The kindergarten report card.

It goes without saying, though I'm going to write it, kindergarten teaches valuable life lessons. In such a short time, Turner has learned to read: first letters, then sounds, next words, and now sentences. He went to school knowing how to count. Now he can do addition, subtraction in his head. He's learned to write, going from a sweet song for spelling his name to being able to write sentences with punctuation that implies a level of intonation. I'm impressed with how much he has learned, how exceptional our experience with a neighborhood school in Tucson, and how willingly Turner has approached the task of school. He's excited to share with us the skills and ideas he learns, with some prompting. He takes away the obscure facts related to the topic of conversation, kind of like Andy. So he can tell you lots of stuff about bats, oxygen, spiders, for example, but then he can always wow you with a little tid bit. Did you know that grey spiders lay 114 eggs at a time? Also, there once was a dinosaur the size of a chicken named Saltopus. Did you know that it could outrun the larger dinosaurs on its short bird-like legs? Did you know that the tarantula hawk (which I think we trapped in our kitchen window last week) got its name because, it lays a single egg on the back of a tarantula. Once it hatches the egg eats the tarantula for several days while it mutates into a wasp. It has bright orange wings that are much larger than its body, like a hawk. We've all learned a lot in kindergarten. We're so proud that Turner's desire to read has made him even more interested in learning. He sees the use of school and, therefore, has put his school time to good use. This, at least, is the message from Ms. Cipolla. She writes,

"Turner is a wonderful student who grasps concepts very quickly. His excellent work is a reflection of his attitude and effort. He has been a consistently well-behaved, responsible student who has demonstrated mastery of all basic kindergarten skills. His penchant for out-of-the-box thinking has earned him entry into the GATE program where I'm sure he will flourish. It has been refreshing to have a student who is totally invested in his own learning. Please encourage Turner to keep his work neat, paying close attention to the proper grip of his pencil/crayon (we've worked on that the whole year!) With his keen sense of humor and responsible attitude toward school, Turner will be a welcome addition to any first grade classroom. I will miss him greatly! Have a wonderful summer break!"

I feel like Turner was the teacher's pet. This stinks for the other kids who might not have gotten as much of her positive attention, but Ms. Cipolla helped us to cultivate a little fire this year. When we get home from school, he asks me to read his report card to him. So I explain the columns (semester 1 and 2), the rows of information (assessment categories), and the rating scale (1-4). He reviews the numerical data that places him in the top of his learning cohort. We talk about what a big responsibility intelligence and the ability to learn is. How exciting it is to get to attend a good school, and how important it will be this summer to exercise our brains. We get to the bottom of the progress report where absences and tardies are listed. Parental assessment. 9 absences. 13 tardies. Ouch! [On the second to last day of school Turner was mad because he didn't get a certificate for never being tardy. I wondered, at that moment, how many tardies does Turner have? Five or six, maybe. I mean, usually, I rush him in the door and the attendance clerk looks to the ceiling and says, "Run," which doesn't count as a tardy.]

Nine absences includes several unauthorized field trips. There were three days in Mexico where we saw the amazing hundred arm starfish, ate the insides out of a whole fish, and watched marine life while snorkeling, not to mention all those Wii manual dexterity exercises. Two days of calling in sick, see "I must confess . . ." entry. One day to travel to the bluegrass state for holiday break. Two days to tour San Diego Zoo and the USS Midway with CiCi and D. One day for the desert museum with Nanny, PaPa, and Aunt Amy. Now the thirteen tardies, that's a different story. Mostly it involves me and/or Andy wanting just a little more sleep. Once it was a forgotten lunchbox.

On the second to last day of school Turner walked out with this huge envelope of goodies to read and admire. I include some of his favorites.

First, the writing journal.
A baby parrot looks like it[s] mom. Spelled as: A babee perit locs like it mom.

I like to go to the park. I like to go with my dad. Spelled as: I like to go to the porek. I like to go wif my dad.

I am thankful for my water turtle. My turtle is black. Spelled as: I am thankful for my watr trdl. My trdl is black.

A butterfly can flap. Spelled as is.

If I was a cowboy I would rest a cow. Spelled as: If I wus a cowboy I wod rest a cow.

They did not find the dog at home. They found it at [on the back] the park [spelled "the pork."].

I was fishing when the monster totmey on the shoulder [spelled "sholdr" on the back].

I want to be a marine biologist when I grow up Spelled as: "I want to be a mreeen biyolalist win I growe up."

A snowman, "Take me to Mount Lemmon."