When I was young, my mom (i.e., my teacher since I’m home schooled) was reading me a book and was annoyed because I was jumping around the room and seemingly not paying attention. After reading for a few minutes, she snapped, “[my name] what did I just say!?” I stopped and repeated back everything she had just said. She thought, oh, ok, so I can listen even if I’m moving. Some years later we figured I’m probably a bit ADHD.
At my DS’s parent teacher conference I was also told that his scissor skills were lacking. I did not say it out loud but I thought “Do you think we let that constant motion machine have scissors?!? We have a baby in the house to protect!” For the teacher’s benefit, I just said we would work on it.
Speaking of scissors. . .my youngest D was being tested to see if she needed speech therapy. No surprise that she did, but they also suggested occupational therapy. When I asked why, they said she couldn’t cut the shapes out of paper with scissors. I had to explain that after D had cut her own hair --not very stylishly–several times, I hid all the scissors and wouldn’t let her touch them. (After she practiced a few times, she passed the scissors test.)
Being the youngest of 7 kids, this same D was always eager to imitate her older sibs. One day after school D’s kindergarten teacher approached me and said, “I see ‘Susie’ has a cell phone now. . .” When I told her Susie didn’t/she must be mistaken, the teacher said, “Oh, yes, I just saw her making a call after school.” Susie confessed that she had taken her sister’s defunct phone, hidden it in her backpack. She pretended to dial it and carried on a one-sided conversation. . .A week or so later, the teacher approached me after school again and said, “I see Susie is wearing glasses now. Is she just using them for reading?” I denied that Susie had glasses. The teacher said Susie was wearing them during class, but put them in her backpack at the end of the day. I checked the backpack, and there were her brother’s old glasses.
A few days later, when D took her jacket off at home after school, I saw something peeking out of the neckline of her shirt. What? I was mortified when I realized she was wearing her sister’s training bra, and imagined that the teacher must’ve seen those straps hanging out–what would she be thinking?. .The next day at pick up time, I told the teacher what I’d discovered, and while I was hoping she hadn’t noticed, I wanted to explain that I certainly wouldn’t put a bra on a 6 yo, and . . .the teacher just laughed and said, “Well, she’s very independent. . .I know she dresses herself!”
My son’s Kindergarten class had a community building thing for a week where they all had jobs and little wooden cars that they rolled around the “roads” in the “community”. The apartments for the little pipe-cleaner figures of themselves were their cubbies. The teacher rang a bell every few minutes for an hour to pass. (It was the cutest thing ever…) DS ran the town library (and made books for the library in preparation.) His teacher told me that he complained to her that, “I work all day at the library, and by the time I’m done working the bank is closed, so I can’t get money out to buy groceries.” He also complained bitterly that the kid who ran the gas station was charging him more for gas because the library’s bookmobile would need diesel.
2nd grade teacher told us that she was concerned because his jump-roping skills were behind. I was thinking, “That’s a girl’s activity,” but then 4 years later his little sister got the same comment about poor jump-roping from other teachers.
I don’t have any good stories about D. She would not have dared step off ‘the line’. She did make up for it when she went to college… S, however, didn’t know there was a line. His K teacher called one evening to tell us we needed to monitor his reading materials. He came to school and shared news about President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. In first grade, the teacher told the kids it was her job to help them become Independent. S said he was a Republican, and nothing she said or did would change that. She told us she had to leave the room because she couldn’t stop laughing.
^That is hysterical!!!
D told the K teacher she had 10 brothers and sisters and I did not know this. She was an only child at the time. The teacher said at the conference’ my I have to say you are quite small for having 11 kids’ . D had quite the imagination. They all had names and descriptions. Apparently D was quite convincing.
We took our son horseback riding when he was in pre-K. He got to ride Lightning, a very old, very slow horse. At the mid-year parent conference, the teacher told us how much she loved horses and wondered if we had any suggestions on where to board horses. For the next couple minutes, it was a very odd conversation until I figured out she thought our son had his own horse. Apparently he had been talking up Lightning quite a bit.
^hrh19- This reminded me of a time that a first grade student of mine decided to sing to the class. The song was: “…a little bit of Monica in the house. A little bit of something on her blouse.” Needless to say, I changed the subject quickly. 
Oh, God, LOL. My middle son was…shall we say, a “challenge”. The boys went to parochial school and honestly, the teachers would hunt me down to tell me what he had done that day to wreak havoc. So, then comes along Son #3 who is just…not Son #2. One day when I was the mom helper in Kindergarten with him, the teacher said to me “Your son is just a delight” and I literally looked around behind me to see who she was talking to!!
Reading this thread, I realize how unappreciative I was for my kids mastering scissoring skills.
I always felt those parent conferences at (our montessori) preschool were ridiculous.
The teachers would hand me an envelop - it was filled with a handful pieces of a paper my DS cut off (wow, big deal, he can use scissors! check.) A piece of paper had scribbles on it - a proof that 3 yr old DS can hold a pencil and draw lines - rather draw like an ant crawling on a paper.
There was a card - kids picked an activity that they liked at preschool to share with parents.
Montessori schools have many activity stations: language station with card matching (words with pictures), arithmetic station with shapes and beads, art station, puzzles, etc. My DS’s card said “handwashing.” He shared with me how to properly wash hands using soap for good 30 seconds. (Now I feel the preschool tuition was wasted as I never see DS washing hands for more than 2 seconds. Even his favorite activity didn’t stick. )
Once the teacher showed me a piece of paper where DS scribbled 3 + 5 = 8. She said that DS put 3 marbles and 5 marbles together and wrote 3 + 5 in arithmetic activity. She exclaimed “Three year olds can’t do that kind of abstraction!”
Well, I thought … duh… what a surprise given both parents are scientists with degrees.
Our S learned to be a great message deliverer. He knew which teachers in which rooms taught which ages–3 year olds vs 4 year olds. When a messenger was needed he was first choice.
He also learned not to enforce rules that made other kids cry, or he would be disciplined for pointing out that the rule was broken. He also learned that playmates can be fickle and break your heart. He found unstructured time in preschool confusing.
^your son is very smart XD
I got a call from my daughter’s 3rd grade teacher. She told me that my daughter told other girls in the class that when a boy likes a girl, his wee wee goes up. She found out that my daughter had shared this information when she got a call from the parent of one of the girls who was pretty upset.
In 4th grade, there was a girl in my son’s class that was a real bully - both verbally and physically. She was also intimidating because she was a very tall girl. She never bothered my son too much but said very mean things to many kids in the class and was physically hurting one of my son’s friends - twisting his arms and pinching him leaving big bruises. My son would told us about some of the behavior at the dinner table and part of our family conversations were centered on why people chose to be bullies and how it was a reflection of them and their own insecurities.
Well, we found out from the teacher (who was aware of only some of it) that the girl burst into tears one day soon after. Turns out she was picking on one of my son’s friends again and my son told the girl that she picked on people because she didn’t feel good about herself and she should see a psychiatrist for her insecurities. Maybe not too PC of him but the teacher kind of chuckled when she told me because she was frustrated with trying to deal with the girl and after my son called the girl out, the girl’s behavior improved dramatically and stayed that way for the remainder of the school year.