Afterschooling logistics - UPDATE below :)

[displace]

So, now I'm going to start planning for keeping up our progress with LD. Now that we've almost started day 2 of public school. :)

 

I don't want to over schedule but we do need to get stuff done. I want to cover print, cursive, typing, reading lessons, and spelling. Eek! The school said so far there won't be much homework.

We listen to SOTW or high level audiobooks during car drives to extracurriculars and can do spelling in the car.

 

He's in third. Is 30 min per day likely fine (alternating subjects), 60 min, wait and see? Each subject, bare minimum, is 10 min, except reading, which is probably 20 min.

 

We also will have VT homework for a few months, 20 min per day, and maybe OT cross body exercises for ten min, and piano practice (like 5-10 min).

We have taken a few weeks off for summer and I hope to slowly start next week.

 

High priorities are spelling and cursive/type because of his relative weaknesses.

Edited August 22, 2016 by displace

[OneStepAtATime]

I can't remember, did he just start VT?

 

I think for amount of each you are going to just have to play it by ear and see what kind of energy and focus he has leftover. What are you using for typing? Handwriting practice?

[OneStepAtATime]

OK I just read through your other thread again. He wrote legibly at school on day one, correct? Was that print and is print what the school expects? If he is printing legibly at school I would not add on more print practice. He will be getting plenty of that with school assignments. Do they teach cursive? If he isn't worn out at the end of each day and the school does not teach cursive at all then cursive practice in short sessions might make sense. What specifically are you using for cursive practice, if anything?

[Lecka]

This is just me.

 

I would only do reading at first.

 

I would max out at 30 minutes of him reading on a school day, and *CRUCIAL* keep up 30 minutes (minimum) of reading aloud to him in a nice, cozy way with NOASKING HIM QUESTIONS. AT ALL.

 

This is what worked out here, lol.

 

He is writing already at school, and spelling ----- okay, honestly, my son has learned spelling from school to an extent that is surprising to me, considering how poor of a speller he used to be. And, this is with him getting the "easy" list every year. (Here kids take a pre-test every week and either get 10 words, 20 words, or an advanced list, based on how they do on the pre-test. He always gets 10 words.)

 

The spelling would be a kind-of waste of time when he was younger, b/c a week wouldn't be enough time for him to learn the spelling words, and then the next week, on to the next list. But we would practice some and he would get the easier ones (that we would focus on). I might tell him his goal was to get 4 correct.

 

For spelling I think you will want to be more on the side of doing his school spelling and accommodating in some way so he learns from it.

 

On the weekend you can do extra reading. If you keep weekday evenings still pleasant and with stressfree time, then you don't have to get into a cycle where the weekends are sacred time and you don't want to ask him to do school work.

 

Then on the weekends -- maybe multiple 30-minute sessions. Maybe back to a summer kind of day (our how summer would be here, lol).

 

That is my take.

 

If you do too much after school, I think you are going to have to home school b/c it is just not going to be a nice way to live. I think you have to think, he is doing things and being exposed at school.

 

If his handwriting actually regresses then I would re-visit that. I mean, if he actually quits writing with the correct letter formations and he used to have them. If this happens I would also consider picking between cursive and print (for now) and only focusing on the one he is best at. But yes -- if his handwriting does not actually regress, I would drop it on school days. And most likely ---- he will do enough at school for it not to regress (though he may only do print at school). If his cursive regresses and he doesn't use it ---- honestly I would drop it for now, b/c the letter formations are not that different from print, it is not like he is losing everything about it.

 

For typing -- if he happens to like it and be motivated, I would do it. Like -- if it is fun computer time. If it is not something he likes right now, I would be worried about doing it at a stressful, tired time and creating an association between "stressed-out" and "trying to type." It is not worth it.

 

I think you might add typing on the weekend, if it is the most-liked out of print, cursive, and typing.

 

To me -- reading is the crucial thing, and there is no way that they are working on reading at school, in 3rd grade, in an advanced classroom, in a way that he probably needs. No way. Other things you mention ---- he is doing them at school. Maybe it is not benefiting from intense one-on-one attention and correction, but it sounds like he might need a little break from that anyway. And then -- you can see how he does. He won't regress horribly out of nowhere, without you seeing it starting, and then you can respond.

