Caleb is 6!

This is long overdue but once again life has gotten in the way of writing time.  Big things have been happening here.  We now have a full-blown, backpack-totin', bus riding, kindergartener!  And preparing this boy for kindergarten was comparable to preparing for a climb of Mt. Everest, at least, it seemed so to me.

Intellectually this boy has been ready for kindergarten since he was about 3 and a half.  No one denies that he's a smart boy (just like his daddy).  His favorite books to borrow from the library are science books- we've learned all about the universe, discovered dinosaurs and most recently, had to read all about the flu epidemic of 1918 (and yes, there is a children's book about the flu epidemic of 1918).  But there is always a down with the up.  The boy still struggles to write often to the point of a tantrum out of tiredness and frustration.  He's also still struggling with social things- looking people in the eye, answering and asking questions.  Making friends is difficult for him.  When he's curious about kids and willing to engage them in conversation, they're not wanting to talk to him.  And then you have the times where another kid approaches him, asks him a question or says hi and Caleb walks away.  Timing can be so difficult sometimes.  We've made tons of progress but there's still more to work on.

In this past year, the boy has done amazing things.  I still get a little teary thinking about the moment in Disney way back in March, how he dressed up in a Jedi robe, got up on stage, interacted with the Jedi master and fought Darth Vader.  We made it through 4 days of Disney fun with only a few bobbles.  He enjoyed Dinosaur camp at the museum (without his little sister).  He's become a seasoned ring bearer participating in  both Aunt Jackie and Aunt Betsy's weddings this summer.  And for those weddings, he wore a vest and tie (clip-on but still a tie!).  He's gotten so much better with his writing and using his words and controlling his temper.  We've gone from walking on eggshells not knowing what might set him off to a peaceful, albeit somewhat crazy household.  I don't have to stress about getting him to leave the house most days.  He's using his words more and more to sort out differences with his sister.  He's also getting better at recognizing and expressing his feelings.  Progress is a great thing and even with little regressions here and there, you know that progress was made once and can be done again and again.

And have Caleb's interests changed in this year...not really.

The boy still loves all things science- especially at the library.  He bounces back and forth between the Star Wars chapter books on one side of the children's section to the non-fiction science books on the other side.  Caleb continues to love, love, love to read.  He devours books and then rereads them again and again.  He laughs while he's reading, he asks questions about the worlds of Star Wars and Harry Potter.  Yes, that was the big thing late this summer.  The boy read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  It took him a little over 4 hours.  It was a fluke.  I just randomly gave it to him for something to do.  We had tried to read it out loud a couple of times but he would lose interest just after a few chapters.  Well, apparently the problem is that silly mommy reads too slow.  Now the boy is bugging me weekly for the second book.  But this mommy is not quite ready for him to be plowing through that series (as much as I love it) so he has to be content with rereading book 1 for the next year or so.  And to his future reading teachers... I'm sorry but you've got a whole family that loves reading and so the boy is going to be well read.  We've polished of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, 101 Dalmations (the original novel, not the Disney version), The Wizard of Oz, Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little and many more that I can't keep track of.  Most recently we've started Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM (he initially had no interest in this one but once I started reading it to Sadie, he's since become hooked).

Star Wars has also been tough.  The boy continues to love any and all things Star Wars and he has yet to see any of the movies.  I think we might be ready for Episode 1 soon (I hope).

The boy has developed some imaginary friends, which isn't surprising considering the posse that Sadie has surrounding her at all times.  However, Caleb seems to have befriended the villains.  Bowser, Emperor Palpatine, these are his buddies.  Bowser's entire family traveled to Disney with us and Caleb enjoyed telling us how Bowser and his family were having more fun then we were in different areas of the park. Most recently, Caleb seems to have recognized the importance of learning a second language.  He introduced us to El Suprimo his Spanish translator for Caleb Enterprises.  Speaking of Caleb World, it continues to grow and expand with his imagination.  I'm still not sure if I should be proud of his creativity or concerned for his quest for global domination.  But it's good to know that he's making his way and working hard even in his imaginary world.  It makes me so excited to see what he'll be when he's older.

So Caleb is in kindergarten, in our local public school.  I've been very pleased with it so far.  We prayed all spring and summer for his teacher and our prayers were answered.  His teacher is amazing!  She's caring and understanding and willing to work together with me to help this little guy.  We trade emails on a weekly basis.  She's open to suggestions that will help him in class. She's willing to let some things slide but will also stick to her guns and push him when he needs it.  She sees that much of the academics of kindergarten, he knows but that there are many other parts of school that he will struggle with.  Most importantly, I feel like I can trust her to care for my boy and that is a huge thing.  He's also making friends at school.  The couple of weeks were hard.  There was an incident on the bus and it turned out that Caleb was being picked on.  I don't have the unrealistic notion that my boy will get through 13 years of public school without enduring some teasing but to have it start on only the second week of school.  To have my boy ask me why a boy would call him a "thumbsucker"?  Why a boy would hit him?  Well, all my fears of him being targeted  and not even able to understand what was happening...  But it was sorted out.  My boy was not being targeted.  The boy on the bus was picking on all the kindergarteners and it was corrected.  And in the middle of it all, I went in to pick up Caleb from school and as he left his class line, all these little voices calling out "'bye Caleb"  It melted my heart and continues to at every lunchtime pick up.  My boy is making friends, slowly but surely.

Caleb has a team at school.  He's getting OT services, speech services and he's started in the gifted program.  I've been moved to tears at the people who are working so hard to help him succeed.  I feel blessed to be in an area where I don't have to fight them to recognize his challenges and that they aren't just meeting his needs but also helping him to grow so that he doesn't need as many supports.  It's been so encouraging and I feel confident that they'll continue to support him and encourage him to excel as he grows.

It's still bittersweet to watch my boy grow.  I miss that little baby who loved to curl up and be read to but I love this little boy that is so smart and caring and silly.