Smarty Pants Dez

Warning: This post contains high levels of bragging.

The decision was finally made to keep Dezi in preschool for another year. Being the over acheiver that I am, I never thought that I would keep my boy back from Kindergarten, but the more I spoke with teachers and mothers, the more I became convinced that it has nothing to do with academics (Dezi is already reading), but everything to do with emotional and physical maturity. With his brithday so close to the deadline, we thought we would give him the chance of growing up a little bit more and not having to be the last at everything.

With that decision made, we decided to spend a little extra money on a great preschool so he wouldn't get bored. We chose Learning Dynamics, which places a large focus on early reading. Their Frontline Phonics program is so strong that the Weekly Reader named it the best in the nation and they use it as part of their reading program. Aside from their great phonics program, I liked little things, like how they focus on lower case letters before upper case because most reading occurs in lower case. Even though Dezi alraedy knows his alphabet, it just showed me that their philosophy really makes sense. I also LOVE that they read one on one with each child. As the child passes off one book each week, they get to take it home to practice before going up to the next level the following week.

Because Dezi is the only one already reading, they are giving him extra attention and he is bringing home 3 books a week. Even though the books are super easy for him, it is building his confidence and he loves it. Soon enough, I think they will get to his level and begin to challenge him. I still do extra things at home to keep him going like playing Go Fish with sight word cards, playing build a word with leap frog magnets, playing rhyming games, and playing on www.Starfall.com (an educational website that really helps build reading skills). I also give him extra books to read at home. One of his favorites to read is called Ook the Book. He loved it so much after checking it out from the library that we had to buy it.

I love that he has a curious mind and that he pushes himself. I'm careful not to put pressure on him, but just to provide opportunities as his interest and ability dictate. He is always surprising me by reading off cereal boxes, signs, TV, and other unexpected places. My favorite surprise was when he wrote Star Wars character names on our white board. I almost died with pride. I loved the creative spelling of Luke Skywalker and Yoda. I love my little, I mean big, smarty pants!