Another cry-free swimming lesson for Cars although it was questionable whether he would make it or not. The promise of Cheetos kept the tears at bay.

I had a conference with Dex's teacher today (report cards came home on Friday). She had originally sent a note last week saying no conference was needed but I wanted to ask her about his effort (major problem at home and in past years at school) and his reading. The the report card came home and he was not at standard with writing either. Shouldn't it be automatic conferences if kids are not at standard mid-year?!

Anyway, we started chatting then she said that she thought that Dex needed his eyes checked. Would she have told me this if I had not requested the conference?! I mean if she thought there was a problem, why did she not email me or mention it to me when I was in the class teaching Art Start? Hmmm...

So, we need to work on his handwriting too which I guess is not up to snuff. It seems hard for him too because he is a lefty and his hand covers what he has already written. His left hand is always filthy from being dragged across the pencil scratchings on the page. Stephen has really, really bad handwriting so perhaps Dex inherited the "chicken scratch" gene?

On a positive note, the teacher said Dex often thinks of things that other kids do not. She loves that he insists that he must "exercise" his brain everyday. He is very compassionate and wrote a story called "The Hard Thing" about how he had to approach some of his friends in class to ask them to stop teasing a girl in their class. He was worried they would not be friends with him anymore.

Jax's report card was good. He is a delight to have in class. Stephen said the teacher just wrote that because she is afraid of me and wanted to ensure I did not request a conference.