It’s been a whole term of Knox being the Special Helper in his class. Which is flipping crazy because it feels like we were just celebrating Christmas and now we’ve already celebrated Easter! Where is this year going? Anyway, we made the difficult decision to keep him back a year because of a bunch of reasons. You can read that post to find out what they were.
Even though I knew that we were making the right decision it’s still so easy to keep second guessing ourselves. Instead of needing to do it again should we have forced him through and let him try? Maybe he would have surprised us? What if we’ve made a mistake? What if it ruins everything?
The thing is, with these kinds of decisions we can never be 100% sure. It’s just not possible. But what we can do is know our children and what they can handle. I know without a doubt that throwing Knox into a situation where he felt that he couldn’t do it would have been too much for him to bear. He can’t handle not being able to do something and gives up easily. So he would have just given up. And to have that attitude from Grade R already is basically setting him up to failure.
Now that he is in Grade RR again, he is really is thriving. Here’s a few things that he’s totally nailing now that he was really struggling with last year. (I personally think that because he knows he can keep up with the “workload” at the table, his mind has been freed up to focus on other things).
- HE CAN RIDE A BIKE – We’ve been trying for ages to get him confident on a bike. But he was having none of it. Then this weekend he just got it. And he is the proudest person in the World about it, except Seth of course. It fulfilled a lifelong dream of his, being able to teach his kid how to ride a bike. Here it is on Seth’s Instagram if you want to see him in action.
- HE CAN DO THE MONKEY BARS – There was a short phase last year when he could do it. Around June or July. But then he just stopped and wouldn’t go more than 2 bars without giving up. I’m not sure when it happened but he suddenly realised that he could do it again. Now he goes to the biggest bars and just completely destroys them with his awesome monkey bar powers. Kyla (our resident cartwheeling, monkey bar gymnast) gave him some tips on how to swing and now they spend ages on the playhouse bars together.
- HE HAS FRIENDS – One of the biggest concerns for me is that last year he would just sit in the line to wait for class to start. He didn’t really play. But now he has so many friends and it’s just so great for my mommy heart.
- HE WANTS TO DO NEW THINGS – Knox is the baby of the family so he obvs gets a way with freaking murder. Literally. Everyone just does stuff for him. But not anymore. He wants to learn how to tie his own laces or put on his own shoes. Taking ownership for himself and his things. It’s fantastic.
- HE SPEAKS MUCH MORE CLEARLY – It may still not be completely clear to strangers, but his speech has come a very long way. He’s always known crazy big words for his age, but now we can understand him when he says “ultimatum”. We are probably going to do one more round before we hit the road so that we know what to focus on while we’re away.
- HE IS JUST AWESOME – Look, I may be biased (OK I totally am) but I really think he is just the best little boy in the World. I’m so proud of him for how hard he is working and the progress that he is making. Keep it up my precious boy!
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When is Nox’s birthday? My son is only 2 (his birthday is 18 Dec) and is the youngest in his class and I worry that he will be emotionally a lot younger than the kids who turn 3 in the first quarter of the year. I am pretty sure this is something I’m going to have to deal with in coming years to. Thanks for sharing
Knox turns six in September, which is still quite “early” in the year when it comes to these kinds of things. There is a chance that you may have to deal with this too or he will just totally sail through it – sometimes our kids surprise us. But good on you for being aware of it, helps it to not be as much of a shock if you do have to go through it.
I was just saying to Seth yesterday how awesome it is when your child achieves something that they had to work hard at. Sure having a natural talent for something is cool, but watching them keep trying and eventually succeeding and then celebrating with them is the best. And I think it’s teaching them great life lessons and growing their little characters to have more perseverance and to work hard.
Well done, Knox!
Totally with you on that. There’s so much more achievement in actually having to try and then getting it. So much so that he literally tells every person that he sees now. It’s awesome!!
We decided to let my son repeat grade R/0 last year. I have to say, it was the hardest parenting decision we have had to make. On top of that we were swamped with all sorts of therapies. It was tough! Although I know it was the right decision for our boy, I still second guess myself all the time! My son has had the most amazing start to grade one this year. He is thriving. Absolutely loving big school and his confidence and enthusiasm has blown us away! My middle baby really grew up last year and this year he has just blossomed. We still can’t get him to ride a bike though:/
The therapies can be hugely daunting as well! For us and I’m sure for them too, no matter how fun they make it. But so glad to hear that it’s for the best – if he is thriving this year then you’ve done the right thing!!
I’m so glad for you Cindy. 🙂
Thank you!
Great Post! I also feel that letting your child repeat while they are in the “younger” grades is much easier for both the child and the parent. I think for us as parents it is difficult to have a child that is not ‘normal’. We want children that hit all their milestones and does everything according to what we read in the pregnancy/child books. But glad that you made the decision and even happier that you are willing to share your experience with other parents that may be in the same situation. xx
You’re so right – we have this need to keep up with everyone and often at the expense of our own children. And doing it in the younger grades is definitely better, I’m sure by Grade 2 he won’t even remember what happened.
I am glad to hear that you listened to your heart and kept him back. My little girl has never been kept back but had to go to speech therapy for a year in grade R, she did so well that it wasn’t even a thought to keep her back that year. In Grade 1 I noticed that she was not catching on to the reading and sounding as fast as I thought she should have. When I spoke to the teacher about it I was told it is not a problem she would get it eventually. Hit Grade 2….. my poor little monkey is really struggling with these things we use every day called words. She is having to go back to speech therapy and extra reading…..I wish I had been more forceful with the teacher last year. Hindsight is a wonderful thing!
Oh man, I feel for you. That can’t be easy for you or for her!! I hope that you find a good solution and that the extra therapy works!!
LOVE this!! And well done mama bear for making this difficult decision!
Our little EN has just moved schools this term because she was so unhappy last term – it was a big jump for us (and for her!) but I already have a peace about it x
It’s crazy how these things can drive us to stress but then once the change has been made, how much better it is for all of us!