The world of your children is full of exciting stages. The first six years are filled with daily “See what I can do now!” The second six are filled with “See what I know now!” The third six – “Don’t look at me now!” But no matter: if the first and second developmental planes have been rich with sensory and exploratory adventures, adult years will re-discover those “aha” moments through their own children or through the experiences of everyday life.

Conference week is the time we share school moments with you. But we will also want to listen to what you see as your child’s accomplishments, challenges, and questions. We, teachers, use the metaphor of a sandwich to help you know more about your child from the academic and social standpoint.

Of course, you will hear all the good things your child has achieved during his/her first nine weeks. For some of our little ones, it may be tremendous growth. First steps, first success in the potty, first real blending of sounds into words, first understanding of the concrete multiplication boards into “I know my multiplication tables!” The “aha” moments come rapidly. Those will be all the positive developmental and academic areas you will be told at parent conference.

The middle of the sandwich are the areas where your child may be experiencing challenges academically and socially. To understand that your child’s teacher sees these things as well and is helping him to grow through those struggles is a blessing. In a Montessori school, there is time to nurture the timid, foster independent thinking, or challenge behavior in more appropriate ways.

The last part of the conference is hearing the “big picture” of your child; the positive character strides, the passions that have begun to be apparent.

As a parent, come prepared to enjoy the accomplishments, appreciate the challenges, and celebrate the overall journey. These conferences are windows into a journey that your child is on -- independent from you -- and you think for the first time: this is a very special but separate and unique human “becoming.”

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