Report card

Maggie came home from school Monday with her first report card!! I don't know why this was so surprising to me ... maybe because technically she's still in preschool? Anyway, it's a really cool snapshot of the skills she's learning - both social and academic. The students were "graded," if you can call it that, on a set of objectives for the first nine weeks (and charts for subsequent quarters are already printed, so we can see what they'll be working toward throughout the year) and on an unchanging list of personal and social skills.

As far as academics, the grading scale was as follows: S = secure, X = practicing, and a check mark = a skill that had been introduced. Maggie scored S's on the following:

• recognizes upper case letters of the alphabet
• follows two-step instructions
• listens to a story for five minutes
• recognizes basic shapes, colors, and first name

She scored a check mark on "Understands the rules of personal safety, fire, play, and drugs" as well as "Understands the job of community helpers."

For personal and social development, the grading scale is: U = usually, O = often, and N = needs improvement. She scored U's in everything except "adapts to change," where she scored an O (which was generous, if you ask me, since the child hates change!). Other things noted on the report card included written numbers and letters (upper and lowercase) recognized by the child, counting orally, and fine motor skills like buttoning, snapping, tying, and zipping.

Based on future nine weeks' objective charts, Maggie will recognize and create patterns, locate Tennessee on a map of the U.S., predict story outcomes, understand her five senses, and learn about plant and animal growth cycles. (There are LOTS more, but these are the ones I think are the coolest.) I'm not sure how much she'll be exposed to some of these things since she's going to kindergarten for her math and reading subjects. So when the K4 report card discusses "recognizing 15 basic sight words," does that really apply to Maggie since she's already reading? I should write that down to ask at the parent-teacher conference. Not that it really matters at this point ... I just want her to enjoy school -- to have fun and be challenged -- and so far I think she's getting both.

Maggie's teacher also wrote some nice comments on the back: "Maggie has had a wonderful first 9 weeks in K4. She interacts very well with the other students and is growing more accustomed to the routine of the day. She follows instructiosn quickly and completes her tasks successfully and independently. Her respectful manners and friendliness are infectious! During the next 9 weeks, we will continue to work on working with numbers 1-20 and with blending letters into words and "little reader" books in reading. Please continue to go over sight words and the book that Mrs. Aytes sent home with Maggie. Also, please remember to read with Maggie at least 20 minutes each night. Maggie is a precious girl and a joy to have in class! I look forward to spending more time with her this year."

Yay for a good report!! On the mornings when I leave Maggie at school with silent tears rolling down her face, it's nice to be able to look back on this report and know she's really thriving. We are loving Maggie's school!