Parent-Teacher Conferences

I attended a parent-teacher conference this week for each one of my kids in school/preschool. A snapshot of what I remember their teachers telling me about what my kids are like in class :) It's completely hearsay at this point...

James
Independent, independent, independent. Needs coaxing to do certain things, but finds a groove once he's there. He keeps to himself and respects the rules, but does not take pleasure in arts and crafts, or praying (it's a christian-based preschool), or singing with the group, or journal-writing. His favorite play activity is the Paw Patrol characters and cars, where he'll create structures for them with the big blocks. When he can be convinced to write in his journal or draw something, he can be pretty meticulous. His writing is very, very small. He's on track as far as letter recognition and counting. He has grumpy days when he doesn't really want to do anything. He doesn't let kids take things away from him, though, and that's a good thing in preschool :)

Robert
Robert's teacher says he surprises her with his analytical approach to life and his humble confidence. He has no problem getting up in front of the class to explain how he came up with a certain answer to a problem. She tells me he's bright, but not cocky or competitive about it, because he just plain loves to figure things out for himself. He also has a knack for thinking outside the box: one time, they were play-acting some social skills in class, and Robert's job was to break a classroom rule while the teacher's back was turned. Most kids pretend to bother another student or start making noise in their seat. The teacher tells me that Robert got up on the table shouting and wagging his rear end. It was quite the spectacle! The kids were rolling on the floor with laughter. The teacher was surprised/impressed at his gutsy choice, and she loves him for this kind of stuff. He keeps the rules and works hard, but he's got a knack for knowing when it's okay to let loose, too. This kid is so, so, so different from the kindergarten-Robert who wouldn't dare to eat school lunch because it required him to get up in front of the class and put a card in a pocket (to choose his entree). Now, he's talking out his thought processes and delighted to participate everywhere in the classroom. It's a renaissance year for him. What happened?!

Alice
Responsible, friendly, fun, engaging, social, hard-working, diligent. That's what I hear, anyway ;) She finishes all her homework at school. She works well in teams and independently. She's bright and happy and often very, very silly. She's always trying to rope her teacher(s) into her imaginary games with her friends. Whether it's a pretend news show, or they need someone to act like an ogre, Alice approaches her current and former teachers as casually and playfully as any of her peers. Alice will talk to them about things that are important or exciting to her. I think it's safe to say she's pretty comfortable with adults. She says she's bad at math, but the truth is she just doesn't enjoy it as much as language. I wish I could dig out that "bad at math" weed...