What is your 1st grader like?

[PeterPan]

My ds, a rising 1st grader by age, has a bunch of learning disabilities and labels, and I'm trying to figure out if there are things he *can* do or would do that I'm not facilitating well.  It has been a LONG TIME since I had a first grader, and I'm realizing my memory is faint and skewed by the strengths dd had that are the total opposite of ds'.  Really my only memory was that 1st was like an extension of K5 and that nothing serious happened till 2nd.

 

So blow me away.  What is your 1st grader like?  S/he does chores?  Reads x number of books a week?  Converses a certain way?  Pursues hobbies?  Initiates certain activities?  Naps?  Has or does not have behavioral problems requiring discipline/correction?  Enjoys non-fiction or things you had not anticipated? Hours per day of interaction with you or read alouds? Does any form of art?  Can s/he sing and hold a tune?

[SilverMoon]

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Edited September 10, 2023 by SilverMoon

[mamakelly]

I have a boy who just finished 1st grade. He is 7. He's the youngest of 4 kids.

 

Like: He's hilariously funny, always going, hates to play alone, always wants friends around, creative....

 

Chores: He empties all of the house trash cans, brings his dirty laundry downstairs, puts clean (already folded) laundry away, makes his bed, strips bedsheets, makes up his bed with new sheets (with some help), is learning how to vacuum properly, likes to dust.

 

Reading: During the summer I have him set a timer and read 15 min per day. I'm not sure if he's actively reading or looking at pictures, but I'm okay with either. He still loves picture books. He can read a level 2 reader. He's not ready for chapter books yet. 

 

Converses: He talks like a teenager, LOL. But that could be because he has 3 older teen siblings.

 

Hobbies: He loves Legos, and Pokemon. He tried soccer and baseball and didn't care for either. Last semester he took a sports class with other homeschoolers and enjoyed it. 

 

Initiates certain activities: Yes, he can ask for what he needs or will come ask someone to read him a book or play a game. 

 

Naps: Oh gosh no. He hasn't napped since he was 3.

 

Behavioral problems: Hardly ever. He's a pleaser and all I have to do it look at him with my mom face and he stops whatever he was doing. 

 

Enjoys Non-fiction: Oh yes, he was fascinated by the Story of the World CD's last school year. We listened to them in the car over and over again. 

 

Hours of interaction with me or read alouds: For school? Probably 2 hours total, but I do very light school with 1st graders. 

 

Art: Loves art. My mom bought him a spin art set from Lakeshore Learning for Christmas and he plays with it nearly every day still. 

 

Singing: He hates singing, I have no idea if he can carry a tune. I think I've only ever heard him sing Happy Birthday, haha.

 

[alisoncooks]

I also have a rising 2nd grader; she turned 7 in June.

 

Chores: no, not really. She carries her plate from the table to the sink. Picks up toys when asked (some whining involved).

 

Reading: meh... She's "behind" like big sis was (though not as much). Currently working through ETC 3 and CLE LA 1. Can't really read many "real" books, though she loves books and being read to.

 

Converses: talks your ear off. Terrible verb tense usage, no matter what we read or how many times I correct ("I catched")

 

Hobbies: loves to draw on a Magna Doodle. Collects Happy Meal toys. Likes to build with blocks. Loves movies.

 

Naps: no, not since she was 2 or 3. But we're not a big napping family -- we do go to bed early.

 

Behavior: whines, tries to run/hide when asked to do things she doesn't want to do (bathe, brush teeth, brush hair, tidy up)

 

Non-fiction?: my girls have always enjoyed non-fiction about animals. This Dd is currently obsessed with cat books, including all manner of big and wild cats.

 

Art: does the Magna Doodle thing not count? :D

 

Singing: she likes to sing. We don't do any formal singing and she can sorta-kinda carry a tune.

[Mrs. Y]

My 6 year old son (March b-day) draws pictures constantly.  He does Rod and Staff preschool books with some frustration if he has to cut, paste, or be neat.  He does some Explode the Code (I think we are on book 2 or 3).  He likes to play with Lincoln Logs....but will just as apt build towers with old VHS tapes.

 

He will sit and watch adult level documentaries for hours.  He's watched the whole "The Men Who Built America" series.  He's watched the whole Presidents documentary series numerous times.  He has watched David Macaulay's Building Big series a number of times, too.  He remembers that stuff, too.  Oh, and how can I forget Liberty's Kids a bazillion times.  He knows more about those things than I do.   :lol:

 

He likes me to read to him.  We've enjoyed all the Thornton Burgess books (free on kindle) as bedtime stories.  We are working on "B is for Betsy" right now. By day I am reading him the CLP  book called "History Stories for Children".

 

He sets the table sometimes and picks up his toys (when I tell him he has to.....).  Sometimes he assists with chores around the farm.

