Kai was very excited about it from the day before and his teacher reported that he was trying to sneak peeks to see what awards everyone was getting.
With our heat wave over, Kai was able to wear his new suit that my wife got just for this occasion. Kai actually likes dressing up, and I think it helps keep him on his best behavior.
At the ceremony, Kai’s class was the first one up. One by one, the school director called up each student to the front while the teacher read off their most notable achievements. The student then receives a certificate, as well as one for accomplishments in PE, and several different ones for speech therapy depending on how much they had.
Kai’s certificate stated that he was awarded for “displaying an enthusiasm for learning and making impressive academic gains. His amazing accomplishments in class as well as his outstanding progress with safety have set a great example for all students.”
After his class was recognized, it was everyone else’s turn. Remarkably, he sat nicely through the whole program. In the past, these large assemblies have overwhelmed him, so it was great to see him handle this one so well.
When it was over, Kai came back to where we were sitting and proudly showed us his awards. He had six, more than anyone else, he said. He had kept track and counted how many everyone had received. We didn’t tell him that he had more than anyone else because he needed more speech therapy than the others.
The awards are a nice way to give positive reinforcement to the kids for all of their hard work, and to recognize them in front of their peers and family.
But for us, what was so great was to note the improvement our son had made in this, his first-grade year. Looking at him in his suit, he seems so grown up. But it is not just the way he looks. He acts differently, with more maturity.
It seems like it was only yesterday that he was in kindergarten. Now, he is on to second grade. Time flies.
Good for Kai! You have a handsome son...I can see his pride and happiness in that picture. The awards received and stats kept was cute.
ReplyDeleteYes...they grow so quickly!