Is there an app to help me?

My smart phone is loaded to the brim with apps for my kids. Matter of fact, outside of the old standby boredom beater, Solitaire, all of the apps I’ve downloaded thus far were found with little people in mind.

And the preschool learning apps have especially intrigued my thirdsie, the little guy who is gearing up for a big change this fall.

Rarely a minute goes by that Alex doesn’t say, “Can I play coloring on your phone?” I open the app, hand him the phone, and with his nimble little fingers, he pieces together puzzles, dot-to-dots and coloring pages. Let’s just say technology has trumped anything I did at his age.

What he doesn’t realize is that he’s learning and honing his fine motor skills.

And that mom is secretly trying to prepare him for kindergarten.

But what I am slowly learning, is that he’s smarter than me.

I asked to him last week, while playing a puzzle game that spells out words, if he would spell the words to me.

“No. I don’t like to spell,” was his response.

And there went one of those teachable moments right out the car window. Or, so I thought.

Then, without warning, he started spelling.

It flew back in.

He spelled “boat,” “kitten,” “goat” and even “matryoshka.”

Alex is a pretty smart cookie, but only when he wants to be, because as smart as Alex is, he’s just as stubborn.

Each time he would finish spelling a word, I would say, “Good job, Alex.” And he’d spell some more. Finally, he said, “Mom, I like it when you say, ‘Good job, Alex.’” Ahhh, and who said kids weren’t precocious?

Alex entered preschool in the fall, with great zeal.

And as soon as he entered preschool, I started looking toward kindergarten.

Sure, he knows he’s going to big brother’s school next year, but what’s “next year” when you’re 4 years old?

So as big brother hones his reading skills, little brother is getting the practice he needs to be on the right track.

Kindergarten is a big deal.

Sending my third to school is a world of difference from sending my first.

I should be an old pro by now, but as is always the case, each kid is different.

Jacob was much more adult-like than his brothers, as the first, and Lucas suffers through developmental delays that made his trip to school a little bit rockier. Alex only wants to be like his older brothers, but on his own time with his own set of rules.

But, after sending two different kids through kindergarten, I am learning the importance of making sure they’re ready.

And that takes more than reciting the alphabet and being able to count.

It’s a big world, and these days, most kindergartners leave that first year of school knowing how to read, write and even have math skills. And the lesson I took away from sending the first two sons to school, is that it takes more than just academics to get them through kindergarten. So as we read books, recite our address and practice body parts, we’re also instilling a healthy dose of maturity.

And that’s hard, especially for mom.

Alex doesn’t know what’s going on, but I know I’m sending a little boy off into the great big world.

And, even though I know he’ll be emotionally ready to take that step, I have to wonder, will I?

But that’s the age-old question now isn’t it?

I wonder if there’s an app for that?