not being challenged...

[mlgbug]

okay, so dd had a reading test. she is in K. now i know how well she can read and i know where she has falts. her teacher said she is at level 1. whatever that means. so she gets her first book home today, it is a complete joke.

look at the frog

look at the alligator

look at the snake

 

it goes on. now the only words are look at the..... and there is a huge picture of the animal for the blank. its bothering me. and the more i talk to the teacher the more i am bothered. i told her we are doing aas, and she was like oh we dont do spelling, and they start with short vowels in 1st grade. i just feel like she isnt being challenged, should i set up a meeting for keep her reading at home at a challenging level, and keep doing her aas ect. i even had her do the first few weeks of a faux spelling test i got off the 1st grade classroom websight and she got them all right. now she is in a k/1 classroom, but they dont allow the higher level kids to move into the 1st. its some weird program.....just need advice

[Unicorn.]

BTDT. Keep up w/ her lessons at home, or she will go backwards. Do not give over control of her education to the ps. You are her mother, her first teacher, and know what is best for that child. If you think she needs to learn it, teach it to her yourself.

[mich311e]

okay, so dd had a reading test. she is in K. now i know how well she can read and i know where she has falts. her teacher said she is at level 1. whatever that means. so she gets her first book home today, it is a complete joke.

look at the frog

look at the alligator

look at the snake

 

it goes on. now the only words are look at the..... and there is a huge picture of the animal for the blank. its bothering me. and the more i talk to the teacher the more i am bothered. i told her we are doing aas, and she was like oh we dont do spelling, and they start with short vowels in 1st grade. i just feel like she isnt being challenged, should i set up a meeting for keep her reading at home at a challenging level, and keep doing her aas ect. i even had her do the first few weeks of a faux spelling test i got off the 1st grade classroom websight and she got them all right. now she is in a k/1 classroom, but they dont allow the higher level kids to move into the 1st. its some weird program.....just need advice

 

 

 

My son was very similar to your daughter. I just continued working with him at home. The "decodables" he brings home from school are very simple for him but he never complains.

 

My son is in 1st grade but so far each teacher he's had has noticed his abilities on their own without me interfering. It takes some time for them to notice though.

 

Most kindergartens don't do spelling. Last year I thought maybe my son would be at a disadvantage without spelling practice but he's doing just fine. He still does his invented spelling for more complicated words, which is to be expected in 1st grade public school. I still do phonics work with him (HOP & Phonics Pathways) at home even though he's well above grade level.

 

If you talk with the teacher she may agree to provide extra challenges to your daughter or she may not. So be prepared for either reply.

 

Good luck!

[mlgbug]

thank you for all the replys. we are going to continue at home and let her feel confidence through school. she is doing etc book 2 now at home, aas, and lots of reading to me. i have a confrence set up for nov. so ill stop talking to the teacher till then :)

[Caroline]

The way I got the message across to my DD's K teacher was to send in Little House on the Prarie for DD to read at rest time. DD's teacher's daughter is a third grader, so she brought in a bunch of books from home that her daughter had outgrown. So now my DD has a large selection at school and home.

[mnemom]

I have come to the conclusion that most schools will not differentiate too much in kindergarten. I think that teachers see kindergarten as a way to get everyone "up to speed." They have to assume that some kids are going to come in knowing nothing, so they have to start at the very beginning. When you have a wide range of knowledge and abilities, it is hard to differentiate. I think kindergarten is more about learning the basics (letters, numbers, colors), learning routines, and learning how to behave in school and most teachers will not be able to differentiate for advanced learners. I view it as an opportunity for dd to socialize, and I take care of her academic needs at home. I'm torn about what to do for first grade because I feel like our time together will be very limited. Must convince dh to let me homeschool!

[LimitBreak]

Hi! My ds7 is in 1st grade and he is advanced because I've been teaching him at home using FLL, McGuffey and SM. For K I viewed it as a social opportunity for my son, who is an only child. I didn't bother speaking with the teacher about school instruction. His K teacher was the one who would make the wonderful comments about his academic ability but I didn't pursue it because I was more excited about my son having playmates. We continued his academic instruction at home.

