x-post: Pre-K - not feeling it.

[PeacefulChaos]

Ok.

So Pink is 4 - just turned 4 the beginning of May.

I've never really done anything 'preschool' ish with her - she likes to color, so I would find things for her to color... etc.

I thought, up until this schol year got underway, that we would move into more preschool-like things this year, so that she would be 'ready' for K work next year.

So we started up in August. We don't do much - a lesson out of OPGTR stretched out over a couple of days, a couple of pages in Get Ready for the Code (we have the next two, as well) - which she LOVES doing, and a calendar. We recite the months of the year, days of the week, and talk about the seasons and the weather. We count the little counting bears and make patterns. Total, it all takes about 15 minutes or so.

I'm not going to lie - I really just feel like there is no point.

In OPG, she doesn't remember any of what we said in the days before. Every time I pull out the 'A' card and ask what letter it is, she shrugs and gives a chipper, 'I don't know!' with a big grin. Same thing with the sound it makes. I just remind her, she repeats after me, and we move on. But she still doesn't recognize her letters (granted, we've only gone over a handful!) because that wasn't something that I focused on when she was younger, nor do I think I needed to.

She loves the Code books, so that doesn't bother me. Though a lot of them involve letters, and she doesn't necessarily 'get it' when I say, 'Does b, b, bear star with the b, b, B sound?' She answers wrong most of the time. Which, once again, is fine - we just say it again and I tell her, 'Yes, b, b, bear = b, b, B.'

She likes her calendar and stuff, but can't point out the numbers or recognize them on sight even after we've said them while pointing to them every day for two weeks. Note: she CAN count, and she counts with a 1:1 ratio with the bears and stuff. She just doesn't know what the numbers look like. So we started with 0 and, just like with the letters, she gives the same answer when we come back to it the next day. ;) She does the patterns and counting well, but can't remember, despite us going over it daily, that the season is currently 'summer', etc.

 

So part of me just wants to scrap the whole thing, because if she isn't remembering anything over the days/weeks then obviously she isn't ready I guess?? Like, I don't want to cause tons more work for myself now trying to teach her something that will take her forEVER to remember, when maybe I could just wait and do it next year and she would learn it better/faster.

But then part of me thinks, no, everyone will think I'm being lazy (and truthfully, I do hate the preschool type stuff, plus, for some reason, I feel more self conscious of my ability to TEACH this early level stuff - both the boys went to pre-k somewhere, so when they came home, Link knew how to read - WELL - and Astro already knew his letters, numbers, letter sounds, etc. Yes, Astro learned how to read at home, but I struggled with confidence in being capable of that, as well -- Idk, maybe it is strange that I feel MUCH more confident in my ability to teach them from the post-learning to read stage through high school than I do preschool and learning to read!! :lol: ) ...and maybe it IS me being lazy, or just too set in our ways of the boys doing school work and Pink doing her own thing, and not having to worry about 'school' for her, too. Though it IS going to have to happen, so I was hoping to go ahead with it now. ... Sigh...

 

So what should I do? Scrap pieces of it? All of it? Change things up? Keep plugging along?

 

My thoughts right now are to maybe scrap OPG and just work on letter recognition, numeral recognition, and, like, her name or something. Idk.

Is there something workbook-ish that would give her a couple of pages to do, like the Code books, but not involve letters, even? Since she likes those so much... or should we just keep working on that?

What about the calendar/math-type stuff?

 

Oh, and I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE crafty, artsy, stupid pre-k and K 'projects'. So don't suggest those. I also have no interest in doing a whole themed bunch of worksheets on A is for Apples or anything like that. We tried the LOTW type stuff before and it failed MISERABLY because we just never did it - I hate that stuff. :p

 

 

ETA: I just wanted to add, I hope this post doesn't come across as me thinking she's dumb or anything - I don't think that at all. There are a lot of things she CAN do - I just listed the things, school related, that she Can't. :)

Also, I'll admit that she hasn't been read to as often as the boys were. I stopped reading a bedtime story to her when she was maybe 2ish because we ran out of time, plus I got tired of reading the silly Disney Princess stories she would pick on top of the reading I did with the boys during the school day. Up until that point, we ALWAYS read at bedtime with all the kids - I just reached the point where I was sick of the whole bedtime routine taking 20-30 minutes. So I could add reading time into her daily 'school' stuff, too. Don't get me wrong - she's heard stuff read - sometimes she's sitting with us when we read our current read aloud or SOTW or whatever - but it's not the picture book/ fun reading experience that the boys had. Which I don't regret - it just is what it is. *shrug*

