This is the highlights of what they said--
Gabriel:
Gabriel we all ready know is a bit behind in his development. It has been, in fact, a point of worry for us. But this evaluation is good because it is so easy to get caught up on what Gabe isn't doing, so it is good to look at what he is capable of doing, what he is good at.
For Social and Emotional Development:
Gabriel experiences Social Anxiety, but is getting better at coping with it. Social Anxiety is actually a necessary, natural emotional reaction to being separated from a child's primary caregiver, so this is a good trait.
He is also very affectionate, as some will be able to attest. He loves to give hugs and kisses and high fives, and gets excited to see special people.
He is starting to express his emotions through physical actions, such as clapping, throwing things, etc; he is exhibiting increasing independence; and is occasionally enthusiastic about playing with other kids.
Of the traits, he needs to keep working on imitation of other children and adults.
Movement and Gross Motor Development:
Gabriel is able to walk alone, run,climb up and down furniture on his own, crawl over low barriers, sit from a standing position, sit up in a child-sized chair, stand and balance upright, and jump off the floor with support. None of that should be a surprise, since Gabriel's strong suit has long been gross motor skills--he is a very physical child.
Still developing skills that we need to work on include: walks and pulls toys or other objects behind him; walks and carries large toys or several toys; stands on tiptoe; kicks a ball; walks up and down stairs holding on to support; moving in rhythm; and can throw a ball.
Reading through those, those are actually all qualities that we have witnessed that perhaps his school just did not have many opportunities to observe. Most of those, Gabriel is quite capable of.
Cognitive Development:
This is where Gabriel started having some trouble. He cannot sort by shapes or colors; he does not engage in make-believe play; and will not generally search for another person in the room. The rest of the skills he needs to develop, such as finding hidden objects; hiding toys; imitating sounds; understanding up and down, push, pull, and lift.
Language Development:
Obviously this was going to be one that he did not excel in.
Gabriel is not great at paying attention to speech. He doesn't really know when he is being asked a question; does not understand the concepts of "hot" and "cold"; he does not generally respond to verbal requests.
He is unable to name his family members, and only greets some people appropriately. A lot of words he does not understand, like action words and descriptive words. While he shakes his head "no" often, he doesn't seem to be doing to express disagreement so much as to feel his hair move. He does not imitate sounds he heads, and he uses no simple phrases.
Finally, Fine Motor Skills:
Gabriel is capable of, but needs to keep working on, his fine motor skills, including scribbling, showing hand dominance (they observed him favoring his left hand), pouring out a container's content (heck yes he has been doing that, the pain--likes making messes), building a block tower of 5 or more and knocking them over, sorting objects, and using a fork, spoon, and cup.
All in all, little man is doing really well--physically, he is doing great, though he needs to keep working on some things. Intellectually, he has some work to do, but he is making it.
His teachers said of him: "Gabriel is such a sweet little boy! I am excited for the day he is able to verbally communicate and tell us all about his adventures! His sweet smile is such a blessing and I know God has GREAT plans for Gabriel".
And "I have been blessed to have Gabriel in my life. He is a sweet and affectionate little boy! I can't wait to see who he grows to be".
Whew! That was an odyssey. Now on to Emerald!
Emerald is right on target or ahead of schedule on most every count. She is really coming along great.
Social and Emotional Development:
Our little social butterfly, Emerald is doing great in this regard--
She is interested in new experiences, cooperates with other children, plays "mom", and is increasingly inventive in fantasy play. She is able to dress and undress herself, and view herself as a whole person with body, mind, and feelings.
She is still working on how to negotiate solutions to conflicts and distinguishing between fantasy and reality.
Movement:
They had not seen Emerald cut with scissors, and is not strong at copying or drawing squares or circles, or drawing a person with two to four body parts.
Other than that, she is doing great--she is able to hop and stand on one foot, going up and down stairs without support, kicking, throwing, and catching a ball, tracing her letters, holding pencils and crayons, and gluing.
Language Development:
Since she has been in speech therapy for two years now, Emerald has strong language skills. She still struggles speaking clearly enough for strangers to understand, but is able to speak longer sentences and tell stories; and she can understand concepts of "same" and "different" as well as knowing some rules of grammar.
Cognitive Development:
There was only one thing they said she needed to work on in this category--having a clearer sense of time. Which is a hard subject for someone her age, I think.
She can correctly name colors, knows her numbers, follow three part commands, recalls stories, recognizes her letters, and sings the alphabet correctly.
Her teachers had to say of her:
"Emerald is an amazing little girl! She cares so much for everyone around her and always wants everyone to be happy. she is such a smart girl and loves trying new things . Thank you for sharing her with us!"
and "Emerald has really grown this year. It is so good to hear her vocabulary growing. She is such a smart girl and will find any way to express herself--which is probably why she's such a good painter and loves to sing! =) Thank you so much for sharing her!"
So that is what is going on with the little ones. Doing pretty good, I think =)
~Andie!~
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