Assessment 2018-19: Baymax

Baymax is not quite done being the squishy, cuddly baby of the family . . . thank goodness!

But he's grown and matured in so many ways, that it won't be possible to pretend he's still little for very much longer.

I found these developmental checklists (courtesy of Little Luke's), and I thought I'd use them to organize this year's assessment.

This is the appropriate checklist for his age, because he started the year at age 3 and turned 4 half-way through.

He's got it all covered.

And for certain, we are working on those fork and spoon skills under "Sensory."  It is so true that we're reminding him to use utensils instead of fingers!

And here's the next checklist:

Well, here's where there's some stuff to discuss.

Social/Emotional
He definitely knows he has friends, and he understands that being kind to people is the way to be friends.  I haven't seen any peer copying with people outside the family, but he definitely tries to be like siblings and Daddy within the home.

He's quite good at following group rules.

His anger/frustration tolerance is not high, and he's thrown some fierce tantrums of late, so his emotional self control is still a work in progress (but isn't it for us all?).

He sings, dances, and acts regularly--both in a group and just for fun.

He is increasingly independent.  One of my favorite recent developments is that he's chosen to clean the bathroom off the kitchen a few times a week.  He'll come to me asking for disinfectant wipes, and when I give him 3, he uses them to wipe out the sink, wipe down the counter, and wipe off the toilet handle and seat.  He won't do it daily, but it's sure fun to have him be my helper here and there.

He's also dressing himself totally independently each day (I do get out his clothes on Sundays, but he chooses his own ties).  He's able to come up with ideas about what to do during play time, and he's needing to work on remembering to ask me before he gets into the craft supplies.

Speech/Language
He's got all down.  There might be some people who can't understand him, and there are times when we at home need him to repeat unexpected words a few times before we get them, but he's really got all of the listed skill.
 
Sensory 
He's got this down, too . . . well, as stated above, we're working on remembering to use utensils.  But when he does remember (or is reminded) he handles them with aplomb. 

Cognitive
He's got all of these down and more.   After a false start with Shiller curriculum products, he completed the Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool Getting Ready 1 (preschool) curriculum in the first portion of the school year, and then he also completed all of The Good and the Beautiful's Pre-K curriculum.

He knows all 26 letter names and sounds.  He can name the vowels and consonants.  He can use these sounds to sound out CVC words.  He's worked with Phonics Pathways, Alphaphonics, and Bob Books to work on early reading.  However, he doesn't remember a word after he's sounded it out even several times, so I'm trying very hard to give him space to mature a little.  If he asks for a reading lesson, I give him one.  If he doesn't ask, I don't.  I'd rather see him play and rest and make a cognitive leap when he's ready than push him into misery.

He can rote count to 100.  He can count objects accurately at least to 28--that's the highest I've checked.  He intuits simple number patterns, and he's loving playing with the idea of adding things together or taking them away from one another.

Observing the world around him and hearing his siblings share science facts is a definite joy.

He loves history stories.

He can usually find the U.S. on a map, and on our wall map at home, he can find Russia and India, but he mixed up China and Australia. ;)

I think his cognitive skills are just fine.

Gross Motor
He can do all of the items on the list . . . except skip. :)

And he learned to ride a two-wheeler just weeks after his 4th birthday.

No worries here.

Fine Motor
He's got a weird pencil grip, but so does Mister Man, and so does one of their uncles.  I encourage him to use a rubber grip to help him control his pencil, and he readily complies, but if the rubber grip is removed, he reverts to holding the pencil in his own style, and he does just fine either way.

I'm choosing not to fuss.

He does everything on the list.


Baymax is a great 4-year-old boy.  He participates in our daily Morning Meetings with delightful age-appropriate insights.  He's been a full-fledged member of Academy this year, and his history narrations are some of my favorites.  He's funny, inquisitive, creative, strong, and helpful.  He's had a great preschool year, and though he's young, I have no qualms about starting a gentle kindergarten program for him when we start school again.