Parent-teacher conferences

We are always excited when this event comes up!  We are fortunate to have three AMAZING kids.  We bounced around from conference to conference and loved it.

Carson:
He is making huge strides in his reading so far.  Math is his strongest subject.  He gets wiggly in class but all he needs is a gentle reminder and he'll go right back to doing what he should be.  He works hard to meet expectations on all the activities in class.  He is friendly with all the kids and is kind. 

Dillon:
 The teacher was a little confused with his reading scores in his testing.  Some of them are really high and others are low. There is an inconsistency.  We figured out that it ties back to the same thing.  If he is asked to show text evidence he does really well.  When he isn't asked to provide that he kind of cruises through without a lot of thought.  It's not a matter of ability, it's a matter of effort.  Anyway.  He is a great leader and example in his class.  The teacher knows she can rely on him to demonstrate good behavior and helps with some of the kids that don't get along well with others.  His ability to be a subtle, guiding person that people naturally look to is "a gift".  Math and science are particularly strong subjects for him. 

Kayda:
With the online grades updated every week we didn't really NEED to go to her conferences. We know she's doing well.  We enjoy talking to the teachers though, and she enjoys hearing what they have to say.  All six of them had nothing but praise.  She's always doing what she should be, she finishes everything early and helps her peers whenever they need it.  Her character strong (leadership) class ends next week, the teacher is really disappointed that she won't have Kayda again next quarter.  That particular class is part of a rotation to introduce kids to different electives.  The choice was the rotation or year long band. 

It is always a good day when we get to do conferences for our kids.  Someday they may not want us to.  For now we'll enjoy it. 

Teacher's note

Received this email about Carson tonight.  We know that we have three wonderful kids.... But it's always fun to hear it from other people.

"Hi Mr. and Mrs. H,

I apologize for not calling you versus emailing.  Time seems to slip by quickly and I don't wish to disrupt bedtime routines and family time!  I just wanted to take a moment and share with you how proud of I am of Carson and the great work he is doing!  He is a sweet, kind boy who is just a joy to have in class.  He works and tries hard to give his best at all times!  He is truly a role model in our classroom.  Please take a moment as soon as you can to celebrate his first few weeks of school.  

Have a great night!"

Parent Conferences

We had our parent-teacher conferences the very first day we could.  The kids always love conferences because it means they get to go to the book fair.  Daddy and I are always excited because we get to hear about our kids.  Fortunately we have amazing kids so we don't hear anything bad.  Every parent loves to hear how great their kids are so we're pretty thrilled when this time comes around.

We had Kayda's conferences first.  Per usual she is at the top of every subject.  She is such a hard worker and the teacher is thrilled to have her in class. Her teacher is new this year and hasn't really figured out how to handle the class.  The class often loses recess time and such but Kayda gets to go out because she is pretty much always on task.  She is usually done with her work well before the other kids and spends a lot of time reading.  With the teacher being new it means that Kayda isn't getting the push that she needs.  I'm working with her teacher trying to find things that will push Kayda but it's not easy.  Kayda loves being in school, she loves being in student council and (despite the classroom management issues) she loves her teacher.  We're working with the teacher to try to find ways to accommodate Kayda's level.  Right now she is starting a research project on ocean pollution.  I'm working behind the scenes to try and figure out what exactly she should be doing and to try to guide her along the way.  Most of the work is intended to be done at school but right now she's so excited to be doing it that she works on it a lot at home. She loves to learn so much and I hope that we can keep that going.

Carson's conference was next.  He is ahead of a lot of the kids in his class he already knows his alphabet and sounds.  The only one he struggles with is the Y sound but he self corrected so she thinks he'll have it down in no time.  There were a few other things that the teacher wasn't sure if his speech was getting in the way of expressing the knowledge so we're working on arranging for either her or his speech therapist to do his testing at school.  He understands sequencing across the board.  The concept was pretty new and was demonstrated by putting events in order.  His teacher was VERY impressed when he, without prompting, extended that to putting numbers in order.  He is a very calming influence in the class.  He is always on task and apparently when kids sit at the table with him the whole table does better behaviorally.  She told us that he surrounds himself with kids that are also calm and on task.  She encourages other kids to be his friend because of the influence he has.  She often uses what he's doing to help show other kids what they should be doing, and that started just a couple of days into the school year.  He can already count to 49 and they only have to be able to make it to 100 by the end of the year.  He still needs to learn his 3D shapes and he struggles with triangle.  Overall he is doing outstanding and you can tell that his teacher ADORES him.

