Finley: Parent Teacher Conference 2012

So yesterday we met with Finley's teachers for her parent teacher conference.  I don't know why these always make me so nervous, but they do!  I was definitely more nervous last year than this year, but I still went in curious to see what they would tell us about our little girl.  It's kind of strange to hear them talk... to hear the things that we see on a daily basis with Finley and then those that we rarely if ever see because they have a different relationship with her and different interactions with her.

They pretty much just told us how great Finley is doing.  That she is smart and has a huge vocabulary for her age.  They also said that she interacts with the other kids well and that she is very sweet and loving towards them.

A few weeks ago, I went to pick Finley up and she was still sleeping so I had to go in and wake her up.  While I was getting her shoes on, one of the other kids in the class threw something and had to go to "Chill Out".  I laughed and asked Finley if she ever had to go to "Chill Out" and when she said "No" I laughed even harder.  Time Out is an almost daily occurence at our house so I didn't believe for a second that she wasn't getting sent to Chill Out at school, but Miss Brandi overheard and confirmed that Finley had never gone to Chill Out.  Of course, a couple of weeks later, she came home telling me that she had thrown playdough on the ground and had to go to Chill Out for it.  I love this stage where they actually fess up to getting into trouble!

So obviously, I am thrilled that Finley is doing so well at school.  I am glad that she isn't getting into trouble and that she is learning what she needs to and participating so well.  We received a whole printout on their High Scope curriculum that has observations of her meeting each objective.  I know it's just Mother's Day Out, but their program really is so much more than baby-sitting!

Devin and I also had a chance to talk to her teachers about something that we were concerned about and they were completely supportive and very understanding.  I was so relieved that it went so well.  As parents, we felt it was important to advocate for our child, but at the same time, we also don't ever want to be those parents who have unrealistic expectations or who think that their child is "perfect".  Thankfully, they had seen the same thing we had and agreed completely with the request we made.

So another year down.  I love seeing Finley grow and develop!  I love hearing all about her personality and how others find her as funny and endearing as we do!  They did mention that she is always the first to answer and though they thought this was a good thing, I fear that she may end up being that annoying kid who is the teacher's pet or who always has the right answer and doesn't let anyone else talk or get it right!  We'll see!  I *may* have been like that so I don't want to jump to assumptions, but do want to keep an eye out for it.

After naptime, I took Finley to get icecream at Braum's to celebrate her good report!  She loves, loves, loves icecream and it was such a fun treat for her!  I don't think she completely understood why she was getting such a yummy treat, but I just told her how proud of her we were and that we wanted her to keep doing her best at school and being such a sweet girl to others.  She was satisified with that... especially with chocolate icecream in front of her!