Setting Goals

Matt, Zoe, Emily, and I went to school this evening for parent/teacher conferences, which are now called "goal setting" conferences. We met with Zoe's teacher first. Zoe gets nervous when her parents and her teacher meet together...or maybe being the focus makes her nervous. I get the feeling that she is comfortable at home and comfortable at school, but when the two get mixed, she gets nervous...although she doesn't act that way when I go into her class, so maybe it is Matt that makes her nervous. Anyway, she was quiet during the conference and she scrunched up her nose a lot (which is what she does when she is nervous). She is doing great in school. She has always loved school and she always does her best. I think it was hard for her to come up with something she needs to work on because she really does well with everything, she understands the work, she gets along well with her teacher and classmates, she aims to please. Zoe says she would like to do better in math and spelling, she thinks she is doing great with reading, writing, and homework, which she is. She is reading at a mid-3rd grade level. My only question was if she would outgrow her b/d switching where she will write b instead of d and vise versa. The teacher said that is pretty common at this age.

Emily's goal for herself this year is to read lots of books. This sounds like Emily since she is very anxious to read. My goal for Emily this year is to learn to ask for help when she needs it. Emily is famous for giving hints when she needs something, but she doesn't come right out and ask for what she needs. Her teacher said she noticed the same thing. Emily has a big class and if she waits for someone to notice that she needs help than she could be waiting a long time.
Emily's teacher thinks Emily is a great student and she will put Emily in the top reading group. She has noticed Emily helping other classmates in different situations. Her teacher heard Emily encouraging another student to turn around and pay attention so the other student wouldn't get a time out. Emily is very kind and considerate. It's nice for Emily to have a teacher that Zoe didn't have in 1st grade. I know Emily's teacher is focused on her ability and Emily's teacher doesn't have a sibling to compare her to. Matt and I do compare Emily and Zoe and since Zoe has excelled in school since day 1 it has made Emily look average, so it was nice to hear Emily's teacher talk about Emily as a top student.