Into the Void

Tomorrow: my first parent/teacher conferences.

Well, not my first. My first as the teacher.

We had our reallytruly first parent/teacher conference this afternoon - with Iain's teacher.

She provided a surprising level of detail for a kid who's 2.5. There was a personalized report sheet - language skills, potty training, interaction with other kids, listening, independence and motor skills (both gross and fine).

Then we talked about Iain's proclivities. He likes to open up his jam sandwich and pull out the jam for eating and smearing. This they discourage. He likes to drop his grapes all over the floor. They feel he ought to pick up his messes. He feels that his messes are someone else's problem. Etc. etc.

It was interesting. About a month ago, Charles had a chat with Iain's teacher about napping. Among other things, he told her that sometimes one has to be forceful. As in: he's 2. If he wants out of the cot during nap, order him back in.

She tried it. And - shock - it worked. So she's been "providing lots of direction" to him in other ways, too. And guess what? That's working! It turns out that sometimes when you want a toddler to do something you have to really make your point with a serious tone of voice.

Tomorrow I get to sit on the other side of the table.