 

For 1st grade, I decided that I would develop a great relationship with his teacher. I believe that if the teacher gets to know our family as individuals, she will not view us as being pushy.

 

Note: The above experiment is still a work in progress so I will not know if it is successful until months from now :lol:

 

Curriculum Night

After his 1st grade teacher was done explaining the structure of her classroom, I went up to her and introduced myself. I then mentioned to her "I teach my son mental math skills at home. Would you have a problem if he did not show his work?"

 

Her response "Oooooh I LOVE MENTAL MATH".

:party:

 

1st Reading Assignment

My son's reading assignment is also simple. He is encouraged to read the assignment with parents. The parents are then supposed to fill out a comment about the assignment.

 

It is soooooo tempting to write as a comment "Can you give him more complex reading assignments?"

 

Instead I wrote "We discussed the story by answering the 5 questions provided at the end of the story. We made sure that his replies were full, correct sentences. We also worked on proper enunciation of the words in the story".

 

So far we are pleased with the teacher's efforts. Right now she is giving my son accelerated reading assignments comparative to what they would do in 2nd grade. She also emailed me to let me know that he is in the 'high-ability table' when they do their Centers.

 

My school goals this year are to continue with academics at home and develop a great relationship with the teacher.

[OleanderRain]

Gee, I just had a similar experience! Today was dd's second day at school (1st grade). She wanted me to walk her to her classroom (just in case she forgot where it was :lol:) and I met her teacher for the second time, but the first time was very brief. After a little chit chatting, her teacher handed me a list of reading words for the week. I told her that we had the list already, we went over them last night and tonight I'm going to work them into our spelling lesson.

 

"No, these are not spelling words", she replied, "These kids won't have spelling words for another month or two. I don't want you to have her spell these words."

I don't know why I opened my big mouth but I told her, "We have been using AAS for over a month now and I was just planning on continuing with our lessons at home."

Then she gave me a hairy eyeball, "Really? You don't want to overwork her."

Then I said, "Oh, no worries, our lessons are really short, and she enjoys doing them."

She had skepticism all over her face but she just nodded.

After that it was really awkward and I left.

 

I'm mostly bummed that it seems like we got off on the wrong foot. I'm not going to talk to the teacher about anything that we do at home from now on, I don't want to make things bad for dd and I don't want to get passed up on chaperoning the fieldtrips. I'm only sending her to school because she really wants to be there, to make friends that she can see everyday. :tongue_smilie: But I also had this fantasy that her teacher and I would work together planning dd's education and she would be so excited to have such an involved parent in her class. :lol: I know, but one can dream.

 

I really should have known better because last week when we met her briefly, I told her that we were homeschooling and I just know that she cringed a little, but she quickly caught herself. :001_huh:

Edited October 6, 2010 by OleanderRain

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

BTDT. Keep up w/ her lessons at home, or she will go backwards. Do not give over control of her education to the ps. You are her mother, her first teacher, and know what is best for that child. If you think she needs to learn it, teach it to her yourself.

 

:iagree: In my experience with older ds in first grade (I won't even go into the Kindergarten disaster), they only test up to a certain level. If the kid is beyond that level, they don't care.

[LimitBreak]

 

I really should have known better because last week when we met her briefly, I told her that we were homeschooling and I just know that she cringed a little, but she quickly caught herself. :001_huh:

 

That's unfortunate that your dd is stuck with a teacher like that. I wonder if you would be able to switch sections.

 

Does your school have any gifted programs at school? My son's school does not. We just found out from his teacher that the principal told her it was up to the teachers to challenge the high ability kids in class.

 

So far she is willing to find opportunities for the kids. She is even supportive of the instruction I give at home. I just hope that she will be consistent and that she follows up on the work and hopefully does not get burnt-out.

 

Some teachers (like yours) may not like gifted kids because they require more effort to teach, especially if the school does not help the teachers with resources. Your dd's teacher may just be an 8-5 type: Just do what is required by the state.

 

There is a teacher on this board, maybe she can give you insight into dealing with your dd's teacher.

[regentrude]

My DD has been not challenged throughout her time in PS. She was allowed to read and pretty much spent her entire elementary school time just reading fiction. The teachers were happy that she did not disturb the class. there was never any real attempt to differentiate. The gifted program was nice, but did not really make a difference.

