T walked in the door with the hubby, who had taken our cat to the vet.
We circled him with a congratulatory hug because his teacher had e-mailed us great news.
She had a regular check-in with T’s reading. He had been reading at Level 4 – on the Developmental Reading Assessment system – the past few months.
She tried a Level 10 book and he read above 90% accuracy, asked great questions and made excellent comments about the pictures. So this is the instructional level he will read at now.
The expectation for Grade 1 is to get to a Level 16 reading level at the end of the year.
As we are well aware with our parenting journey, every child moves at their own pace.
For T’s Independent Education Plan, his teacher set the goal to get to Level 10 by the end of the year. With three more months of school, we’re hopeful to help T get closer to Level 16.
I was on a work call when I received his teacher’s email and I teared up. It was a busy frenetic week and the good news was very welcomed.
I paused the meeting to share the news with my colleagues, because I was so proud.
We told T how proud we are and how his practice has paid off. We could tell he was proud.
I returned upstairs to work – feeling that adrenaline rush of pride and awesomeness.
Then I heard T screaming and throwing a fit.
I went down to investigate. Turned out our little genius had squeezed himself into the tiny cat crate and now couldn’t get out.
I had quite the chuckle, because kids really do keep you humble and grounded.
But I still felt proud and continued to ride the high.
Then I figured I’d let T sweat it out a bit longer in the crate. Maybe it’ll teach him to think twice before crawling in next time.
And before anyone freaks out and reports me to children services, he figured out how to get out on his own.
My Life With T 
Congratulations T and parents ❤❤. And, I do think those natural consequences are excellent reinforcers.
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Thank you, LaDonna. 😊 These moments keep us motivated and moving forward, for sure. Hope you are doing well!
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♥️♥️💗♥️♥️
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That’s wonderful T jumped ahead to level 10! The literacy gains will pay off in dividends for all his school years and beyond. 😁
His cat crate curiosity is so cute and in my opinion it’s wise to give children those opportunities to problem solve and be resilient.
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Thank you Lizi. We’re very proud of his progress. And yes, the cat crate thing, while humorous, demonstrates curiousity and problem solving for sure! 🙏
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Totally!
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Congrats!! That’s wonderful news to hear that T has met his reading goal before the end of the year! I’m always amazed at how curious kids are and what goes on in their heads when they do such silly things like try to fit inside a cat crate!! That’s too funny!!
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Thanks Linda. We are very proud of him. 😊 And yes, lots of silliness in our days too. I would love to get inside his head some day too. I bet it’s like a Willy Wonka factory in there!
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This is great news! And… personally, I think it was a great parenting technique to allow him some time to figure out how to get out of the cat crate himself. Sometimes, we are very quick to rescue our children…when, just giving them a moment to figure it out on their own fosters a sense of self-reliance and self-confidence 🙂
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Thank you, Grace. And yes, exactly what you said – kids are great at figuring things out if we give them the space and time to do so. 🙏
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Hope you have a wonderful day 🙂
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T just went through not one, but two wonderful learning curves: reading skill and life skill. While his ability to comprehend text progresses, so does his awareness about how it may not be a good idea to crawl into a hole. 🙂 He is funny.
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Thank you, Bama. This kid often gets himself into the oddest places so let’s hope! Cuz he’s only gonna get bigger. 😆
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That is a huge accomplishment! Congratulations T and keep up the good work Dads, you were both a big part of T’s accomplishment.
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Thanks Diane. We are so so proud of him. And for sure, it takes a village! 😊 Very thankful for his amazing supports in school and daycare.
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OMG – I’m howling! That is hilarious!
But great job on the level 4 to level 10. Holy cow!! I know how much patience it takes to sit with them as they read so I’m impressed, yet again!
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Thank you Wynne. It was a wonderful surprise for sure and one we feel so proud of. He’s worked very hard on his reading and I’m glad for him to see some payoff!
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Good one. Made me smile and remember the funny things kids do out of curiosity . Congrats to T both for the academic success and figuring how to get out of the crate. Solving accidental challenges we are not prepared and able to figure out how to solve it are important life lessons. Thank you for a post full of great positive vibes.
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Thank you. Kids are our greatest source of pride, worry and yes, enjoyment. 😊 Hope you and your family have a nice weekend ahead. The sun finally came out of hiding over here after three dark days!
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I teared up as I was reading because I could clearly sense how proud you are of T & therefore not surprised by you tearing up. With all the love and support he has, I’m certain he’ll continue to do well & reach his goal. Not only with reading, he sounds like a very determined young man. 🥰
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Thank you very much, Tammy. We are very proud of him. It makes the harder and challenging and frustrating moments all the more worth it! 😊
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Haha, so he is also curious and adventurous. Great! And congratulations on the level 10 achievement!
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Thank you. There are other adjectives we’d use but yes, for sure, curious and adventurous are on that list too. 😆😊
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LOL
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