 

Hasn't napped regularly in years, but when he gets cranky he will go to the bed, suck his favorite two fingers and bury himself in blankets for a good nap. (He did this when he was learning to form the letter "S".  When he got up from his self imposed nap, he went back to trying....)

[Farrar]

Mine are way past now, but I really remember this age...

 

One was reading early chapter books like Magic Treehouse level - usually with some help. They were both first getting into comic books and graphic novels. The other was really struggling to read, but by the end of the year, he was on to things like Frog and Toad.

 

They both really struggled with all the balance equations in MEP. It just seemed super abstract them. One of them was doing really well with math by the end of the year though and the other thought math was interesting, but had started to refuse to do any. I remember we had to take a really long math break.

 

They both had atrocious handwriting. Neither of them loved coloring. They did both like art.

 

They could do chores if I was there helping. And that's how we mostly did them.

 

They did not take naps.

 

They had very few behavior problems overall. That was a pretty golden year - in between preK/K frustrations and 8 yo nasties. Not that they were perfect - that was when ds's first signs of anxiety really began with schoolwork and there were some troubles - but they were nice, polite, mostly pretty sweet kids.

 

They were easily frustrated by things that some kids found easy. I remember that they had trouble opening latches and jammed doors and things like that. They would still get frustrated with little things like putting on shoes occasionally. And one of them couldn't pump himself on the swing, which was frustrating at that age. Neither of them could do the monkey bars very well. But they loved to run around and play.

 

They were pretty independent in many ways. They were allowed to stay home "alone" for half an hour (dh works nights so he was asleep upstairs). They were allowed to play outside alone. They liked to run ahead on the paths when we were hiking somewhere they knew well. They knew their phone number and address by heart.

 

One of them stammered a lot. Like a whole, whole lot - it was sometimes painful to hear him try to get out a sentence. The other one had a lot of sounds that he struggled with. Both of them still mispronounce things that I know stems from way back them. Just yesterday, I realized that ds thought it was "aster-naut" not "astronaut." Both of them were just starting to get over the hump of having those speech things be issues. Neither were great conversationalists. One of them was pretty smart about asking interesting questions, but they were still littles in terms of really having a back and forth.

 

Both were good singers. I think this is just individual though, not developmental.

 

We typically read aloud for a total of about an hour and a half at that age. They usually really paid attention, but not always.

[Rachel]

Mine just completed 1st grade, he's an oldest child.

 

What is your 1st grader like? Happy, funny, silly, very intelligent, always thinking, a rule follower.

 

S/he does chores? Unloads dishwasher, takes out trash, walks dog around the block, sweeps the garage, starts laundry (not able to transfer to dryer or fold yet), sometimes puts away own laundry.

 

Reads x number of books a week? He reads a lot, a couple hours a day. I know this is unusual. He reads a mixture of picture books and novels.

 

Converses a certain way? He talks a lot and is able to carry on a decent conversation with other adults. He doesn't really seem to understand that random people don't really need detailed descriptions of his latest Lego creation though.

 

Pursues hobbies? Legos and reading. He asks to go to the library when he runs out of books.

 

Initiates certain activities? All the time. He's always coming up with projects.

 

Naps? Only when sick

 

Has or does not have behavioral problems requiring discipline/correction? Normal behavior issues like pestering his siblings.

 

Enjoys non-fiction or things you had not anticipated? He loves non-fiction especially anything science and technology related or about animals.

 

Hours per day of interaction with you or read alouds? Read alouds maybe an hour per day. He's around me pretty much all morning and usually plays alone for a couple hours every afternoon.

 

Does any form of art? He likes drawing and doing crafts.

 

Can s/he sing and hold a tune? Yes, pretty well. He enjoys singing and is in a children's choir.

[sweetpea3829]

Man, the variety of responses in a "typical" first grader...

 

Honestly, I'm not really sure what a 1st grader *should* look like.  My oldest, now 9, had some LDs and isn't a good comparison.  My second, not 8, was accelerated and pretty much skipped first grade developmentally.  

 

My middle boy...he just finished 1st grade this year and again, I'm not sure he's a good comparison because he appears to have some LDs as well.  

 

My youngest just finished K...and thus far I would say he is probably the most "typical."  Let's use him...

 

What is he like:  He is a comedian for sure.  Very smooth....hilarious and knows how to use his "baby of the family" status.  He loves his mommy and isn't afraid to show it.  Very tender....easily disciplined.  

 

Chores:  Yes.  Yes for all four children.  As DS6 is the youngest, he perhaps has picked up on chores more readily than the oldest.  Depending on which chore he is assigned for the week, his responsibilities may include cleaning the toilets (outside...not inside...not yet), wiping down bathroom sinks, sorting laundry (including pulling them right-side out and putting them in the correct basket by color), putting laundry away, emptying the dishwasher, clearing and washing the table, setting the table, sweeping and vacuuming the floor, making sure all floors are picked up (none of them are very good at this chore), feeding the dogs and cats, checking the hamsters for food and water, and helping with the chickens.  The youngest has been helping with these chores in some way or another since he was 3.  