[ondreeuh]

I would put a big pause on your current lineup and spend that energy on picture books. She can learn a ton about how written language looks and works from reading to her while she sits in your lap, underlining the words with your finger. That builds print awareness and will give her the context she's missing. Right now I bet the whole idea is rather abstract. It's different to actually model reading than it is to just have your kid hear you read aloud. I bet it will help a ton.

[duckens]

In our situation, older dd consistently and dutifully did all of the Letter of the Week stuff.  Younger dd has no interest whatsoever.  However, technology is teaching her whatever she needs to know so far.

 

I don't know if you used OPGTR with your olders, but your youngest just may be wired differently.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Tell her that she is going to do school on the computer.

 

--Introduce her to Starfall.com.

 

Many kids teach the letters to themselves by using it.  And it's FREE.

 

--There is also PBS Island  (a leveled game sponsored by PBS).  Also FREE, but you need to pre-register and set a password.

 

--There are many apps if you have an ipad, nook, or whatever.

 

If she becomes competent in these, then try again with OPGTR.  Or not.

 

---------------------------------------------

 

Rather than asking her, "What does this sound say?"  give her multiple choice.  Lay out three cards: "Which of these says Aaaaaaaa?"  Then it's mommy's turn: lay out three cards, and she needs to ask you a sound.

 

[In The Great White North]

She's four. Read to her. Play make believe, dress up, cook together, etc. Come back to this next year. Or wait til she's 6. Preschool is totally unnecessary.

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

Leapfrog videos and Starfall.com.

[Coco_Clark]

I agree with the other posters. Read good books, play, count and add things when it comes up. Let her preschool years be PRE school. We only get so many of them.

 

Anyways, you can teach her in 2 years now what you can teach in 3 months when she's ready for it. It makes me think of my sister and I and our styles potty training our kids. She started her two sons in training pants and little plastic seats at 18 months on the dot. I waited until mine were interested (respectively one month and four months before their third birthday) and potty trained in a single weekend. All four kids reached "accident free" around the same time.

 

It's not that my sister was doing it "wrong" or "wasting her time". She had a lot of small victories during that year and a half. A lot of steps towards that final goal and many successfully filled potty charts. I think it was a positive experience for everyone involved. But it was a lot of work; making charts, looking up methods, setting potty alarms, constant reminders and lots of icky underwear. And I'm lazy! By waiting until they were completely ready I was able to have them go from diaper to independent and accident free in a matter of days. And no "later" than my sisters kids. (And the comparison works because we all know that odd child that potty trains at 13 months/5 years too!)

[T'smom]

I agree with the previous posters. Read picture books instead and let her watch leapfrog while you are doing school with your olders.

[school17777]

I agree with the others about Leapfrog and Starfall.  I play(ed) the Leapfrog videos in the car and let her play with Starfall when I needed her occupied.

 

After Rye learned her letters and sounds, I made an alphabet box with small items.  (I was able to find a bunch at Lakeshore Learning and just things around the house.)  You can probably put one together with small toys around your house using Barbie/Polly/Playmobil, etc...  I had a box of alphabet flashcards and I have her find items that begin with that sound.  

 

To practice numbers, I have a box of number flashcards and also some basic math puzzles (like 1+2=3).  With the number cards, I punched a hole in the corner of the card.  I have her connect linking links to the card.  For the puzzles, one piece will have 1+2, so I have her get one and then two links and connect them.  She finds that it is three so she finds the 3 puzzle and checks to she if she is right by connecting the pieces.

 

For lots of other ideas for this age, check out the blog 1+1+1=1.  She has ideas and links to blogs with other ideas. 

 

I think the preschool years are fun to learn through play, not school-type books.

[g1234]

We "unschooled" ours until age 7 or 8, always knowing that we would begin more rigorous academics at around those ages. Now as middle-school-ages, they are at or above grade level in everything. We played a lot, and read buckets of stories out loud. Cooked. Biked. Told them how to write letters or words when they asked. Okay, some math around 6 or 7, because they loved it. So I agree with some pps....read, cuddle, and enjoy this precious stage of life, which will be over in a flash. Of course I know every kid is different, and I am sure there are some out there who would thrive on more academic instruction earlier, so I definitely don't mean to judge other approaches. Just sharing our experience.

