What a Difference a Year Makes

Since our daughter turned six, I've seen a significant advance in her psychological, physical and academic skills versus last year. Here are some of the differences I've seen:

Amusement park rides - It used to be a major ordeal to get our daughter to try an amusement park ride. They were all too "scary." Now, she is open to all the rides that were formerly "too scary," and she is interested in rides that I prefer not to do:-)

Sledding - Previously, my spouse would have to cajole our daughter to go sledding. In addition, we would need to pull her up the hill on a sled. This year, our daughter goes down the hills, including the big ones, by herself. She also scampers back up the hill on her own. Hopefully, she will be able to pull the sled up by herself next year:-)

Soccer - Our daughter has evolved from a lurker to one of the lead players. Finally, she understands the other team won't just let her kick the ball unopposed. She scored her first goal last season.

Academics - I impressed with how much our daughter has learned in the first half of kindergarten. She can read at a 2nd grade level, write short words, and do simple addition and subtracting. A lot of credit goes to my spouse for helping our daughter practice at home.

To me, the transformation from last year is amazing. My ongoing joke is that our daughter was holding back so that we didn't put too much pressure on her:-) However, I must admit, my spouse was definitely right on holding our daughter back from kindergarten. The extra year of growing up has definitely made a difference.

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