My first parent/teacher conference

[sarahsfamily1]

I have to say I was a little bit nervous. You never know what a teacher will say, even though you think your child is amazing, albeit a little hyper at times.

We sat down to talk and the teacher began this glowing discussion about how Liam is highly intelligent, sweet and kind, loves to learn, loves to answer questions and is far ahead (as far as reading, journal writing, etc.) of most of his kindergarten classmates.He got 100%'s in all of the academic subjects, which I thought was cool.

He said that 90% of his class still has trouble paying attention for long periods of time, so Liam's kind-of-short attention span is normal for a 5 year old. (phew)

The teacher said that Liam's drawings have detail in them that most of the kids don't add into their drawings. He was asked to draw a visit to the zoo and he was the only one in the class who drew the animals in cages...hmmm. Never thought about those kinds of details, myself.

He also said that he uses Liam's personality to his own advantage because Liam gets really excited about things, so he pumps up the other kids about activities and learning games. LOL...my son, the cheerleader.

He ended it with telling me that later in the year, he's thinking of recommending some Advance Placement opportunities for Liam. Wow. I think that will be great to keep him interested and challenged in school.

So, I was wanting some feedback from you all about things you think I can do to keep him learning more at home...any ideas? We already do drawing, writing (I bought him a special journal to write down his thoughts), memory games, he reads books to me and his brother, he likes to do word search puzzles before bed, he likes maps and anything about the human body.

Help me keep him interested in learning! I want to nurture that in him and any further ideas you all have are more than welcome!

[SaniyasMom]

Nov. 5, 2008 at 1:55 PM

I don't have any ideas other than what you are already doing is obviously working. You are a GREAT mother. You seem to be very encouraging and are a blessing to your children so that one day they will be a blessing to our world! Congrats on all the great feedback from the teacher. You guys have done a wonderful job!

[ohiomommyof2]

Nov. 5, 2008 at 2:32 PM

Congrats!!! We had our first conferance about a month ago so I understand your nerves about the whole thing. Brayden's been doing great, too and it such a relief to know that other people see your child's brigtness shine through. Great job with him Mama, keep up the good work.

[bluiidmommy]

Nov. 5, 2008 at 5:31 PM

I don't have any suggestions other than continue helping him pursue his interests.  That's great he's doing so well and showing such a excitement in school.

[FromAtoZ]

Nov. 5, 2008 at 5:55 PM

Here is one thing we did when the girls were all that age.  I drew the letters of the alphabet, 'cloud letters'.  The girls colored them in.  We then hung them on the wall in our dining room.  Every night, at dinner, we went through the alphabet.  As with 'A'......I would point out things in our house that started with the letter A.  Just simple things.  We went through the alphabet and then we did numbers.  Only 1-10. 

Isn't it a fantastic feeling...........when you hear from another how your child is learning?  I remember it well.