While there are definitely some sentimental, precious moments that I miss from her younger days, I am thoroughly enjoying her "big girl" status. If there is a word to describe her personality at this point, it is "helper". She helps with nearly everything. She is the setter of the table, the clearer of the dishes (and eater of leftover food), the sweeper of the floor, the dresser of her brother. She does things to help without being asked. It's like we've entered a new era. While I often have to remind her that her brother and sister do not need a second mother, I find myself ever grateful for her helping hand. At the beginning of May, we took an extra baby a couple of days a week and her helpfulness has definitely made that transition smoother for all of us. She loves having a little, helpless baby around that "needs" her to fetch toys and feed bottles.
Ryann enjoys all things art related right now. She spends a LOT of time coloring every day and has a book of color-by-numbers that she is thoroughly entertained by. She is frequently disappointed that she has to put her coloring away to join us for a family meal or to leave the house. She loves to show her daddy all of the pictures she made when he gets home from work each day. She also enjoys creating with play dough and running around outside. There's something about watching her skinny little legs bounding across the yard out here that warms my heart. She spends a lot of time climbing the trees on our lot, checking the garden for any pickable produce, or wandering through the weeds looking for "flowers". We always have a cup of water on the counter for the "flowers" she has picked. She always has an idea in her head and a mission on her heart. We frequently have to squash her noble plans, in light of safety for the members involved. She's a problem solver, which is good and bad. She can figure out just about whatever is bothering her, but that also means that I might find that she has hoisted her baby sister into the crib to get her to stop messing with her toys.
She can now read (short, sound out-able words). She frequently surprises us with what she knows how to read. For example, on vacation she came up to me one afternoon and said "Lup is NOT a real word, Mom." To which I responded, "I have no idea what you are talking about." (I'm a fairly decent mom, I swear.) So, she pointed to the gate at the entrance to the pool, which had a vertical sign saying 'PULL'. And she repeated, "LLLLLLL-LLLLLL-UUUUUUHHHHH-PPPPPPP. Lup, Not a real word." Vertical signs read from top to bottom, Dear. Reading. So many rules. She can count to one hundred and she can solve addition and subtraction facts as long as neither additive is higher than ten. She processes stories extremely efficiently, so we enjoy reading pretty intense chapter books together. We are currently reading the second Free Willy book, because she is fascinated by whales. I do edit some of the material, as it does have some pretty hard life stuff for a five year old. We have decided to move forward with homeschooling her and are all signed up for her fall semester at the co-op. She will have a teacher and a class that she attends one day a week. I'm still working on a list and developing a curriculum for her other days. I looked through the state standards for kindergarten, and there is not much on there that she hasn't mastered already, so I'm pretty free to teach what I want. (And kindergarten isn't even required in Kansas anyway.) I've spent the last two years teaching her various things, and this new adventure feels like an extension of all those things.
Ryann is still a social butterfly. Anytime a neighbor is outside, she has things she absolutely needs to tell them. Interesting, since we live in a neighborhood that could easily be mistaken for a retirement community. Also, this is fun, since we have no idea what is going to come out of her mouth. Want to live a transparent life? We'll give you Ryann for a month. Haha! We are trying to be mindful of her need for socialization, as we are well aware that lack of socialization makes home school kids "weird". (That's kind of a joke, by the way... The thing that makes home school kids weird... is weird parents... so she's screwed anyway...) She has "finished" gymnastics and is now signed up to start soccer in the Fall. She loved gymnastics, but we'd like her to experience a few different sports before she has to settle and honestly, she's got a good gait on her and she absolutely loves being outside-neither of which was a part of gymnastics. Personally, I'm excited to watch her kick a soccer ball (or at least run around a grassy field!) I loved soccer as a kid!
Five, friends, is a good age!