P is for Parent-Teacher Conferences

Today we had Landon’s first parent-teacher conference at his new school. He got a great “report card” from his teacher, complete with a big check mark and smiley face next to: “Asks appropriate questions.” She gave us some good feedback on his development.

She said Landon is a delight to have in class. He’s happy, laid back and helpful. And hilarious – she mentioned several times how much the teachers get a kick out of what comes out of his mouth.

He is right on par with where he should be academically, and clearly a smart kid. We learned that his teacher has years of experience teaching Pre-K and this is her first toddler class. I was happy to hear that an experienced teacher is leading the class.

L.J. is one of two self-appointed “teacher assistants.” He and another little boy are happiest when they are helping the teacher with anything and everything. She said they are her constant sidekicks.

L.J. is very keen on making sure the other kids are doing what they are supposed to be doing. Hearing that was like looking in a mirror, as I’m sure my parents heard that same statement about me at many a conference over the years… I digress. On the flip side, once he has to follow the same instructions, he has a tendency to melt down. We’ve definitely seen this at home.

He loves books. He carries piles of them around the room, sleeps with a pile next to his nap mat and anytime the books appear to be missing it’s probably because L.J. has squirreled them away somewhere. She said books are L.J.’s trademark and his favorite thing in the classroom.

She talked about discipline a little bit, saying that L.J. typically is one of the quicker students to obey and/or stop doing something when asked. She mentioned that many of the kids have to be told multiple times and then it is still iffy if they will listen. With L.J. it usually only takes one ask or two. So maybe we are doing something right at home? I swear a lot of times it feels like we’re banging our heads against the wall, but we’re trying our best.

She talked about L.J.’s social skills and said that he is a little behind where he should be. That was a little surprising to hear since he is typically pretty social and friendly around other kids; we assumed he’d be right in the thick of things. She said that he often prefers to do things by himself and will always assess a social situation from the side before deciding whether to join in. She did clarify that he doesn’t seem sad or left out – he just prefers to do things on his own.

She said they have a group of boys in the class who are more aggressive and rough-and-tumble – and that L.J. does not like playing with them. She said he isn’t the least bit aggressive and that if we look on the camera and see a pile a boys, L.J. is never among them. Boy was I thankful to hear that!!

On a separate note, how do we like his new school five months after starting? L.J. loves it and that is the most important thing. He still calls it “new school” and on Fridays typically wants to know when school is closed and when it’s going to open again. He wants to make sure that he gets to go back on Monday!

We’ve been happy overall. The beginning was tough because we felt there wasn’t a lot of discipline, but we found out that there was a lot of teacher transition going on. Now that there is an established set of teachers in his room (who have much better control over the kids) we’ve been much more at-ease with our choice. We still miss the family/community aspect of his old school, but continue to think that the more “preschool-like” atmosphere of his current school is beneficial for L.J.

P.S. – Yes, L.J. still refers to the baby as “Baby Charley.” No, that is not her name :)