Jeff and I had been discussing whether we wanted to get him tested to see if he could go early or if we wanted to keep him in pre-school one more year. I mean the kid is small. He only weighs 30 pounds on a good, soggy, winter parka wearing day.
Jeff talked to his pre-school teachers and they all felt like he was way ahead of the other kids in his class and that he would do fine in kindergarten. Because of this, we decided to get him tested to see what the actual OPS district thought.
Yesterday was the big day. Early last week I called and made the appointment. I told Rilyn about it and ALL last week he was asking about his "special meeting" that he had. He was definitely excited to show what he knows. He woke up early and went to work with me and then we headed to the OPS building. We met dad there and Rilyn went in with the teacher that was going to test him. The test took an hour to do.
The room that Rilyn was in had a two-way mirror, straight out of the Law and Order episodes, that we could watch him through. It was really cool because Jeff and I have never been able to see what Rilyn does when he interacts with his teachers. Well we definitely found out. We witnessed Rilyn kicking the lady (not intentionally) under the table, putting his hand on his head while thinking, very fidgety (just like his dad is when he concentrates on stuff), puffing up his cheeks, sticking out his tongue, wiggling his tongue and smiling into the mirror. I was laughing so hard I had to walk away. I also swore up and down that Rilyn made eye contact with me. Thus why I could never be an interrogator. I can only imagine what would happen if a person we were questioning walked up to the mirror and looked me dead in the eye (whether they knew I was there or not)...I would probably need an adult diaper throughout the whole experience.
Jeff and I were nervous like I assume all parents are. We could only hear what his answers were if we were really quiet. He had a bunch of questions that she went through. He had to demonstrate how to put blocks in a correct position according to a picture (some of them looked really hard) and he had to fill out worksheets and get timed on them.
Here is a picture of Rilyn in action....
After the testing was over we met with the teacher to go over the results. Drum roll please.....after all the testing we were informed that Rilyn tested at Higher Than Average!!! Our kid is a real Super Duper Smarty Pants and its not just because he is our kid. They showed us the scale and Rilyn is just below the genius level...which is where they have to test to qualify for kindergarten. Rilyn was slightly disappointed in not being able to go to kindergarten this year. Not for the fact of actually learning anything, but because he will have to wait another year before he can ride the bus to school. He was pretty bummed about that. Jeff and I were slightly disappointed due to the fact that we feel like he will be bored next year with kindergarten since the teacher said that he is going to breeze through kindergarten and excel very well. I guess we will just continue to motivate our son into being the best kid/student he can be and hope that come next year he gets straight A's.
Afterall the papers show that he is a SUPER DUPER SMARTY PANTS....hmmp...just not a genius. And really...who wants to be a silly genius anyways? our kid ROCKS!
Love The Hagans-
What a cutie! Coming from a teacher's perspective...I think it's better to start a child later anyhow. He will be so smart and mature...a natural leader for his peers :)
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