Oh the joys

We had Parent Teacher Conferences this past week. I always enjoy going to talk with my children's teachers and see how other people view my kids. I know how the behave for me at home, how rotten they can be when I ask them to do something they don't want to do. But for some reason they are usually angels for other people. This is especially true with Cameron (sweet, loving, naughty, screaming maniac Cameron). We went to Cameron's class first. I know Cameron is smart. I have always known that, his teachers have often told me. I just think that sometimes, well at home anyways, he just doesn't see the point of doing things. There have been a few times that his teachers have said "Cameron hasn't turned in such and such assignment." When I ask him it is usually, "I didn't want to." Or something along those lines. So, I was prepared to hear something like that this time around. NOPE!! He is the ideal perfect student!! He does all his work, turns it in on time, is helpful to the teacher and other students, doesn't talk too much, raises his hand, is polite, etc. etc. etc. I sat there (not sure if my mouth was hanging open or not, could have been) in shock. I wanted to say, "No, Cameron is my son. You know the naughty, gives people dirty looks if you talk to him one." Instead I smiled and said I was so glad he was a good student for her. And truth be told, she is a perfect teacher for Cameron. She has "fast finishers" for him when he is done, she has him help tutor other kids in her class, she makes him feel important and needed. He has all A's and scored the highest levels in reading and math that they test them on. Way to go Cameron!!
Next was McKenzie's class. I am always told how smart and quiet and polite she is. I can usually see how her teachers think this. She loves to be the "teacher's pet." She comes by it naturally. She always does good in all subjects, usually all A (maybe an occasional A- or B+). So I was quite surprised that we had any issues with McKenzie! Not that they are bad, she isn't failing anything. BUT she hadn't improved any from the beginning of the year math test to the middle of the year test, and her spelling test grades have been going down. Now I will admit I am partially to blame for a couple of reasons. First, we have been going through alot. Jeff lost his job, Christmas was coming. I was just a wee bit stressed out. I wasn't as dedicated to making sure they are doing their homework as well as they should. The other reason was, I thought she should be doing more by herself. Middle school isn't too far off, and she needs to be more independent. Unfortunately that didn't work too well. I let her do homework while watching TV (totally bad I know!) and she wasn't retaining the information. Needless to say, she is grounded from TV until her homework and piano is done, and her Dad is home from work. That way she only has maybe 30 minutes to watch shows. And she gets to go in early to school to have a tutoring session with her teacher and a few other kids. Now don't get me wrong, her math grade is good (a B I think), but we just want to make sure that she is understanding everything now, so as they continue to add to it she won't get lost and confused.
So, all in all PTC went great. I DO have amazing wonderful kids, even if they don't always show that side to me :)