Emma and Ian both had parent teacher conferences this week. They went about how I was expecting.

Miss Stacey and Miss Subie said that he is doing great academically, and is a pleasure to have in class. He is learning a lot and is above average for his age. One of the areas that they said he is “exceeding expectations” is that he shows a sense of humor. Wow, I already knew that! They said that he is going great at circle time and he loves to share stories. Miss Subie said that sometimes he gets distracted during circle and starts mumbling to himself and looking around the room. She did a little impression of him that was so funny, and looked exactly like him. She said she just has to remind him, and he starts paying attention again.

He is really funny lately and loves to make up words. One of the little testing sessions that they did was to read him some words and ask what rhymes with the word. Here are some of his: toy….coy, pet….tet, bat…dat, sit…dit. It is so funny. All of his rhymed, but they just weren’t real words. I went back and looked at Emma’s from last year–she was 4 and Ian is just 3 this year–hers were funny. She said real words, but many didn’t rhyme. It is interesting to see how differently they learn.

Ian’s only issue is “interacting with peers”. They said that he is really independent, and doesn’t really try to make friends during class. “We are working with Ian on how he interacts with the other children–he likes to growl and play fight”. We have been talking to him a lot about how to be a good friend. Miss Stacy and Subie said that he is making good progress, and that he is starting to really “get” the Montessori method.

Emma’s teachers–Miss Melissa and Miss Sarah–absolutely love her. This is her last year at Little Miners, but her teachers were begging me to send her there next year. They don’t want to lose her! They said having Emma in the classroom is like having another adult. Miss Melissa said that whenever one of the kids is having a problem, they tell them to ask Emma to help them. Any time one of the kids is sad, Emma helps to comfort them. They said that she has such a great heart and is such a great friend. All of her teachers had fantastic things to say about her. “Emma is a total ray of sunshine in our classroom. She has such a wonderful energy, sense of humor and enthusiasm to learn.”

They said that Emma would sit and color all day, if they let her! I think she probably would. But, they said that when they suggest another activity, she does it willingly and works hard at it. Academically she is above average and excels.

They just gave her a glowing review. At the end they said “Emma is one of those students that make us love to teach!” Wow..that is quite a compliment.

I left feeling so proud to have such great kids!