We had our parent teacher conference a few weeks ago and it went very well. His teacher and I get along really well and we have an easy rapport. I appreciated the comments that she wrote on his report.
Well, on Monday when I went to pick him up she said that she needed to talk to me. Apparently Gustav was very challenging all day, not listening and being aggressive to his friends. She said she had to ask for help from the teacher in the other room who is a little sterner. She said everyone was so shocked because he is normally so good and they didn't understand why he was misbehaving. She tried to redirect him and she tried counting. She asked how things were at home.
I confessed and told her that the weekend was pretty challenging. He has been testing boundaries and it's been frustrating me. I read 1 2 3 Magic and while that usually helps, it wasn't helping this time. Gabe and I talked that evening and decided that the main culprits were: too much Thomas on television, too much chocolate milk or juice, stress from potty training. So we gave him some extra attention at dinner time and didn't turn on the television. We also talked to him about listening to his teachers.
The following day as I walked in, the assistant director told me that she wanted to talk to me about transitioning Gustav to the older two's classroom. Then the director called me into her office and asked the assistant director to join us. Uh oh...
The director wanted to know if there were any changes at home because she did hear the report about his misbehaving. She also said that it's been going on for a couple of weeks, but Monday was the first that I had heard of it. I told them that perhaps we were pressuring him too much on the potty training and the finger sucking. I also suggested the television and the sugar may be contributing to the behavior and I told them that we were working on that.
I was asked about how I felt about transitioning him so I told them that I was open to it but it was Gabe who was against it. One reason is the theory that it's better to be the oldest in the classroom. Since Gustav's birthday falls after the school cut off of September 1st, he will always be the oldest in his class. Another reason is that transitions are really hard for Gustav because he's an emotional little guy who loves and needs his routine. The school had already completed their mid year transitions so Gustav would be transitioning all by himself. The third reason is that while he could probably keep up intellectually, he is small physically and somewhat immature so we thought it would be best for him to stay with the younger two's. Anyway, both two's classrooms will merge into Preschool 1 in the fall.
Even though Gabe has felt this way, I've had some doubts. I've been feeling that he's gotten bored at school and that may be why he's been misbehaving. I think he is ready for some more structure. Gabe and I spoke to the director the next morning and we all decided that it was in Gustav's best interest for him to be "promoted." She also gave us some suggestions such as to give him choices and ask him if that was the way things were done at school. The key is to be consistent at home and school.
I admit that I nearly cried at the meeting. I felt like such a failure as a parent. Then I quickly came to my senses. I've ordered some new dvds (Elmo's Potty Training and the Happiest Toddler on the Block) and another parenting book called Love and Logic.
We've made some changes this week (no television and from one juice box per day to an occasional juice box per week) and I think our new game plan is working if you look at his peeing success and his good behavior at the restaurant!
Well, on Monday when I went to pick him up she said that she needed to talk to me. Apparently Gustav was very challenging all day, not listening and being aggressive to his friends. She said she had to ask for help from the teacher in the other room who is a little sterner. She said everyone was so shocked because he is normally so good and they didn't understand why he was misbehaving. She tried to redirect him and she tried counting. She asked how things were at home.I confessed and told her that the weekend was pretty challenging. He has been testing boundaries and it's been frustrating me. I read 1 2 3 Magic and while that usually helps, it wasn't helping this time. Gabe and I talked that evening and decided that the main culprits were: too much Thomas on television, too much chocolate milk or juice, stress from potty training. So we gave him some extra attention at dinner time and didn't turn on the television. We also talked to him about listening to his teachers.
The following day as I walked in, the assistant director told me that she wanted to talk to me about transitioning Gustav to the older two's classroom. Then the director called me into her office and asked the assistant director to join us. Uh oh...
The director wanted to know if there were any changes at home because she did hear the report about his misbehaving. She also said that it's been going on for a couple of weeks, but Monday was the first that I had heard of it. I told them that perhaps we were pressuring him too much on the potty training and the finger sucking. I also suggested the television and the sugar may be contributing to the behavior and I told them that we were working on that.
I was asked about how I felt about transitioning him so I told them that I was open to it but it was Gabe who was against it. One reason is the theory that it's better to be the oldest in the classroom. Since Gustav's birthday falls after the school cut off of September 1st, he will always be the oldest in his class. Another reason is that transitions are really hard for Gustav because he's an emotional little guy who loves and needs his routine. The school had already completed their mid year transitions so Gustav would be transitioning all by himself. The third reason is that while he could probably keep up intellectually, he is small physically and somewhat immature so we thought it would be best for him to stay with the younger two's. Anyway, both two's classrooms will merge into Preschool 1 in the fall.
Even though Gabe has felt this way, I've had some doubts. I've been feeling that he's gotten bored at school and that may be why he's been misbehaving. I think he is ready for some more structure. Gabe and I spoke to the director the next morning and we all decided that it was in Gustav's best interest for him to be "promoted." She also gave us some suggestions such as to give him choices and ask him if that was the way things were done at school. The key is to be consistent at home and school.
I admit that I nearly cried at the meeting. I felt like such a failure as a parent. Then I quickly came to my senses. I've ordered some new dvds (Elmo's Potty Training and the Happiest Toddler on the Block) and another parenting book called Love and Logic.
We've made some changes this week (no television and from one juice box per day to an occasional juice box per week) and I think our new game plan is working if you look at his peeing success and his good behavior at the restaurant!