At The Age of FIVE

5 years old

Alexander Keith's first official day of school was exciting and a bit stressful. When I arrived at the playground bustling with children, Alexander Keith went out slowly, and after you spoke a bit with another parent, you noticed he was climbing the monkey bars with a group of boys.When you picked Alexander Keith up, he had that somewhat pleasant smell of sweat, dirt and crayons that you associate with school. He seemed a bit tired. All afternoon and evening I didn't get many answers to your questions about how the day went. Alexander Keith mainly wanted to hang out with you and watch TV. The best thing you heard all day came at bedtime, as Alexander Keith murmured, "My teacher's nice."

*Alexander Keith has made some friends at school and manages to be fun-loving on the playground, but follows the rules of the classroom. The teacher says that improving self-control and self-reliance, as well as social skills, are among her most important goals.

- Being with Alexander since he was born we can feel that he developed to be more sociable with others and he is an emotionally well-balanced kid developing social and emotional skills without too much help from us.

*Alexander Keith has been struggling during kindergarten in learning the letters and sounds, but listens with interest for a short time to books you read aloud. When you met with the teacher, she recommended activities you could do at home, and suggested that if things did not improve by the second trimester, you might get a tutor.

- We follow the teachers advice using different learning techniques like alphabet and sound-learning apps on phones, books for pre-readers and read paper books aloud so that Alexander will be interested.

*When you help out in Alexander Keith's kindergarten classroom you notice many aspects of math and science the teachers work on (beyond just adding and subtracting), such as interpreting graphs and classifying objects, as well as doing practical math in a classroom general store. Alexander Keith doesn't seem as engaged by these kinds of activities as most kids.

- We cant't really engage in Alexander like his teachers so we think of other ways to encourage his interest like going to different places exploring nature and playing games involving numbers.

We all have a good time at Alexander Keith's birthday party with other soon-to-be first graders.The kids enjoy traditional birthday games, such as pin the tail on the donkey, a scavenger hunt, and a treasure hunt with a map that you made up, and clue notes in various places around the house.