Beautiful boy

Look at that little dude. Remember this post? or this one? or this one? I am happy to point out that I haven't had any posts similar to those in a long time.

We "red-shirted" Cameron for Kindergarten. When I had a baby boy in the summer, it didn't take long for my teacher mind to start worrying about whether to start him in school just days after turning 5 (....I mean he was just 4!!) or wait another year and start him when he was 6 years old.

Well, me being who I am, I had to do some major research and take a few years to come to the decision. I gathered all 10 of my first grade class lists from over the years and singled out every boy I had ever taught that was born in the summer. When I was done, it worked out that I had six boys over the years who had been started in Kindergarten at 5 years old, and six boys who had been started at 6. I sorted them behaviorally and academically. From my little study I concluded that three boys from each group were well mannered and academically at grade level.

The other three boys in each group were at opposite ends of the spectrum - the older group were well mannered and academically high. The younger group were behavior problems and academically low. If I trusted my little study, I could conclude that if I started Cameron in Kindergarten at 5 years old, he had a chance of good behavior/normal academics - but if I started him at 6 the chances of this happening were almost a guarantee - (barring any medical condition) - with a bonus of high academics being a possibility. Ronny suggested I take my study to the next level and consult the 3rd and 5th grade teachers of these students and get their assessments of the boys - so I did. Fascinatingly (to me) their impressions in later years were spot on with my own. I could go on and on about why that might be, but don't get me started. side note: let me be clear - I am talking BOYS here, girls are a different story.

Anyway - suffice it to say - Ronny and I are EXTREMELY happy that we waited a year to start Cameron off in school. Kindergarten was still rough. Beginning of first grade was very shaky - but October 1st hit and my child grew up. He's very intelligent (he's reading the Harry Potter series ((fluently and expressively))! - 4th/5th grade level novels). I think part of what helped him was being able to read well. He can make sense of the world around him now. He absolutely loved first grade. He never fought going in the mornings, he would get off the bus and give me the thumbs up, and he made lots of new friends.

He still has his moments, of course, and I'll be expecting a rough start to school next fall. But the difference in him is night and day. At the end of t-ball party, his coach (who had coached Cameron for soccer in Kindergarten) came up to me and commented that I was a miracle worker. When I asked him what he meant he said, "Cameron. He's a different kid. He listens to my instructions and does it. He's calm. He's mature." I responded that it's age - and for a while there I was worried it was going to be more.

We took him up to a child psychologist at the recommendation of his Kindergarten teacher last spring and summer. We went one last time this fall and realized that after having spent over a thousand bucks out of pocket, all we had really gotten out of it was a good book recommendation. So we haven't been up to her for 9 months and it's been the best behaved 9 months we've ever had with Cameron. He may be a "negative thinker", he may have some anxiety issues, but those are just going to be his "quirks" (thank you, Grandpa).

He's dynamic. He's a leader. If we can keep up with him he'll grow up to be an amazing person. He already is, actually.