Assessment 2020-21: Baymax

 

My baby boy is not a baby.

Cliche, I know.  But what words are there adequate to describe the writhings of a mother's heart when she looks at the end of baby-hood?

How grateful I am that this boy still grabs my face and hugs my neck as he kisses me goodnight after prayers!

How grateful I am that he still tries to climb into my lap for a cuddle even though he is far too big to fit!

He's had an entirely adequate kindergarten year, and even though we are lightly schooling through the summer, he's definitely finished what he needs to finish for this season of his academic education.

Reading
He's reading.

He's not fluent.

He does not enjoy it (at least in a formal setting).

But he has moved from First Start Reading A-C (which transitioned from joyful learning to drudgery) to Primary Phonics level 1 (something to which we will return for spelling practice) to reading from classic children's literature, narrating what he read, dictating a sentence for copywork, and illustrating his dictation.

We've taken turns reading a page at a time (each book taking anywhere from 1-7 school days to finish) from the following favorites from our home library:

Katy and the Big Snow

Just a Bad Dream (Mercer Mayer)

Mouse Tales

Once a Mouse

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World

A Fly Went By

Guess How Much I Love You

The Little Engine that Could

The Little House

Little Bear

 

Math

We started with Rod and Staff grade 1 (as recommended by Memoria Press), but that eventually became painful, and I was afraid that the work was moving beyond his cognitive development as a 5-turning-6-year-old boy.

When The Good and the Beautiful offered their original math program for sale at 75% off  to make way for their new math curriculum, I took it as a sign that a change was good.  I purchased both Kindergarten and Grade 1 sets, and we've happily played and explored our way through all of the Kindergarten program and 20-ish of 120 lessons in Grade 1.

This summer, he's been interested in picking up where he left off in Rod and Staff because he can do the work independently instead of waiting for his turn for my attention.

Enrichment

Baymax participates very well in Morning Meetings, Academy, and bedtime read alouds.  He's an enthusiastic listener, even if he prefers not to narrate or answer questions.  He works hard at our memorization projects (Restoration Proclamation and various scriptures), learning far more than I would expect a 6-year-old to handle.

Social/Emotional Development

Baymax would be considered neurotypical in his development, but he has struggled with managing his emotions.  He's taken to mimicking the terrible outbursts he's witnessed via Beowulf and Brother, but he's quicker than they are to calm down and more capable of remembering to use healthy coping strategies on his own.

Based on conversations I've had with other mothers with non-neurotypcal and neurotypical children in the same family, I'm quite nervous about Baymax's further social/emotional development.  The trauma he's experienced because of our special needs children may have impacted him in much the same way the adopted children's trauma has impacted them.

He is blessed with the benefits of his siblings' therapies, so I'm hopeful that he will eventually learn to manage the big feelings that overwhelm him . . . and overwhelm the rest of us.

In Conclusion

Baymax is a mostly happy, healthy small boy.  He's learning and growing physically, academically, and socially.  According to stories I've heard and read, he's pretty much a classic baby brother!