Parent Teacher Conference

I am sure that many parents out there look forward to Parent teacher conference with great anticipation. It's a chance for you to hear how well your child is doing, how high their reading average is, how neat their penmanship is, how well behaved they are in class, how tidy they keep their desk, etc... I  head into this obligatory interview with the understanding that #1 I love my children #2 They are not perfect #3 Any and all of their struggles at school are a direct reflection of my parenting.  All together, I don't really look forward to these meetings.  I have good kids.  I love them.  We're working on it.  And yet, As much as I dont' really enjoy these meetings, I at least plan on them being at that... meetings.  Today, due to some teacher errors, inadvertent discrepancies in scheduled meetings (line jumping), and all around bad luck, I ended up visiting 3 of 5 teachers today in 11 minutes.  As in I got 3.66 minutes with 3 teachers (in what should have been 40 minutes total).  Basically enough time to fake a smile, sit down, and... hear the teachers launch into what needs improving. They tried to tell some good stuff, but when time is of the essence, you take care of what needs help, not what is working just fine. Not cool.  I'm whining, I know.  My poor kids didn't really have their chance to shine, and I was just trying to remain calm, given that I signed up for a specific time slot, arrived on time... and waited to be seen.  It was like a dr's visit, only with several lined up back to back. Thumbs down.

I got the solid 20 minutes with Owen's teacher.  It was great!  He's doing well, and was able to hear about both his accomplishments and what needs improving.  He's reading me a story in chinese in this picture.

Annie and I are singing in a special choir for a church activity next week.  It was so fun to practice with her, and I love to hear her sing.