Jake at 6

Dear Jake-o,

What a year! I feel that I write that each time round, but it's crazy to see what each 12 months does for you all round. You're now well over 4 feet tall (which makes you taller than one of my 4th grade kids!) and you're becoming used to the fact that you're going to be one of the tallest kids wherever you go. You manage your height well, using those long legs to run fast and climb, and you're unbelievably wiry and strong for a kid of your age. It's currently t-ball season, and you absolutely love smacking the ball into the outfield, and then running as fast as lightning (your words, not mine!) around the bases. I hope that baseball continues to be a passion for you, though I'm not sure that I'll coach you when you start to get into the serious business! For now, there's nothing more fun than pitching balls to you at home and watching you crush them over the house, or into Sophie's window (good thing Papa bought us a bunch of soft balls).

Speaking of Sophie, this year has seen you really step up as a big brother to her. I listen to you playing with her, and you speak with such a kind and careful voice, changing your words and your tone to make her feel happy. You play lovely games with her, and you're so patient with her desire to play with the same toys that you play with. I love how you call her Sofa and help her out, especially getting yoghurts for dessert at dinner time. Long may this cuteness continue, and I think as she gets more and more words you'll find that she's an awesome playmate (most of the time!)

Speaking of playmates, our biggest pleasure this year has been watching you develop a set of close friends, all by yourself. Jack is your current favorite, and the two of you are hilarious together. You just seem to know how to make each other laugh, how to play sensible games together and how to generally have fun in each other's company. You like hanging out with Willy too, and you have a much more rough and tumble relationship with him. I'll treasure my memory of you two playing leaf monsters in the fall at the pumpkin launching farm forever.

School has been a wonderful experience for you. If I'm honest, I was worried that you'd find it tough, but you've really worked out who you are as a learner (hard working, a listener, a thinker) and how to make school work for you. You tell us all sorts of interesting math facts, and you're beginning to be able to work some stuff out that you're not being taught (you came down tonight and told Mommy that if you were 40, she'd be 70!). You've learned your alphabet so well that Mommy and I can't do our usual trick of spelling words that we don't want you to know because you sound stuff out in your head and make really good guesses! You can also read a whole bunch of sight words, and you read your first book (all about sea otters!) to me, and then to your class. I could not have been more proud of you on that day.

You are still a massive animal fan - peregrine falcons are your favorite bird, and jaguars are your favorite animals. However, you have interests in all sorts of different places - space, dinosaurs, monster trucks and art, to name just a few. You love to learn everything you can about these things, and find delight in the ridiculous details, like that chickens are dinosaurs in disguise or that you'd be 24 on Mercury. Our story times are a mixture of fiction and non-fiction (which you can tell the difference between) and most of our time is spent discussing the books and answering your questions.

To wrap it all up, you're a pretty smoochy kid. You've worked out how to tease people gently, how to play games with strategies to win and strategies to deal with losing, how to have fun and rein it in, how to ask for what you need and how to show kindness on a daily basis. What a year. It boggles my mind that you're 6, and that you can do all of these incredible things. Imagine what you'll have learned by the time I write again next year!

Love you, little bear.

Dad

PS your current life goal is to be a space scientist. Mom says you can't leave the planet without her. You're currently negotiating how many space rocks you will need to bring back to keep her on Earth. Dad says dream big, little bear!