Brenden is at the same private school he was in last year for preschool. They do 18-month parent’s day out (which Emily was in last year) all the way up to Kindergarten. We love that the class size is small, only 12 kids in Brenden’s class. Also, that they cover all the kindergarten information in the first half and then move to 1st grade curriculum in January.

Brenden has continued to struggle with his writing this year. We feel pretty certain that he would have been right handed but is having to learn to use his left. But then again, I may have mentioned I failed handwriting in elementary school, so it could just be hereditary bad writing! He struggled with it last year but made big strides. With me in school all summer we didn’t continue working on it like we should have though and he slid back. So this year was back to square one and with a new teacher. He has made HUGE improvements, but he struggles to read what he’s written (even though I now can) and he just isn’t confident about it.

Homework began as a huge struggle this year too. He gets a packet of homework to do every Friday and it’s due the next Friday. Usually, that means 2-3 sheets a night. I refuse for to make him do homework on the weekend at this age. For a long time it was hard to get him to sit still and focus for the short time it takes to do his sheets. He pretends not to know the answers and tries to be very silly. But as the year has gone by it’s becoming less of a struggle.

Report cards came home and while all scores were good there was a note from the teacher to schedule a conference. I was a bit worried, but it turned out well. The teacher just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page. She seems to appreciate all the same things we appreciate in him such as his imagination. She reiterated that he is struggling with writing. She mentioned that while he’s warmed up to her and will talk her ear off one on one he doesn’t seem to want to break into any of the groups or talk when called on in front of the class. Last year he had his threesome with his twin best friends and I had noticed he didn’t seem to have that connection with anyone this year and had wondered about that. She says he’s well liked by everyone. She said that everyone loves it when he talks in his monster voice and that they all agree he has the best one.

The teacher was telling us she can’t let him sit facing the computer or the window during table work because he will daydream. No denying he’s Patrick and I’s son!She also has caught him working very hard to pretend to write rather than just doing it.

The main cause of any concern was that she doesn’t want his confidence to hold him back. She mentioned that he’s been hiding his little hand which was a big surprise to me. He never does that around us. It makes me a little sad, but I know it’s something he’s always going to have to deal with. So it’s something we’ll keep working on and make sure we keep taking him to the Hands Down activities.