Cole's Kindergarten Conference

We had Cole's conference this week. It's funny how excited I get for stuff like this. I guess it's what we SAHMs live for! I really feel like Mrs. King is in tune with our buddy. Of course, he gives her his best, so I'm a little jealous, but thankful too.

This is for my memory-sake, but read on if you'd like. And, yes, I am that nerdy mom who takes notes at conferences. Here's what Mrs. King said:

-he is obviously bright: thinks critically, outside the box, great communicator, etc: all signs of giftedness

-he is so terribly empathetic. If someone is hurting, he feels their pain almost worse than them. She told us to encourage that, unless it gets to a point where he feels too much pain for others! His wife will love this quality one day! (She gave an example about Grace who mentioned vaguely during circle time that she isn't allowed to Trick or Treat. Mrs. King said that was all she said. But, Cole was obviously sad and bothered that she couldn't, so he made her a special envelope of his Trick or Treat candies he had gotten. When Mrs. King saw that he had given this to Grace, she couldn't figure out why. Normally, he and Grace aren't close buddies. Then, later in the day, Cole told Mrs. King that "I felt sorry for Grace that she didn't go Trick or Treating".)

-he is REALLY excited about writing, which Mrs. King said, "is very very rare in boys." She said he will choose to write or do art work over anything else in class.

-he is rough on the playground...which doesn't make sense bc of the above empathetic statement. But, I guess we can all be a mix of things.

-He is a leader, which can be positive (leader skills) or negative (bossy/disrespectful).

-He is teachable. He will "test" or "argue" if he sometimes thinks there is a better way, but as soon as Mrs. King tells him "no" or "this is the way we're doing it", he always says, "yes maam". At this point in the conference, Hutch and I laughed out loud. Imagining our buddy saying "Yes Maam" to anyone seems crazy! She did say that his way is better a lot of times (again: a sign of how bright this boy is), but she won't let him win:)

-He and Natalie obviously really care for each other. Mrs. King said Cole feels very responsible for her (ie: making sure he is right next to her in line, helping her open her Capri Sun at lunch, etc). She said he is incredibly sensitive towards everyone, and just wants to make sure he doesn't feel TOO responsible in taking care of his Natalie...I don't think he minds one bit though!

We are so proud of our spirited boy! When we told Mrs. King that every day is tough with Cole- that he argues about everything and is so strong-willed at home, she couldn't believe it. I'm so glad he has her fooled, BUT we've worked hard this week to get him to act the same way at home:)