Let's Add A Year...

With all that has been going on with AJ, I don't want you to think Gordy is getting ignored.  He is not.  He is my little shadow and spends most waking hours within 5-10 feet of me.  He is such a funny mass of contradictions that I find something new to be amazed about every single day.

His personality is the type that he is funny without trying to be.  He has a natural dry wit and has an opinion on just about everything.  Right now he has an obsession with video games that we are trying to rein in.  Not that video games are bad, but he spends way too much time asking to play them.

He also has a very explosive temper.  Always has.  The day after he was born the nurse had to wake him up to change his diaper and check his vitals.  He stiffened his entire body and let out the loudest scream I had ever heard a newborn emit.  The nurse looked at me and said "He has a temper, this one.  You are in for it now."

What his temper means in connection with his video game obsession is that when we tell him no he throws a tantrum.  That is actually his typical response to all negative answers.  Again, trying to break him of this habit, but it is a LONG row to hoe.

The real looming task right now is the issue of school.  Gordy will be five years old in September.  Typically, this means we should be getting ready for Kindergarten.  Not so fast!  Oregon has a registration cut off date of September 10th for Kindergarten and 1st Grade.  That means all Kindergarteners must be 5, and all 1st Graders must be 6, on or before September 10th of the corresponding school year.  Guess whose birthday is September 15th?

That's right, Gordy has to wait another year to start Kindergarten.  At first I was furious.  He is already taller than half of the current 1st Graders (in AJ's class).  He was already going to be the tallest kid in class, now we are going to add another year?  I researched every alternative and kept coming up against a wall.  Oregon is pretty solid on their cut offs.  The only exception would be if he started Kindergarten in California, then I could get a waiver half way through the school year.  As much as I love my family in Eureka, I just couldn't see Gordy living down there for 6 months just to get a waiver to start Kindergarten a year early.  It just wasn't worth it.

I was resigned to the idea of him being a 6 year old Kindergartener, when I started volunteering in AJ's class twice a week.  There is a boy in AJ's class whose birthday is a week after Gordy's, and he is the youngest in class.  His family moved from California half-way through Kindergarten.  Observing him interact with the other students forced me to stop and reassess my opinion.  He is super bright; one of the top students in class.  He is also super immature and a distraction to all of the other students in class.

After seeing this I started talking (and listening) to several people whom I trust that might have solid, educated opinions on the matter.  My best friend (a teacher), whose birthday is the day after Gordy's and was the youngest in many of her classes;  The school secretary, whose son also has a September birthday; and my husband, whose parents started him in a private school at the age of 4.  All of them were unanimous in their chorus of "hold him back".

"Boys mature later than girls."

"They can handle being the oldest one in class far better than being the youngest one."

"Mentally, they are simply not ready to contemplate sitting still for that long.  Boys just seem to have more energy."

It was the last advice that caught me.  I'm not sure if it is true for all boys, but it is certainly true for Gordy.  So after a long discussion and a reworking of the budget we opted to put Gordy in two days of pre-school in the Fall.  This makes the most sense for us, as I am already at the school two days a week, and Gordy really does want to go to school.  He is just simply not ready for Kindergarten.