My Baby Is Growing Up

Princess A is growing up. In the space of one evening, she wanted to (a.) learn how to write, (b.) learn how to read, (c.) read a chapter from a chapter book before bed, and (d.) learn about how digestion works. Um, hello? You're only five, chickadee; you're not supposed to be ready for all of that, particularly all in one night!

As a teacher, I struggle with whether or not I am challenging her enough, or whether or not I'm pushing her too hard. She's a bright, inquisitive little girl (obviously, I'm not biased whatsoever!), but more importantly, she is a sympathetic, caring, and kind friend to her peers. At this point in her young life, I feel like that's the most important thing. You can't teach intrinsic good character (no matter how much we try in school!); you either have it, or you don't.  Still, I also realize the importance of having a solid academic foundation at an early age. Thankfully, Princess A usually lets us know when she's ready for the next step, educationally speaking.

She insisted on writing sentences and reading them to her dad all by herself.

 

"I see a ball. I love you. I see ice cream. I see you. I see flowers."

As you can probably tell, we tackled the sight words I, see, and a tonight.

Love and you were her idea.

The last thing my little genius said to me before she fell asleep tonight was, "Mommy? Daddy taught me a new word for poop." Awesome. I took a deep breath and replied, "Oh, really? What's that?" "Feeksees.," she said proudly. Way to go, Dad. When she repeats her new word tomorrow at school, I hope the principal calls her father first.