 

Reading:  He is working on fluency with four letter words.  He does not love reading and would much rather be outside chasing frogs.

 

Conversation: He likes to tell jokes, and uses *some* words that surprise me (ie, pointing to a pouch of Sour Patch Kids and saying, "I would like to buy those things that look like humans, please."  He had a moderate speech delay which was remediated with speech therapy.  He wasn't late to speak, he just couldn't be understood.  His speech is still mildly difficult to catch.  

 

Hobbies: He really does not yet pursue hobbies.  Contrast this with my eldest boy who was pursuing hobbies as young as 3 1/2.  

 

Naps?  *sigh*  No.  Not since he was 2 or 3 or so.  The older kids can't/won't nap and there's no way he would nap while they were up and about.  He doesn't really need them though.  

 

Behavior:  Not really.  We went through a spate of dishonesty, but after he was caught red-handed in a fib (and given a red toosh), it hasn't been an issue.  Any behavior issues that crop up are easily remedied for this particular child.  

 

Non-Fiction:  He surprises me with his level of interest in science.  Eldest DS is a total STEM kid and, as I mentioned, he was pursuing STEM interests and hobbies at 3 1/2.  This DS was not quite so obvious but he participates surprisingly well during science lessons.  

 

Art and music:  He is not my artist (that would be DS7) and he is not musically inclined (that would be DD9).  At least, he has not demonstrated any interest or inclination towards either.  I'm not sure I've ever heard him sing, actually...now that I think about it.  

 

 

[rebbyribs]

I've got 2 rising first graders, a boy and a girl.  They turn 6 in a little less than 2 weeks.

 

What are your 1st graders like? One is a sweetie and very independent.  One is quite bright and having trouble with limits on electronics.

S/he does chores? Yes, but with lots of follow-through on my part.  One really wants to be helpful, on her terms.  One does not want to do chores.

Reads x number of books a week? One reads really well, and will spend hours reading.  One reads a bit.

Converses a certain way? Yes, but both are shy and resist answering if someone they don't know well asks a direct question.  On the other hand, they're eager to tell you things.

Pursues hobbies? Does Minecraft count?  :-P  Bicycling.  And we always joke that one of them seems chiefly interested in tying things with string and putting things in bags or in boxes and wrapping the boxes up.  That's how she's played since she was 2.

Initiates certain activities? One loves to explore and is always looking throughout the house to see if there's anything new.  She also loves playing dress-up with her 2 little brothers and gets them into great costumes.

Naps? Rarely.

Has or does not have behavioral problems requiring discipline/correction? More the boy than the girl.  Some lying, some hitting / shoving, some pestering siblings, some chore refusal and direct disobedience.

Enjoys non-fiction or things you had not anticipated? My son is really interested in dinosaurs and loves science books that are chock full of facts.

Hours per day of interaction with you or read alouds?  I'm around all day, but we're taking a summer break, and there isn't much focused interaction or read-aloud time right now.

Does any form of art? Not so much my son, but my daughter loves to draw, paint, and make things with clay.  My son will do these things, but it's never something he suggests.

Can s/he sing and hold a tune? My son can carry a tune.  My daughter can't.  Neither sings very much.

[rebcoola]

DD is 6 and going in to 1st

 

Like: Silly, Creative, funny and on the go very into things being fair.

 

Chores: Yes, She cleans her room or the kids bathroom everyday.  She also folds and put away her own clothes.  At times cleans counters, empties dishwasher, take out garbage, weeds, and sweeps.

 

Reading: She reads up to a half hour alone and listens to read alouds a lot.

 

Converses: Constantly

 

Hobbies: she does Cheerleading and collects pokemon cards.

 

 

Naps: Not for years  :thumbdown:

 

Behavioral problems: Lying and sneaking are our current issues when she thinks she is going to be in trouble.  

 

Non-fiction: Volcano's and Dinosaurs

 

Hours of interaction: She is super independent so a couple of hours at most.

 

Art: I'm so not arty but she is she already draws better than me we just keep the art area well stocked.

 

Singing: Yes she participated in a choir this year.

[reign]

For all those questions all three of my girls have the same answer to only one. Naps? Lol, no naps here except for me!

[waa510]

DD is 6, she will be 7 in Nov. She's a 1st grader technically in the fall but doing some 1st grade stuff.

 

Like: goofy, so overwhelmingly stubborn, huge emotions, opinionated, talkative, ornery, difficult, intense, has funny moments but is mainly the reason why we only have 2 ;) She's very draining. 