Dillon's conference was last, and with one of our favorite teachers.  She had Kayda last year and was so impressed.  When Dillon came in she was super impressed with him too.  She told us that he is on task, helps other kids, is always kind and inclusive.  He is right where he should be for his grade level everything but his math and reading comprehension, which are a little higher than most.  They each get to work with the teacher to make a goal to work toward.  He decided that he wants to work to get the highest reading comprehension score possible.  When I come in to his class to volunteer it is right as they come in from recess and they have silent reading time.  There are always some kids just kind of looking around and fiddling with pages but Dillon is always diligently reading.  He has already mastered his 0,1,10, 2 and 5's for multiplication.  He is currently working on his 3's.  Occasionally the kids will get to choose a song to dance to in their class (they have to earn a certain number of good behavior points).  I got to witness it.  She put a song with a video from "Kid's Bop" on the projector screen.  The kids on the show dance and her class dances with them.  I should sign him up for dance class because he was IN TO it.  He was right there with the kids on the screen and he was intense!

Over all we are blessed with three outstanding children.  They're all great kids and they all have different strengths.  We love hearing about their school experience and I love being able to witness snippets of it every week when I'm in their classrooms.  I dread the day that they get big enough that they don't want me there, or when they'll stop wanting to give me hugs and kisses at the school doors before we part ways.  Watching them grow up is amazing, but every now and again it makes me sad.

Carson's Home Visit

Today Teacher Peggy came to do a home visit for preschool. Carson was so excited!  He waited by the front window and ran to the door as soon as she pulled up.  It is a huge comfort for me to see his relationship with her.   He was,  and still can be,  so shy.  So seeing him be so excited and animated with her was heartwarming.  They did a couple of alphabet puzzles, some sorting,  patterns and counting just to see where he's at.   She emphasized how much of a thinker he is.   He thinks it out carefully before doing it, such as when he builds with blocks.  Long story short... she adores him and he is a fantastic student.   He is advanced with his fine motor skills,  knows most of his letters,  counts to 25+ (though he needs to be a little more consistent with his teens).

He has been improving by leaps and bounds socially. To understand I need to describe him a little more.   When he started preschool last year it was mostly because he couldn't handle being away from family. If he didn't have Kayda or Dillon he wouldn't play with anyone,  staying glued to me or Daddy.  Being at school away from any of us caused MANY tears.   At the beginning of this year I had to stay at least 15 minutes before I could get it the door.  As the year went he was happier to go to school but he still would not say "hello" or "goodbye" instead he would just smile and tuck his face against my leg.  At the school's family style lunch he wouldn't ask for anything,  he wouldn't play with anyone unless they asked him... I think you get the idea.

Now he rides the bus to and from school,  he is greeting people and saying goodbye.   He plays with most of the kids instead of the one or two he is most comfortable with... it goes on.   She had two very specific examples for me:

At the family style lunch she heard him say "please pass the milk". No one did,  he said it again 2 more times,  nicely and slightly louder,  in the hope of being heard. She ended up going over to help him get their attention.  It is so wonderful that he is feeling comfortable enough that he will keep asking instead of just giving up and hiding away.

She also saw him walk up to a kid playing with a measuring tape.   Carson asked if he could have a turn and then patiently waited until the other child was done,  then went to play.   He NEVER would've initiated any interaction like that before.  

Parent Teacher Conferences

Way back in October we were given the opportunity to meet with Dillon and Kayda's teachers to talk about their progress. Prior to the conferences they test the kids on their reading fluency, comprehension and their mathematical skills.