 

Keep in mind, too, when he brings you home papers and you see his handwriting and spelling, the teacher might be happy with the content of the paper and not be concerned about handwriting and spelling. You might take his level of content for granted (and not realize, Hey, this is pretty good) b/c you know that is just his level of content. The teacher might give really positive feedback about content, and if that is the case, you don't want to just look and see that it looks bad as far as handwriting and spelling.

 

He may be writing things he would be doing orally at home, so it is fair and expected for it to look worse. But, it is still independent.

 

But overall I think, transition to supportive mom on the weekdays, keep up reading (most days -- I would not let it get in the way of other activities, weekends are a good time to get to work).

Edited August 11, 2016 by Lecka

[Kat w]

What I used to do when mine were in ps...and every child is different and needs different things worked on.

 

*we* did a total after schooling time of around and hour to hour and a half.

Now, my kids needs loads of practice so some kids might not need that much. We did.

 

I would give them a snack and a break, wind down, veg a little.

 

Then:

 

We did reading, made it fun from their reader at school for around 20-30 mins. I always got the spare reading books from both kids teachers ( the teachers almost always have at least a few extra of all their books. When the teachers get the curriculum, they don't know exactly how many kids they'll have. So, each teacher winds up with extra books. ) so we'd get their reading books they used in class and practice reading them at home. Reading is important at this stage.

 

Handwriting: oh, I ALWAYS did handwriting with my kids, even the big kids, BC at this age and stage, it's very easy to slip back/regress and a very opportune time to cement their handwriting . they are ripe for the pickins then so to speak.

With all 5 of my kids I did manuscript ( print) and cursive. We did this BC all of them even my accelerated learner, if we focused only on cursive at this age, they forget manuscript /print.

But more importantly , and if I'm remembering correctly from other posts if yours...you guys have had a few glitches there, am I correct ? If not. Sorry lol...but it wouldn't matter BC at this age/stage that's a biggie. Now is when all foundations are being laid. I did both. And it doesn't have to be much. A letter a day per style. ( one letter and a few words in manuscript, a letter and few words in cursive ) developing the hand and forearm strenghts and dexterity is important . it's not always about ..how 'good' they can write. And...the kids love seeing their beautiful handwriting displayed at home :)

 

Math: I would go over his work he did at school and got wrong ir concepts he's struggling with. Then, math facts. Just do it as a fun 'game ' to see how fast and correct he can get them .

But the concepts are more important. It's always beneficial to : practice ' a few of the problems ( honestly , they can forget the steps easily at this age) and just do it as...OK...lets do 3 problems if ...blank...to show dad when he gets home! ;) that will give him practice too making sure the lines in the problem s are lined up well etc.

I would spend maybe even 10-15 mins on both cementing concepts and staying fresh or working on cementing math facts.

 

Basically ? It's the 3 R's.

 

Reading: 20-30 ish

 

Writing: 10 ish mins. handwriting ir drawing a pic with details ( precursor to details in writing)

 

Rithmetic: 10-15 ish mins. haha ;)

( I know, spelling , it was for effect lol)

 

So, touching on the 3 r's to make sure he's in track ( and really, teacher has 30 kids, she may ir may not know what your child is struggling with or just has a lil hump to get over)

Monoritoring his progress and practicing...

That would be 30-60 mins depending on where he is on any of the 3 R's at any given moment.

 

That's what the teacher friends of mine also tell me they appreciate from their parents.

 

Afterschooling often times does feel like homeschooling.

 

We monitor where our kids are and give them fun practice.

Just make it fun :)

It's awesome he wont have homework so, frees up that time for you to stay on top of it and help him along in mastering the 3 R's.

:) it's fun! And such sweet nice time with the kiddos. :)

Edited August 11, 2016 by Kat w

[Kat w]

I saw you wanted to do spelling too.

I would help everyday with his spelling words from school. Practice writing them and dictate them to him after that, let him write them.