 

Chores: She cleans her room but she usually needs me in there with her as she gets easily overwhelmed. Sometimes does other things but it's sporadic. She takes her role as the baby seriously. Why should she do chores?  :glare:

 

Reading: She's a fluent reader, finished OPG last year. She loves chapter books and silly weird books. Won't read anything I want her to, have to let her think it's her idea ;)

 

Converses: a ton. She's a talker. Mostly to whine or complain though. She's a fiery little thing with a lot to say

 

Hobbies: My little pony anything, scooter-ing outside, reading, playing with her huge stuffed animal collection

 

Naps: This child never napped consistently. Always in a wrap. Hasn't slept in the afternoon since she was 1 1/2 maybe??? I wish she would though!!

 

Behavioral problems: Meltdowns when her sister antagonizes her or won't play with her, grumpy, whining, complains a lot. needs things to be her way. She has a lot of maturing to do. She has sensory issues which just makes everything 100x more difficult behaviorally with her. She does have her goofy moments. She also needs a lot physically..cuddles, hugs

 

Non-fiction: right now, deserts and volcanoes. She likes animals and history

 

Hours of interaction or read alouds: Maybe 1. She hates being alone. She sees quiet time as a punishment.  :huh: She cries and wants to be with someone always. We school for 2 hours max. She LOVES read alouds. I think it's b/c she'd rather I read it than her even though she easily could (laziness) combined with cuddles (loves cuddles on the couch)

 

Art: She hates art class b/c she doesn't want to be told what to draw or paint, etc. She always does her own thing. We'll be doing an owl project, older has this gorgeous owl, dd made a collage of a boat LOL She likes doing what she wants with art material but nothing structured ever. She doesn't like to cut and paste too much b/c it "hurts her hand" 

 

Singing: Very rare. She's the one kid not singing and scowling in a group-singing setting.  :lol:

 

Love my little one but she's a difficult little thing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Targhee]

It's been a year, but last 1st grader:

Read books like Bearenstein Bears or Amelia Bedilia for about 20 minutes a day, one or two days with me and the rest to self

Played with figures like playmobil or littlest petshop and spoke aloud as she played, and was surprisingly good at jigsaw puzzles

Liked listening/following direction activities (color the woman's belt green, color the tallest bear black, etc), hidden pictures, and using cruise wire rods for math, and did handwriting happily for about 5-10 minutes a day.

Rode a bike with training wheels and climbed on everything

Took flute lessons (started at age 5), sang pretty well and has a very good sense of pitch

Liked to watch Phineas and Ferb, Liberty Kids, The Smurfs, and My Little Pony

Played board games like Blokus, Qwirkle, and Guess Who

Whined a lot, but smiled and snuggled a lot too

No napping, in fact difficulty with falling asleep so we started melatonin

Diagnosed with ADHD (combined type) - hyperactive and weak filter so she often hurt other people's feelings, and was very loud and demanding. She is very social though, and always talks about and looks forward to time with friends. She's a spitfire.

[Ellie]

My ds, a rising 1st grader by age, has a bunch of learning disabilities and labels, and I'm trying to figure out if there are things he *can* do or would do that I'm not facilitating well.  It has been a LONG TIME since I had a first grader, and I'm realizing my memory is faint and skewed by the strengths dd had that are the total opposite of ds'.  Really my only memory was that 1st was like an extension of K5 and that nothing serious happened till 2nd.

 

So blow me away.  What is your 1st grader like?  S/he does chores?  Reads x number of books a week?  Converses a certain way?  Pursues hobbies?  Initiates certain activities?  Naps?  Has or does not have behavioral problems requiring discipline/correction?  Enjoys non-fiction or things you had not anticipated? Hours per day of interaction with you or read alouds? Does any form of art?  Can s/he sing and hold a tune?

 

My little 6yo was definitely not reading X number of books a week (she was, in fact, 9 1/2 before she was reading at her age level). No naps. Could sing and hold a tune. Was usually too busy doing her own thing to sit while I read aloud (one chapter from a good book, right after lunch). She kept herself busy when she and her sister were not doing things together. We didn't have regular, daily chores, but she did pick up after herself, and helped with housecleaning on Fridays (our cleaning day). I don't know how to measure hours of interaction per day. o_0 Art was very informal and unstructured--lots of fun stuff on the kitchen table for both dds to cut and glue and whatnot. She did not have behavioral problems. She was a Camp Fire Bluebird, and we worked on badges as part of our curriculum. She had lots of badges. :-)

 

ETA: Because she's now 37yo, and I had to work hard to remember what she was like when she was 6. :-)

 

She did ballet when she was 4yo, then started Highland Dance when she was 5 or 6 (long ago, hard to remember, blahblahblah). She came out of the womb dancing. She did Highland for nine years, started ballet when she was 11ish. Ballet sucked her out of Highland :crying: but ballet won her heart. :-)

 

She was the world's most independent little person. From the time she was two years old, she fought me on every.single.clothing.item. :cursing: She wanted to Do Things Herself. Of course, I chose the world's least child-independent reading method: Spalding. That probably explains why she wasn't reading at her age level until she was 9 1/2. :laugh: She refused to do stupid things; for example, she was a Daisy in Missionettes; she earned all her badges the first year, when she was five, but the second year there was a different teacher, who required the girls to actually sing the silly little songs they learned in class. Dd knew all the songs but refused to stand in front of her sponsor and sing them (the other sponsor allowed several children to sing together). I don't think she earned any of the badges that year. She didn't care. :D

 

OTOH, she was charming (truly, not just an act). The other children fought to sit next to her in Sunday school. She didn't gossip or exclude other children from her group of friends.