Dillon (2nd):  Dillon already knows almost all of the second grade reading words and is working on the third grade list.  His fluency is fairly low but his comprehension is well above and beyond what most second graders demonstrate.  He is scoring beyond most second graders in his math as well.  The teacher told us that he is a sweet boy and is willing to stop and double check his work.  He listens well but occasionally gets caught up with what the people around him are doing.  She is really enjoying him!

Kayda (3rd):  Kayda's teacher didn't have anything bad to say.  Kayda is already reading several grade levels ahead, has excellent comprehension, writing and math skills.  She is all around one of the highest students in the class. The only thing her teacher could tell us to do is to make sure she reads books that are challenging her.

Last month I also had the chance to meet with Carson's old preschool teacher and his current preschool teacher.  Carson is continually doing better away from home and has become very comfortable at school.  We are working on getting him onto the bus so that he has the opportunity to be even more independent.  They think his is a wonderful boy and, just as his siblings, is a very good listener and is a respectful student.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Today we got to participate in one of our favorite events: Parent-teacher conferences.

KAYDA

Grade: 2

Teacher: Mrs. R

As always Kayda's teacher had nothing but good things to say about her.  Kayda is an amazing student!  She is doing outstanding in math, she is constantly getting 100% on her tests.  In reading she is off the charts!  In her dibels oral reading fluency she read 142 words with 3 errors making her score 139.  Her teacher told us that most students score around 80 at this time of year.  She is doing so well that most of her goals are related to listening to other students, reading to them and talking about the books.  I'm not sure how I feel about that.  On one hand, that isn't learning specifically related to her advancement, on the other I know for a face that teaching is the best way to REALLY learn and understand.  Kayda has exceptional writing skills, many students are still learning to write answers in complete sentences;  Kayda has NO issue with that.  Her teacher told us that she has excellent penmanship and voice in her writing!  During prompted writing times Kayda frequently laughs to herself as she writes her stories.  

   Kayda worked with Dillon's teacher some last year for advanced reading and Dillon's teacher also wanted to tell us how gifted Kayda is.  Kayda is currently participating in a program to help stop bullying and is also a reading mentor for some kindergartners.

DILLON

Grade: 1

Teacher: Mrs. S

Dillon's teacher is very impressed with him!  He is reading and writing well.  He is right where he should be.  She is encouraging us to have him read more non-fiction because she thinks it would take him to a whole other level of reading.  He does a great job writing and is working hard at sounding out words.  In his math testing he is in the 84 percentile, meaning 84% of students received lower scores, 16% received higher.  She is encouraging him to share his thoughts about how to work problems more.  He is very good at writing a short story and drawing an appropriate illustration for it.  She is impressed with his ability to work independently and is excited to watch his continued growth.  He knows 45 sight words, the normal fall result is 25.  The goal for the end of the year will be 75 words.  She provided us with a second grade list of sight words expressing confidence that he will master the first grade list quickly.  

Mrs. S has had frequent interactions with both of our children that are in school.  She specifically told us that we have WONDERFUL children and shared how much she has enjoyed BOTH of them.  

As always we LOVE to hear about our children.  Being the math nerd that I am I would love to have more facts and figures, also knowing where they are compared to other children in their grades.  Neither teacher had any concerns regarding their abilities and simply told us to keep doing whatever it is that we're doing.  I'm happy to have proof that I didn't do any damage to my children's education by attempting home schooling for the end of last year!!!

