Parent-Teacher Meeting

We registered for Issey to commence preschool at Alderwood House School (http://www.alderwoodhouse.com/) in July 2009. So today we have a parent-teacher meeting (our first parent-teacher meeting ever!). I drafted a "Fact Sheet" about Isabella and plan to explain these points to the teacher:

Language:
Isabella is multilingual. She speaks and understands English, Vietnamese, a little French and a little Chinese. She uses the languages interchangeably, so you may have to ask her to repeat in "ENGLISH". Please note that she has a slight Trinidadian accent when speaking English. So "tree" may mean "three".

Potty Training:
Isabella started potty training at 16 months. She is 90% potty trained with the exception of making bowel movements over the potty.

a. Bowel Movements
- She will ask for a diaper and hide in a corner when she needs to make a bowel movement
- When she is done, (sometimes) she will ask for a change or "change diaper"
- When changing her diaper, please allow her to pick which diaper to put on (i.e., the one with Elmo or Zoe or Big Bird on the front panel of the diaper). This process may take up to three minutes. We appreciate your patience.

b. Urinating
- She will tell you that she needs to use the potty by telling you "poo". "Poo" means "pee"
- Once she says "poo", you will have about 20 seconds to attend to her before an accident
- She requires assistance with pulling off and putting on her underpants
- Isabella does not know how to flush the toilet
- She requires a gentle reminder to wash her hands after using the potty
- On the rare occasion, she will have an accident in bed (usually if we are not around to immediately respond to her "poo" request

Food and Nutrition:
Isabella is an extremely picky eater. We would like to introduce more variety to her diet.
a. Milk
- Isabella consumes about 24oz of milk per day
- She consumes milk from a baby bottle for comfort but will drink from a sippy cup or glass
- She usually has milk before nap time or bed time
b. Snacks
- Isabella loves crackers (i.e., gold fish crackers)
- She likes water and apple juice
- She does not like fruit or vegetables
c. Meal time
- Isabella likes plain pasta, fried chicken, french fries, plain rice and hard boiled eggs

Nap time:
Isabella requires a blanket (she will ask for "blankey") and a bottle of milk before settling down for a nap. We have always had to carry her until she is half asleep before putting her down on the bed.

Playtime:
Isabella enjoys dancing, singing, drawing and imaginative play with cars/trains/dolls. Please do not be alarmed if she breaks out in a dance or song. She is just expressing her individuality.

Random Words:
Isabella shouts "SpongeBob Square Pant" really loud sometimes... Usually, no one understands what she is saying.

She will ask you "what is" or "who is" when she is unfamiliar with something or someone. Please try to answer her questions.

Loud Noise:
She is sensitive to unexpected loud noise or unfamiliar loud sounds. You may need to calm her down by explaining to her where and why noise.

Hyper-activity:
Isabella has a hard time breathing when she is performing an intense physical activity. You may need to remind her to slow down and breath. Your neglect to remind her to slow down may result in vomit EVERYWHERE. We are currently working with her pediatrician with this issue.