Proud Mama

Back in September, Andy's school started a reading challenge for the kids called "Read For The Gold". They tied it in with the Winter Olympics, which at this point in time seem like a million years ago, and had ten different stages that was each a different Olympic event. Each grade had a different level of qualification, but for the first grade it was read 125 pages and advance to the next stage. So, to finish the entire thing the average first grader needed to read 1,250 pages between September and May. They were all supposed to read 20 minutes a night anyway, so that should be easy enough.

The whole way they do it is kind of strange, though. By pages. So, one kid could read books that average 10 words per page, we're talking about first grade here, while another could read books that average 100 words per page. Either way, it counts as one page. Although there were some books that Andy read that didn't have quite as many words per page as others, most of his books were chapter books that were pretty long. Not that I'm complaining or saying that my kid got the shaft, just making an observation about how quirky it is. I have no idea of a better way to do it.

Andy didn't really care how many pages he read or how many words were on each page. He just loves to read. Once he made it to the end and got his 1,250 pages he could care less about reporting his further progress. His mother, on the other hand, wanted to get credit for all of it. It brought out the little competitive streak that I never get to exhibit anymore. Each time the kids finished ten stages, they would start back at the beginning and a star would be added to their torch (the torch was what moved along the chart so you could see where everybody stood). In the end, Andy had five stars on his torch. That means he read over 6,250 pages this year (and those were only the pages I was recording, he read tons at school and never recorded them himself). He wasn't the top reader in the first grade, but I don't care and he didn't either. He was just happy to get his medal and certificate.

At this point I'd love to say that his laziness and mediocrity are beginning to show because he didn't care to be first. However, I can't. I'm glad he read past that 1,250 requirement not because he felt he had to, but because he wanted to. I'm also happy that he wasn't upset that he didn't come in first because he wanted to be the best. He may be a good loser yet. There were plenty of kids in the first grade that didn't make it to the end of stage ten. I don't know if it's because they didn't care or their parent's didn't care or just because they were too lazy to turn in their sheets. I'm just proud that my kid did and that smile on his face says it all.