Noah's Conference

Wow, what a difference a year can make. I went to Noah's first grade conference yesterday. Last year, I left both conferences frustrated in tears.

From the minute I sat down, it was like sitting and hanging out with a friend. I have kept communication very open this year with his teacher and it has definitely paid off. We sat down and she showed me the Dolche reading list, saying "well, here's the current list but you know he reads great so we'll just move on."

Then she showed me his journal and it was so much fun to see the stories that he writes about on Monday mornings about his weekends.

Here he is Wednesday morning before school...bandanna day

We talked a bit about the decision to pull him out of school for a week in order to go to Disney and she was fully supportive, saying that he could write about his trip and share it with the class for his writing work that week. Since it's reading week and they are required to read 25 books, she said it was all relative and since Noah is reading chapter books instead, he could count each chapter he reads in the car as one book so he still meets his goal for the month.

We talked a bit about how far his maturity level has come. She said she is so impressed with how he is showing better choice making when it comes to how to behave in the classroom. I told her how last year I was struggling to decided whether he was even ready to move up to first grade and she said not only, Yes, he was definitely ready, but she for sure had no worries at all about how he will do in second grade.

I remember last year reading all of the posts from moms talking about how wonderful their kids were and how perfect they were at school and being so jealous and angry, wanting to be able to say the same. It is good to be feeling so much better this year.

Noah is most certainly not a perfect child. He is frustrating, strong willed, talkative, somewhat wild, and not always the first to want to obey the rules (all like his mother).

BUT...

To see such an improvement from last year to this year is enlightening and gives me hope. I am proud to see that others are recognizing his growth and I love that, for good or bad, he wears his heart on his shoulder for everyone to see.

I do want to share one cute Noah-ism though.

During free writing time, they can write letters to whomever they want. I always find fun letters in his bag that he has written to others and that have been written to him. But this one surprised me















I actually didn't open it because I wanted to ask him what he wanted me to do with it but when his teacher asked me in the conference what it said, I finally asked him and then opened it.

I will translate for you:


Dear God My Mighty
Savior You are the
greatest







(Happy sigh)

Have a great weekend!