Parent/Teacher Conferences

It's that time of year again! Parent/teacher conferences, but only for Isaac and Ian. None for Audrey this year and beyond, I guess, because if something needs discussed in middle or high school, they will call you.

The beginning of the school year has typically been pretty rough for Isaac - not academic-wise, but he has had a difficult time controlling his behavior and his defiance is usually at its peak when he *thinks* he is setting his own boundaries in a new classroom. Over this past summer, Matt and I had noticed that he had matured some, so we had hoped for the best with the new school year starting. However, because it is what I do, I gave his teacher, Mrs. Miller, who is a lovely woman and teacher, a head's up.

During Open House night, I warned Mrs. Miller that he may struggle with being obedient, and then gave some suggestions based on what has worked in the past to curb his negative behavior in the classroom.

So a couple weeks pass... no word from Mrs. Miller either way on Isaac's behavior. I let it go until I could not take it anymore, and I eventually emailed her to see how things had been going. She used the word "delightful" in describing Isaac in the classroom. Wow.

Fast forward to last night's conference. Isaac is a straight 'A' student - no duh, as Ian would say - and still delightful and laid back. Easy going. Reminds Mrs. Miller to do things that she has forgotten to do.

And, get this... when she got my email asking how things were going, she couldn't believe that Isaac was the boy I described on the night of Open House... she even thought that maybe we put him on meds and I was *testing* her to see if she noticed anything! Hahaha... thankfully, no meds needed and Isaac is just growing up.

Loving him at this age even more! And dang, that kid is funny!

After Isaac's conference, I moved on to the meeting with Mrs. Wittenberg, Ian's kindergarten teacher. I knew exactly what she had planned for me... Ian doesn't talk. Yep, in public, he doesn't. At home, he never stops. 

Mrs. Wittenberg gave us some things to work on at home, like Ian needs to respond when she or an aide asks him questions. And, because much of their kindergarten testing is timed, he needs to respond quickly. Makes me laugh, because Ian does nothing quickly.

Last night while I was putting him to bed, I quizzed him on his letter sounds. He shot them out faster than a roadrunner (giggling at this analogy)... so then, realizing that it isn't the speed that we need to worry about. It is his competitiveness and drive. He needs to WANT to be a speedy responder. He needs to WANT to be the best darn kindergartner that he can be. He needs to WANT to be heard.

As we were wrapping up, Mrs. Wittenberg told me that Ian was very loving and quiet, and she didn't think he could ever hurt a fly. I laughed right out loud, and asked her if she had heard the story from the first few days of school... the story that ended with Isaac having to take Ian's backpack away from him on the walk home from school ... because he was beating another child with it ... because that boy would not stop talking. Of course she hadn't.