[Tsuga]

She is a rising first grader--turned six in April. She is a goofball.

 

My ds, a rising 1st grader by age, has a bunch of learning disabilities and labels,

 

She has never had an evaluation for a disability, so I don't know if she is normal or not. Probably not normal in at least 10 different ways. She did have a hearing test because she was behind in forming sounds, but they decided it was just weak muscle tone in her mouth so I gave her massages and just waited it out. At the time we were overseas so half her environment was in a second language.

 

Really my only memory was that 1st was like an extension of K5 and that nothing serious happened till 2nd.

 

I push them to do whatever they can do, but honestly believe that most of their time should be playing anyway. In kindergarten, they got through teen subtraction and addition, basic writing of simple sentences, and simple category and process science work. Most of the kids seemed to get it. 

 

S/he does chores?

 

She cleans her room no matter what. If she cleans a room of the house AND does the dishes 2x/week she gets an allowance. She cannot do these on her own. She needs a list to clean her room. She cannot focus. She spends hours reading and then falls apart when her sister is done or the ice cream truck comes and she can't go outside because she's not done. She almost never does her chores and then freaks out when she has no money for the ice cream truck. I have no idea if that will ever sink in. We ask her to help clear the table. She puts away her own laundry so her clothes are basically stuffed in the drawers. She often spills food when clearing the table, though it's gotten much better over the past year.

 

Reads x number of books a week?

 

She probably reads about 25 picture books a week. She can read but still takes time to chunk out unfamiliar words. In her mind, she can't read, although she can read when it benefits her, such as, for example, on signs saying that families are welcome, or descriptions of YouTube videos. She gets "caught" reading like this several times a week. She can read chapter books but is drawn to picture books I believe for the pictures mainly.

 

Converses a certain way?

 

She is funny. She is very literal, very interested in explaining everything, interrupts all the time, and bursts into tears when something is unfair. She likes to tell jokes and use wordplay as does her sister. She still has some baby sounds in her speech but she's always been a bit behind in that. She could go on and on. She tells me stories about how she is going to do things, like if she's an astronaut what she'll do on the moon, or she will have a dragon that instead of breathing fire will breathe money so that nobody is poor or that she is going to build a rollercoaster in her backyard so she doesn't have to work, she can just charge people to ride the roller coaster, LOL!

 

Pursues hobbies?

 

Not really on her own. She has a lot of friends in the neighborhood and at school, so most of her spare time is spent playing with the other kids. She likes to walk to the neighbor's houses or invite them over. She does enjoy coloring, doing her math book, and playing with Lego at times. She does have "hobbies" that I initiate, such as improving her Mandarin, playing the violin, and doing a sport. She wants to do gymnastics but that's mainly because the neighbor girls do it and you get a sparkly leotard.

 

Initiates certain activities?

 

She likes to play imaginary games like play with dollies, play with a dollhouse, make forts, set up camping in the backyard, swing on the swings, collect worms, draw pictures, build things with her Lego kits, dress up in fancy dress, paint her fingernails, and draw all over her body with a Sharpie.

 

Naps?

 

No, but only because I wasn't able to sit at home every day from 1 - 2. She would probably have benefited from a nap through K. My first dropped her nap, and sometimes it seemed sleep entirely, from the age of 2, or possibly sooner, I don't remember.

 

Has or does not have behavioral problems requiring discipline/correction?

 

I don't know.

 

When I post about my kids online I have been told everything from, "Well I think it's totally age appropriate that your seven-year-old is smacking the hell out of her little sister in rage and can't calm down and doesn't respond to time outs" to "Oh wow a 60 minute tantrum over a math problem? Your child probably has autism, ADHD, and certainly bipolar disorder because if consistent gentle discipline, time-outs, and removal of privileges doesn't dent her behavior, then she's clearly screwed up beyond all belief and you probably are, too." That is mainly the older one, not the first grader. It makes it hard for me to judge what is a problem, and what is just being a kid. Expectations of 6-year-olds are just all over the map.

 

 

Like most parents, I spend hours a day trying to think of how I can best create an environment that at once supports good behavior from the get-go but also which does not coddle my child and which does not lead me down a path of overextended martyrdom. She does go to the principal's office about 6x / year in my experience which is way more than her older sister, who never went. Generally it is because she is either trying to escape/run away, or corralling the other children to make nefarious plans like getting a branch down from a tree. Or just walking away and doing her own thing. She is a total goober.