It got worse in middle school because she was not learning anything in 5th grade.

Can you guess why we have been homeschooling since 6th grade?

[talexand]

I'm in there too. My first grader dd is well past a first grade level in reading and math. Her teacher is the same teacher that sent my son to first grade for reading and math but she doesn't want to send Julia. I pushed it pretty hard this week and she is going to have one more consultation with the second grade teacher and let me know. I'm pretty sure I know the answer.

 

I homeschool my older boys half time. I wanted dd to be full time at school this year because a half time schedule would be hard for her. But that depended on them meeting at least some of her needs. If they don't give her a grade advance in at least math, then I may have to home school full time. I like the half time solution but there does have to be something learned at school. Otherwise its a big playdate with too much time spent watching other people learn.

[lionfamily1999]

The reading test is lower than it should be because they are teaching whole language, right?

 

Any movement on perhaps homeschooling her?

 

If you are going to leave her there, you are just going to have to do her real education at home and assume that ps is for playing with friends. Do you think she will be able to do work at home with you and humor the teacher at school?

:iagree:

[fairytalemama]

okay, so dd had a reading test. she is in K. now i know how well she can read and i know where she has falts. her teacher said she is at level 1. whatever that means. so she gets her first book home today, it is a complete joke.

look at the frog

look at the alligator

look at the snake

 

 

I'm in the same boat here as you. Those are the kind of reading books my kid is getting at school too. My 5 year old is in K at PS as well after I was planning on homeschooling her (we decided to send her to school at he last moment because she desperately wanted to go with her friends).

 

I've decided to just view school as her time to play with her friends, and I'm working on the stuff I was going to do with her anyway for K at home. She only has 1/2 day K so that's within the realm of reason so I don't have to worry about burning her out. All we're doing at home right now is OPGTR (we're at around lesson 100) and reading aloud. I dropped writing and math because based on the practice work her teacher is sending home I decided she's getting enough there right now.

 

We're going to revisit whether or not to send her to PS for first after this year is over.

[....]

We did public school for K-1 and my oldest kid learned to read using that Whole Language approach. :glare:

 

With Kid #1, we did Hooked on Phonics on the side and that really helped her. With Kid #2, I let him learn to read at ps and he couldn't even tell me his letter sounds when I pulled him at the beginning of 1st grade.

 

I think some kids are OK with this approach, but some kids (and I think boys in particular) need a real concrete approach to reading and phonics.

 

I would also keep working with her at home (on the side). I also wouldn't tell the teacher about it.

[StephanieZ]

I can't be much help in dealing with the teacher, as I've never had to do that.

 

But, I wanted to reassure you that Explode the Code is great for spelling skills as well as reading. I have always started my kids spelling lessons after they are reading well. (Say, after ETC 3 or 4) I have found that ETC is extremely effective in teaching a lot of spelling. . . So, if I were you, I'd just keep ETC going at home, along with plenty of good reading practice that *you* choose at her level. . . and that will keep her progressing well.

[mlgbug]

again thank. DD missed 3 days of school for being sick, my sister said "did you get the work she has missed" i was like are you kidding, im not worried about what she missed. im gonna stop tlaking to the teacher, and just keep doing what we do. aas, ETC, hop1 and just reading. im 4.5 month prego, no time to bother fighting. im gonna let her have fun at school and learn at home.

[lisamarie]

I've decided to just view school as her time to play with her friends, and I'm working on the stuff I was going to do with her anyway for K at home. She only has 1/2 day K so that's within the realm of reason so I don't have to worry about burning her out.

 

:iagree: DD is in K this year for social reasons and I had no expectations that she would learn much of anything. But I've volunteered in her class 3 times now and am actually pretty happy with the "extras" that she is getting. Things like nursery rhymes, little songs to learn skills, math games, music, art, etc.

 

I just cover the 3 Rs, bible and history at home in the afternoons and feel she is getting a well rounded education on her level. If I wasn't working with her at home I would be concerned.

 

The bonus part is that school isn't undermining her reading skills any because they teach phonics. I was concerned they'd take a whole word approach like my DS's school did, but they have a new letter every week and learn the letter sounds and the books they send home are phonics-based which makes me happy.