Joey's 4-year old conferences

Joey's first conferences came...and went! Joe and I always get nervous and he's only 4. I can only imagine us in junior high hoping each time he doesn't get expelled.

We walked into the room to be greeted by his sweet and charming teacher and the first thing out of her mouth is: "What a fun little boy you have! And, WOW- is he ALL-BOY!!!" Yes, he is!! She just smiled. We went through his "portfolio" which included a self-portrait (art has never been my best trait either), his alphabet progress (average for his age), his numbers (recognized up to number 12 when she pointed to numbers), shapes and colors (knew them all). So, by all accounts, academically he is "normal". Whew.

Then, we got to his attentiveness. She said he does very good except for when he and his friend, Max, get together. Sometimes they can't keep their hands to themselves. Shocker. But, she said he does good. He is learning to raise his hand. She said he always participates in discussion (that's from me!) and his energy level is always high (nice way of saying- 'your child is like the Energizer Bunny').

But, I was interested in his character and she hadn't covered that yet. Is he nice to other kids? Yes. Does he share? Yes. Is he pushy or violent or rough? No- never. And, she said he is ALWAYS happy and smiling. We are doing something right! As much as I care about academics, I want to make sure we're raising a good boy, too. And, she said he is always smiling and always happy.

And, my husband sat there quietly while I asked all the questions until we got to the portion of conferences that covered "mobility and coordination." Now, he was all ears. She told us that Joey was her most coordinated child (I think Joe tried to high-five me under the table when he heard that). She said he can hop, skip, jump, gallop, bike, run and more - and that most kids can't do all of that at his age (Joe was grinning from ear to ear). She said he was quite "athletic" and she thought we'd have a little "athlete" on our hands. And.....Joe was spent. His day was complete. She had him at "athletic". It's clear we can start grooming him for quarterback.

She said he was ready for kindergarten by her accounts, but I told her we thought we'd hold him back (he's in that summer birthday dilemma). Joe tried making some talk about holding him back so he would be ahead in athletics and I kicked him under the table. Apparently, he is unaware that most teachers focus on academic skills when talking about sending a child to school- NOT athletic skills. That is called redshirting a preschooler, and it's generally not the way teachers make their decisions. It's the way dads make decisions!

So far, so good. I think I'll enjoy this conference, because I know (especially with boys) that they aren't all going to go that smooth....