Today was my first parent teacher conference ever. Michael's teacher wanted to talk about his progress and where things stood for the rest of the year and the summer. During the phone conference I found out that as much as I think Michael is progressing, the teacher thinks that he will do better in a classroom with a teacher:kid ratio of 4:5. I am thrilled that he is going to be getting a lot more attention, which I absolutely think will be a huge benefit to him. I am concerned though that he is not progressing as fast as I would like. the new plan is for Michael to transition into the new classroom and maybe even go to preschool for a full day. I am really excited about his going to school for a longer day, if he can tolerate it, but I am mostly excited about the teacher to student ratio.I hope that his speech progresses quickly and he can return to a regular classroom, but I would much rather see this happening now instead of delaying it and have him not be ready for kindergarten.
I know that all kids progress at their own rate, but given that all of my kids have somewhat of a speech delay, I can't help but wonder if I am doing something wrong or not doing something right while I am at home with them. I think one of the things that I tend to do is focus on their stronger skill set, their gross motor skills. Since they tend to be so much more active, I tend to let them do more physical play instead of working on either fine motor skills (which they aren't really delayed in, they just have little to no interest in doing), or a lot of technically cognitive skills. I need to put together a plan so that I can work on their fine motor skills such as holding a crayon and drawing and their cognitive/language skills. They tend not to like to sit and read books, so even though I try to read to them, I often get frustrated that they don't want to listen and I don't read to them as much as I should. This is really ironic since I am and have always been an avid reader. I am so afraid that I am causing my children to have the dealys that they have. I will just have to look at what I can do from now on and not look at what I haven't done in the past!
Amy
Hi Amy, glad to hear Michael will get such great teacher attention in his new classroom. I'm sure you're not doing anything wrong at all-all kids are different and develope differntly and in their own time- I also think its great you are focusing on and encouraging their gross motor skills which come easily to them and they enjoy!
ReplyDeleteHi Amy! Luke and Molly are at totally different stages in their speech development. I hate it because it makes me worried that Luke will not get caught up. I think preschool will help a lot but have decided to put him in speech therapy too. I like you want to address it now and not later. I know we aren't supposed to compare but it is hard not to. I hate that you are blaming yourself....please don't. I know Micheal will do great with this more one on one teaching. I hope the same for mine. Take care, Andrea
ReplyDeleteI think ANY kid would benefit from a lower student to teacher ratio...kudos on that teacher for recognizing that and being able to make the appropriate changes! Great news!
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