This Side of the Table

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS A FAIR AMOUNT OF BRAGGING...

Today I had a new experience: being the parent at a parent/teacher conference! I went into it excited to see what the view was like from this side of the table, but also a little nervous that another person was going to be telling me things about my Ella. It was a good experience! Ella's teacher says she is a blessing to the class and a super kid. She said Ella is confident, independent, very social, purposeful and creative. Of course, none of this is a surprise to us. We were interested to learn that in specific tests of fine motor, gross motor, visual motor, language, number knowledge and self awareness she is functioning above the norm for a 3 1/2 year old. At some, she's even at a 4 1/2 year old's level! Her teacher did point out the weaknesses that come from her particular strenghts-- being chatty, bossy and inflexible to any agenda other than her own. In the end, it was nice to hear that Ella is exactly the same at home as she is at school-- we are very familiar with both her strenghts and weaknesses.

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She's been really working on and improving her cutting skills. Here are some of her latest crafts:

And just for fun and for my fellow parents of young children, here are some fun suggestions. In the fine motor (strength of small muscles in hand and fingers) department Ella is only at age level :), so her teacher suggested a few activities to help her progress. We've tried many tonight and these "games" are a hit!

-put coins into a bank

-put buttons into a bottle

-screw lids on/off jars

-play with playdough

-squeeze a sponge

-string O cereal

-put nuts and bolts together

-use tongs to pick up cotton balls

-use clothes pins to decorate the edge of a bowl