School Days - Kenzie's Year in Kindergarten

As of the end of today, we will have a first grader! There is a number in her elementary school placement! No longer just a letter ("K"). That is insane.

Kenzie has seriously rocked her year in kindergarten this year. She is a learning superstar, for sure. She continues to love school. From the very first day we dropped her off, she went right into her classroom and made herself at home. She still lacks any sort of social anxiety. She is also still quite a rule follower (which teachers seem to really appreciate LOL) so she gets along well in a structured setting. When she is told to do something, she does it. Now, if we could just figure out how to get her to do the same thing all the time for us... that would be great. She made a ton of new friends this year and is so looking forward to next year. She knows a lot of her friends probably won't be in her class, but she has met a ton of kids in other ways, like Girl Scouts, dance, or outside on the playground or in PE where there are a few classes at once and she is excited about having some of them in her class potentially.

By the end of the year she was listed as "At Grade Level" in reading and math. I know that she reads right on grade level and has the appropriate comprehension as expected for her grade level. She knows the 100 sight words she is expected to but also a ton of other words by sight. She loves to read and is often found reading to herself or reading to Will. She asks to read sometimes to us but she also asks us to read to her still which we are all for and think it is still so important. She really enjoys us reading chapter books to her. Right now we have three going at once, Charlotte's Web, a Barbie book, and a Rapunzel book. She finished her year with 400 books on her reading sheet (though she had another full page of 25 books that we never turned in because we were told by Kenzie that the program was pretty much done for the year). Of those books, she probably ready somewhere between 25 and 30% on her own. The others were read by us to her, especially back at the beginning of the year. Towards the end, she was reading most of them without help. Math is where her serious strong point is. The kids loves math. She can do everything in school that she is expected to do. She has brought home 100% on all of her math assessments. In addition to that, she can add with carrying (or regrouping or whatever it's called). She can do simple multiplication with small numbers and subtraction with triple digit numbers as long as it doesn't require borrowing. She understands some fractions such as 1/2 and 1/4 and how those relate to a whole. She can read analog clocks and is learning to count coins. She impresses us. She loves science and social studies. She has taken to things like space, some geography, and understanding things like the water cycle and cardinal directions (she talks about directions so much that Will has almost picked it up at this point).

She has done so well in PE. They run laps around the bus loop and she has been able to run/walk quite a few laps in the time they are given. She has learned to play sports such as soccer, tennis, basketball, football, baseball, and others. She knows a lot of rules for each game that I don't know. She loves music. She can read quarter notes and eighth notes. She hasn't yet learned to read actual music but she has been learning what each note actually is and what that sounds like. She thinks music is pretty cool, especially since Daddy can play some instruments and read music and Mommy sings. Her real love though... is art. She has been talking about going to school one day to become an art teacher. She knows about art techniques and artists. She is constantly trying to replicate what she has learned in class. Her favorite day of each semester has been "reflection day" when they get to bring home their art work for the last semester. She loves to show it off.

Kenzie has had an amazing school year this year. She has taken to the elementary school environment like a fish to water. She has actually managed to stay well this year too and finished her year with perfect attendance. We know that won't always happen so we are enjoying it for the year. She has made new friends and she is growing up right before our eyes. It is crazy to think that we now have a first grader. And first grade better watch out... she's coming for it!