[twoxcell]

 

She's four. Read to her. Play make believe, dress up, cook together, etc. Come back to this next year. Or wait til she's 6. Preschool is totally unnecessary.

:iagree:

If she likes the activities and workbooks she is doing then do them. If not scrap them. Read quality picture books(get rid of the Disney books if you don't like them. I don't buy any books based on cartoons.), play make believe, get outside, watch leap frog, play board games, let her help around the house, etc. I don't like the letter of the week crafty things etc. either. I did them some with my older kids but not anymore. I do encourage art and creativity though, but it is mostly open ended now for my preschoolers. i.e. Here is the paint and paper go for it. lol

[Mergath]

I agree with the others that incorporating more picture book time into her day will probably help.  And there are a lot of great alphabet picture books that will help her learn her letters without involving flashcards.  My dd was partial to "Bob's ABC (and D to Z too)."  "Animalia" is another good one, iirc.

[school17777]

Just thought I'd share that I found alphabet buttons at Walmart in the craft section for less than $5.  I use them in my alphabet box that I mentioned previously.  There are several letters for each letter, so you can get a lot of use out of them now and in the future.

[Dory]

My boys have both learned most of their early phonics skills from leapfrog games and videos like word world than they did from any curriculum. Some kids just are wired differently.

[Farrar]

I also vote to devote the time you're putting into the schooly stuff on picture books instead. If you get sick of the princess carp, get others, get The Paper Bag Princess, get FIAR books, get Caldecott winners, get Lets Read and Find Out and Mathstart and just focus on that sort of thing.

[Ellie]

I don't believe in "preschool." It is an invention of the modern world, and really, of the modern world since, oh, 1970. I wonder how children ever learned anything over the past several thousand years without it?

 

I believe in parents helping their little children learn as much as is possible, primarily in the context of life in their own homes. You can either have fancy-schmancy "preschool" things, or you can tell your dd to put on her blue shoes. "No, dear, not the red ones...the blue ones. The buckles go away from each other, not next to each other. Put the blocks in the box. No, dear, not next to the box...into the box. There are three people eating lunch. Will you put their bowls on the table? See, we need three bowls, not two bowls...."

 

I think your little one will learn more than you imagine just by virtue of being within hearing distance of her siblings. I think your little one will learn more about language from your reading to her for enjoyment than from doing workbook-y stuff made for preschooled children who are sent away from their parents daily, to spend the day in sterile environments that have to be filled up with the kinds of things that are usually found in homes.

 

Yeah, don't do preschool. Be the mother. :-)

[PeterPan]

You can cover over a multitude of sins (or motherly regrets) with audiobooks.   ;)

 

My boy gets, well let's just say we put on audiobooks quite a bit with him, my way of covering over what I don't do as well as I'd like.  :)  A lot of what you described as not sticking is developmental.  I'm not sure what you've been reading that makes you think you have to implement K5 with a 4 yo.  I'll bet next year all those things go great.  There are tons of perfectly normal 4 yo things to do, like alphabet puzzles and reading picture books and watching Calliou or Mr. Rogers and reading nursery rhymes together and clapping and singing together.  Talk nature walks together and just talk.  She doesn't have to do K5 this year.  

[sewingmama]

My older kids are 7 &6 and we are just doing the calendar type stuff now because they weren't interested before and no matter how many times I told them the days of the week they couldn't remember them. Now suddenly they realise the value of knowing time,seasons and days ( as in how many days till my birthday, what day of the week is my birthday, when are we going camping, when are the next school holidays LOL) . They are learning it a lot quicker now that time has meaning rather then just being an abstract concept. My 4 yo couldn't care less what day it is ...time is meaningless to him right now. He does the calendar stuff with us because he wants to join in but he doesn't retain any of if from day to day.

 

 

My kids learnt their letters and numbers from me reading to them, from playing Starfall or other online games. They played with letter magnets and would line them up on the fridge and would occaisionally ask me what they said. Sometimes I would sit with them and spell out their name or their favourite animal or toy.

