Back in January Jakub went for his "zapis do skoly." He went for his entrance exam to 1st grade. It's a major childhood milestone here and something families get anxious about with anticipation and celebrate highly after going through it together. It's a big deal and we were no different as we went through it together and with several friends and families we have grown close to over the years.
Each year in January the grade schools host 2 nights of open house where parents and kindergartners visit one night and meet the 1st grade teachers and director of their local grade school where they might attend the following fall. The children are "interviewed" or examined by a teacher who asks them a series of questions, does some basic math and hands-on activities with them, and assesses whether they seem ready for entering the 1st grade. Of course it was all in Czech so I was most nervous about how Jakub might do in this new environment and being challenged with the questions in a way he is not typically. We were able to watch from standing off to the side, where they had us filling out paperwork to enter him into the first grade, and I could not have been more proud. He did excellently and was fluent and confident and very smart. He may have felt nervous, but he didn't appear to be and he handled the situation very well. I was so proud of him. We both were. And 2 weeks later we found out he was officially accepted into the school, which is just behind our home and we feel grateful and blessed for this good news!
Jakub you never cease to amaze us with your confidence, your willingness to try new things and take on new challenges, and your then wonderful ability to handle those challenges and usually excel at them quite well. You are one very talented boy and blessed by God. May you always look to Him for your strength and confidence and give thanks to Him for being abundantly blessed. You are pretty amazing and we love you!!
Here's some of the other wonderful things you've been up to:
It's not the best quality, but you've just finished your first semester of swimming lessons with your classmates. You LOVED it and did very well. By the end you were confident in the water, swimming on your own with waist belts, and able to hold your head under water for at least 10 seconds. You received a certificate at the end with your name on it and the saying "Ve vodě jsem jako doma." You are comfortable in the water like you are at home. I had so much fun watching you there and I look forward to swimming with you sometime.
Here your class at školka was showing all of us parents everything you had learned thus far at school. You and your teachers were letting us know that you are ready for 1st grade in the fall. :) You were playing a game here, racing against the girls, to answer questions quickly and correctly. I'm always amazed at your ability to speak Czech and to be comfortable with your friends and teachers.
You don't look happy here, but you really were. You were tired because you had to get up at 630 am for your first day of ski lessons with your school. The bus came at 730 to pick you up and you were so excited and ready to go! You've also done really well with this, not been afraid, and accepted the challenge of learning to ski. You are doing very well at it and will have your last lesson, the 6th one, this week. You are not ready for it to end, but there is not much snow left now on the mountain. :) You have learned very well and are much more confident in it now. I hope I get to ski with you sometime and you will teach me some things. :) I'm constantly impressed with the opportunities your school and director make possible for you young children. What an amazing thing that you have learned to ski with friends at the age of 5-6.
Your bag and note I made you for the first day of skiing. I love making you these morning notes as much as you love getting them. You often write me one back and it's so sweet. You liked this one, but you teased me that my skiers looked more like they were falling down or falling off the mountain. :)
You sweet boy. You are full of energy, confidence, adventure, and life. I love to spend time with you! :) I am sure this year is going to bring even more adventures as we both figure out what it means to enter first grade here. :) I hope you love it as much, or more, as you have loved pre-school and the many experiences you have had thus far!
