how do you know "where" you child is?

[momma aimee]

this is our 2nd year. Last year i had a set of goals for Kindy and he did them in 3 quarters and we moved on to first grade. (that is moved on to the books i had chosen for first grade).

 

I am REALLY worried I am not challenging him enough, or pushing him hard enough / fast enough. It is the end of Oct and he still is not reading independently and doesn't have his math facts memorized (he does his one and 2's but not all his 3's and nothing above that).

 

I just feel he is lagging and i know it is my fault.

 

how do you "gage" where your child is -- I know he'd behind compared to his public school peers -- and i do not want that.

 

i am trying to get a handle of where he should be by the end of 1st grade.

[Ellie]

this is our 2nd year. Last year i had a set of goals for Kindy and he did them in 3 quarters and we moved on to first grade. (that is moved on to the books i had chosen for first grade).

 

I am REALLY worried I am not challenging him enough, or pushing him hard enough / fast enough. It is the end of Oct and he still is not reading independently and doesn't have his math facts memorized (he does his one and 2's but not all his 3's and nothing above that).

 

I just feel he is lagging and i know it is my fault.

 

how do you "gage" where your child is -- I know he'd behind compared to his public school peers -- and i do not want that.

 

i am trying to get a handle of where he should be by the end of 1st grade.

You're beating yourself up way too much. Really.

 

I would not expect a 6yo to be reading "independently" by October.

 

I wouldn't expect a 6yo to have all of his math facts memorized by October.

 

Public school students should not be your standard of comparison. Doing that can either hold your child back or push him more than he's ready for.

 

Are you using a published math text/program? If so, how is he doing with that? If not, do you have a plan?

 

What are you using to teach him to read?

[Dmmetler]

We test at the end of each year using a standardized test. It's reassuring for me and DH, and provides documentation that she has, indeed, completed grade X-whatever X is.

[momma aimee]

We test at the end of each year using a standardized test. It's reassuring for me and DH, and provides documentation that she has, indeed, completed grade X-whatever X is.

 

do you use something you can do at home?

 

I am thinking, after Christmas of going to Slyan and have his "grade level" assessed in math and reading/

[Mandy in TN]

do you use something you can do at home?

 

I am thinking, after Christmas of going to Slyan and have his "grade level" assessed in math and reading/

Is he diagnosed with everything in year signature? If so, I would say that he is doing great. My 2e son who at that age was going to speech therapy, occupational therapy for his hands, and getting special instruction for mild encoding-decoding/ dyslexia issues was not reading at all at that age. I don't even remember what he was doing in math. I just remember how concerned I was about the reading.

 

Well, a couple of years later he was reading The Hobbit. Keep at it and get help if you need it. Remember even if he begins to read well it does mean that the LD is gone. It may resurface later in comprehension, composition, study skills, time management, etc. It will be an ongoing process where your ds will continually be learning to compensate for differences.

 

HTH-

Mandy

[MissKNG]

My big girl will be 6.5 in the middle of November and doesn't have her math facts down. We work on it but I don't "drill" her or anything. I wouldn't worry about that right now.:)

 

I looked at the math curriculum map at the ps she would be attending and they are doing stuff like skip counting to 20 by 2's....really?!?! :001_huh:

[Walking-Iris]

I wouldn't expect a 1st grader to have any math facts memorized myself. I wouldn't even try to get them to memorize facts. I would however teach them the underlying concepts behind math.

 

I would skip count with a Kinder and 1st grader. But not in an attempt to memorize anything, but as an exploration in the underlying structure of mathematics. 1st graders need lots of hands on work with manipulatives. Not a lot of memory work. Math is a developmental skill.

 

For the OP--have you looked at Miquon, MEP, or Singapore or RightStart for math? Those would be my top 4 recommendations.

[boscopup]

By age, this is his first grade year, right? He's a year older than my son doing K (also November birthday).

 

In public schools, most first graders are reading a *little bit*, and some are not reading at all yet. Most are not reading independently. Dr. Seuss books are often in the mid-first grade level range, so we're not talking very advanced here. Also, your alphabet soup in the sig suggests that you have a major 2E thing going on here, so I would not expect him to follow a linear path of the "average" student. Are you working with a neuropsych or some other medical professional to help you plan things out?

 

In public schools, most first graders in October do not yet have their facts memorized. They are just starting to work on memorizing them. I don't think they're usually expected to be completely down pat until end of 2nd grade. I just looked at your blog, and you said on there that you were holding off on Math Mammoth until you had facts memorized? You do realize that the whole point of Math Mammoth grade 1 is to practice learning the facts, right? :) You don't need to hold off. Just work through MM, and keep drilling in whatever way works (looks like oral works well for him, so keep that up). Maria Miller says somewhere in her notes that facts should be memorized by the end of 2nd grade. So no, you don't need to memorize facts before starting MM1. In fact, if you memorize them before starting, you may have to skip ahead to MM2. ;) Also, you don't have to memorize into the teens. Once he gets 0-10 memorized, he can use those facts to add above 10. MM teaches this in 1B, IIRC. Let him use manipulatives while working through MM, and since he's auditory, talk about what you're doing a lot, while you use the manipulatives.

