Parents Evening 2010

Yesterday it was Matthews first parents evening at his new school and the first chance we've really had to talk to his teacher in depth.

Matthew is a little behind in school at the moment. All because of his writing. He just can't do the pen and paper thing.

He is excellent at literacy and numeracy but cannot progress very well with these until the written side of things are progressing.

His teacher was great though, she sees Matthews potential, she sees he thinks 100 times faster than his hands can work and sees he gets frustrated that he cannot keep up, not just with the class, but with his own ideas. He's got the mental capacity but his co-ordination isn't all there. He can read and spell easily but I can't help but wonder if the writing can be a form of dyslexia. I don't know enough about the facts to comment too much.

His teacher did ask about his old school since she got a feeling he didn't do much writing prior to being at his current school. She is right. We were not happy with his previous school and were thinking of changing schools before the new house became a reality. This was not Matthew completely at fault. The school was created with a bottomless pit of money and appeared to be focussing on new ways of doing things. The more important things like writing was on the backburner. The kids at Matthews old school got to do most work on the computer. They spent a lot of time playing and Matthew was always saying he wanted to learn more. I don't think that school helped him at all or did a lot to encourage what I consider BASIC schooling.

We are going to encourage Matthew to do more writing out of school.

Writing about things that he wants to write about. Sometimes, being told what to write can be tiresome for anyone but giving him his own little freedom with an outside school project could really help him shine in his own limelight. If it's something he loves it will come easier than being forced to write about something he doesn't know much about.

He loves stories, he makes up wonderful tales and he loves his football facts so we are going to spend 10 minutes a day after school writing a story or a few facts that he can add on to the next day.

We got to see some of his work and his writing has improved since we last saw it so not all hope is lost. We just need to help him where we can.

His teacher also thinks that part of the problem may be that he is left handed and that's why his writing isn't as neat as it could be.

As long as my little man is trying then I am happy with him.

On a personal level, Matthew was described as one of the most cheerful, helpful and caring children in his class. That does make me proud. Alot of kids may be perfect writers but I am so proud of my son for being a considerate little soul. His writing may not be perfect, but having people skills can get a child far in life.

Hubby started his new job yesterday. Today he gets his own company vehicle. He enjoyed his first day and his hours are rather family friendly. Early shift is 8am-6pm, Late 10am-8pm. He works a 4 day week so he gets more holiday and more days off than most. Suits us all just fine.