Parent Teacher Conferences
Ever have a Monday that just started kinda iffy ….
Today all before the first parent came in I had pulled the curtains off the wall and burnt the bagels. But I didnt let that distract me from the wonderful day I wanted to have .. the day I planned for. Dont you think you have to get up with the intention of having a good day ?
The last parent teacher conferences of the year started last night. They were supposed to start today but I got the information and a few other things completed ahead of schedule so I thought, why not lighten the load tomorrow. Last night I had three conferences . Today I have already had three and will have 6 more after school. I appreciate you taking the time to come and talk to me about the progress your child has had this year. Its exciting to look at the Dial Three assessment we did in the fall and compare it to now. The higher score reminds us that our children are doing great things. My favorite thing to do is to look at each child’s folder and genuinely think ” how can I help this family is this child’s journey. ” Not every folder is the same. In Kilee’s and Jude’s folder there was information about having a new baby in the house and some of the transitions that will make that easier. In Jasmin and William’s folder is the school calendar for 2015-2016 SIloam Springs School District since they have an older sister at home . I also put information in the folders such as a summer bucket list for preschoolers , It is just a list of things that would be fun to do over the summer to create memories with your child. Each folder has some things alike and some things that are picked out with just your child in mind. I hope I never run my home based preschool like a machine . Each child and family is unique and deserves to be treated as such.
We had discussion today about ” numbered voices.” Has your child talked to you about using his number 2 voice inside ? I found a great visual for this and used it at circle time . Each of you have one in your folder. If your child has an issue with voice control and everything seems to be ” loud ,” This would be a great tool to hang on your fridge and refer back to. ( When I was at Northside last week I heard them refer to the number two voice and I decided to adopt that term here so our kiddos could transition into that easy at kindergarten. )
We also looked at a reactions visual. Some of our friends reactions dont match the action. We talked about what if…. and how should you react ? My hope is to get to the point by using this visual our friends will better be able to gauge whether their reaction is at the ” right ” level.
We charted what we know about pirates …
1 They have treasure chest.
2. They drive pirate ships.
3. They say ” arg.”
( To name a few.. )
At this point someone said ” Look Ms Debbie ! All three of those words look the same. ( They) Well.. yes they do. 🙂
Later we charted things we want to know about pirates.
1. What do they eat?
2. What kind of shoes do they wear ?
3. What do they sleep in ?
( To name a few..)
At this point a friend said ” LOOK! All three say WHAT !!!” Well.. yes, they do. 🙂
Remember the pilot project I am in for loose parts called ” think with things?” We started with bottle tops. We played with the tops a little more today. It is interesting to see how the kids automatically sort them. I started a story with four of them to see if the kids would finish it but no one bit the bait. 🙂
We drew art pieces of things we might see on a pirate ship. There are some pretty fancy pirate pictures.
