Smartie Pants (194)

I had SEP Conferences(they're what used to be called Parent Teacher Conferences) with Tyler and Cameron's teachers today. Big surprise, they're both extremely advanced. Cameron's teacher said that he's so far ahead of the other kids that no one even comes close. All of his testing isn't quite done, but will be soon. So, she can't tell me just what reading level, etc. he's at. She said just to trust that it's high. She said he's definitely the smartest kid in the class. He has a workbook that no one else will get until the spring. She had to give it to him just to keep him busy in class. She asked him to do the first few pages only, but he flew through those and went pretty far into it on his own. She's excited about the opportunity to be working with him. She seemed genuine and like she's really going to try. I'm glad for that because I think the teachers need to be challenged like this sometimes. She showed me the homework that she will start sending home with him next week. She's also willing to work with me and is open to any suggestions for additional homework. What she will be sending is not going to be terribly difficult for him, but it will be better than practicing writing the letters of the alphabet. That's all he's done so far. She's having to find and create homework just for him. Wow! Personalized homework. I guess that means he's hit the big time.

Tyler's teacher showed and discussed his CRT scores (is that what they're called?). It's a test that all kids between, I believe, 3rd-6th grade take. They're tested in several different subjects. The highest possible score a student can receive overall is a 4. It means that they are extremely proficient. Tyler scored a 4. His scores in all of the individual areas were above the average for the school as well as for the state. She's working on creating extra activities for him to do in class when he finishes work before everyone else. He always finishes before everyone else. She encouraged him to keep up with his voracious reading and currently wants him to use that as his time filler activity. Reading is never a bad thing. That's why I have a hard time telling him no when he asks for a new book. He asks at least once a week.

At these conferences, the teachers always ask the students and parents to come up with a couple of goals to work on. Pretty much the only one either teacher could think of, and it's been true for Tyler since kindergarten, was working on their handwriting. They both tend to be a bit on the sloppy side. Their minds sometimes work faster than their hands and they can't keep up. Fine. We'll continue to work on handwriting.

I've always said that I would have evil genius children who would pass me up in the intelligence department. Today's meetings confirm that. I'm not complaining. I'm so glad that they have the desire to learn and grow and I hope that they never lose it.