First parent/teacher conference, big head

Here's a pic of Boydee, looking a little stressed about the cake placed in front of him, on his first birthday.

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I have the stats on B.J. here from his one-year doctor's appointment. I missed the appointment as I had to make a last-minute trip to Cleveland for work that week. Adro summed up the appointment to me by saying Dr. McKeon said Boydee was "perfect."

He weighed 20 pounds, 4 ounces, placing him in the 25th percentile of boys his age (a little light, eh?)

He was 30 inches long at his check-up, putting him a little over the 50th percentile for boys his age.

His head circumference was 18 3/4 inches, placing him in the 90th percentile for boys his age.

So, I guess you add all that together -- low weight, mid-range height, giant noggin -- and that equals perfect.

These stats mean very little, I get that. But they measure him in these things, so I'll document them here. I did the same thing for Evey, but in much, much greater detail.

Here's a guess: Boyd's going to be a tall skinny kid until he reaches his early twenties. He'll probably dunk by the 7th grade. He'll fill out after high school. He'll be an inch or two taller than his dad. And he'll be just as awkward with the girls throughout his teens as I was.

Sorry, son. Hey, at least you'll be tall. And you'll probably drive a bad-ass car, as is a Jones tradition.

***

Evey had her first parent/teacher conference this evening. Adro went to it while I watched the kids at home.

Mrs. Paul had nothing but great things to say about Evey. Said Evey participates in everything in class, that she's kind, that she watches out for other kids.

Academically, Evey was listed as "on-track" for everything except one; reading.

She blows away her classmates when it comes to reading.

Mrs. Paul said Evey tests at a "G Level" when it comes to reading. This is the level that they expect 1st graders to be at when they're finishing the academic year.

She told Adro that they recently changed the rules about kindergartners, so she's unable to promote Evey to an advanced reading course. So instead Evey must stick around with the kids her age... however, they are going to split into three groups, and Evey will clearly be in the top group. She promised Adro she'd document Evey's progress, so when she gets to 1st grade, she can be put in an advanced reading class. (Apparently it's the Wild West when it comes to reading once you get to 1st grade, and there are no rules. She'll probably be handed a copy of Slaughterhouse-Five on the first day of school.)

Another thing Mrs. Paul told Adro is that she doesn't think Evey is going to plateau... she said some kids come in ahead of their classmates, and they're ahead for a few weeks, and then they, well... slow down... allowing their classmates to catch up with them. She said Evey shows no signs of this, and that she wants to read more difficult things and stay ahead of her classmates.

Mrs. Paul also congratulated Adro and said that we have clearly done a great job of working with her on reading. Adro told her she'd like to take the credit, but the credit is due to Montessori School in Lawrence.

If I were there, I'd have added that there's also a thing called genetics that we have to credit. From Evey's reading to the size of Boydee's noggin, these kids have some good DNA, I'd say! OH YEAH!!!

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Great job kiddos! Keep doing what you do. We're going to love you no matter how big your heads are, or where your reading level is!