SEP's

So the kids had SEP's this week. (I think it stands for "Student Education Plan") but you probably remember them as "Parent/Teacher Conferences". Anyhow, I got to sit down with each of the kids' teachers and talk about how they are doing in class. Here is a summary of what each had to say.

Madison is in Fourth Grade. Her teacher said that she is improving in reading, but she worried that the reading group she is in on Tuesday & Friday interrupts her math instruction, and so she wondered if I felt the reading group was more beneficial, or whether she ought to stay for math. I have been concerned about both reading and math with Madison, but I told her I felt that if the reading group is helping her, she should stay there, and we can work with her more on math at home. I also told her teacher that I would be interested in having Madison tested for Dyslexia or other learning disabilities. I feel she has so much more potential, but that something is just not quite right with her learning. She said she would look into it, but that she felt Madison is doing well and there are no "red flags" as far as her scores & class work. She said Madison is a very nice girl & gets along well with her classmates. She said she is also doing better at "hanging in there" if she is having a hard day or not feeling well. (I appreciate this, as last year she called me, I am not making this up, for lotion because her hands were too dry! Hello, Napoleon!) :o)

Zachary is in Second Grade. His teacher said that he is doing very well. He is well on his way to having abouve average scores on his reading. He does have a bit of a talking problem (hello, he's my son afterall), but she said he is doing better. She said all she has to do is remind him and he claps his hand over his mouth, and his eyes get wide, and he realizes he is doing it again! She said he is a cute kid and is very social & has lots of friends. I told her I was grateful he doesn't yell at school like he does at home. She was grateful for that too!

Andrew is in Kindergarten. His teacher said that he is doing very well with his reading and writing. He still needs to work on remembering to put spaces between his words when he writes, but they are working on it with him, and it will come. She said this quarter he has just taken off with his reading. She said he has also always been very good at math. The thing that she said she really likes about Andrew is that he has great comprehension skills. When they are dicussing things and the other kids don't quite get what she is saying or asking them, Andrew will help the kids understand what she means. He has always been wise beyond his years, sometimes a bit too wise! She said he likes to be silly nd make people laugh, but he is figuring out that he likes to know the right answer even more than giving a silly answer. This is good too, because I know how silly he can be and I was worried about him being disruptive. He has this thing with saying "BooBoo Chicken" a LOT. One day I asked him, "Do you say BooBoo Chicken at school?" and he said, "Yes. My teacher says, 'Andrew, I will only call on you if you are not going to say 'BooBoo Chicken'!" Silly boy!!

Over all, the kids are doing very well in school. We will continue to work with Madison on math & reading. We have talked to Zachary about being quieter in class, and I think it is mostly because he is bored, I was the exact same way at his age. As he gets older, school will become more challenging for him and he should calm down a bit. I continue to remind Andrew to write spaces between words, all it will take is some more practice, and also that there is a time & place for silliness (he will probably never learn that one!). I am very proud of my kids and how smart they are!!