Getting some letter tiles could help too. Let him build his words with files. That's touching ,seeing, then writing them.

Boys seem to LOVE letter tiles. You can get the AAR tiles. They're pretty inexpensive .

It's a fun way to have him inetract with the letters , phonograms , and words.

[displace]

I can't remember, did he just start VT?

 

I think for amount of each you are going to just have to play it by ear and see what kind of energy and focus he has leftover. What are you using for typing? Handwriting practice?

I'm sorry but I forgot all about my thread! 😊.

 

We just finished in office VT, homework x 5-6 nights a week x 10-15 min minimum x 2-3 months. Then we re-eval to see if we need more office VT.

We use HWT, and touch type read spell? The British typing online program advertised for dyslexia (but U.S. Version for us). One module takes 5-10 min.

[Lecka]

I was taking my son out of school an hour early one day a week to go to OT in 3rd grade, and he had OT at school.

 

He had one of those things where an aide spends 5-10 minutes with him a day, doing what the OT wants him to do (the OT would show the aide what she wanted done).

 

So that has a lot to do with why I did not do any handwriting after school.

 

If there is no handwriting happening at all I think that is different.

 

And typing was just not going anywhere, his fingers would not go off the home row, so we took a break. It was not productive.

 

Last year in 5th he went back and did more cursive and it has clicked better than it ever did when he was younger.

 

It is really rare here for kids to get OT at school but my son is getting it, and got it in 2nd and 3rd (and part of 1st). So it is just a different situation. He also gets (I tend to think) maybe more frustrated and so I did more of scribing for him at home.

 

I think you will see what your priorities are, and how much is possible to do without it getting unproductive.

 

Also how much time school-related stuff takes.

[displace]

OK I just read through your other thread again. He wrote legibly at school on day one, correct? Was that print and is print what the school expects? If he is printing legibly at school I would not add on more print practice. He will be getting plenty of that with school assignments. Do they teach cursive? If he isn't worn out at the end of each day and the school does not teach cursive at all then cursive practice in short sessions might make sense. What specifically are you using for cursive practice, if anything?

He wrote print legibly that I read, for a few words. The reason I want to practice print is for formation consistency (trying to build motor memory), and reversals. Not copywork but alphabet and numbers. He still writes letters a variety of ways. Cursive, IDK if they will teach but not early in the year. He likes it better than print so I want to at least progress through the alphabet so he can use it if he wants. He also has not yet had reversals with cursive.

 

We use HWT for cursive. A lot of the letters look like the print letters so it's mostly learning connections and the funny cursive letters.

[displace]

This is just me.

 

I would only do reading at first.

 

I would max out at 30 minutes of him reading on a school day, and *CRUCIAL* keep up 30 minutes (minimum) of reading aloud to him in a nice, cozy way with NOASKING HIM QUESTIONS. AT ALL.

 

This is what worked out here, lol.

 

He is writing already at school, and spelling ----- okay, honestly, my son has learned spelling from school to an extent that is surprising to me, considering how poor of a speller he used to be. And, this is with him getting the "easy" list every year. (Here kids take a pre-test every week and either get 10 words, 20 words, or an advanced list, based on how they do on the pre-test. He always gets 10 words.)

 

The spelling would be a kind-of waste of time when he was younger, b/c a week wouldn't be enough time for him to learn the spelling words, and then the next week, on to the next list. But we would practice some and he would get the easier ones (that we would focus on). I might tell him his goal was to get 4 correct.

 

For spelling I think you will want to be more on the side of doing his school spelling and accommodating in some way so he learns from it.

 

On the weekend you can do extra reading. If you keep weekday evenings still pleasant and with stressfree time, then you don't have to get into a cycle where the weekends are sacred time and you don't want to ask him to do school work.

 

Then on the weekends -- maybe multiple 30-minute sessions. Maybe back to a summer kind of day (our how summer would be here, lol).

 

That is my take.

 

If you do too much after school, I think you are going to have to home school b/c it is just not going to be a nice way to live. I think you have to think, he is doing things and being exposed at school.

