Nursery school question...

My DS is in nursery school. He started there in the 2 yr old program and now is in the 3's. He is a late baby (September) so he is always one of the youngest in the class.
He knows all of his numbers, letters, colors, shapes, (has known all of this stuff since before he was 2) sight words, counting with intent, -- can do puzzles, and answer lots of thinking questions. His fine motor skills arent great as he doesnt have a good grip so his coloring and tracing skills arent good...
He was a late talker, but now at home doesnt stop and his vocab is very vast.
I had a parent teacher conference last week and was told that my child doesnt know any of the things listed above. She said he is quiet and doesnt talk in school. When i told her that he does all of this stuff she was shocked. She said to give him time and work with him on letters, numbers, colors etc -- but I told her that seems insane when he knows them all inside out. She said to take him out and find all the "A's" for instance... he knows A and he knows lower case a too lol!
Ive noticed since that my son is a huge copy cat. When we are with friends or cousins he copies everything they do and say. If they jump he jumps. if they scream he screams etc. He copies both good and bad behavior. Im worried now that she has my son in a group of kids who do not know anything (bc she thinks he is behind), and therefore he is copying the behavior at school. Would you talk to the teacher again and see if this is the case or MYOB and just see what happens? I dont want to step on her toes but i also want my kid to be doing what he is doing at home at school. He is very bright and Im at a loss as to why he isnt sharing it there.

Nursery school question...

I would not talk to the teacher about academic skills- I would however discuss with her techniques to get your son to participate more in the classroom. Additionally, it would be helpful for you to work with him on the importance of participating in class- my dd is almost 3 and she was being bullied in class- we did role playing and modeled how she should handle the situations--she is also a copy cat sometimes and was joining in with the bully occasionally- so I work with her on how we treat people and the importance of making her own choices-- my DH and I talk to her and encourage her to speak up and make good choices--this might help your son.

Re: Nursery school question...

Just to give you another perspective- DD only had one formal evaluation/report card in her three year old class last year, and it wasn't done until April. Her teacher stressed multiple times that it was completely normal and ok for the children to NOT have mastered any skills, that at 3 they just look for emerging skills and she also made it known that she was fully aware a child may be able to do something at home that she just didn't observe at school.

Re: Nursery school question...

My son sounds EXTREMELY similar to yours. He had letter recognition, colors, animals, he actually knew all the car brand symbols before 2.5. He also was a copy cat but he always gravitated to the worst behaved kid in the class (even thou he himself is very well behaved) and would copy bad behavior and misbehave. He also had a fine motor delay so didn't color or write until a little later.

I wouldn't worry about academics at all in a preschool program. What I would worry about is that the teacher does not seem to be listening to you when you are telling her that he already has these skills. It just makes me think that maybe she isn't engaging the kids enough with activities that they might be interested in.

My son was in a similar situation in preschool and I ended up moving him to another school that focused primarily on play and social interaction. He seems to be turning out fine! He's 9 and very bright and well adjusted.

Nursery school question...

I wouldnt worry too much but i would be interested in knowing what methods she is using. For instance, what methods is she using to bring out his speech? I had similar incidences at my son's former school and we ended up transferring him to a school where teachers were a lot more inclusive.

Re: Nursery school question...

Of you know he can do it... I'd just keep working with him. It will show eventually. DS always looked like he knew less, but that catches up!

Nursery school question...

Another thought is to just have another person/friend in your family that your child is comfortable with ask colors/ numbers & see if he answers colors with them. At 3 yr old still plenty of time anyway.

Re: Nursery school question...

Had a friend tell me a story yesterday that her kid didn't know the alphabet when asked by the teacher (he's in K).

Mom said "hmmmm" and told grandma.

Grandma had kid saying alphabet beautifully (for a cookie).

Point is, don't worry... if he knows he knows.

Nursery school question...

Thank you everyone