The Walking Sun Beam

Last week Olympia's school had conferences and all of the teachers wrote up Winter Reports that are full of details of the kids' lives at school.  I'd like to share some of the highlights of Oly's, which made me sob: (I've ended up transcribing more than I had intended, so bear with this proud Mama)

"Oly is a walking sun beam! Sweet and spunky, Oly bounds into the classroom, plops down, throws her boots off, and dives into the fun. Like many preschoolers, Oly is learning to control her impulses and to follow the routines of school.  It is a joy to support Oly in this regard because she is so enthusiastic, expressive, and affectionate."

"We are struck on a daily basis by Oly's declarations of love for us and for school.  She always brightens our days with her chirpy announcements, e.g. "Robin, I am having a fun day at school!"

"Oly has responded well to the social skills work we do in the classroom.  She now has clear language for taking turns, speaking up for herself, and for solving a variety of problems assertively and politely.  Oly is noticeably empathetic and supportive of her classmates.  She intuitively observes people's feelings and is quick to apologize if she has accidentally hurt or offended someone.  Her stance toward teachers is warm and trusting, which makes it a true pleasure to be in her company."

"During Choice time, painting at the easel is very rewarding and as you know, Olympia is prolific.  She also loves to play with the plastic animals, particularly the little black and white cat; and we often find her meandering around the classroom, kitty in hand, quietly introducing her pretend pet and narrating little games at the table, in the block area, in the doll house."

"Oly is interested in nearly everything we do. When we introduce activities or games, Oly doesn't hesitate to try them out.  She doesn't worry about whether she will be able to do something or not, we have never seen her turn down an invitation to explore something new."

"Oly loves books and stories. She is responsive during read-alouds and able to ask appropriate questions and make relevant observations.  Likewise, her play has a distinctively narrative feel to it: she is able to imagine simple pretend scenarios and act them out. These two factors together are significant, positive indicators of Oly's future, formal literacy work.  Even more exciting, recently Oly announced that she was going to read a book and proceeded, with minimal support, to do so with impressive accuracy by retelling a story that had just been read to her.  Using picture cues as she paged through the book, memory and a natural sense of how stories work, Oly is taking the first steps in the process of learning to read."

"Oly is thriving in preschool.  She is learning appropriate social skills and taking advantage of all the opportunities in each day.  We look forward to supporting Oly as she matures into closer social relationships and greater impulse control at school.  Thank you for sharing your beautiful daughter with us."

And some info from her shop teacher, Mike:

......."Once she selects her wood and bellies up to the worktables, Olympia does a good job of deciding how she wishes to orient her pieces in relationship to one another and sets to work with the hand drill with nail spinner attachment, and 16 ounce hammer joining them together.  Her preferred two-handed grip with the hammer finds her completing these tasks in short order."

...."As attuned as I am to her movements in the shop, Olympia is just as aware of the efforts of her classmates.  If one of them is using a tool she hasn't tried before, she is soon by their side citing that she too is in need of the implement.  This attitude has thus found Olympia not only using the manual miter saw and a brace and a bit this fall, but also the drill press as she worked with me to create wheels for a proposed live axle truck inspired by similar vehicles being built by two classmates."