 

However, when I have asked her teachers if they have any serious concerns, they always say no, that she's definitely strong-willed but that she's bright and making progress and that she is doing fine. On the other hand, she has run away from home and she also breaks things when she is upset. She is forgetful and if you tell her to do something she just will not do it and we call her honeybadger at times because she could not give a rodent's behind about consequences, like, at all. She will bring homework to school and not turn it in. I used to do that. Is that being forgetful, or is that a serious problem? I guess I'm going with forgetful because I don't know anyone who's recovered from ADHD and ADHD costs money but being forgetful is free.

 

Neither of my children are compliant in the least. I am not compliant, either, though. Both their father and I first left our respective countries, in spite of being raised by workers in poverty, at 16, and left the country for work by 21 after having worked our respective ways through college. So, I am hoping that what that looks like in a child is total hurricane. My MIL said to me, "These kinds make the best adults." I sure as hell hope so.

 

Ironically, although she has low muscle tone in her mouth, she is extremely dextrous in other areas. She was crawling at just under 5 months, and riding a bike at three, and can draw Chinese characters in the square of graph paper. BUT cannot pronounce the letter "r" in English to save her life. But she can pronounce it in German, Spanish (the neighbors speak Spanish), French (on demand, when I started to get curious and had her repeat Edith Piaf lyrics to me for fun... ), so whatever. 

 

I guess I have never had enough problems to make it worth the money to get a ton of evaluations to figure out exactly what was special since I don't really plan to take on the full-time job of advocating at public school. She may have little issues but not bad enough for me to quit my job and pay all that money and then have her labeled at school on top of it. She seems to be surviving. We live in a child-friendly, geeky area so I feel that as far as it is possible to be eccentric and be not judged, that is the environment in which we live.

 

Enjoys non-fiction or things you had not anticipated?

 

I would have anticipated that my girls would like non-fiction as their father's, my, my sister's, their step-father's favorite books as children were all nature books and textbooks about things like astronomy. We all enjoyed puzzle books as children and except my oldest stepdaughter, the children do, too. She loves National Geographic magazines, both the adult ones, and the learning to read versions. I didn't anticipate my children to be so social! I was raised alone by a mom with something like social anxiety and it was awful. We always had to stay inside when she was out working and our house was never clean enough to have people over. My kids have a totally different life than that and they seem to really love having a network of friendships.

 

Hours per day of interaction with you or read alouds?

Read alouds are not enough. :( Maybe three short books a day? Plus if she's feeling lazy I will read the instructions in her math book with her. I get home at about 3:30 and then we would go to swim or they will go to the neighbor's, then I make dinner while they read or play or do some summer learning, and then have dinner, and then practice instruments, then go to bed. I don't see them in the mornings as I leave for work.

 

Does any form of art?

 

Yes, she loves to draw. Both my kids love colors and are color-sensitive. The first grader has always enjoyed drawing machines, mazes, roller coasters, and other objects with lots of lines. Her older sister drew more nature and landscapes. The little one does not. it is very interesting to see the differences.

 

Can s/he sing and hold a tune?

 

Yes. The sad thing is, her older sister loves music as well but cannot hold a tune. This one can carry a tune and is right on pitch. She plays the violin and her teacher says she is making fast progress. That said I absolutely do not think that is the "norm" because of the ten kids on our block, I'd say only half of them could carry a tune if they tried. Several of them often try and simply can't do it. Older DD is one of them. :( But she's great at piano! She can HEAR the tune but can't sing it. That's like me. It's the worst, because you are in the unique position to know just how badly you suck.

 

Other:

She is very possessive, more than her sister was at this age. She's always been more possessive and unwilling to share even with close friends who have shared extensively with her. We are working on that!

 

She loves puzzle balls, puzzles, mazes, and marble tracks.

 

She is a very messy eater. It's pretty gross actually. Yes, we are working on it. Obviously.

 

She speaks two languages fluently, or did, and is losing one to another as we switched immersion environments. But she understands the second language still.

 

Being left-handed, her writing in English is not bad, but writing of Mandarin is amazing. She has really good control there.

 

She does Singapore 1B math without any trouble. She could go faster but I want her to get the math facts in and to be better at reading before moving forward.

 

She has so many friends. That makes me happy. We are so incredibly lucky to live in a child-friendly area with great schools.

