For as long as my children have had age related milestones to reach, check-in meetings have always stressed me out. Being twins, who arrived a little early (but not all that early), and having been born in the latter half of the year, they've been held to the same academic standards of kids who are six to eight months older than them,more often than not they are falling behind when it comes to what they 'should' be able to do by standardized milestones and testing.
Whenever I hear other parents complaining that the teacher didn't give them enough difference between what 'Good' and 'Excellent' means on a report card, or various other things about their child's intense academic prowess it fills me with a silent rage. It's not like my kids aren't working hard, it's just they aren't there yet. I mean I'm happy your kid is 'excellent', but maybe, just maybe other parents aren't appreciating your not so humble brag.
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| Image Courtesy of Kat Leroux |
Neither kid was fast to walk (both were around 18 months). We never thought that Jack would talk, but thanks to amazing care from their pre-school, speech therapy, and a lot of effort on his part, I can't imagine a time when he wasn't talking our ears off, despite being quite the introvert at school.
The minions have both been working hard with a tutor since April, and even worked twice a week through most of their summer.
Earlier this month when report cards came out I felt that old familiar feeling in the pit of my stomach. As I tore open the report cards and read, I couldn't believe it. All of a sudden things were clicking, both reports were filled with Satisfactory, Good, and even some Excellent. There are still a couple of areas to work on, but this was by far the best report either child had received. I wanted to cry I was so happy, and at the same time I was in disbelief, with some irrational fear that the other shoe was going to fall when we attended the parent-teacher conference, but they were unfounded. There were no surprises, just strategies we could work on together, and suddenly I felt some of this weight, some of this guilt that our kids just weren't keeping up lift.
A few nights ago when Jack read me his take home book, complete with inflection, voices, whispers, and emotion, I couldn't believe it. It serves as a reminder that time passes, our kids reach their milestones on their own schedule, not one that was standardized. The next time I find myself getting stressed out about things they aren't or can't do yet. I'm going to think about reading with Jack, or playing math games with Molly as she adds up her Sushi Go points, cause that's my Good and Excellent happy kids who love school and are learning, with or without academic excellence.
