It's a Boys World: Fall Conference

Last week, Brad and I met with Drew's teacher, Mrs. Faust, for his fall conference. And at the risk of sounding like "that mom" I'm gonna go ahead and tell ya'll what a fantastic kid we have.

We were given a really, really, really good report. :)

Mrs. Faust's opening statement to us was, "You have a really delightful son."

*insert super obnoxious, proud mama grin here*

She reminisced about how after the first week and a half of school, she was afraid that she'd never hear Drew's voice. He was so super shy and unsure of everything that was going on, he remained quiet and timid for the first several days. But after he'd adjusted to the routine of his school day, and learned what to expect and when to expect it, he began to flourish. He is talking and being social and raising his hand to answer questions; he's playing and participating and working really hard.

For the fall quarter, Drew's class is concentrating on Learning Behaviors and Language Arts, and these were the two areas he was evaluated on for his report card. In kindergarten, the students are graded on an "Achieving/Developing/Not Yet" scale. In a nutshell, Drew is "achieving" in all categories except two. He is "developing" in "tries new activites" {we weren't at all surprised by this; Drew definitely likes what he likes, and he likes what he's good at} and "able to hear individual sounds in words." Mrs. Faust said that when he is reading to her, he'll look at her and say "I don't know that word" and when she works with him to sound it out, he'll be a bit unwilling and say "I don't know it." We talked with her about how one of his hiccups is that he's afraid of being wrong, so he's afraid to try. Something to work on this year, and most likely for his lifetime to come. :)

He's functioning well in the classroom. He thrives on routine, and his teacher tells us he keeps her on her toes. :) His ability to read is progressing, and I must admit that this is my favorite thing so far about school. Drew is learning to read! I love it!

Here's the thing, though: we know Drew is a smart kid. He just is. He's bright and catches on quickly and has a memory like an elephant. We knew he would do well academically at school. My biggest worry going into formal education was the social aspect of school. Who would Drew find as friends? How would he get along with other personalities? He is shy and sensitive. Would he be made fun of or teased or called out on an embarrassing moment? Just regular mom worries, I'm sure. So among all of the academic accolades his teacher was reviewing with us, and yes, we were so glad and proud to hear all of that, this is what totally made our day...

"Drew is nice to everyone."

Mrs. Faust relayed to us that Drew knows the name of every classmate. Not many others do. Drew is nice to and talks with everyone. Drew takes no issue with who he has to work with or sit by. He mentions the same friends everyday of who he plays with at school, but Mrs. Faust told us that he will play with, and have a good time, with everyone. One thing that I have noticed when I've taken Drew to school is that so many of his classmates will say "hi" to him, even kids he doesn't mention as ones he plays with. Mrs. Faust did label him as the "Moral Police" in the classroom. He knows what is right and wrong, good and bad, and he'll remind his classmates when they seem to forget. This is alright for kindergarteners, but that may be a behavior he'll want to quit before he gets too much older. :) {And why does he seem to forget this at home?!?}

This - this - makes us the proudest parents ever.

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Drew brings home any number of papers on a daily basis. His worksheets will reflect everything from number and letter recognition to writing exercises, reading and beginning math to units on the five senses and social studies pamphlets. He does bring home some art, that we display in our "gallery" in the kitchen, but there certainly hasn't been as much of this as there was in preschool. These are a few of my favorite papers from this fall...