 

If his handwriting actually regresses then I would re-visit that. I mean, if he actually quits writing with the correct letter formations and he used to have them. If this happens I would also consider picking between cursive and print (for now) and only focusing on the one he is best at. But yes -- if his handwriting does not actually regress, I would drop it on school days. And most likely ---- he will do enough at school for it not to regress (though he may only do print at school). If his cursive regresses and he doesn't use it ---- honestly I would drop it for now, b/c the letter formations are not that different from print, it is not like he is losing everything about it.

 

For typing -- if he happens to like it and be motivated, I would do it. Like -- if it is fun computer time. If it is not something he likes right now, I would be worried about doing it at a stressful, tired time and creating an association between "stressed-out" and "trying to type." It is not worth it.

 

I think you might add typing on the weekend, if it is the most-liked out of print, cursive, and typing.

 

To me -- reading is the crucial thing, and there is no way that they are working on reading at school, in 3rd grade, in an advanced classroom, in a way that he probably needs. No way. Other things you mention ---- he is doing them at school. Maybe it is not benefiting from intense one-on-one attention and correction, but it sounds like he might need a little break from that anyway. And then -- you can see how he does. He won't regress horribly out of nowhere, without you seeing it starting, and then you can respond.

 

Keep in mind, too, when he brings you home papers and you see his handwriting and spelling, the teacher might be happy with the content of the paper and not be concerned about handwriting and spelling. You might take his level of content for granted (and not realize, Hey, this is pretty good) b/c you know that is just his level of content. The teacher might give really positive feedback about content, and if that is the case, you don't want to just look and see that it looks bad as far as handwriting and spelling.

 

He may be writing things he would be doing orally at home, so it is fair and expected for it to look worse. But, it is still independent.

 

But overall I think, transition to supportive mom on the weekdays, keep up reading (most days -- I would not let it get in the way of other activities, weekends are a good time to get to work).

Lecka, all good points and suggestions. The schools here don't teach any spelling at all. If they did I wouldn't bother. I don't do a ton. Up to ten words every week or two, usually sight words or words following a phonetic rule for practice. He uses an app to practice. He doesn't love it but it takes maybe ten min. I think of it as part of our reading program as it reinforces phonetic reading rules.

 

I will continue reading and teaching reading and pleasure reading. I will stop the practice reading as much except to reinforce our current rule, as I know he's doing a lot of practicing reading at school.

 

I'll think about just picking one format from print, cursive, and type. My worry is he doesn't still usually recognize reversals or formation issues and self correct. So though he's writing, he's also forming and reinforcing bad habits now that were minimal because he didn't write much without correction before.

[Lecka]

My son had a private eval at the end of 4th grade, and the dr. said she was worried he could still forget all his letter formations if he took an extended break, and by that she meant a summer break.

 

But I let him take breaks anyway, bc handwriting just is not the most important thing in life. I also think he is capable of picking back up and he has shown this.

 

But I think daily practice is better.

 

Numbers got to be a lot more important than letters for a while bc he is actually good at math. It was hard to see him make mistakes in math from not reading his own numbers correctly. But he has still gotten better and made improvement every year, for the most part.

 

But when he is actually good at things, his handwriting is frustrating, but it is not the most important thing to care about.

 

I think we have a hard time with saying "it is okay" about his handwriting and then in action making it a top priority. My son is sensitive like that and it will hurt his feelings and make him anxious. So it is like -- I have to really believe that handwriting is just one thing, if he is going to believe that, too.

 

But he is not as sensitive with people at school as he is with me! But it is bc he really cares what I think.

 

I am not sure why I have got this dynamic with him sometimes. I do not have it with my other two kids.

 

In positive news he went back to practicing cursive last year in 5th and it is much better than when he tried it when he was younger. He has had more OT in that time and also I have been told it can just get easier for kids as they get older. So that is good :)

Edited August 12, 2016 by Lecka

[Lecka]

Cross post: I don't know what to say about practicing errors at school.

 

But is it really an error if it is more a random thing than actually "now I write it this wrong way"?

 

I throw my hands up.

