I had Logan's conferences this week. His regular preschool conference was fantastic. Good kid, learning to socialize, not a problem in sight. I mentioned how in the past we had sensory and balance issues and she was shocked. Some of the kids are still dealing with oral sensory issues and he does not seem to have any. Yeah:)
I had his speech conference today and if left me depressed. He works so hard and he is learning how to say his sounds better, but he's just not using them on a regular basis. I saw this in real life. He was spiderman for halloween. Every adult likes to ask a child what they will be for halloween, so he got better at pronouncing it correctly. Then this week someone asked again and it was right back to biderman. And everyone assuming he said fireman. The teacher said basically we need to drill him over and over and she was realistic knowing my little guy wasn't going to want to do that, so she suggested an incentive chart. And she said he will probably go to a regular kindergarten (not special ed) and get speech therapy where they will focus on practicing sounds. Also, throw some mom guilt in there that I probably don't make him do enough practicing at home, and trying to figure out what time of the day I will push for that!
On the one hand, I am eternally grateful that my son's only "issue" is speech. There are kids at the center who are profoundly disabled or need severe routine and all these interventions to function. Seeing that, I'll take a speech issue any day. On the other hand, I feel horrible that my little guy is working so hard in two different preschools and still needs more "practice." He wants to be a kid! I guess it put in my head the whole issue of how far do you push your child in school to do "their best." How much do I push for the science award if they don't care. What if they won't sit and do their paper until Sunday night and are tired and cranky. I was a good student, as was my husband, with that drive to succeed. Obviously far from perfect, but also a natural ability to do well in school. I think it made excited to see what life for Logan in school will be like, learning his way of seeing the world of education, and doing my darndest to help him be his best and enjoy school as much as I did.
Just some musings after a difficult parent-teacher conference.
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2 comments:
I'm sorry! You're right, he wants to be a kid. You're letting him, while trying to teach him too. Who knows where the "perfect balance" is, but it sounds like you're doing a darn good job.
The more you talk about Logan and Sylvie, the more I think I have the exact same kids. I'm already asking myself the same questions you are with regards to Spencer. They want him starting pre-school right after his third birthday, and though I think he'll enjoy it, it means he has to be potty trained (he is adamantly opposed to it) and it's 4 days a week for half a day just like kindergarten. I'm constantly thinking 'what is REALLY best for him?'.
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