Wednesday, October 07, 2009

All knowing

So work for me was DEAD on Tuesday. Again, denied the moderation that I crave!

We had parent-teacher conferences this week. We found out Colin is reading above grade level (a pleasant surprise) and that he is doing well with his coursework but having a hard time keeping his hands to himself (not a surprise).

Anna's conference was very enlightening. She came along -- I was worried about this, but she insisted, and it ended up being a great parent-teacher-student meeting. Anthony was there, too, via speaker phone. After the usual "she's so great, and nice, and responsible, and smiles all the time," we cleared up some misunderstandings about problems that were marked wrong when we thought they were right (they were actually corrected after grading). We also discussed how Anna needs to pick more challenging books, and her teacher agreed and explained to both of us what books she needs to pick and how she can move up on AR. Lastly, her teacher also told us that although she gets all her work done in time, she is drawing and coloring during most of the lesson and work time. If she would get her work done first, she could work on fun, challenging projects the REST OF THE WEEK but instead is frittering her time away. I understand that she is both bored and very creative, so it was so helpful to have this discussed all together. Now we all know she needs to get 3rd grade work done first, then move on.

We have the pleasure of my Chilean friend Fran's company again this week. She is studying to take the US veterinary exams, and while she was taking an online review of equine diseases I premade an enchilada casserole to eat after gymnastics and piano lessons. When I pulled it complete out of the oven, she said in surprise, "When did you make that?"

Anna sighed, and knowingly said, "Fran, you miss a lot, don't you?"

As they say in Chile, "Ja ja ja ja ja!"

3 comments:

Emily said...

Congrats to Colin's reading skills. I can't wait to hear him read to me again. I laughed reading that he can't keep his hands to himself!

Anna reminds me so much of you. And you know, there are studies that show doodling while listening to a meeting (or in this case, lesson) help your mind remember the information better. For what it's worth.

Say hi to Fran for me!

get2eric said...

Well, I know they are both brilliant.

Wish we were there to share .

peevish said...

We just had our p/t conferences, too. They are always a revelation.

This year, Junebug's homework all comes home on Mondays. Then it is up to her to plan how to get it all done by Friday. I think it helps her learn how to plan her time. I still have to be there to remind her not to rush through it, and not to do just enough to get credit. A work ethic is hard to teach without regular beatings.