Last Friday my boys came home with their reports cards. No more preschool conferences to go over ABCs and 123s. We have hit the big time with actual report cards. While they are still not on the usual A-F scale, their marks do tell me a lot about their academic progress and, more importantly, their social progress.
I hear that they are on track with their math and reading, they are kind to their friends, my oldest speaks out without raising his hand and my little guy Sam has not had any “moments” for over a month now (he is my moody child). What?! What did those last two say? That is right, my darling boys who really are good kids have their own school issues, too.
Even Jake’s teacher attributes his speaking out of turn to excitement and curiosity and Sam’s “moments” being less frequent are a good thing. Knowing that these are minor blips on their school radar does give me comfort, but it reminds me that all kids and parents need to take these report cards seriously….even as young as kindergarten. It is now when small things can be caught so they don’t turn into larger issues. This is the time to talk to Jake about raising his hand more and congratulating Sam for his good behavior.
As a teacher I saw kids in middle school who did not get this attention and support. No one ever talked to them when they were younger about making positive changes. No one ever told them they were proud when they did, so they stopped trying. Now that I have my own kids I want to make sure we talk each time a report card comes home so they know their dad and I are paying attention and that we will do what we need to in order to ensure school is a positive experience for them
Has anyone ever had a surprise on a report card? How did you handle it? Do you feel the reports paint a true picture of your son or daughter?