 

Right now my son can write nicely for many things, actually nicely, but then when he is doing more he just does not have automatic letter formation like we would all like him to have.

 

The OT last year told me not to give up on him, she said never give up, kids keep showing improvement. But at a certain point typing is just better for him.

 

I would talk to an OT.

 

I got actual advice to not try to have him work on print and cursive at the same time, for that time. He has also worked on cursive to help his motor patterns with the idea that it could help cement the motor patterns and that it would transfer to his print. And it did help his print at the time!

 

I guess I would see what an OT says, if that is an option.

 

If he does okay with both he may be doing better than my son was at the time, and it may be desirable for him.

 

I have also been told more recently (like last year) that it would be beneficial for him to practice cursive even if we didn't expect him to ever be able to use cursive in a practical way. So he did his spelling using cursive last year at school, and it was good for him. But it is really different to write a word to fill in a sentence (or things like that where he wrote a single word) than to actually write in cursive to do a social studies assignment or something like that.

[Lecka]

I don't understand not teaching spelling. I have not heard of that! Here there is a pre-test, then an assigned list, and a test. They have been having to do 3 activities on spellingcity.com, but spelling city is actually really hard for R and so he does this separate cursive spelling packet that the OT and resource teacher want a couple kids to do.

Edited August 12, 2016 by Lecka

[Heathermomster]

After DS learned cursive, he went straight back to print.  The classroom teacher could not be bothered, and I was not there to correct.  Be prepared to lose this battle.  I suggest you speak with the teacher, pick a font, and stick with it.  I'd use spelling time to practice handwriting, and/or use the IPod HWT app for no more than 5-10 minutes per day.

 

As far as reading remediation, Dr. Shaywitz suggests something like three hours per week minimum.  With DS, he recieved three, 45 minute lessons per week.  

 

The reason I suggest not stressing handwriting is because it was clearly a total waste of time once he hit 4th grade.  I almost think printing legible numbers is more important because typing math is a pain.  But whatever...There will come a time when certain hills aren't worth dying on anymore and you'll know.

Edited August 12, 2016 by Heathermomster

[displace]

Kay w: thank you for your schedule and explanation. It was a good summary. Now if I could make it fun :)

[displace]

I was taking my son out of school an hour early one day a week to go to OT in 3rd grade, and he had OT at school.

 

He had one of those things where an aide spends 5-10 minutes with him a day, doing what the OT wants him to do (the OT would show the aide what she wanted done).

 

So that has a lot to do with why I did not do any handwriting after school.

 

If there is no handwriting happening at all I think that is different.

 

And typing was just not going anywhere, his fingers would not go off the home row, so we took a break. It was not productive.

 

Last year in 5th he went back and did more cursive and it has clicked better than it ever did when he was younger.

 

It is really rare here for kids to get OT at school but my son is getting it, and got it in 2nd and 3rd (and part of 1st). So it is just a different situation. He also gets (I tend to think) maybe more frustrated and so I did more of scribing for him at home.

 

I think you will see what your priorities are, and how much is possible to do without it getting unproductive.

 

Also how much time school-related stuff takes.

I think we'd probably qualify for OT, but I doubt the helpfulness. I'll ask for it if he qualifies. Otherwise I'm the one doing private OT and homework, thus the afterschooling.

 

Also, it's hard to guess now what accommodations they will provide. They are still "evaluating". I will push for as much typing allowed as possible. And do regular practice at home, which is only 15 min when truncated anyway.

Edited August 12, 2016 by displace

[Lecka]

I do believe the aide would watch him. He has almost always been in a classroom that has a "floating aide" which basically mean there are 3-4 kids who have special needs but don't need a 1:1 aide. So there is an aide and it will be somebody who is doing stuff like this with various kids.

 

Anyway -- yeah, in this set-up I think they did the OT homework with him well, and watch him do it/. They can supervise as well as me, but for a limited time.

 

It is not that I think follow through on stuff like this always happens (ha ha ha) but for this, I do think it did.

 

There is skme background here that my younger son was diagnosed with ASD while this son was in 2nd grade, which was a factor in some things too.