 

There is no use trying to them anything formally if it is abstract to them at such a young age....try teaching in context...for all three of my kids the first letter they ever learnt to recognise was the M for McDonalds (yes shameful I know) But it meant something to them so there was value in remembering it. The first word my DD ever sounded out on her own was when we were sitting at the gas station and she read ICE from the ice machine lol. My car crazy boys both recognised the word stop on a stop sign at 3 and then they would point out the same word in books. "Hey mum I know that word..it says stop like on the sign."

 

Include the teaching in your daily life...don't do formal until you have to.

[Kipling]

I agree with the others who have suggested more read-alouds from picture books. I have a four-year old who is starting pre-K this year.  She is definitely not as interested as her older siblings were at this point, so, like you, I am struggling to keep her doing the "official work." 

 

However, what I have found to be incredibly successful is to select a picture book to be our book for the week and I base lessons off of that.  For example, we read One Fish Two Fish one week.  We read the book each day and after each reading focused on a different "skill."  One day counting - how many fish on the page?  Two!  Take these beads and show me two.  One day colors - what color is the fish?  Red.  Good.  Go find three red things from around the house.  One day letters - find an A.  What sound does it make.  Find a B.  The B says "b."  One day coloring, etc.  This was not the approach I took with my older two, and I have been surprised at how easy it is and how much I have enjoyed it.

 

I really like the unit studies and lapbooks available on Homeschool Share.  I don't use them every week with her, but they do give me some ideas.  Last week, we did Blueberries for Sal, and I used some (not all!) of the printables.  These included some line tracing exercises for writing-readiness, some placement words (put little bear beside the rock, under the crow, above the stump), and a memory game with cards based on the book which I used for her to play the game and to also retell me the story since she had heard it 3-4 times by that point.

http://homeschoolcreations.com/BlueberriesforSalPrintables.html

 

She learning, she's enjoying school, and she's being read to from good picture books (I select the books based on various literature lists I have) and save the princess books for non-school time.

I do these things with her while the older two are doing more independent work like handwriting and spelling, and then the youngest is free to go play while I do more teacher-intensive work with the older two.

 

ETA I just reread your OP.  I don't know if these ideas are ones you said you hate.  I definitely am not an artsy-craftsy person with the kids and I didn't think I would like the book-a-week idea.  When my older was pre-K, someone tried to talk me into FIAR, and I thought that sounded horrible  - same book every day???  However, like I said, I am liking it so much more than I thought I would, and it is working for her.

[boscopup]

I thought, up until this schol year got underway, that we would move into more preschool-like things this year, so that she would be 'ready' for K work next year.

 

Isn't the point of K to get children ready for school? In K, you learn letters, start to read a little bit, learn to write your letters, learn to count, etc. That's what K is for, IMO.

 

OPGTR is K level, so it sounds like you're pushing a K level reading program onto a 4 year old who isn't ready. I've BTDT with OPGTR and a 4 year old. The 3 weeks we spent trying to learn letters was a complete waste. Have you done Leapfrog videos? I used Letter Factory with the child that was not remembering letter sounds in OPGTR, and within 3 days, he had his letter sounds solid - all of them. I wish I'd just started out with the frog!

 

Read to her... a LOT. Get books that involve counting, and point to the numbers as you say them. Get books that have the ABCs in them. Point to the letters as you go along. Read some of the same books over and over again, so she memorizes them. Also include even more books that are just plain good stories with beautiful language. Put away the curriculum and stuff. Just sit down and read for 15 minutes per day. It won't be time wasted. And then in 6 months or a year, you can pick up the other things again and probably zoom through them. ;)

 

(I also prefer Phonics Pathways to OPGTR for young children... larger font, and I love the way they teach blending)

[Tracy]

The only thing preschoolish that I did that was actually worth while was Five in a Row.  And that is because I wanted to read to my dd, but I didn't know how to find good books or how to make them meaningful.  I also don't like crafty things, especially for preschool.  I was able to make FIAR work without all that.  We just read the book, marked the map, had a little discussion, and occasionally found supplemental material on the internet.  Once in a while, we would act out the book.  She loved it.  I loved it.  It was no work at all.  It didn't work out for my ds, though, so YMMV.  

