Kindergarten: Quarter 1

Since the first day of school, Britt has been in love. He hated weekends for the first month, and just wanted to be in school every waking minute. He only goes from 8:00 to 10:45, so it's quite torturous to make him leave at the end of the half-day. He made some adorable little friends (for my own memory, his closest buds are Maxx, Mason, Brooklyn, Jakey, Rebekah, Allie, Jett, and Jordyn), and we've LOVED being able to walk to and from school together every day. We live about a 5 minute walk from his school and it's wonderful. Britt's teacher is Mrs. Slade. She's a kind and patient teacher, and we love her.
Britt's class has a pet guinea pig, named Burrito. She is awesome! She has long hair and looks like a punk rocker. :) Britt loves to bring lettuce and carrots from home so he can feed her.
Mid-October was our first parent-teacher conference. Marnie didn't feel great, so Justin stayed home with the kids and I went solo. It was great to hear how much Britt's teacher loves him. She had lots of good things to say about him. Some of which were:

He's a very attentive listener.

He's always teaching them interesting animal facts.

He's a gifted artist.

He's helpful and eager to please.

He's quick to follow instructions.

He is very well liked by his classmates.

He is so articulate and mature that he doesn't seem like a 5-year-old...he's "like a tiny college student."

When I said that we often call him "our little scientist," she laughed and said that she can't watch The Big Bang Theory without thinking of Britt. When I told Britt that she said that, he was THRILLED. Dr. Sheldon Cooper is basically his hero. :)
His behavior report card was perfect.
HIs academic report card was impressive as well. There is a list of skills that the kids need to master before they're considered 'ready' for first grade. A / means that the skill is developing, and an X means that skill is mastered. Of the 26 skills, Britt had 24 X marks. One slash because he sometimes gets 11 and 12 mixed up when writing them, and one because he has yet to pass off 5 of his sight words. She said he's at the top of his class, and could do just fine in first grade right now. Of course, we're not talking about skipping a grade, but it's nice to know he's doing so well. :)
His school has 3 Kindergarten "clubs," The 100 Club (which you enter when you can count to 100), The ABC Club (which you enter when you have memorized all the letters of the alphabet, as well as the sounds they make), and The Sight Words Club (for when you memorize 20 basic sight words). It's a big deal for the kids. With each club they get a certificate, they get to go to the principal's office to pick a treat, they get to choose from their teacher's prize drawer, and the principal makes a special announcement on the PA system. Britt is currently in the ABC and 100 clubs, and this week we've been working on his last few sight words, which he's prepared to pass off tomorrow. There are only 2 other kids in his class who are in all 3 clubs, so he's pretty excited about it.
We're so proud of our sweet little man. He told me once that he has to get good grades so he can go to a good college and study zoology. Although, as much as he likes to debate lately, he could just as easily get a law degree and be an animal activist lawyer. Who knows. :) I do know that whatever he decides to be, he will have proud parents. {Of course I didn't steal that line from Star Trek...of course not.}  :)