Parent Teacher Conference

Two years ago I went to my first PTC for Ubby. I didn't know what to expect. From the ages of about 3 until about age 4 he had at least 2-3 major melt downs each day. Major. The ones where I wondered if he would make it to see another birthday.

His teachers lavished him with praise. He is smart, makes friends, follows directions, etc. The perfect child. It was good to see that someone found something good in him. I would say that was a turning point for me- it helped me see more than just tantrums in him.

But, preschool is a little different than kindergarten. For the first 3 weeks of school Ubby had a substitute because they didn't have a teacher. The substitute told me every time she saw me what a great kid he was. She even called me once to make sure I knew how good he was.

All of that didn't prepare me for PTC with his new teacher. This is pretty much how it went:

Ubby is such a delight to have in class. He is so smart and such a good helper. He does everything he is supposed to. Ya always hope that you have at least one kid like him in each of your classes.

(By now, I'm pretty sure she says this to everyone...)

Let's look at his academics. He can count the highest in the class.

(And then she shows me the math rankings. And, indeed he is at the top...I'm starting to think she might be serious.)

And let's look at his reading. He is also the top of the class in reading.

(Shows me the reading test scores, and he is the top again. Maybe she doesn't say this to everyone. Maybe he is the smartest kid in the class- I mean the world!!!)

He is just such a great kid. I can't say enough good stuff about him. In fact, when I am busy, I have him take care of things. I am trying to teach the other kids that when I am busy they can go to Caleb if they have a question or problem. He is my "go-to" kid.

SERIOUSLY!?!?!?!!!

I mean, I get that he is a great kid, but how come at home he always seems to be part of the problem??? Boo loves to tease (I have no idea where she got that from:) and Doe doesn't give a reaction. But Ubby gives every reaction plus some that a buggy 10 year old girl could ever want.

Anyhow, I get shown his journal and some other stuff and the woman gives me her home phone number in case I have any questions. For instance, Jacob is having a birthday party and will be inviting the whole class. Jacob is a "good" kid and I could probably be comfortable letting Ubby going to his birthday party. So if there is anything else she can do for me, I can just call her at home.

I think I want a video camera in Ubby's classroom to see exactly what he is doing to get his kindergarten teacher wrapped around his cute little fingers in exactly 3 weeks!!!


So off we go to Boo's classroom. She has Mr. Hilarious for the morning. Mr. Hilarious is a "rock star" at our house. He is hilarious and we hear at least 5-10 things a day that he has said that were funny. He says:

I am so glad Boo is in my class. She is a great student. She is very smart.

The only area she needs to work on is grammar stuff/or handwriting. He can't remember why a few of her scores aren't 100%.

That's it. I don't have anything else.

And, in 3 minutes, I was walking out of her classroom. I know nothing more than I knew 3 minutes prior. Oh, well.

And now, to Doe's classroom.

Doe is very bright. He just needs to slow down a little. It's kind of like while he is doing his work he has one eye on the basket where it gets turned in. He always speeds through all his work...

Me, smiling, remembering that every single one of my teachers said this at every single PTC to my mom.

In fact, if Doe slowed down a little bit, I could probably put him in the top reading group. He reads well enough, he just doesn't put in any extra effort.

She shows me a paper Doe wrote. They were writing paragraphs and had to have 3 sentences in each paragraph. Doe's paper had exactly 3 sentences in all 4 of his paragraphs. And he has them numbered. So it is very clear that he met the requirements. No more. No less. It's time to go play.

When I got home I asked Doe who was in the top reading group (it has to be worth it for him to work a little harder.) Two of the boys named are boys Doe likes to hang out with. I ask if he wants to be in the top reading group. He says, "Sure." I tell him what he has to do.

I'm betting he'll be in the top reading group in 2 weeks or less. He will do what he needs to do to get there. No more. No less. That is my Doe.

So, tonight we are having a fun night. We got pizza and 8 movies. And, Boo is having her first approved friend sleepover. (The approved part is a whole other story. That's what happens when Dad watches the kids without Mom home:)