Chase's Accomplishments

I have to say, that I have been in absolute awe watching some of the progress Chase has made lately and it seems like it just happened overnight!  Sometimes I forget that he is almost 5 and forget how much learning and development comes along with that.

Example #1 of my smart monkey man...

We have been working on reading and writing with him at home and they also do such an amazing job with him in his preschool.  Everyday I watch him get better and better..... but then I come home from a trip to this note and I just want to cry...

I mean, when did he get this good?  I just love how hard he works at writing and how proud he is when he is able to make cards, do his homework well, etc.  The one thing we definitely know about him is he is sooo hard on himself (hmmm wonder where that comes from) so we have to be really careful when we are helping him.  When he is working on homework he will get so disappointed if he makes a mistake so we have to be really calm and help him understand that mistakes are part of learning.  He is getting better though, and I know that this thrive for perfection will be something that helps him go far in life.

Example #2 of my smart monkey man....

My Mom & Dad got Chase a subscription to Highlights magazine awhile ago and usually he looks at the pictures, reads the stories and that's about it.  This last week one came in the mail and I told him there were games inside.  He wanted to play them but I wasn't sure how hard they would be.

The first game was a picture where you had to find items that were hidden in the picture.  I told him what he was supposed to do but I also told him it was a little difficult.  I was worried he would get upset and not be able to do it.  He looks at it and says, "You mean like finding this pencil?"  He TOTALLY understood and circled all but one picture all on his own!  (That last picture took me forever to find too - lol) 

Next game there were 2 pictures and you had to find what was different about the 2 pictures...I thought oh man he will not understand this.  I told him what you had to do and walked a few feet away to check on dinner. Right away he starts yelling out things that are different and circling them!  How sad that I totally underestimated him!  Craig and I were both in awe of how well he did with all of them and I definitely learned a little lesson myself that night :)

Chase is definitely our analytical one and it is so fun to watch him grow and learn!  I can't believe he will be in Kindergarten this fall, but I do know one thing - he is definitely ready!