You would think that a parent/teacher conference for a 2 and a half year old would be pretty bland. Not when it comes to a parent/teacher conference for my ringleader. For the record, they didn't refer to her as a "ringleader" - but they did describe her fulfilling the role. Oh yes, she's very bright, very sweet, and she also knows how to test those boundaries. Not all of the stories were of boundary testing (and getting her friends to do the same). But, here are a few that I want to remember.
Her teachers tell the kids not to push their chairs away from the lunch table (presumably this causes the chairs to tip over). Amelia evidently does this . . . and successfully encourages her friends to do the same. I wish I had a picture of her face tonight as I casually told her while she was brushing her teeth, that she needed to listen to her teachers and not push her chair away from the table. "How in the world do you know I do that?" was written all over that sweet face.
She love dramatic play and particularly loves to lead it. She'll invite her friends to go on a train ride, or on a field trip. One of her teachers described the "field trips" as the kids putting everything and anything they could get their hands on into backpacks and then "going on the field trip." It looks like a bomb went off in the room. Given how much Audrey loves to lead dramatic play at home, it shouldn't surprise us that Amelia likes to play that role at school. And I was pleased to hear she is very comfortable sharing the spotlight and letting other join in the leading role.
And as with home, she knows how to push her sister's buttons at school. One of Amelia's teacher said that just the other day Audrey yelled at Amelia on the playground and went off upset. The teacher tried to get Amelia to explain what had happened and ended up asking Audrey to come back and explain herself. Audrey, full of emotion, proceeded to say that Amelia had hurt her feelings, because she had a new knock-knock joke to share and Amelia wouldn't listen. If that caused screaming on the playground, can you imagine what our home sounds like on weekends?
And finally, Amelia has excellent reading comprehension and enjoys predicting what is going to happen next in a story. I know I'm biased, but she is one smart cookie . . . intellectually and socially.
I know we've said this before - you guys are in TROUBLE! Well, actually, no - you are well equipped to handle anything she can dish out...but she's going to keep you on your toes!
Posted by: Mom | October 28, 2011 at 04:02 PM