[kbutton]

Lots of good suggestions from lots of different points of view...I'll share my experience with my younger son (older one went to Montessori). My guy likes to play. I tried a bit of formal preschool with him, and he was silly about it. I did things similar to what you are doing, but I probably spent longer on each item until he kind of got the point of it (we probably spent our entire 15 minutes on one activity for a week, and then after he got the hang of it, reviewed, and then spent our daily 15 minutes on a new activity). We worked until he realized that the work was done if he made an effort to figure out why this was important to mommy and make a decent attempt, not just when I'd presented an item or two, and he joked about them. I wasn't mean about it; he's a silly willy sort. For some kids, this would be heavy handed, but for him, he just needed someone to be a bit serious and gently firm. Then, I started finding my boy doing the stuff on his own, like playing with the calendar (and he was having a blast but didn't want me to know it!). Then, he started teaching himself to recognize his numerals to about 31 using the calendar. He had already known how to count, and he had learned through doing calendar work to go from L to R. After that, it was all in the bag. Once he had his numbers down, I put the alphabet in the calendar pockets. Since he knew the ABC song, we were set. He really started taking it on his own from there. Now he is an enthusiastic student. He just needed some stealth learning and just enough stern looks to make him realize that this was all in his future anyway. I found curriculum that could be used in a self-correcting way (like the numbers on the calendar were for him), and then I helped him learn to use it. I think you certainly have many ideas to work with. I thought I would add my experience in case what you are doing with your kiddo needs some tweeking, like spending more time on a single topic, rather than abandoning it all. And no matter what, I think lots of picture books where you interact is a great idea. You can probably tell I am a better early than late kind of mom, but I have kids who are that way.

[JenC3]

I don't believe in "preschool." It is an invention of the modern world, and really, of the modern world since, oh, 1970. I wonder how children ever learned anything over the past several thousand years without it?

 

I do believe in preschool. Some Moms can't or won't do anything with their kids. Lots of Moms work. Preschool or early ed is super important for lots of kids. My 3rd is a slower learner. She was in 4k last year so that I could get school done with the older kids (while pg).  I needed all my energy focused onto them. She had a great time and was in a class with 5 kids so practically one on one time. This year we are doing light K and she is still learning her letters. It's still so so. But she is also learning lots and is more prepared for school time. I expect she will be ready for learning to read mid way through the year. Now, if she were in K this year at school she would have been behind. 

I would just wait til next yr and start again. Don't forget to do lots of things like magnet letters, tracing in cornmeal, and just reading letters sounds a lot. It will sink in.

[musicianmom]

 

 

If she's not retaining, you're spinning your wheels. Read high quality picture books to her, the kind that don't make you want to tear your hair out when she asks you for them over and over. The Disney books can meet with a tragic accident or become the victims of a Goodwill bag mix-up.

[lorisuewho]

I guess the question I'm wondering is does preschool do anything or is it a wash with kids who didn't do preschool by later grades?

I actually don't know the answer.

 

I send my kids to an actual preschool (which is really a playschool) where they don't really do much academic whatsoever.  I want them to paint and play with playdoh and do crafts. . .all the things I personally DON'T want to do at my house.  I'm not fun like that.

 

I like to read good books to my children and we do Rod and Staff preschool workbooks if they like to do workbooks and we don't if they don't.  Other than that, they just play (with each other).

[ondreeuh]

My older kids are 7 &6 and we are just doing the calendar type stuff now because they weren't interested before and no matter how many times I told them the days of the week they couldn't remember them. Now suddenly they realise the value of knowing time,seasons and days ( as in how many days till my birthday, what day of the week is my birthday, when are we going camping, when are the next school holidays LOL) . They are learning it a lot quicker now that time has meaning rather then just being an abstract concept. My 4 yo couldn't care less what day it is ...time is meaningless to him right now. He does the calendar stuff with us because he wants to join in but he doesn't retain any of if from day to day.

 

 

Your description about teaching the calendar reminded me of this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPeJG9_SsBI (the language may be a little naughty for little ones to hear). My kids think this is both terrifying and hilarious. When my 12 year old asks a calendar question I always offer to replay the video. It's actually a RiffTrax "short" but the youtube link is to a 5-minute "best of" clip.

 

My 12 year old just heard me playing the video and started yelling NOOOO! from across the house. ;)

[Chris in VA]

Research suggests the biggest predictor of school success is whether or not a child has been read to.

