Report cards

We have gone and had Douwe and Daan's reports, though the Montessori school does not use report cards for this age group. Everything is fine.

It's so nice to have nothing to report.

They don't run with scissors and they don't hit and they do their work as requested and what more could a teacher ask for?

Douwe continues to have trouble with story time in a group setting, which the teacher thinks (and we think, too) has to do with the sheer amount of concentration he has to put in to follow a story in a group setting -- it's like the telephone problem, it's almost pure verbal input and it's a lot of work for him. So he gets tired of it and is easily distracted. Or distracting if he is sitting near his little pals. Since what works for me (ask him questions about the story as you go along or touch him gently to help him refocus) cannot work in a group setting, we are holding out for the Experts' advice on that. I wonder if they could give him a second copy of the book or something so he could see it up close. I did suggest giving him a little ball of clay or a bean bag to play with in his hand; it seems to help him focus in other group settings.

He has now demonstrated to his teachers that he knows the alphabet *whew* and can read and write simple words in cursive. He has also consented to demonstrate that he can add and subtract numbers up to 10 and count to 30.

Daan is entirely self willed (he jumped abruptly into a deep puddle on the playground the other day soaking himself to his waist -- "mommy, I went swimming today!";) and even more distressing, he is entirely non-apologetic about it (he took all the colored pencils at once and held them together in both hands and drew with them all at once, then earnestly explained that he could not possibly share with the other children because if he did he couldn't draw with all the pencils at once, so, well, that's a real shame for the other kids and all. Maybe they could get some other pencils from the cupboard?) . He has some baby ways of speaking still which seem to be improving; if they don't get better they may send him for a speech screening. (He does have this, in English, too. It worries me a little; but he was also a bit late talking so I have just decided to wait and keep an eye on it.)

But he's just awfully cute and charming. He loves to work and asks for new work constantly.

I suggested they throw him in a barrel and feed him through the....

No, I didn't.

They note that Douwe and Daan speak English to each other at school, which surprises me.