Geister Is a Quiet Boy

At home, in his natural environment, with Boo on the floor. Cars: All you really need.

Two days ago, Geister got a report card from preschool. The contents were not surprising to me, in terms of the overall comments. They were:

“Geister is a very quiet person. He enjoys working in the blocks and cars centre. Geister likes to participate in both creative and art activities.
Geister did have some trouble recognizing letters and numbers. We are going to work with him on this and with the phonics program and workbooks in place hopefully they will improve.
Geister loves to come and listen in circle but does not always want to participate in what we are doing. He seams [sic] to be more comfortable speaking to the kids in a small group.
Keep up the great job Geister!”

That’s my son. He is a quiet, car-loving, non-participatory boy, who often thinks the letter W is the letter M.

In addition to these comments, there were four detailed sections outlining his progress in the areas of Language Components, Fine Motor, Gross Motor, and Social/Emotional Component. I knew some of this, but didn’t know others.

For example I knew that he:

• knows his gender
• is beginning to know his full name [Well, false, really. At home, he knows it all the time.]
• can’t zip a zipper, but he can button buttons, and put pegs on a peg board
• can hop on one foot
• can throw a ball in an intended direction [natch].
• can build tall towers
• can share, role play, and imitate others
• needs a lot more practice letting others know when he needs to use the washroom

But I didn’t know that he:

• is beginning to trace dots, and use a computer mouse
• can walk on a balance beam
• is able to move to rhythm
• washes his hands without help [!]
• gets high marks for consistently tidying up after himself. [Shocker. Not observed at home.]
• is less adept at expressing emotions
• is generally good at helping others

All told, I’m pleased with his report and so I echo the sentiments of his teacher: “Keep up the great job Geister!”