Yesterday Ike and I had our parent-teacher conference with Jake's teacher. This is standard for all kids: don't worry, Jake's not in trouble. :)
The biggest thing I think we both came away from the meeting with was this: we have a great boy. She said that if she had a classroom full of Jakes, she wouldn't worry about a thing (Jake spent the ride home from the meeting trying to figure out where all those Jakes would sleep at our house...). She said he stays on task, finishes his work, and follows the rules. He's an all-around nice boy, and the aides she's had in the room all like him.
Well, of course. We knew that. But it sure is good to hear from his teacher.
She is concerned, like we are, about the fact that Jake won't stand up for himself. Apparently he's told her that if another child bothers him, "his daddy said to punch him." And she (quietly) encouraged him to do just that. He's very introverted and seems unsure about himself around the other children.
We talked about the possibility of "holding him back" and keeping him in pre-K one more year. She has also considered this for Jake and is going to talk to the principal about it. It has nothing to do with academics, but we think another year will give him a chance to build up his self-esteem and not feel behind socially. Ike asked what would happen if he got bored with school later, and she said skipping him up to the next grade would not be a problem, that "they do it all the time."
I've been worried for awhile now that we may have put Jake in school too young. If he were to start Kindergarten in the fall, he'd only have been 5 for a month. In contrast, one of his good friends in his class just turned 5 in January--so he'll be 5 for seven months before starting Kindergarten. The nice thing about Montessori is that Jake will still be in the same classroom for both pre-K and Kindergarten, so I don't think he'll feel "left behind" when some of his friends move on to first grade. Plus, with Montessori, he's learning at his own pace, so if he does get bored, he can move on to the next thing, or even visit the first/second grade classroom.
I feel like a weight has been lifted after talking to his teacher yesterday. I'm looking forward to next year and am so grateful he's got a great teacher to start his school experience.
The biggest thing I think we both came away from the meeting with was this: we have a great boy. She said that if she had a classroom full of Jakes, she wouldn't worry about a thing (Jake spent the ride home from the meeting trying to figure out where all those Jakes would sleep at our house...). She said he stays on task, finishes his work, and follows the rules. He's an all-around nice boy, and the aides she's had in the room all like him.
Well, of course. We knew that. But it sure is good to hear from his teacher.
She is concerned, like we are, about the fact that Jake won't stand up for himself. Apparently he's told her that if another child bothers him, "his daddy said to punch him." And she (quietly) encouraged him to do just that. He's very introverted and seems unsure about himself around the other children.
We talked about the possibility of "holding him back" and keeping him in pre-K one more year. She has also considered this for Jake and is going to talk to the principal about it. It has nothing to do with academics, but we think another year will give him a chance to build up his self-esteem and not feel behind socially. Ike asked what would happen if he got bored with school later, and she said skipping him up to the next grade would not be a problem, that "they do it all the time."
I've been worried for awhile now that we may have put Jake in school too young. If he were to start Kindergarten in the fall, he'd only have been 5 for a month. In contrast, one of his good friends in his class just turned 5 in January--so he'll be 5 for seven months before starting Kindergarten. The nice thing about Montessori is that Jake will still be in the same classroom for both pre-K and Kindergarten, so I don't think he'll feel "left behind" when some of his friends move on to first grade. Plus, with Montessori, he's learning at his own pace, so if he does get bored, he can move on to the next thing, or even visit the first/second grade classroom.
I feel like a weight has been lifted after talking to his teacher yesterday. I'm looking forward to next year and am so grateful he's got a great teacher to start his school experience.
2 Comments:
We went back and forth and stressed alot over whether or not to put Emi in preschool or kindergarten this year. Where with Emi it was more about academics, I just think that alot of times waiting is better. They push the kids so much, both academically and socially in school now. This way they have the opportunity to mature some more and better handle the stress. But that's just my opinion. I'm not at all surprised that the teacher had such great things to say about Jake though. He's such a sweet boy! And this is coming from someone who generally doesn't even like boys
;-)
I am stressing about the same thing w/Brooke. If I put her in K in the fall she will be 4 and turn 5 in October. I just hate to think that she is going to be the youngest kid in the class. I mean THE youngest. The cut off date is her birthday. Anyways, I think as mothers we tend to over worry but still need to do what is best for them. I am glad Jake is doing so good in school.
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