Ryan turns 10!

Ryan celebrated his first double-digit birthday this month, and we made it a big one!  First up, we had a LEGO themed birthday party with the grandparents (Uncle Jonathan had the flu.).

Birthday Menu:
Blueberry Scones (breakfast); Grilled Cheese (lunch); and Chips Tacos (dinner)

Part two was an overnight for Paul and Ryan at Great Wolf Lodge.  We have decided to make ten a milestone birthday in our family.  In an effort to combat our culture’s phenomenon of never ending childhood, we want our children to have clear markers that they are indeed progressing toward adulthood, and it’s a wonderful journey (most of the time!).  This does not mean the fun and games are over for Ryan, but Paul spent time during their trip preparing him for what the next few years will be like as he grows.  It was the beginning of a new conversation.  They also swam for hours and played an interactive puzzle game called MagiQuest that took them all over the hotel.  It took him six hours to solve a quest!

     

The third and final aspect of this birthday was a bedroom makeover.  Part of this was practical – Ryan has been using a two drawer TV stand as a dresser since he moved into his own room.  As he has grown, his clothes have, too, and there was no longer room for all of his clothes!  We also wanted to set him up with furniture and a “look” that will carry him into the teen years. 

Our first IKEA purchase!

Fresh paint, new bed and mattress, shelves to display his Lego sets, a dresser with plenty of room to grow, and lots more floor space for play!

Ryan has had a really great year!  We have seen growth in crucial areas and an overall steadiness in his temperament, rather than the turmoil of the year before.  What encouragement for him and for us!  We (Ryan included) put in the time, effort, and prayer needed to overcome some big obstacles.  I feel like we can see what he will be like as a teenager and eventually as an adult.  What fun!

My in-laws gave Ryan the first Percy Jackson book for his birthday last year, and he discovered the joy of reading.  He devoured the first book, and the grandparents eventually supplied all of the Rick Riordan books.  These totaled thousands of pages!  He would slip away to his room to read for hours.  He then moved on to other books.  Some were hits and some were misses, but he is beginning to understand what he likes in a story.

Uncle Jonathan sent him this new series for his birthday. 
He’s already read over 300 pages.  Clearly a hit!

Ryan continues to draw, write stories, and design buildings using a variety of materials in his free time.  His current passion is creating board games for he and his siblings to play.  They can get pretty elaborate, as is everything he does.  He is detail-orientated, a trait for which I take full credit! Playing the piano is still a joy. Whew!  Ryan is also getting more and more golf practice.  He plays with Paul and Papa whenever the weather allows and is now old enough to participate in a weekly golf program for kids at our club.  This has been a huge a source of pride and confidence building!

Academically, Ryan has had a smooth year.  He is rarely frustrated and pushes through even when the concept initially seems overwhelming.  The biggest challenge he has is math.  I would call his development in this area uneven, and it really has been since second grade.  He has a very strong math sense.  We use Singapore Math, and they do not pull punches when it comes to complex story problems and other higher order thinking skills.  (In fact, it is not a curriculum I would recommend to everybody for this very reason.)  Ryan understands what is being asked of him immediately, even before me sometimes!  However, he lags behind in math facts.  His brain has trouble recalling the answer efficiently, which can slow down problem solving significantly.  I know he will get there eventually because I got to see it “click” with addition and subtraction.  In the meantime, there is some plodding along (since 59 x 14 can be solved much faster if you know your times tables!).  So, we wait without worry.

The coming year will bring more independence, for which he has proven himself to be more than ready.  I am training myself to say, “Ryan, which would you prefer?” whenever possible.  This is not because I want to cater to his every whim, but I want him to be free to reflect his personality in the way he dresses, the activities he participates in, and even the food he carries with him into the world (Recently, he respectfully informed me of a few food items that were too “babyish” for homeschool classes.).   I believe we’re headed in the right direction, and Paul and I will learn with Ryan along the way.  There’s no place we’d rather be!