  

CARSON

Grade: Pre-k

Teacher: N/A

We recently took Carson in for the child find event at school.  This is where they do general testing for children 3 years to kindergarten.  I had concerns about Carson's speech just like I had concerns for Kayda and Dillon.  They've decided to do further evaluation for his speech.  If he gets speech services there is also the possibility that he will get into the preschool.  Since he may be going off to preschool anytime after evaluation we've decided it's time for potty training!  Let me outline our past experiences:  Kayda- would potty train for a week, do really well and then get bored with it.  We did that twice over a few months.  It took Grandma G telling her she couldn't spend the night unless Kayda was wearing underwear for her to decide to do it.  This was when she was 3 years and 4 months old.  Dillon- We HAD to potty train him by a certain time due to an expected baby and preschool starting.  It was over a month of accidents and cleaning, forcing him to be in underwear until he finally decided he would do it full time.  Now Carson.  This little man is amazing me!  The first day was accidents galore.  The second day I had dum dums and smarties to give him if he went in the toilet (brother and sister get candy if they are in helping him) he had two accidents.  Today (day 3) he has had no accidents.  Even with us having volunteering in Kayda's class and parent-teacher conferences.  He has had NO problem today.  This is the best potty training experience EVER! Anyways on to more about what he knows.  Carson knows the colors blue, green, red, yellow, orange, black, and white.  He still gets mixed up between pink and purple.  He know circles, squares and triangles and can sort them by shape, size and color.  He can count to 9 before he starts jumping up into the teens.  He can easily follow multi-step directions and understands EVERYTHING you tell him.  He is my first "why" child and is constantly asking it.  He can cut out a dinosaur and along lines.  He can copy basic shapes by drawing them.  He can throw a ball accurately, stand on one foot, pedal a bike and stack blocks to copy what someone else makes.  (Many of the above are things they tested at the child find). 

WE HAVE AMAZING CHILDREN!

Kayda's Parent Conferences

On Wednesday we had Kayda's parent/teacher conference.  It was actually more of a student/parent conference.  Kayda actually ran her own conference!  She has a checklist of things to do, things to share, things to read, etc.  Kayda is a VERY thorough little girl so our conference took longer than most.  She wanted to read the WHOLE book, then share EVERY page of her math worksheets, etc.  It was super cute.  She, of course, is passing with flying colors, the teacher is VERY impressed with her and really enjoys having her in the class.  I was informed by the speech pathologist that Kayda no longer qualifies for speech!  That's pretty awesome!  But the speech pathologist is going to keep Kayda in until the end of the year to get the "r" sound down before she's exited.  We are so proud of our sweet girl.  She is growing up FAR too fast.

Kayda's Parent-Teacher Conference

On October 22nd we got to go in for Kayda's Parent-Teacher Conference.  I have a tendency to get very excited about these... last year for her preschool one I was all grins and  butterflies to go and hear about my little girl who I know to be all kinds of wonderful.  I love to hear other people say good things about my children just like every proud parent out there.  So Daddy got some time off work that day so that he could go in with me and hear all the wonderful things also!

Mrs. T told us that Kayda is quite the rule follower and likes to "report" when her table mates are doing something they shouldn't.  She wants people to follow the rules, we have a lot of discussions with her about letting other people make their own choices and that the only person she needs to worry about it herself.

Mrs. T went on to tell us about Kayda's test scores.  We already know this but it's always nice to hear it anyway... Kayda is a very bright little girl.  She has already met the goals for the entire year of kindergarten.  She counts past 100, identifies all her shapes, reads high numbers, is reading close to a first grade level.  We were especially impressed when shown an exercise they had to do.  They were told numbers and they had to write them down.  They were told "one hundred nine" and "one hundred fifteen".  Apparently most kids write 100 9 and 100 15.  She wrote the correctly, 109 and 115.  Mrs. T said that's the first time she's seen that this early in the year.  We were beaming of course.  Kayda is doing so well that Mrs. T had to write up new "end of year" goals for Kayda so that she would progress over the course of the year.

Mrs. T also shared with us that Kayda is an excellent reader.  She thought it was interesting that Kayda struggles with the smaller words and does well with the big words.  She wants to skip the sight words, so of course we've been working on those.

Kayda has been SO interested in reading lately.  She is doing incredibly well.  She is a joy in our lives and makes us happy in so many ways.  We love our sweet little girl!

