Parent/Teacher conferences...

Parent/teacher conferences come around this time of year every year. This year was a great year for my kids...I'm always a little nervous about what their teachers will say...but this round was by far my kids' best set of conferences...

Jake is doing great, as usual. But, for the first time, his teacher told me how confident he is in his own abilities. I think that is so important for kids because their confidence gets ROCKED through their junior high and high school years. I'm glad that he is comfortable with who he is and what he can do. He has turned out to be quite a little leader in his class which is kind of surprising too, considering how shy Jake is...

Carter is my first child to ever make the Principal's Honor Roll aka straight A's. Jake always gets very close, but he has never actually done it. Carter did it! I'm so proud of him. He has worked very hard and is feeling very competitive this year. He has been reading books in record times and passing off his math facts quickly. Apparently there's some sort of competition going on that involves pizza and it has been enough to motivate Carter to all new levels.

Bella's conference was truly surprising. She is doing fabulous, which I knew, but her teacher has decided it is time to challenge Bella. She has some extra little science projects and book reports that she is going to give to Bella to encourage her creativity and her love of writing. Her teacher has put a lot of time and thought into how she can challenge her because she gets bored quickly. She reads everything she can get her hands on. She is a prolific writer (just ask our neighbor who has gotten notes from her asking when they will bring their dogs out to play or Nana or her teacher who gets daily notes). I'm excited to watch her mind work. She is at a stage where she wants more to do and soaks up everything like a sponge...

Then there's Malia. I'm just grateful when the preschool teacher doesn't ask me to stay after class to inform me of Malia's latest antics. She only has to be removed from circle time occasionally now. She's pretty good as long as nobody makes her mad or rubs her the wrong way...She is one feisty little girl. My favorite thing about her is that if I wake her up and she's not ready, she'll tell me, "I'm not done sleeping now" and she will refuse to get up. I think she may be my first afternoon kindergardner.