3rd Quarter Updates
Well, parent-teacher conferences have rolled around again. I was a little nervous going in. You'd think that's silly but since 1st quarter conferences seriously threw me for a loop, I wasn't sure how things were going to go. (For background, see this and this.) The conferences went well enough-- at least I didn't end up bawling this time. M's conference was the easiest. She's doing spectacularly (her lowest grade is an A- in math) and the teacher confirmed that she has actually made a friend in her class. This was the best news yet-- I'd suspected as much from talking to M, but it was so exciting to hear that she really hit it off with one of the new girls that came into the class after Christmas. Instead of hanging around on the outside while her classmates socialize or play during "Fun Friday" she is having a great time with her new friend.
B's teacher had more concerns. B is still struggling with her reading. She's made great progress over the year so far, but not even close to where the school wants her to be at by the end of first grade. (Granted, the standards are high. She does test at a 1.8 grade level right now.) As I learned from the older kids' teachers, the pressure is on-- the new common core standards apparently mean that the AIMS test is being abandoned and a harder test will be replacing it. This filters down into the first grade since they need to be achieving much more at an earlier age to be ready for the tests. Bother. All this just seems calculated to make sure that my kids passionately hate learning. (Yes, yes, I know I could homeschool. I'll skip making my pathetic arguments that then will be countered. I don't WANT to homeschool unless the schools leave me no choice. It's a matter of family peace and sanity.) The funny thing was the other big concern B's teacher had was B's "chattiness." I tried not to smile too much. M's teacher worries about M not making a peep, and B's frowns on her talkative behavior. (Yep, more proof my girls are opposites.)
On to J-- well, if you read my previous post, you'll remember that J was the cause of my previous bout of tears. After discussion, prayer, and a little research (though not a ton), Terence and I finally decided to do nothing other than let the evaluation go through the school system. During conference I learned that his teacher has finally gotten this approved and scheduled for some time this month. So we'll see what the "team" says. The more time goes on the less anxious about it I am. Either they will be able to give us some tools to help him cope with school without driving everyone around him insane midway through the day or he's just going to be a unique kid. But despite the social/behavior concerns he's doing fantastic academically. In contrast to B, the tests show his reading level so high his teacher doesn't think he can show the required improvement because it's just not physically possible for him to read much faster. (Part of the way they test the reading level is by words per minute.) Aw, well, it would be too much to ask for him to be super bright and a paragon of social brilliance as well.
Anyway, I'm not feeling super anxious on the school front at the moment. There is still a lot on our plates-- and I've still got to come up with some creative ways to encourage B to read-- but at least I didn't feel like a load of bad news was dropped in my lap. Onward we go!
B's teacher had more concerns. B is still struggling with her reading. She's made great progress over the year so far, but not even close to where the school wants her to be at by the end of first grade. (Granted, the standards are high. She does test at a 1.8 grade level right now.) As I learned from the older kids' teachers, the pressure is on-- the new common core standards apparently mean that the AIMS test is being abandoned and a harder test will be replacing it. This filters down into the first grade since they need to be achieving much more at an earlier age to be ready for the tests. Bother. All this just seems calculated to make sure that my kids passionately hate learning. (Yes, yes, I know I could homeschool. I'll skip making my pathetic arguments that then will be countered. I don't WANT to homeschool unless the schools leave me no choice. It's a matter of family peace and sanity.) The funny thing was the other big concern B's teacher had was B's "chattiness." I tried not to smile too much. M's teacher worries about M not making a peep, and B's frowns on her talkative behavior. (Yep, more proof my girls are opposites.)
On to J-- well, if you read my previous post, you'll remember that J was the cause of my previous bout of tears. After discussion, prayer, and a little research (though not a ton), Terence and I finally decided to do nothing other than let the evaluation go through the school system. During conference I learned that his teacher has finally gotten this approved and scheduled for some time this month. So we'll see what the "team" says. The more time goes on the less anxious about it I am. Either they will be able to give us some tools to help him cope with school without driving everyone around him insane midway through the day or he's just going to be a unique kid. But despite the social/behavior concerns he's doing fantastic academically. In contrast to B, the tests show his reading level so high his teacher doesn't think he can show the required improvement because it's just not physically possible for him to read much faster. (Part of the way they test the reading level is by words per minute.) Aw, well, it would be too much to ask for him to be super bright and a paragon of social brilliance as well.
Anyway, I'm not feeling super anxious on the school front at the moment. There is still a lot on our plates-- and I've still got to come up with some creative ways to encourage B to read-- but at least I didn't feel like a load of bad news was dropped in my lap. Onward we go!
Comments