Parent Conferences -Dillon

On March 27th Daddy and I went in to parent conferences at the preschool.  It mostly focused on the frog class which is Kayda but we got a report card and talked briefly about Dillon.  Ms. Brenda told us that Dillon is a boys boy, he normally pays great attention in class but if the boys start to a pig pile, Dillon's gonna jump right in.  He is VERY social but is one of the top bumblebees.  He knows everything they would expect him to at his age.  Here is his report card.

• Social and Emotional growth: RECEIVED "REGULARLY" ON ALL
• Participates in circle, art/craft, music and dramatic
• Plays cooperatively with others
• Responds agreeably to adult suggestions and/or requests
• Can share adult attention
• Shows adjustment to school routines
• Expresses emotions in appropriate ways
• Is respectful and courteous
• Is learning to work independently

• Physical Development:
• Loco-motor skills: crawl, walk, run, jump  
• Can use scissors to cut: straight, curved and zigzagged (sometimes) lines
• Is learning to hold a crayon correctly

• Cognitive Development/Learning readiness growth: RECEIVED "REGULARLY" ON ALL BUT IDENTIFY SOUNDS
• Adequate attention span
• Can identify colors and simple shapes (Regularly and a +)
• Can identify most letters
• Can identify most sounds
• Can identify numerals 10-20
• Counts aloud from memory 1-18
• Recognizes own name in print
• Writes name correctly (this wasn't evaluated by the teachers but we have been working on it at home and he can write it in all caps, we're practicing just the first letter being capitalized)
• Can recall 9-1-1 as emergency
• Understands and follows simple directions on first request

• Comments: "Dillon is a very bright little boy that is always eager to learn!  Sometimes he gets alittle wild during free play when distracted by his friends!  Love having Dillon and looking forward to next year!!"

Parent Conferences - Kayda

This is a little late in posting (March 27th)...The preschool does parent conferences for the kids in the "frog" class, which means we got to go in and hear Ms. Brenda talk all about Kayda and what she can do.  According to her teacher she never has to ask Kayda to pay attention, she is very eager to learn and can be found front and center in circle time with her eyes glued to the teacher.  She is very quick and it is the teacher's opinion that Kayda would test into the "highly qualified" classes, should we choose to take that route. 

Kayda's report card shows that she has the highest score (regularly) on EVERYTHING they tested.  These are the areas.

• Social and Emotional growth: 
• Participates in circle, art/craft, music and dramatic
• Plays cooperatively with others
• Responds agreeably to adult suggestions and/or requests
• Can share adult attention
• Shows adjustment to school routines
• Expresses emotions in appropriate ways
• Is respectful and courteous
• Is learning to work independently
• Physical Development:
• Loco-motor skills: crawl, walk, run, jump
• Ball skills: bounce, catch, throw
• Can use scissors to cut: straight, curved and zigzagged line
• Is learning to hold a crayon correctly
• Cognitive Development/Learning readiness growth:
• Adequate attention span
• Can identify colors and simple shapes
• Can identify most letters
• Can identify most sounds
• Can identify numerals 50-100
• Counts aloud from memory 1-100
• Recognizes own name in print
• Writes name correctly
• Can recall 9-1-1 as emergency
• Understands and follows simple directions on first request
• Comments: "Kayda is such a bright little girls who LOVES to learn!  She is a friend to everyone, and I have so enjoyed being her teacher!! Have fun in kindergarten Kayda!"

They included some activities that they did to "test" some of the things listed above.  She was able to read ALL of the color words, knows all her vowels and both of their sounds, knows all the days of the week, most of the months, can read and tell you the sounds for all the letters (upper and lower case).  Can sight read and/or sound out many three letter words.  Can recognize two digit numbers, can add even when written as numbers not as dots (teacher was very impressed that Kayda used her fingers to figure it out).   She self corrects, if she colors one too many or circles the wrong answer she crosses out the wrong one.  They played a game where the teacher said got to box number ___ and put your favorite color, or draw and animal and write the letter it starts with, Kayda filled all 12 in appropriately.   Ms. Brenda also informed up that Kayda is a no-nonsense kind of girl.  She'll play with the girls but if there is too much "girl drama" she'll just up and leave to go play with the boys instead!