Warning to all my mommy friends, with younger kiddos.... P/T conferences get to be just a little more "unfun" as they get older. Riley is a great student and doing great in school, but after my rave over Reece's conference, it was a little bit of a let down. I'm sure it's pretty typical..... 4th grade is probably a big transition.
We started off with Reading.... I've said this over and over, Riley doesn't enjoy reading. At least just leisurely reading. But he is one of the top in his class at the level R. Benchmark for 4th is P, so he is above here. Mrs. Stucky even told us that he isn't shy in his group, and always adds to the good conversation when they are discussing what they've read. So he is also doing a great job comprehending his reading. His next book will be an S book.... so he will be pushed a little more.
She is pleased with Riley's writing, as he is between the "emerging" stage and "developing" stage of becoming a great writer. Mrs. Stucky always enjoys reading Riley's work. She said it's very creative and entertaining. Organizing his thoughts is what he will focus on next.
I had to tell Riley that he needs to work harder in Spelling. He is only averaging a 101%. Haha!! He is very good at practicing each week, and working in a school, I know how many kids never even look at their spelling list day to day, or even at all. Riley always goes for the bonus words, which is how he got his high score. My only concern is him not retaining what he's practiced. There are times in his writing, he is misspelling words that I know he has had as spelling words. Hopefully that works itself out!
Science has taken Riley's top favorite subject spot. Apparently, Mrs. Stucky does a lot of fun experiments that he enjoys. In a short 9 weeks, Riley has become very detailed in his lab work. His 4th grade class also got to go to Salina on 5 different occasions for all day, Science days. They went to STARBASE there. It is a Kansas regional training center with the Kansas National Guard. They had a lot of fun and it was a great experience for these little scientist.
Math, which used to be Riley's favorite, is still a good subject for him. He goes across the hall to Mrs. Viola, who teaches the 4th grade level of Math (Riley is in a mixed 4th/5th class.) We briefly met her, only in passing in the hall. She actually gave Riley a big hug..... I think she likes him. Since we don't have a conference with her, she wrote a note to us......
.....Though quiet, Riley is a thorough and enthusiastic, math student who has great strategies for solving problems. He is quite studious, a real thinker, and shares his ideas during class discussions. I am particularly pleased that Riley can handle a challenge and that he is persistent in working on a problem until he solves it. We will continue to discuss and write about math through the year. Mrs. Viola
That pretty much summed up our conference. The last input we got, was that Riley doesn't push himself. He could do so much more, if he wanted to. If it was required, he would get it done, but nothing more...... this is just Riley's personality. I hope he gets a little more energized about something in life, but for now we see the minimum. He needs to challenge himself one of these days. But I am still proud at how well my boys do in school, and how much they love it! I hope this lasts a long time!
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