Parent-Teacher Conferences
‘Tis the season…. at least around here, anyway.
I only had parent-teacher conferences for Thumper and Rerun. Tad’s teacher offered them if parents wanted one, but I see her almost weekly, so I feel good about the amount of contact we have – plus we exchange emails frequently. And of course, this is the first year that Ane doesn’t have them, being in junior high. Now we just get to log on to the parent website and check her grades in real time.
Thumper’s conference was fun, because even though I visited the class for the Halloween party and chatted with the teachers then, it was good to have a formal sit-down and go over things. Thumper is that rare gem in a special ed classroom – a compliant child who generally follows directions and doesn’t put up much of a fuss. However, his teachers recognize that this also means he has the greatest potential of “falling through the cracks,” as it were. They are deliberately taking time to engage him one-on-one, and it’s very obvious that he has much more to say when he doesn’t feel like he’s going to be drowned out by six other voices.
His teachers also rearranged the bookcases to block off their desks – and desktop computers – from preschool hacker Thumper. However, they didn’t count on his ninja skills. He scaled the bookcases to get to the computers.
Rerun’s conference was a little more necessary. While we know he is academically stellar, the first few weeks of the school year were undeniably rough as he transitioned to a full day of school. He is definitely improving, and it sounds like he is developing friendly acquaintances with his classmates. He has totally charmed his teachers, but they also have his number. If you give that kid an inch, he will take a mile. They discovered that quickly.
He still has constant paraeducator support for music, PE, and recess, and they are hoping he gets to the point where he doesn’t need that all the time. Still, they are confident that he is making great gains socially and behaviorally, and I would tend to agree – especially because we are seeing similar improvements in Sunday school.
And yes, he’s still off the charts when it comes to academics. He “meets or exceeds” grade level in every category. Now if we could just put those brains to work on behaving, he’d really be a force to be reckoned with.
Today is the last day of school for the week, and then…. Thanksgiving!!!
Subscribe to my feed