parent teacher conferences x 4

today was the marathon of parent teacher conferences.  four children, four classrooms plus their gifted teacher.  i always go in a little nervous, not knowing if somebody is doing something i am unaware of.  i could not of been more proud of my kids as i walked through their school today and had a lengthy conversation with each of their teachers.
i found out that my kindergartener who can be extremely loud and spoiled at home, is kind and helpful in the classroom.  she helps her friends and worries over them.  she is ahead in all of her reading and writing skills, and has an "excitement for learning that cannot be bought."  awesome.
i found out that my second grader who can be a little introverted at home, is social and has a great group of friends at school.  i found out that he scored well above genius level on his series of IQ testing for the gifted program.  he is quiet, but respectful and always smiling.
i found out that my fourth grader is a "born leader" in the classroom.  who would of known?  he always seems to be thinking about his next meal or recess in my mind, but in his teacher's eyes, he is smart, courteous and performs well in everything he does.  she is a really young teacher, and really positive and nice... maybe a more seasoned teacher would have a little more constructive words to say.  maybe i am just too hard on him.
i found out that molly is not only doing her thing academically, but is blossoming socially as well.  she is a friend to everyone and has a quiet confidence about her.  her teacher said that molly is comfortable in who she is, and others know it.  she does not conform to the popular girls social games, just always does what is right, and gains respect for it.  she said, "molly is a born teacher, but i know she will do something much bigger in this world."  our job with molly is to help her not take herself too seriously.  she stresses quite a bit about little things... hmmmm... could that be my genes?  rats.

i hope that we can be the kind of parents these little ones deserve, not breaking their spirits along the way, but encouraging them. i think we both feel that while grades and test scores are important, they are not even close to being what really matters.  what i hope and pray for my children is that they are kind, respectful, and love jesus.  i want them to have true joy, and not chase the fleeting things that bring you happiness on any given day.  don't follow the popular crowd, don't ever go along with something just to get a laugh.  always do the kind thing. not every child has a family who loves them like yours, so try to show patience and empathy.  don't do as i do, do as i say, right?  as molly always says, right is right no matter if you are the only one doing it, wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it.  no compromise.  now if they can all live that motto,  we will be very proud parents indeed.