 

I don't believe in norms applied to individuals because I think norms were created to study population differences and not ever meant to apply to individuals so I don't care if we are freaks. There are always going to be freaks in any population. The bell curve was meant to show a normal DISTRIBUTION, not identify where 100% of the population should be. Using that curve to sort out people is really perverse. Mathematically, SOMEONE is ALWAYS going to be in the top 1% and someone in the bottom 1%. Because that is 1/100 and that is how the math works. It is literally impossible to have everyone in one spot. Even if everyone is bunched up in one spot on the line, the statisticians will norm it to show who is up top and who is not, or find an instrument that details that. So like even in a population with height ranging from 5'5" to 5'6", you will have someone in the first percentile and someone in the 99th. 

 

 

[SKL]

When my kids were 6, they were very different on all of those points.  One was reading multiple chapter books per day, and that was her favorite thing to do.  She also loved biographies.  She was good in school, but very hard to motivate to do anything extra.  She had a mellow, quiet personality that was unaffected by sleep and diet.  Other than a stubborn streak and a lazy streak, she was a darling.  She could sing very nicely and also played the piano.  She wasn't a great artist, but loved to craft.  She would latch onto things that fascinated her - Harry Potter, Pikachu, etc.  Loved toys.  Everything had to be purple (where possible).  Physically, she was unathletic but had good stamina and some grace.

 

My other kid at age 6 was more physical.  She loved to run and do sportsy things.  She liked friends.  Wasn't big into playing with toys except as a social activity.  She could read simple chapter books (Junie B Jones was a hit), but she really only read because she had to.  She hated math - took a lot of repetition to learn a new concept.  In school she was easily distracted and had trouble following along.  But at home she would concentrate and work very hard.  She was somewhat artistic - loved color and fashion.  She could carry a tune and play the piano at a basic level.  She had a mellow personality overall, but her behavior was affected by sleep and diet and other things.  When out of balance, she could become insecure and irrational and make poor choices.  She was diagnosed with retained primitive reflexes, vision problems, and auditory processing problems.  School was not fun that year.  (It has gotten better since then.)

 

Both kids could hold a conversation about something that interested them.  This would usually involve a series of questions from them and maybe a few observations.  If I wanted to know how school was today, I would ask a series of specific questions.  I would ask how the teacher was that day to gauge how my kid's day had gone.  After a some small talk they would open up re whatever was extra good or bad that day.

 

Chores - they had a few occasional household duties.  I was very lax about enforcing them.  The main one was sweeping the floors, and to that I would add some helping in the kitchen / laundry.  They could do certain outdoor work for spending money.

 

Activities - they were at The Little Gym a few days a week for dance, karate, and gymnastics (relaxed stuff, nothing serious).  They swam and rode bikes.

 

Naps:  they were not an option for my kids in B&M school, but one of mine would have probably napped daily if she could.  The other would not.  They both slept well at night.

[calihil]

My daughter is a rising 1st grader. She will be 7 in December.

 

Chores - She is very good at cleaning up after herself and usually doesn't cause much fuss about it. She can load/unload dishwasher, put her laundry away, vacuum, help straighten up bathroom/living room. 

 

Naps - She doesn't nap regularly but if we happen to be out and about at about 4pm, she'll konk out in the car.

 

School work - She tries to fight me almost every day about doing school. sigh. Sometimes it's all out tantrums and then other times it's jus a NO and she runs off, though I can always get her to the table eventually. It's frustrating but it's getting better, I think, now that we have somewhat of a routine. She is reading at grade level, though she has no interest in it. No chapter books. We are in ETC workbook 4 and she is halfway through Days Go By pathway reader if that tells you anything. Waiting for her interest in reading to come. She does well, she just doesn't like it. She likes books to be read to her, though lately through my recent difficult pregnancy it wasn't done as much as Id like. We are working throgh chapter books now (me reading, not her).

 

She's a very athletic child. Loves to play outside, is a very fast runner. Hoping to put her in soccer soon. She is not very inquisitive, she's very much a thinker. She can sing and hold a tune, somewhat. Loves to play with her dolls and barbies and loves babies. We just had a baby 3 weeks ago and she's a little obsessed. :) Likes to hold him, even change his diapers. I call her my little mama. She likes to draw and color in coloring books. She has a 4.5 year old sister and 2.5 year old brother that she loves to play (and fight) with. Also has neighborhood kids she has as friends.

 

We are having a few behavioral issues with her. She definitely isn't an easy kid most of the time. She has trouble controlling her temper, smacks her siblings, gets mad if one of them won't play with her like she wants them to, sneaks things she knows she can't have... Rarely apologizes on her own to those she's wronged. I can't be harsh with her or it makes her even worse. I pray for this kid a lot. LOL

[MistyMountain]

My rising 1st grade boy is very curious and passionate. He cannot really read effectively yet and hates the process of learning to read. He loves listening to reading and audio books and has a long attention span for listening. He loves Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, lots of classics, George's Secret Key to the Universe and lots more. He can give really detailed narrations of long chapters.