 

Just sayin'.  :D

[Ellie]

 

I don't believe in "preschool." It is an invention of the modern world, and really, of the modern world since, oh, 1970. I wonder how children ever learned anything over the past several thousand years without it?

 

I do believe in preschool. Some Moms can't or won't do anything with their kids. Lots of Moms work. Preschool or early ed is super important for lots of kids. My 3rd is a slower learner. She was in 4k last year so that I could get school done with the older kids (while pg).  I needed all my energy focused onto them. She had a great time and was in a class with 5 kids so practically one on one time. This year we are doing light K and she is still learning her letters. It's still so so. But she is also learning lots and is more prepared for school time. I expect she will be ready for learning to read mid way through the year. Now, if she were in K this year at school she would have been behind. 

I would just wait til next yr and start again. Don't forget to do lots of things like magnet letters, tracing in cornmeal, and just reading letters sounds a lot. It will sink in.

 

 

I did not say that I don't believe in the preschool that people send their children to. I said that I don't believe that it's necessary to use that label for the things parents do at home with their young children.

[sbgrace]

I'd stop all the academic stuff (learning numbers/letters/dates/the reading program). You're right, all that will come easier later. I do think it's a waste of your time right now.

 

Instead, I'd take that 15 minutes to be purposeful about reading some great picture books to her.

 

If you want her to learn her letters/when you think she's ready,  I'd do Leap Frog Letter Factory at some point. When she's ready to learn, that video will take care of that aspect. It really doesn't sound like she's quite ready yet to me--understandable at her age!

[Soror]

I also vote to devote the time you're putting into the schooly stuff on picture books instead. If you get sick of the princess carp, get others, get The Paper Bag Princess, get FIAR books, get Caldecott winners, get Lets Read and Find Out and Mathstart and just focus on that sort of thing.

This is exactly what I was thinking! I don't read Disness Princess books, if the kids want they can check them out at the library but I don't read them or buy them.

[pollo_la]

If you want to work on early reading skills, and only if you want to... Teach Your Child To Read In Just 10 Minutes a Day is fabulous!! It's a book that gives instructions on some very basic (as well as fun and easy) games to play with pre-schoolers. It will work. Even if she only learns one or two letters over the entire school year, she will have mastered them and had fun. In reality she will probably learn much more, and even be sounding out her first word or two after just a month or two. Again, not necessary, but very fun AND effective if you feel like it. :-)

[Dashka]

I don't think you need to pressure yourself into doing all the pre-k work.  I agree with previous  posters in saying reading time specifically with her would be a great idea.  But the formal stuff can definitely wait if she's having a bit of problems retaining.  It isn't a bad reflection on you or on her if you wait :)

 

If you were wanting to do some workbook type things or learning ABCs, here are my suggestions:

 

For workbook type things:
Mazes, hidden pictures, dot to dots (I used Schoolzone brand, mainly because it was at my grocery store AND my Walmart, so very easy to come by).  Also any colouring that colour by number/letter (she doesn't need to technically know the names of the number/letter to be able to colour it in, it's just sight recognition).  There is also circle the two that are the same picture activities, etc.  Those are all things that I would suggest that are workbook-like, fun and something that she could most likely do.

For learning ABCs:
I have three young children, and naptimes would sometime be a hassle.  So I shamelessly bribed them with the ability to play on my iPhone if they went to bed nicely :P  The app I would let them use is by grasshopperapps.com, and it's a very easy, simple app that has someone say a letter, then the child picks which one it is.  It's amazingly customizable; you can pick how many options the child gets (from 1 to 26), you can turn off letters (so if you only wanted A, B, and C available, no problem).  And the best part is that you can add in your own content by taking a picture and adding in your own voice.  So on top of having extremely stress-free naptimes, I wound up with the bonus of having my kids all learn their letters, etc. without me having to help them through the entire process.  (I didn't think they would learn as quickly as they did, and they kind of ruined the fun that I had planned for helping them to learn their letters, but it was worth it!).  If you search for the app on the appstore, search for grasshopperapps.com, for me it was the first one.  For some reason it doesn't show up under the name that it gives which is ABC Alphabet Phonics.  Oh I forgot, it is a free app :D

I hope that helps you :)