Dr. Shane

Shane had his 4 year well kiddo check up this week. This is how he looked when we went.

Doctor coat and medical bag to boot. He decided to wear this after hearing that he may have to have shots. Being dressed as a Doctor seemed to help calm him down. Luckily, no shots were needed at this visit. But we were warned that next year at 5 he'll need FOUR!

Dr. Shane is weighing in at 33 pounds (25th percentile) and is 41 inches (75th percentile). He continues to be tall and skinny, like his Daddy. This past week I had realized that oddly we needed to think about what to do with him for Kindergarten since he has a June birthday. Currently he is by far the youngest in his preschool class and will continue to be the youngest if we have him go to Kindergarten next year (after one more year in preschool). After weighting the pros and cons it looks like we will not be sending him to Kindergarten for 2 more years. He will then be the oldest in his class, making him most likely more of a leader instead of a follower. Here are some other reasons we will probably keep not be sending him at 5 years of age:

--Kindergarten is made of up four parts: Emotional, Social, Intellectual and Physical. All equal in importance. All these areas need to be ready for Kindergarten and Shane currently has a bad case of Separation Anxiety making the emotional and social aspect of his life pretty difficult right now. Waiting until he is 6 to enter school makes the most sense for him at his point.

--Why push a kiddo into school at barely 5 years of age? No real reason, really. We figure there is no reason to push him and have him behind instead of having him go at 6 and be really ready for his new school life.

--Won't he be bored? Nope, I truly believe he won't be bored. A school setting should be prepared for where you are at your learning stage. Plus, Kinder isn't all about academics, it is just as much social and emotional and that certainly won't keep him bored. I'd much rather have him go into school knowing more then not knowing enough.

--His preschool has a "Fives" class just for this purpose. Kids with late birthdays and who just aren't quite ready for the school transition.

--His Doctor even recommend that all kids with birthdays after May 1st wait until the next school year. Shane is June 10th, so he meets that criteria for sure.

This decision in not set in stone. Kinder registration starts in January and of course we can enroll him up until when school starts in September. But at this point he'll be home with me for an "extra" year. Not really what I had originally envisioned, but I am going to attempt to enjoy our extra time together before school takes over his life.