 

I agree a lot with pp. It is both worth it to work on handwriting, and a waste of time. It is just both.

 

I agree with her about numbers, too. It is so much easier to talk through and scribe other things.

 

But to scribe in math and go through the steps is so frustrating! For both of us! At a certain point. I realized that in younger grades my son was just kind of remembering what he had written, and then when it gets more multi-step and you have to look back at what you have written, it is so frustrating.

 

But he has been doing a lot better with this, too.

 

Edit: in our set-up the OT will set up a homework routine for him to do with an aide. It might be a laminated sheet of exercises. It might be a folder where she has printed off sheets for him to do while the aide watches.

 

That was before he went in the resource room.

 

Now he does go in the resource room and he gets more 1:1 type of help there and I think they are good. Pros and cons for sure, though.

 

The private OT we saw also works in the public schools here.... The OTs in school are mostly pretty good and the school district actually pays for them to go away to trainings and stuff.

 

It is not the same as spending 45 minutes with a private OT, but it is something. When he was in private OT she coordinated with the school OT (I filled out a form giving them permission to talk about him via E-mail) and she said there are some things she could do in private that they can't really do at school.

 

But still -- it is good I think.

 

But realistically -- if I think that then I am excused from doing things at home I think are done at school! But I think it happens. What I think is my son has a good attitude with it at school so it is easy. If he had a bad attitude i don't think it would get done. But he wants to have good behavior at school and he is capable of it.

Edited August 12, 2016 by Lecka

[Kat w]

Kay w: thank you for your schedule and explanation. It was a good summary. Now if I could make it fun :)

Promise...you can make it fun :)

Let him choose the story .

Act excited to do a math problem to show dad ( I make dad act enthusiast lol)

And praise his handwriting :)

 

I say my boys are like...puppies lol...praise em and they get so happy lol

Edited August 12, 2016 by Kat w

[Lecka]

This is something else.... Here from what I understand, in school kids have to keep doing handwriting through 6th grade. In 7th and up it can be all typing.

 

But they don't think that is okay for 6th and below here.

 

So that is something where school has decided that, where a homeschooler could make a different decision.

 

And maybe a more sensible decision or more individual!

 

Where I believe this is just a policy here.

[displace]

I don't understand not teaching spelling. I have not heard of that! Here there is a pre-test, then an assigned list, and a test. They have been having to do 3 activities on spellingcity.com, but spelling city is actually really hard for R and so he does this separate cursive spelling packet that the OT and resource teacher want a couple kids to do.

I could go on and on about what they don't teach. Spelling, handwriting, phonics beyond basics. All the school programs are set up for a child with dyslexia and/or dysgraphia to fail. Those are some of the reasons why we pulled in the first place. Not to mention RTI, lack of intervention if not very far below grade level, "gifted" teachers in disbelief DS is gifted, associating math ability by reading level, etc. I was doing so much afterschooling it was homeschooling! Plus the school method of reading encouraged DS to guess and it had no logical incremental progression, negating the progress I was trying to make with DS.

But anyway... 😄

Edited August 12, 2016 by displace

[displace]

I do believe the aide would watch him. He has almost always been in a classroom that has a "floating aide" which basically mean there are 3-4 kids who have special needs but don't need a 1:1 aide. So there is an aide and it will be somebody who is doing stuff like this with various kids.

 

Anyway -- yeah, in this set-up I think they did the OT homework with him well, and watch him do it/. They can supervise as well as me, but for a limited time.

 

It is not that I think follow through on stuff like this always happens (ha ha ha) but for this, I do think it did.

 

There is skme background here that my younger son was diagnosed with ASD while this son was in 2nd grade, which was a factor in some things too.

 

I agree a lot with pp. It is both worth it to work on handwriting, and a waste of time. It is just both.

 

I agree with her about numbers, too. It is so much easier to talk through and scribe other things.

 

But to scribe in math and go through the steps is so frustrating! For both of us! At a certain point. I realized that in younger grades my son was just kind of remembering what he had written, and then when it gets more multi-step and you have to look back at what you have written, it is so frustrating.

