learning to read - the beginning

Tim is learning to read, and we are very excited.  This such a special, wonderful time in our lives, especially regarding his education.  I love how obvious what he is doing in school is because it just pours out of him spontaneously in song, noticing rhyming words, sounding out letters he sees on signs, in conversations he has with himself, and best of all the things that he voluntarily tells us about his day.  I don't have to say a word about school, and within minutes of collecting him at the end of the day, he's telling me about something that happened or something he learned or something that is going to happen.  I can't help but compare him to my own students.  I'm sure none of them go home talking about how an author creates mood in a short story.

kindergarten

in the garden waiting for the bus

mom's first day with students.  we ride the bus to school together

on the sidewalk just outside our flat and in front of the bus stop.  very convenient

on the bus. he's walked this route several times with dad to get to the grocery store.  so much faster on the bus!

outside the kindergarten building.  the two windows on the ground floor are his classroom.

these boys were playing when we arrived and tim joined them as soon as his jacket was off and his teacher had told him welcome and turned to the next child.  no tears, no clinging, no drama - from either of us.  The blonde boy on the floor is the child of one of my colleagues, kate, who i also consider a friend.

the room has a wonderful atmosphere

I planned to wake Tim at 06:30 to give him enough time to be ready for the bus at 07:15, but he came into our room just after 06:00 and asked if it was tomorrow yet because the last thing we'd talked about last night was that he'd get to start school tomorrow.  He has been ready to start since we moved into the flat, hungry for playmates and thirsty to learn.  The other day he wanted to know when he was going to learn about science.  

His teacher is a thirty year veteran name Annie Dunkley.  The kids have been instructed to call her Miss Annie.  When Paul collected Tim at noon today (half days all this week then full days from next Monday), she said, "He is such a sweet boy."  We know him well enough now to not be surprised by this, but it's still wonderful to hear.

Tim put himself to bed tonight.  We're all looking forward to tomorrow and another day of discovery.

gran and grand-da time

Getting Tim to pose for a photo these days without him pulling a face is a real chore.  Jenny managed to get several very nice photos of your little man.

with the swing at our neighbor addie's house

in the backyard

at a local park on a very hot afternoon

playing rush hour with grand-da

captain america

so mature

a gift from gran and grand-da

tim is a master of imaginative play these days - most of it has to do with superheroes or armies

an expert camper

Everything about this trip was easy with Tim from the long drive to the time in the campsite to the walks.  

a lollipop from Gran

'T' for Tim

he enjoyed the water but was just as happy playing army and superhero games in the rocks beside the river.  his imagination has quadrupled in recent months.

tim really took a liking to our rented mini-van which had push button doors.  he and luke spent a great deal of their time playing in the car

he narrates the stories of the armies that he is playing with

this was his first treasure.  the second one he carried a mile down the path with only a little help from paul.  gran brought it on the bus with him and it almost came back home with us

a strong walker

Tim walked at least five miles up and down a mountain.  maybe the supeman shirt, which he didn't take off for 36 hours, helped.

The next morning he wanted his eggs and sausage in the pan like dad.