Parent Teacher Conference

Today was also Leia Rose's parent teacher conference. Jessie's family communed with the girls out in the lobby while Brian and I went in and listened attentively. Both Mrs. Schnell and Mrs. McDowell are still as in love with Leia Rose as ever, it seems. She's still described as "the sunshine" of the classroom who comes in almost every day, takes a deep breath, and says, "I just LOVE it here!" She's doing very well with her lessons, although she gets a bit frustrated as the work gets a little bit harder. Like when Mrs. Schnell had Leia Rose complete a movable calendar. Oh boy, she sighed and sighed about finishing that, but she eventually did. (Hence the 3, instead of 4, in "Chooses Challenging Work." Here's the little "progress report" that comes with our conference bi-annually:
Mrs. Schnell's note says: "Leia Rose is having fun exploring the room for the second year. She remembers works from last year she couldn't do, but now she can! Leia Rose is a very independent worker, and stays extremely busy throughout the day. She engages in conversation easily, and at times that becomes a distraction from the works. We are also working at circle time to listen. Leia Rose is very concerned for her classmates' health and safety."

On the back was a list of her recent multi-day projects: land/air/water; s, m, a, & t object box; apple cutting; flower/leaf pressing. And also her usual choices: discovery table, screwdriver, window wash, How do animals travel?, apple tree, flower arranging, colored pencils, easel, punch, leaf puzzle, syringe, leaf rubbing, farm, knobbed cylinders.

They talked about the neat burlap bag they put food inside and have the children feel and guess. And as for us taking snack yesterday, the kids loved the pumpkin muffins when the sugar was halved (yes, I was surprised, . . . I halved the sugar because, um, I didn't have enough) and the teachers loved the dried apples so much that they MADE all the kids try them at second circle. Can you believe that the teachers asked for more?!? How did they already know their Christmas present? : )

They also said that Leia Rose loves to display her work in the classroom, so there isn't as much in her work folder as a result. They led us around the room to see a few of her more recent projects:

"These are my ponies!" is what was relayed by Mrs. Schnell from Leia Rose. This one's hanging in the bathroom. (Ha!) : ) Three happy ponies heading into a barn under the sunshine. Mrs. Schnell said, "Look at those pony smiles and sunshine! You can really tell she's a happy kid!" : )
This one was given to Mrs. McDowell and is hanging near where they have circle time. On the top it says, "This is for you, Mrs. McDowell. It's ducks in the water. Pigs in their house, and the horse is in his little house." The teachers said, "Can you tell we've just been to a farm?" : )
And here's a really nice picture of our family right by the studio door and pencil sharpener. : ) She did a really good job on my hair, don't you think? I think it's funny how big I am compared to Daddy. : ) Is the black-draped, face-less, two-headed, no-legged creature, Annie? Hmmm, wonder what that means. : ) And is that chest hair on Daddy's chest? Ha! [Note to self: be sure to talk to Leia Rose before you write anything about one of her drawings! "No, Mamma, that's not Annie, that's your purse! See, it's black?!? You are HOLDING Annie. (She's right below my neck and very small, but you can see her face and legs if you enlarge the picture.) Daddy has polka dots on his shirt! Not hairs! Funny!" Leia gets VERY mad these days when someone laughs at her work, . . . it doesn't matter what the reason. Got to guard against that from now on. : ) ]

They had an example of her work in a portfolio in front of us, but I noticed immediately that it wasn't Leia's at all. It was Jessica's. (As Leia Rose would point out later: "MY drawings always have a BODY." Jessica's are always heads with legs.) Turns out that people are giving Leia Rose lots of drawings as "gifts," so much so that it has become a bit of a problem. I was absolutely floored at the numbers of these "presents" in her folder on her birthday week. Guess she's a popular girl . . . : )

Brian's big question going in was, "How is she doing with eating?" She was doing great! They said at first she had to learn to juggle socializing and eating, but now she gets right down to eating and (because she's probably going through a growth spurt they said) she's eating a LOT! I had two big questions going in: 1. Is Leia Rose more attentive at circle time? and 2. Have there been any issues with Leia Rose in regards to bossiness? Ironically, the answer to both questions was "no." ; ) I noticed immediately that the only low number on her little sheet was next to "attentive in group lessons." Oh no. I'll admit that I was surprised, just because I've seen her at circle a few times this year and she's been SOOOO much better than last year! Well, turns out that even though there's a similar result, it's actually a totally DIFFERENT problem from last year. Last year Leia Rose would wander around trying to find something interesting. This year her problem is what the teachers call "that typical five-year-old socialization," namely, she always sits next to Jessica and talks to her the WHOLE TIME. Ha! : ) They said that if it continues, they will separate Leia and Jessica for circle time. If it comes to that, then good plan. : )