Parent Teacher Conference

Today, I had a parent-teacher conference with Aaliyah's grade 1 teacher Mme. Hacker. I was 10 minutes early but she gladly welcomed me. She made Ayaan comfortable by giving him some paper and markers to color with. Then she gathered Aaliyah's class folders and we started our conversation. Together we went through Aaliyah's academic progress for the last two
months.
Aaliyah was recently tested on her reading ability in French and she "fully" meets the standards. Her Math, and writing is also on par. The teacher had no major recommendations for Aaliyah. However, she did mention that sometimes Aaliyah needs gentle reminders to get back on task. So, the habit of helping others and looking into what others are doing has not faded away from her Kindergarten years. How exactly do I help my child to really focus rather than let her body or mind wander around. Remove the distractions,  create a calm environment and reinforcing the times when she actually concentrates are some ideas that spring to my mind.
The work that Aaliyah does at school seems to be neater than the tons of pages that she fills up with her doodling at home. The teacher was very impressed with the Aaliyah's first attempt at writing a story in French. She very proudly showed me the doodle book where Aaliyah had written the story. Apparently, Aaliyah also read it to the entire class today. It was a proud Mommy moment. We spoke about our families towards the end of the conference. He daughter is a french immersion teacher too and that is an added bonus.
Overall, I really appreciate having this conversation with Mme. Hacker. Since we are all in it together, it really helps to have open lines of communication. I just love the way things are going in Grade 1. Aaliyah seems to be happy going to school everyday. So far, I have not heard anything negative from Aaliyah. No complaints about friends, no pleas for missing school and no qualms about the homework she is getting. Thinking about it all, just makes me happier.