 

But he has been doing a lot better with this, too.

 

Edit: in our set-up the OT will set up a homework routine for him to do with an aide. It might be a laminated sheet of exercises. It might be a folder where she has printed off sheets for him to do while the aide watches.

 

That was before he went in the resource room.

 

Now he does go in the resource room and he gets more 1:1 type of help there and I think they are good. Pros and cons for sure, though.

 

The private OT we saw also works in the public schools here.... The OTs in school are mostly pretty good and the school district actually pays for them to go away to trainings and stuff.

 

It is not the same as spending 45 minutes with a private OT, but it is something. When he was in private OT she coordinated with the school OT (I filled out a form giving them permission to talk about him via E-mail) and she said there are some things she could do in private that they can't really do at school.

 

But still -- it is good I think.

 

But realistically -- if I think that then I am excused from doing things at home I think are done at school! But I think it happens. What I think is my son has a good attitude with it at school so it is easy. If he had a bad attitude i don't think it would get done. But he wants to have good behavior at school and he is capable of it.

This sounds like a great setup! Because an aide could help with focused exercises and OT homework, and maybe reader/scribe. Plus DS loves to work for others.

[displace]

This is something else.... Here from what I understand, in school kids have to keep doing handwriting through 6th grade. In 7th and up it can be all typing.

 

But they don't think that is okay for 6th and below here.

 

So that is something where school has decided that, where a homeschooler could make a different decision.

 

And maybe a more sensible decision or more individual!

 

Where I believe this is just a policy here.

The counselor was of the idea that you need to be able to write to do things as an adult. Honestly, I haven't written so much in my life by hand for years until I walked into that school. My whole life is almost technology based. The school is so "old school"! 😂. There were forms and payments and junk papers to fill. 90% of it could have been done electronically.

 

ETA- I do believe in the power of handwriting for development and benefits, as well as a tool for some people to learn. But not for everyone in the same ways.

Edited August 12, 2016 by displace

[Kat w]

Oh. Yea....when we pulled our boys out of PS. We had a couple meetings with the teachers just before that...

 

All of 2nd and 3 Rd grades had taken out spelling completely!

I was shocked. They said...they didn't have time to teach it.

Ohhh...k. Makes sense lol

[displace]

Oh. Yea....when we pulled our boys out of PS. We had a couple meetings with the teachers just before that...

 

All of 2nd and 3 Rd grades had taken out spelling completely!

I was shocked. They said...they didn't have time to teach it.

Ohhh...k. Makes sense lol

Our schools teach to the tests a lot, so since spelling and handwriting aren't on them... Cut!

[Lecka]

It just seems so short-sighted! Sigh.

 

We are moving later this year, and I hope it doesn't turn out to be all about testing.

[Kat w]

Yea....teach-in to the test. Ugh.

I thought they all did that. The schools have pressure to be A schools, because....thst draws families with money. Which in turn...brings money into the county by way of taxes and thriving businesses.

 

Maybe Lecka, are your kids in a DOD school? You guys on post? They do t have that pressure. They operate on the rotation system ...this unit in...this unit out lol.

You living off post?

Civilian schools have to make the A, which means....teach for the test.

[Lecka]

We are off post, but when we move we plan to move on post.

 

But at that base they bus kids off post to a civilian school district, but (my impression) almost all the kids are from post.

 

I have heard people like it, though, so that is a good sign.

[Kat w]

That's good.good Schooling I know has to be comforting .

Hubby gr

Edited August 13, 2016 by Kat w

[Kat w]

Sorry. I can't edit that last part off. This old slow phone...ugh

[displace]

Update after 1.5 weeks -- DS is LOVING school. So far he's been willing to do whatever is asked of him (not much as of yet). He has solicited help from other kids for reading occasionally, and has been writing up a storm. (Insert falling over emoticon here). And then the teacher called to say that his writing and spelling are actually middle of the pack for his classmates! What?! I think I either had too high standards, she has too low standards, or DS and I worked so hard that we succeeded! At this point I don't care too much. I can imagine reversals in third is considered middle of the pack but maybe she's ignoring them 😆. We have done very little after-schooling, and I'm thinking of acutely minimizing it. We are getting homework but it's mostly reading and writing summary of reading.

