I meant to put up some pictures of our Halloween. Unfortunately I snapped all the cute costumed children in the wrong mode on my camera, so when I uploaded them they came up all pixel-y... and then I wept. May have to take a reshoot.
In the meantime, can we talk about my first parent-teacher conference? Because I left the whole thing with lots of thoughts.
First up we went to Squirt's teacher. It was at 9:00am on a school morning (school starts at 9:15) so I had all three kids, and was more than a little exasperated at having to be all together that early in the morning. Her teacher, Ms. N is lovely and chipper. She brought out Squirt's incoming test and went through what she knew coming in. It didn't look like much to me, but Ms. N assured me Squirt was performing at a perfectly normal pace. At the end, in the "notes" section, she had written, "Squirt is working on solving simple problems INDEPENDENTLY." Ms. N clarified this, (as my big red flags were a wavin' in my head) apparently if Squirt has a problem, like missing her pencil, or there aren't enough worksheets in the stack, she would have a (and I quote!) "small meltdown."
Oh, Squirt. This is just so her. She is a little mirror of all my tightly wound tendencies, and boy do I sympathize with her. It's hard to watch her struggle with these anxieties- I'm trying to come up with some tools to help her, my short amount of time and patience is a huge obstacle! (any ideas would be totally welcomed from those of you with high emotion kiddos) I am keeping tabs on this issue, making sure we aren't wandering into Serious Anxiety Issue territory. But man, she is just so anxious! About everything! And sensitive! Ms. N tells me she often notices Squirt trying to process a problem and tries to let her sort it out herself, but most of the time she has to remind Squirt that a misplaced pencil is not something to burst into tears about.
Ms. N left everything on a very positive note, reassuring me that Squirt is doing very well. (I was throwing myself a little party as I walked out of there confidently)
Bunny's teacher was next, and after dropping the twins off into their respective classes, met with Ms. S. She is also very lovely, and seems to really be aware of our family and Bunny in particular. (I'm not saying teachers have favorites, but IF they did, Bunny would be Ms. S's) So she brought out the intake tests and I was STUNNED! Bunny answered pretty much every question correctly, way more than Squirt's test showed. (however I am now contemplating the possibility that Squirt might also be plagued with testing anxieties- sigh!) There were areas which Ms. S pointed out that Bunny had excelled- and that was not common for incoming Kindergarteners to be able to answer. HIGH FIVE FOR BUNNY!
I think every parent thinks their kid is smart, but I was totally blown away by the scope of Bunny's knowledge. I hate to credit television, but I know I wasn't teaching Bunny the difference between a square and a cube!
So it sounds like both girls are doing well. I have some things to watch out for with Squirt. (another thought: her glasses prescription? We changed it mid-year in preschool- is she just behind on some stuff because she couldn't see then or do we need to re evaluate if she can see properly now?! Excuse my excessive worrying.... we all know where Squirt gets it)
I know that splitting them into different classes was the right move. It has not been easy, but I am finding that what is easy and what is right are rarely one in the same. But it has been so refreshing to see them thrive in their own environment! Each girl has a large circle of friends and experiences each day. In fact I am noticing that they are beginning to be annoyed with each other when they're together at home more frequently. They seem to be blossoming into well rounded individuals, which has been a source of worry for me since day one of twin life. Wonderful how things have a way of being ironed out, isn't it? I am finding myself thinking "there are my girls!" with such pride. I can't say I have eliminated all my parenting insecurities, but I have progressed beyond so much of it. I am doing a darned good job with those two.... even though they leave the house in identical outfits and Very Opinionated People balk at it.
Can I say it again? I LOVE SCHOOL!
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