Letter to the teacher.

So, Ella's school encourages parents to write a letter to their child's new teacher, describing the child and sharing relevant information, etc.

I have been agonizing over what to write...I don't want to be "that" parent...you know, the one who comes off obnoxious and overbearing.

This is what I WANT to write:

Dear Teacher,

First of all, Ella has two moms. This shouldn't be a big deal, but I'm sure it will bring up issues or questions at some point during the school year. Already, Ella is concerned about what her classmates will think, and we've had several discussions about how to respond to questions and comments. Other than that small detail, we lead a pretty "normal" life--we are both teachers, we live in a house, make chicken for dinner once a week, and take our trash to the dump on Saturdays. Right now Ella considers herself "lucky" to have two moms, and we hope that the transition into public school doesn't cause her to feel otherwise.

Ella is a funny, precocious little girl who "gets" sarcasm and loves to tell jokes. She has a great sense of humor but doesn't use it to make fun of anyone or to be mean.  She often is the champion to the underdogs and has a strong sense of what is "right" and "wrong".  She can be intensely shy when she is in new situations, but once she gets comfortable, she can be hard to quiet down.  She is sensitive and quick to cry or get angry when something is new or intense, and usually will come around on her own if given some space and time. Pushing her to make a decision usually prolongs the process.

Ella has a quick mind, especially when it comes to math.  She can do double-digit addition in her head and seems to have a real knack for numbers.  She tends to resist reading but within the past few weeks has really started to recognize words and text.  She's good at making connections to text and inferring what will happen when reading a story, and loves listening to chapter books, but seems to consider picture books "babyish". (This is probably our fault, since we read all the Junie B. books to her when she was four...) When it comes to "seatwork" Ella tends to rush through things and can be impatient.

Ella's body is not as quick as her mind...she can only be described as "clumsy" or perhaps "spatially inept".  Her gross motor skills are a bit weak, and she's more likely than not to walk into desks, walls, chairs, etc.  Lately, she's been into dancing around the house/rolling around on the floor doing "ath-aerobics" (a combination of athletics and aerobics--her word, not ours), which can be dangerous for all involved and requires wide-open spaces. She has trouble staying in her seat and Miss Nancy (her pre-school teacher) was working with Ella to sit straight in her chair with feet on the floor during seatwork and lunchtime. Ella has a huge and varied vocabulary, but seems to have some speech issues that we would love to get some input from you on.  Both our pediatrician and Ella's pre-school teachers have voiced concerns about her speech, but because we moved to Barre in March, it was recommended that we wait until the start of the new school year to pursue the issue.

Socially, Ella is very aware of people's reactions to her, especially other children. Although she wants to hang out with the "cool" kids, she won't do so at the expense of others.  We've had a lot of conversations about bullying and how to deal with friends when people are being mean. She doesn't tend to follow the crowd but would rather play alone if she doesn't want to do what the other kids are doing.  She is cautious when it comes to trying new things, but works hard once she's committed to something. (Right now, she is desperate to get across the monkey bars, but also incredibly nervous.)  She will talk your ear off (or anyone around who might be listening) once she feels comfortable!

Good luck! She's unique...she's going to enchant you and baffle you and drive you nuts, probably several times in the same day.  Please call us or email us with any questions or concerns or funny stories from your days with her...

Take care,

Hannah and Katherine Thompson

Hmmm....
Maybe I've done it?

Thoughts? Am I too over-the-top??