 

Also, be proud of the progress he makes and the hard work he puts into it. Learning this stuff may be much harder than for a neurotypical kid, so he is accomplishing so much more, even if he looks "behind" the other kid. You may find that he shoots forward when he's older and his brain matures. But at the moment, I'm not seeing anything horribly behind in what you say. Just keep plugging along in whatever way works for him. :)

[Plateau Mama]

do you use something you can do at home?

 

I am thinking, after Christmas of going to Slyan and have his "grade level" assessed in math and reading/

 

Under no circumstances would I go to Sylvan and get assessed. They will absolutly tell you he is behind and needs huge help (to the tune of $$$). I can bet you that I could take my highly gifted child and they would tell her she needs remedial work.

 

If you really feel you need an assement then have him take a standardized test, or find a teacher that will evaluate him. I have several teacher friends and whenever I'm worried, I'll have them chat with him. They can give you a good idea how you are doing.

[Ellie]

I am thinking, after Christmas of going to Slyan and have his "grade level" assessed in math and reading/

Truly, you have not described anything that is so desperate that it needs you to go to Sylvan, or anything similar. Truly.

[EKS]

Is this the older child in your signature? If he is 2E, it will probably be a rocky road for a while. Just keep plugging away and he will get there.

 

My son is also 2E. When we began homeschooling at the beginning of 2nd grade, he could barely read a few CVC words and couldn't count to 10 reliably. He's 16 now and scores at the 99th percentile on standardized tests in all areas. But it was a long road to get to that point.

[Dmmetler]

You can do the DORA and DOMA online for $15 each-it starts a year below your child's current grade level and goes until they stop. It's cheap, easy, and no one else sees it. You can also give the ITBS or SAT-10 at home (I think ITBS has Fall and Spring forms) and see how that comes out-and again, no one else has to see it.

[momma aimee]

Is he diagnosed with everything in year signature? If so, I would say that he is doing great. My 2e son who at that age was going to speech therapy, occupational therapy for his hands, and getting special instruction for mild encoding-decoding/ dyslexia issues was not reading at all at that age. I don't even remember what he was doing in math. I just remember how concerned I was about the reading.

 

Well, a couple of years later he was reading The Hobbit. Keep at it and get help if you need it. Remember even if he begins to read well it does mean that the LD is gone. It may resurface later in comprehension, composition, study skills, time management, etc. It will be an ongoing process where your ds will continually be learning to compensate for differences.

 

HTH-

Mandy

 

yes

 

he is officially: ADD and GAD and "tends to OCD", gifted (via 2 IQ tests done by same PhD 2 years apart), speech delay (mostly gone) ...and there are fine motor issues (including oral), a few gross motor issues (dx by OT)

 

he is UNoffically: Depression and non-verbal LD (he is not old enough for that officially but his the red flags and gaps in his IQ testing to warrant it)

[momma aimee]

You can do the DORA and DOMA online for $15 each-it starts a year below your child's current grade level and goes until they stop. It's cheap, easy, and no one else sees it. You can also give the ITBS or SAT-10 at home (I think ITBS has Fall and Spring forms) and see how that comes out-and again, no one else has to see it.

 

THANKS

 

really thanks everyone -- i feel better -- sometimes with my first i get a tad freaked

[momma aimee]

You can do the DORA and DOMA online for $15 each-it starts a year below your child's current grade level and goes until they stop. It's cheap, easy, and no one else sees it. You can also give the ITBS or SAT-10 at home (I think ITBS has Fall and Spring forms) and see how that comes out-and again, no one else has to see it.

 

:D:D gonna do the reading one tomorrow -- :D:D

 

totally what i was looking for THANKS

[Mandy in TN]

Is he diagnosed with everything in year signature? If so, I would say that he is doing great. My 2e son who at that age was going to speech therapy, occupational therapy for his hands, and getting special instruction for mild encoding-decoding/ dyslexia issues was not reading at all at that age. I don't even remember what he was doing in math. I just remember how concerned I was about the reading.

 

Well, a couple of years later he was reading The Hobbit. Keep at it and get help if you need it. Remember even if he begins to read well it does mean that the LD is gone. It may resurface later in comprehension, composition, study skills, time management, etc. It will be an ongoing process where your ds will continually be learning to compensate for differences.

 

HTH-

Mandy

Oops, I meant to write that it does NOT mean that the LD is gone. He has just compensated for the moment.

 

yes

 

he is officially: ADD and GAD and "tends to OCD", gifted (via 2 IQ tests done by same PhD 2 years apart), speech delay (mostly gone) ...and there are fine motor issues (including oral), a few gross motor issues (dx by OT)

 

he is UNoffically: Depression and non-verbal LD (he is not old enough for that officially but his the red flags and gaps in his IQ testing to warrant it)

 

Well, then, wow, he is doing great. Keep up the good work.

 

Mandy