Parent/Teacher Conference

A few weeks ago, Jacob and I went in for the Fall parent/teacher conference. The anticipation always drives me crazy! I talk to Jackson's teacher almost everyday, but this is where we get the details on how he stacks up against other children his age.

My anticipation stems from almost the day Jackson was born. During those months we spent in the hospital with Jackson, the nurses and therapists were preparing us for probably worst case scenario. They told us that it was very likely that Jackson would be delayed and may need help down the road due to learning disabilities. Because he was so premature, only time would tell if he suffered any long term damage from issues with low oxygen, etc. Now, he was really slow in his physical development the first year. Even by his first birthday, he could barely sit up and if he fell over, he was down for the count. After realizing that he probably should be at least crawling, I started reading ahead on where he should be. By the time he was 18 months old, he had mastered crawling and had started walking. From that point forward, I knew that this was something we would need to work on and if I had anything to do with it he would NOT be delayed in any aspect.

Fast forward back to our conference. His teacher fills out an assessment on every child that covers all aspects of physical, social and cognitive development. As I opened his assessment I'm reading down the list and he has fully mastered everything, with the exception of a couple of items. I knew he had been doing well, but when your child is being graded by a general standard it makes me a little nervous. Cognitively he's almost perfect and doesn't forget ANYTHING! Its almost to the point now I tell him things I need to remember. The only thing that he needs to work socially is saying "Please" and "Thank You". He does say "please" and "thank you", but not consistently. Physically is the only area I've noticed any differences, but as old as he is now they are really minor. It has taken him longer to learn gross motor skills like jumping, standing on one foot, etc. We are now working on learning to pedal a bike. Hopefully I will have video soon of him mastering that skill!

Jackson is also taking enrichment courses in Phonics and Math. He started just before his 3rd birthday in phonics and is now starting to read. We started him in math a few months ago and to my surprise, he can already do simple addition and subtraction.

Jackson's eagerness to learn has been the key to his success and I am VERY proud of him!