more social and physical maturation. If we could set our boys up to gain confidence and security in themselves by delaying school for one year, why would we not do that? Don't get me wrong, Silas did great in Kinder last year. The very beginning of this year was a bit of a struggle because Silas is so black and white. He initially couldn't get past the idea that he was "supposed to be in first grade" even though he knew all along it was happening. The mom part of me wanted to cave right then and there and just go ahead and bump him up. It was difficult to see him struggling initially with missing his friends. But honestly, guys, once we made it through a few minor bumps, he thrived! Obviously, academics were a non issue.. he excelled last year and this year he mastered the curriculum. He was also able to continue reading at his own pace and stayed on track with the current 1st graders. But relational wise - he was like a different kid. He was more outgoing, more confident, a leader. So, if you ask me to choose between having friends, but in some ways just fading into the crowd, and not being very confident, versus stepping up with confidence, leadership and excelling -- hands down, there's no choice there.
In the end, we feel we made the best decision for him. All that being said - I can now say - I have a first grader. An amazing, super brilliant, friendly, confident first grader. I am so very thrilled at his accomplishments and beyond proud to be his momma. He never ceases to amaze me and I seriously love that kid more every day. He holds a giant piece of my heart. Thank you, God, for making me his mom. Thank you for entrusting me with this gift. Help me to seek after You in all things, especially guidance with raising these three beautiful boys.
See VIDEO of the ceremony here.
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| Silas received an Attentiveness award and a Science award - the kid loves science. |
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| I adore his teacher, Mrs. Martinez. |
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| the three amigos. |
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