Growing Into Their Own

Today, I went solo to Camden and Ethan's Parent/Teacher conference at their preschool. It was a beautiful day and Kim took the opportunity to be outside with the boys. I continue to be impressed with the teachers at our preschool and the patience they have, not only with our kids, but the others as well. Miss Kris and Miss Cindy are great with the boys. Here's a recap of how they're doing.

Overall, Camden is doing really well. He's right where he should be with his numbers and letters. He's good with shapes, patterns, and colors. Miss Kris noted that he is very high energy, has an infinite imagination, and he's quite the conversationalist. She also recounted many of the details of Camden's (imaginary) kids, Bekay and Bekay Bob ages 5 and 6, respectively. He's generally one of the first kids to answer a question when asked in a group setting. Miss Kris also told me about how he recently sat quietly and put together a 48 piece puzzle. That's amazing because Camden rarely sits still for much of anything. The stunning piece of art you see to the right is Camden's self portrait. I really don't know why he pictures himself with a black eye. Some additional comments from Miss Kris on Camden's report included:

Camden continues to show great improvement and growth in his cognitive abilities. His comfort at times gets in his way of listening and controlling himself. I have really enjoyed watching Camden grow the last 2 years.

Our little E continues to grow and gain his own independence. In our last conference, we talked about how attached Ethan was to Camden. He always wanted to do what Camden was doing or be near him. Kinda cute, yes, but at the same time we would like for E to start getting comfortable with being on his own a bit. The good news, E is starting to do so. Miss Kris described several times when E would choose to do a different activity than Camden. And a funny thing happened...Camden started following Ethan around! Well, not really following him around, but it seems that Camden misses having his little tag-a-long buddy. So Camden will seek him out and kind of poke at E a bit. In a playful way, but we continue to be amazed at their brotherly dynamic.

E is still developing his ability to recount his numbers and letters, but has excelled in his ability to find patterns and recount things from memory. He doesn't really have a great interest in art projects, unlike his brother, but is more inclined to activities where he can build things like blocks or the railroad tracks. He also gravitates towards anything related to trucks. Dump trucks, tow trucks, semi trucks, garbage trucks. Very much a boy trait. Here are some other comments from Miss Kris:

Ethan's comfort has really grown. He is much more comfortable and enjoys other kids. His cognitive skills continue to improve and show growth.

Overall, we couldn't be happier with how Camden and E are developing. It's so rewarding to be watching these two grow into their own. They're wrapping up their final two months at their current preschool before they each move to their own respective schools. More on that later...