Gavin's progress report

This year Gavin is in both a "regular Kindergarten" class and what they call "Social Skills Kindergarten". He enjoys his regular kindergarten, but he REALLY likes his social skills kindergarten. He is learning a lot of great concepts in that class, like sharing, making conversation with others, problem solving, etc. He also comes home using a lot of interesting buzz words that always make us laugh. For example:
-One day Ella was in her crib crying after her nap. I went upstairs to find Gavin standing at her door saying to her "Ella, you really need to use your calming strategies!"

-Last week Gavin was in a BAD mood. I told him that if he could calm down he could go outside to ride his bike. A few seconds later he yells at me, "I'M IN A BETTER MOOD! I WANT TO RIDE MY BIKE RIGHT NOW!" I said, "Gavin screaming at me is a sign that you are still feeling angry." and he responded, "Mom, Mrs. Kovar says when someone is angry their eyebrows point down. I am lifting my eyebrows up right now so I am obviously not angry anymore!"

-A couple of Saturdays ago Gavin and Abe were fighting over what tv show to watch. Gavin says to Matt, "Dad, we have a problem. First we need to identify the problem. Next we need to brainstorm solutions. Then, we will make a choice. That's how we do a good job!" Sure enough, Gavin decided Abe could pick first and after Abe's show was over, Gavin could pick. He did a good job!

We had our first parent teacher conference yesterday and Gavin is doing great. He has accomplished all of the kindergarten academic goals for the year, so they are going to start pulling him out for a smaller reading group. They said he behaves well without any extra adult assistance. He is getting better at building relationships with the other kids, although he still needs to be pushed into it sometimes. He loves his friends from social skills because they all have similar quirks and mannerisms. We had a playgroup with some of his social skills friends last week and they all had a blast playing and laughing at jokes that nobody else understood. Most of the kids are even "gluten free" just like Gavin! It is great that he finally has a good group of friends. We are so proud of him!