Dominic - 6 Years Old

Dom is six! This one feels different. He's school-aged. Officially. He's developing more of his own personality and independence. 

Weight: 55lb (95 percentile)
Height: 48.5 inches (over 95 percentile!)

• Size 7-8 clothing. Size youth 1 shoes. 
• Super into Pokemon, cars, sports, hockey cards/teams, dinosaurs, etc.
• We've signed him up for soccer again starting in January. 
• He has a hard time giving up control to others even if it's something he's not at all involved in. Not sure where he got that from... *guilty.
• He has two wiggly teeth in the bottom and one adult tooth growing in behind them. It's so big! How is he supposed to fit a mouth full of those big teeth?!
• Sometimes I have flashes of teenager Dom and I'm terrified. Just this big tall man walking around the house. Bizarre. 
• He has all the NHL goal horns memorized, loves to sort and categorize his NHL and pokemon cards, and has an excellent memory for details. 
• He has started phonetic spelling which is my favourite! "Hape seme chruk" - Happy Semi Truck. I mean come on!! 
• He has changed a lot since Kindergarten. He has a new appreciation for structure and routine, although he's always been that way it's different. He comes home from school very fatigued and dysregulated so we're working on a routine of unwinding after school. Haven't quite got that figured out yet. 
• He is getting better at sounding out words and spelling words, but is a perfectionist so gets discouraged easily. Every so often he'll read a paragraph out of a book we're reading or the prayer at the end of our nightly bible story and he actually figures out most of the words. I think it's partial sight words, partial sounding out words and making the sentence make sense given the context. Regardless I am still surprised every time. We do not read enough with the kids individually so it's encouraging to see these kind of developments that are obviously from school.
• He enjoys drawing and colouring, but struggles to take the time to stay in the lines. It's more important for him to get it done. 
• He has a natural knack for math and numbers. He does basic addition and subtraction easily, and understands the concepts of multiplication and division. I wish we had more time to sit down and work with him. 
• He got his first report card (learning report) from school! There were no surprises. I think she hit the nail on the head for what I expected him to be like haha. 
  
• Student Strengths and Celebrations: Dominic is a joyful, kind and inclusive presence in class. He is flexible with playmates and welcomes others into his learning and play space with grace and care. He is boisterous with his laughter and generous with his jokes. He often has his whole table group laughing at some joke or other. He frequently has a twinkle in his eye as he leads up to a punchline no one sees coming. He is thoughtful of others and often considers their feelings as he makes his choices for play. Dominic is beginning to express what he needs from his classmates at the moment without prompting and is reaping the rewards of clear and kind communication. He is a sought-after playmate. on top of all this, Dominic is a competent student, grasping concepts and making connections to previous learning or experiences. He listens to instructions and is beginning to produce work he is very proud of. 
• Areas for Growth: Dominic sometimes gets caught up in conversation in moments he should be listening. He is encouraged to continue practicing whole-body listening. 
• Another way he has changed since Kindergarten is his confidence. He can walk into a place without clinging to us. He can make friends very easily. He can answer questions from strangers. It's encouraging for us to see that as he used to be so timid! 
• His favorite thing to wear are jammies. If he can't get away with that, then it's sweats, a sporty long sleeve and a sweater. Child of comfort this guy.
• He does not like to eat the dinners I make. It doesn't really matter what it is, he avoids it like the plague. We're trying different techniques and are making some headway, but he is a boy who would love to live off bread and applesauce. 
• What do you want to be when you grow up? 
  "There's really 3 things I want to be. A garbage man, a construction digger driver, and a hockey player."
• What's the best thing about being 6?
  "Getting to be the oldest"
• What's your favorite colour?
  "I don't really know."
  
• Who's your best friend?
  "Matteo"
• What's the best part of kindergarten?
  "Hmm... getting to sled and having gym class."

It is just so fun watching our little boy become a bigger boy and develop skills for his life. I am so curious what he will be like as he gets older. I sort of expect it will be a lot like this but with more extra curriculars and greater emotional regulation haha.