Opinions please of new afterschooling plan: stopping OT (which is mostly for dyspraxia), considering changing to more HWT based OT weekly. Having gymnastics x 2 per week for sensory/dyspraxia; karate x 2 per week for fun/dyspraxia; piano because I insist. Reading lesson maybe x three per week, short lessons only (rules based), spelling lesson once every week or two with review through the week. Reversal print work, stop cursive, typing 2-3 times per week.

 

I think the new afterschooling schedule (minus extracurriculars) will only be 30 min per day, probably not daily, plus homework.

 

Sound good? Should I shorten even more?

 

I must say I almost died of disbelief when the teacher spoke with me. I felt excited and happy and relieved.

[PeterPan]

I think if you want the routine you should continue at some level. Once you let it go, it could be hard to get back.

 

I'm glad he's doing so well!!!! Of course it's because you did so much awesome work!!

[Storygirl]

:hurray: :hurray: :hurray:

 

I think your plan sounds good, as long as he is willing. I have a hard time getting my kids through their regular homework without break downs, so I found I couldn't require extra. As long as he is on board and has a good attitude, I think it's great!

 

If the homework load increases over the year, you might find that four days of sport is too much. But gymnastics was very good for DS12, so I think that's a good plan. Has your son done gymnastics before?

[Heathermomster]

We are getting homework but it's mostly reading and writing summary of reading.

Opinions please of new afterschooling plan: stopping OT (which is mostly for dyspraxia), considering changing to more HWT based OT weekly. Having gymnastics x 2 per week for sensory/dyspraxia; karate x 2 per week for fun/dyspraxia; piano because I insist. Reading lesson maybe x three per week, short lessons only (rules based), spelling lesson once every week or two with review through the week. Reversal print work, stop cursive, typing 2-3 times per week.

Everything sounds great, and that is a testimony to your diligence and hard work!

 

Maybe stick with the outside activities and the reading. I'm not really convinced that typing at this age is even appropriate. I'd combine the handwriting with the spelling and call it good.

 

You are in the honeymoon phase right now. Everything will start to settle in soon over the next 4 or so weeks, and then whatever needs help with will be evident.

Edited August 22, 2016 by Heathermomster

[OneStepAtATime]

So glad it is going well. Agree with what OhE said. You can always cut more out of the schedule later.

[Lecka]

It sounds good :). I wouldn't (personally) worry about backing off for the loss of routine/structure, bc you are still going to have it from homework. So I wouldn't worry about backing off too much. Plus he has a good attitude in school.

 

So I would not worry there. It is when everything is like pulling teeth that I think "oh no don't back it down."

 

My older son is having a good start, too, and told me how he likes pen now and writing in pen is so much faster. I am also going "what???????" But I will take it! They are adding iPads to 6th grade too, so I think it is looking promising. But they haven't done too much yet, my kids have been back for 3 1/2 days. I don't know how it will go when they are doing more, but the iPad might take care of it, plus the pen going well somehow.

[displace]

:hurray: :hurray: :hurray:

 

I think your plan sounds good, as long as he is willing. I have a hard time getting my kids through their regular homework without break downs, so I found I couldn't require extra. As long as he is on board and has a good attitude, I think it's great!

 

If the homework load increases over the year, you might find that four days of sport is too much. But gymnastics was very good for DS12, so I think that's a good plan. Has your son done gymnastics before?

Yes we used to do gymnastics until the YMCA changed the ages to only little boys. We tried three gyms and he only liked the YMCA. They are allowing older boys in the class so we'll go with it for now. Hopefully he doesn't mind if there are really young kids with him. He only likes the YMCA because they're not very strict and they have a huge foam pit the kids are allowed to play in.

[displace]

Thanks for the suggestions and well wishes. I think the school priorities are different than mine, so some I will let go of and some I will continue so we don't get behind. I know this is just the beginning of the year but I'm hopeful since he likes it so much he'll work hard to stay there. And he works super hard for his teacher already.