Wednesday, September 24, 2008

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.

9 comments:

Jules AF said...

Psssh that's what I'm going to start telling people when they ride me for having such bad handwriting. "Well, I can't help it that my brain works faster than my hand can move!" Totally using it now. haha thanks!

Rosie and Derek said...

That's so great that Cameron's teacher is willing to work with him and give him things that are on his leve! It seems like most of the time they just focus on where the majority of the class is.
I'm worried that Ethan is getting a bit lazy about schoolwork since it's easy for him. He likes being able to read while everyone else finishes, ha ha.

Whitney R said...

Wow, you have amazing children! And are rather lucky to have a teacher that is excited about it and wants to further their knowledge.

I really hope I my kids at least eventually learn to read. I have a very smart family, but I'm just kind of an A and B student. I'm setting my expectations low so I'm not dissapointed. lol, but I'll try very very hard to teach them everything and then some.

Bobie said...

I highly doubt they will be "evil". A Genius, of course, no doubt!! It sounds like Cameron has adapted well to school. YIPEE!!

carrhop said...

Gotta love great academic news like that--and a teacher who's willing to push him further and faster--awesome!
Blessings!

Heather said...

That's good news, especially since the teachers are excited about it and are willing to work with them. I found out about this website if you'd like to indulge the kids with different books.

http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php


I found out about it from this blog:
http://www.moneydummy.net/?p=1066

Torina said...

That is awesome. You can take credit for that :) A good home and a good mommy make a BIG difference in kids' lives.

Holly said...

Wow, that's great. Glad to hear you have a teacher willing to work with you in helping you kids achieve. Great job mom.

Brittany Marie said...

Do they wear brightly-colored spandex? Do they leave for school everyday in a helicopter? If not, maybe they're not Evil Geniuses.

But I'm just basing my knowledge of Evil Geniuses on The SIMS 2 game.

But really, that's cool your kids are geniuses! (Even if they're not evil.) :p