Last week, Brian and I headed to Saint Ben's for Olivia's first conferences. Neither of us really knew what to expect...would we hear about a very shy little girl who holds herself back or would we hear about the silly and sweet girl with growing confidence we see at home? I'd say, we heard about both - and I am VERY happy about that!
No, she doesn't wear glasses...those are mine. :)
Mrs. Bohr and Mrs. Kane had lots of positive things to say; Liv's doing great with numbers, colors, shapes, and letters; she is a good listener and follows directions well. I guess those facts and others like it weren't too surprising to me, but it's always nice to hear them from the teachers. What I was most happy about hearing was how much growth they've seen in Olivia's overall confidence. They said she's participating (raising her hand), sharing and using her "big girl" voice instead of whispering (this is a huge deal!), and getting involved in the action. This is a dramatic difference from last year where she'd sit on the edges of the group during carpet time, listen but not participate, and even stand by the teachers during outside time. It was so awesome to hear about Olivia running around with her classmates during recess, showing off her monkey-bar skills, and being confident about choosing which "stations" to spend her time at during lessons. I guess a big favorite of Olivia's is the "kitchen station." Mrs. Bohr said she spends time here every day; and, while she's not always the leader while playing, they've caught her being exactly that a couple of times much to their pleasant surprise - they hope to see more of this leadership growth as the year continues. When Olivia gets "caught," she tends to revert back to her shyness (for example - Mrs. Bohr caught her singing her lungs out at a football game while playing with friends, and when she asked Olivia if she'd sing like that at the Christmas concert, all she got was a shy smile), but I'm glad they're seeing more of her true personality come out...although her "true" personality most definitely contains are large dose of shy.
Laughing outside at grandma's house.
Our Olivia is certainly a please-r, and getting positive reinforcement from the teachers (and anyone else for that matter) is a HUGE deal to her. I give Mrs. Bohr and Mrs. Kane so much credit for the growth Olivia has made; they are just wonderful!
Impressive castle - I didn't help at all!
On the home front, it's been so fun watching Olivia transform into a little girl. Grace we can still call a toddler, but not Olivia. She's such a good helper these days - she helps me pick up all the time, do chores - her favorite is mopping the floor, puts clothes away, and even helps fold the laundry. She's recently started getting a quarter for helping, and I think that she thinks that's a pretty cool deal - she brought her purple piggy-bank in for show-n-tell on "purple day" at school.
We're still struggling with the transition into winter clothing; getting dressed (mostly putting on socks) can turn into a huge deal in the mornings, but once she has her whine/cry/scream about this - thank goodness it doesn't usually last too long - she gets over it and moves on. She's as frustrated by these sensory issues as we are - we've even seen her "hit" her own foot because she can't get her sock to feel right (she's really bothered by the seam). This morning she was upset about a new pair of pants, but after a few minutes, she was showing me how cool she was because she could do the snap and zipper. We just try to celebrate the progress she makes with clothing and deep breathe through the fits and really interesting outfits - hey, if she's dressed, some days, that's enough!
More positively, Olivia is an amazing color-er. She's so good at staying in the lines and has recently really got into more abstract stuff where she just fills the paper up with color and mini-pictures. She's also taking a liking to gymnastics (Santa might have to bring her something along those lines) and
loves going to Luther with Brian - there they play tennis, do line jumps and other agility drills, take ground balls, and do laps around the track. An athlete in training, I guess! I don't usual go on these excursions with them because I'll do housework or grading while they're gone, but they must be fun and exhausting as we are ensured a good night of sleep after them!
Olivia and Grace continue to be best pals - they still love to play babies and house and to jump on the trampoline. They both talk about Max, Mya, and Ivy all the time along with Maggie and Elsey (our neighbors). Friends from school are Danika, Trevor, Kelby, Carley, and new pal, Stella. We also hear about how she gives Kelsey (Maher) a huge at school whenever she sees her which I think is pretty cute. She loves every and any babysitter! Olivia's such a lover and she doesn't hesitate to say this to people or to give them big hugs and cuddles.
What a wonderful stage this is turning out to be. I'm sure I could write more, but enough for now!
