I decided that since Riley is doing so much in school this year, I needed to update y’all on some of the major activities they did last month. I’ll do my big recap of the second 9 weeks next month when they start their Christmas break.
First, here are a few pics I recently got from the Shutterfly Share Site: taking turns stirring blueberry muffin batter, going on a bear hunt during Teddy Bear Week, and digging for dinosaurs.
At the beginning of the month, on October 9, they decorated pumpkins with their big buddies. We were initially told they would be painting the pumpkins but I guess the teachers decided they would rather cut down on the mess. So no paint, but they had lots of stickers, googly eyes, beads, etc. to choose from as adornments. With Eleonore’s help, Riley’s pumpkin turned out pretty cute.
The very next day, a fire truck came to visit. Similar to last year, the kids were treated to a presentation by local firemen, got to see lots of the equipment they use to fight fires, and even got to walk through the truck.
Woodworking with Dads was held on October 23. Kenny got to go to school and help Riley build a wooden crate. The dads had to bring their own hammers, and Kenny even brought a little bitty hammer for Riley. He loved that. They had a really nice morning working together.
On October 31, Kenny and I went to meet with Ms. Amelie for our first Parent-Teacher conference of the year. She actually sent a note home the week before saying that she wanted to meet with us and to please sign up for a slot if we hadn’t already. I wasn’t quite sure how to take that. I admit I was a bit worried about what she had to tell us about our boy.
My worries were unfounded though; Ms. Amelie had nothing but great things to say about Riley. She told us she did an assessment which showed that he’s basically right where he needs to be. She also said he seems to really like school.
She told us that he does have some issues with fine motor skills, like writing, but he is improving. She’s very pleased with the progress he’s made since the beginning of the year. She said he now almost always writes his name on his papers without having to be asked to. And though it’s not really legible, she said she can tell he’s trying.
Other than that, she said that he’s goofy, he’s a good listener, and he plays well with his friends most of the time. She said that he wants to do what he wants to do, but that he’s better at following instructions than he was at first. She also said she makes sure to explain why they do some of the activities they do (i.e. they have to fingerpaint a picture of grapes because they are studying the letter “G” and grapes starts with “G”), and that seems to help.
Ms. Amelie said that they all have their moments and that she doesn’t want to stop them from being kids. Sometimes they act like they’re 4 and that’s okay with her. Kenny and I walked away from the meeting very reassured and really liking the fact that she is Riley’s teacher.
This weekend is their school fair, and I have been helping Riley’s class with one aspect of it. More on that later this week!
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