Like a Big Boy

Steven frequently sees his sisters curled up like this…

…or this…

And that’s just for school!  That doesn’t count their reading for “fun.”  Although he gets to do fun stuff in school, too, like create Mat Man…

…and now has a friend he can play with when girl-time gets to be too much…

 

…he still feels like there’s just something missing.  So, despite the fact that I was hoping to wait until he officially started kindergarten next fall, I have finally acquiesced and am starting him on phonics.  He can write all of his letters (spelling tests consist of me calling out a word for the girls to spell and a letter for Steven to write), has his letter sounds almost mastered (short i and e just sound too much alike when you have a southern accent!), is continually telling me what this word or that word starts with, and now is trying to put letter sounds together.  I told him that after Thanksgiving we’d start with consonant-vowel blends to see how he does. 

“Deep breath, Mommy.”  If I repeat that enough to myself, will time and the growing up slow down just a little bit?  No, I didn’t think so.