Saturday, August 22, 2009

A Tough Decision

Gregory goes back to school this coming Monday! I can't believe the summer vacation is over. Somehow I feel like SO much happened, yet feel terribly guilty for not maximizing the time I had with him home better...

Posing with a picture he drew for his new teacher at the Open House this week. He adores Mrs. Brown already!

We've decided to have Gregory repeat Kindergarten. Academically, he's right about where he should be for 1st Grade. We've discussed and prayed about this long and hard, and just can't shake the feeling that he needs another year to mature before advancing a grade.

His birthday is 2 weeks before the cut-off. We hope that by allowing him to be the oldest in his class, he will be less likely to succumb to peer pressure and have more opportunities to be a leader and (hopefully good) example.

(Enjoying popcorn at the Open House)

He will also have another year to better master the curriculum, so that he will be less likely to be playing catch-up for the rest of his school career, or even possibly end up repeating a grade a few years down the road.

We're grateful that the school allowed us to make the ultimate decision, despite some of the educators opposing the idea. It just feels right. And he's excited about it, too! I was worried about broaching the subject, but he immediately responded, "I LOVE Kindergarten!"

On a similar note, we have Gregory and Charla scheduled for sleep studies next month. They both have huge tonsils and snore a lot. The snoring I can handle, but they're often very difficult to wake up and I think some of Gregory's struggles to focus at times, and Charla's short temper may be aggravated by poor sleep. I'm hoping that we'll be able to get them tonsilectomys, in an attempt to make life easier for everyone, especially them. We'll keep you posted.

5 comments:

Charity Brown said...

That is so nice that the school was willing to do what the parents felt was right! :) I'm sure Gregory will have fun being the oldest in the class!

John and Becky Bowler said...

Cute picture! That's interesting about the sleep study thing. Keep us posted on how it goes. :)

Shawna said...

I know that was a hard decision for you, but at least you know it's the best thing for Gregory. And he's not bothered by it, which is even better!

I somehow missed or forgot (momma-brain) about the kids not sleeping well. I hope that gets figured out soon!

natalieandderyk said...

I worry about the same thing with my oldest. He doesn't start school until next year and he will be 5 1/2 so I am hoping that will help.

Good luck with the sleep test!

Liz said...

I completely understand your thoughts and feelings and understand what a difficult decision it is. I have often hashed about the same thing with Abby. Academically, socially and maturity wise she is fine, but she is the youngest in her class and that does make me nervous. We've decided to have her go ahead with first grade.
But I think you may be wise to have Gregory do kindergarten another year, for all the wonderful reasons you gave. Another one you might want to add to the list is that he won't wait an entire year to go on his mission when he graduates high school.
Tough decisions, but you are a wonderful parents and know what's best for your child.