This Will Go on Her Permanent Record
We have had an incomplete picture of kindergarten thus far. The main sources of information on how Lucy is doing are 1) Lucy herself, who can only tell us that the best part of her day was lunch, and 2) a daily behavior "traffic light": green (good), yellow (not good) and red (your ass is going to the principal's). She's managed to have one yellow a week, accompanied by details like:
"Lucy seems to have a hard time knowing who's boss" or "Lucy was playing in the supply closet for which there is no key, and locked it, locking all the supplies we needed inside."
So all we've known for sure is that Lucy is a semi-badly-behaved child whose best subject is lunch. Until yesterday. We had our parent-teacher-student conference. Gulp. Based on the way she's been running yellow lights, and given her past history with a teacher who just didn't like her, we were prepared for a serious talk.
Instead, we had a positive, productive conversation — with Lucy present — about what's going on with her. She's doing very, very well academically. Reading way ahead of her peers, which we weren't surprised by, but also exceptional in math, which was nice to find out since we don't do math, um, recreationally at home. She has strong interest in and understanding of science and social studies — Ms. P. said Lu "really knows how the world works."
And as for the behavior, Ms. P. wasn't too tough. She said lots of Lucy's trouble comes from being bored, or wanting to know where the limit is it all times, and that her job as a teacher is to keep Lu challenged. She also said that she has to remind herself that, for all Lu's advanced vocabulary and negotiation techniques, she is five, so when she has a tantrum or a hard time, she's just acting her age. Ms. P. also commented on Lu's constant soundtrack, and maybe we could work on quieting that down a little. Ms. P. is amazing. Can you imagine having the Noisiest Person in America in your kindergarten class?
"Lucy seems to have a hard time knowing who's boss" or "Lucy was playing in the supply closet for which there is no key, and locked it, locking all the supplies we needed inside."
So all we've known for sure is that Lucy is a semi-badly-behaved child whose best subject is lunch. Until yesterday. We had our parent-teacher-student conference. Gulp. Based on the way she's been running yellow lights, and given her past history with a teacher who just didn't like her, we were prepared for a serious talk.
Instead, we had a positive, productive conversation — with Lucy present — about what's going on with her. She's doing very, very well academically. Reading way ahead of her peers, which we weren't surprised by, but also exceptional in math, which was nice to find out since we don't do math, um, recreationally at home. She has strong interest in and understanding of science and social studies — Ms. P. said Lu "really knows how the world works."
And as for the behavior, Ms. P. wasn't too tough. She said lots of Lucy's trouble comes from being bored, or wanting to know where the limit is it all times, and that her job as a teacher is to keep Lu challenged. She also said that she has to remind herself that, for all Lu's advanced vocabulary and negotiation techniques, she is five, so when she has a tantrum or a hard time, she's just acting her age. Ms. P. also commented on Lu's constant soundtrack, and maybe we could work on quieting that down a little. Ms. P. is amazing. Can you imagine having the Noisiest Person in America in your kindergarten class?
posted by Kate at 9:32 AM
4 Comments:
LEVEL 5!!!!
I am aware that this post contains bragging. I am sure I will pay for this in some way.
i remember when i was a kid and would get bored in class, they got me a sketchbook to keep me occupied when i would finish my work before the others. now i work at an ad agency. so think about the career you wish on her before using such a strategy. ;-)
Lucy is so smart, verbal, and creative for her age. I knew it would happen --- good report from Ms. P. Her reading ability just amazes me. I had a great time with her today and hope she will come see me and have a sleep-over on Sat. Lu said she would, today.
x0x0x,
Mom
Post a Comment
<< Home