Tyler's Report Card

Before I file it away, I thought I'd share Tyler's most recent progress report. His school does them every 6 months, even for the babies! They also have parent teacher conferences.

This report is 5 pages long and has categories with subcategories and developmental activities listed for each subcategory that are graded A for almost always, E for emerging and N for needs attention. Tyler gets mostly As with a few Es scattered in there. (Tyler can't walk forward and backwards on an 8 foot line yet... I guess we'll have to wait a little longer for a successful sobriety test!)

Here are the main categories and his teacher's comments:

1. Cognitive - Tyler is very inquisitive and wants to know the hows and whys of the world around him.
2. Language - Tyler's verbal skills are well developed, he can carry on a conversation about things he has done or will do.
3. Self - Tyler is very self aware, he is proud of himself when he accomplishes tasks.
4. Social/Emotional Development - Tyler engages in cooperative pay with his peers. He is still developing self-control and needs to be reminded of the appropriate ways to express excitement or frustration. Our classroom rules seem to help him remember.
5. Science - Tyler enjoys sensory activities. He is also enjoying our color songs and learning the colors in Spanish.
6. Math - Tyler recognizes his numbers and is able to count objects in correspondence to the number he sees.
7. Gross Motor - Tyler enjoys our gross-motor skill activities, he has a high energy level and he has the coordination to successfully participate and get that energy released.
8. Fine Motor - Tyler is still developing his fine-motor skills, he sometimes gets frustrated with holding scissors and cutting, but we will be working on strengthening the pincer group which will make such tasks easier.

I think the report describes Tyler well. Reading it made me smile.

Overall I am pleased with the school and think it is a good place for my boys to be. They have a good balance of care and learning. Even play time has purpose without making it too structured. When I picked Tyler up before lunch earlier this week I got to see what happens during that time. The room is quite large and there were children grouped around the room doing different things. A few were playing on their own, a few were doing an art project with a teacher, a few were using play dough with a teacher and a few were playing in the water table that had been filled with snow. It was not just a free for all. When Tyler first started at the center I was concerned that he would have more nurturing in a home environment. But, I think we made the right choice. There are usually 3 teachers in Tyler's room and I believe they all genuinely care for the children. Each teacher is actively engaged in the day. I am also more comfortable knowing there is more than one adult. It's a check and balance system. And, they put up with my daily calls!