 

He loves science and history. His favorite topics are the various wars like World War II and the Revolutionary War but he will listen to anything history related. He likes most science but has a passion for how things are built like rockets, aircraft, battle ships, buildings and engines. He wants to be in the Airforce or Navy when he grows up and then he wants to be an airspace engineer. He can have hour long conversations about how he is going to improve the design of something that is on a certain Airforce plane or ship. He also likes the idea of building rovers. He loves watching science documentaries or going to science talks or lectures.

 

He enjoys playing outside or playing sports but he isn't super into sports. He has decent motor skills except for the monkey bars. He has a few friends but has trouble relating to kids and is very slow to warm up to people. He likes playing with Legos and k-nex or holding battles.

 

He is very distractable and forgetful so he needs reminders to do basic chores. He enjoys helping on outside projects or with lifting things or shoveling in the winter. He still has behavior challenges and is a very challenging child. He has never been artistic but he did well in a play he participated in. He did not sing at all for the Christmas pageant or his first play or many practices for the second but he finally started to towards the end and wasn't bad.

 

My dd was very different from my ds when she was that age. She was fluently reading chapter books and loved reading. She read chapter books, graphic novels and picture books on her own and could read for 30 minutes or more at a time. At the time she preferred that to listening to me read or audio books.

 

She was much more easy going about doing work and about trying harder when something was not easy. She was good at some physical things like riding her bike and the monkey bars but had trouble with other things.

 

She liked playing with her dolls and making bracelets and was very imaginative. She initiates playing on her own. She is very girly and knows how to fix hair and has a sense of style. She was on the shy side but usually could find kids to play with easily. Her favorite non fiction topics were reading about horses or the human body. She wanted to be a doctor. She wasn't very musical but she liked drawing and was starting to get better at it then. She was a good writer. She was starting to get better about chores but needed reminders. She was getting better over time behaviorally but had some challenges. She started to talk more about how her day went at that age.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

DD is 6 and a rising first grader.  

 

Her natural learning rhythm is to make a huge leap, then plateau, leap, plateau, leap plateau...  We set aside math for a while when we hit subtraction in SM1.  We went through the addition chapter of MM and just relaxed.  When we came back to subtraction a few months later, she GOT it.  Similar story with reading.  She plateaued for quite a while, and then leaped 1.5 grade levels when we picked it up again.  So different form my ds, who is a slow-and-steady-wins-the-race learner.

 

She can sing, but to say she holds a tune might be exaggerating... the songs are recognisable, but she's never going to be a child star.  :-D  She likes to act out movies (cough Frozen cough) including the songs, with all the hand gestures of the characters (cough Elsa cough).

 

She plays lots of make-believe with her sibs.  

 

She can write well from a model, but when writing on her own it's a very messy mix of capitals, lowercase, and reversals.  She does enjoy writing on her own and writes quite a bit in a notebook, but it is all but impossible to figure it out because of the spelling.  

 

She clears her plate after meals and loads it into the dishwasher.  She can unload the dishwasher and put away everything that is low enough for her to reach.  She can vacuum, but not well enough for it to be completely done.  She can pick up and put away toys to clean a room when asked.  When we unload groceries, she can put things away in the cupboard.  For the most part, she can use a serrated knife to cut her own meat, etc, at the table.  

 

She is extremely generous with her siblings.  

 

She is easily frustrated and her first response is an ear piercing wail... we are working on that.  We've been working on it for... six years now.  :-)  

 

She can carry on nice, interesting conversations, recounting an experience, telling me a made-up story, etc.  

 

Her drawing contain lots of color and stick figures that are more elaborated than her big brother's.  She also loves drawing rainbows and hearts and flowers.  Typical girl.  :-D  

 

Her personality is to ALWAYS argue.  She is not bratty about it, it's like she can't stop herself.  Even when it's a good thing, like here have a brownie.  "Can I have ice cream instead?"  No.  "Why not?"  Because snack is brownies.  "But I think we do have some ice cream."  and so on, and so on, and so on...  lol.  She is getting better and better at resecting the prompt "We are not going to argue about this." thank goodness.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pegs]

We're approaching 1st grade, here.

 

DS helps out when asked, but doesn't have any regular chores he's responsible for remembering to do. He is in pretty good habits for stuff like putting boots away immediately, hanging up his towel when done, taking his plate and cup to the sink, keeping doors shut if the heater is on. These are things I've intentionally worked on with him, and they've taken quite well.

 

Behavioural stuff has required more guidance than discipline. He's improved in new social situations since I've been giving him more scripts, but we largely avoid very noisy settings, as he finds them too overwhelming to really gain from any social opportunities present. We're still working on saying "Excuse me, Mum", because he tends to just charge at me with complaints, when really he could just be politely asking for assistance.

 

We're working through OPG at present, and he reads BOB books (set 5 is on its way) and easy readers every night in bed. Maybe 3 - 4 per night? I also invite him to read a sentence here and there in our read alouds, so he can see that big books with lots of words are not so scary. He's not picking up reading as quickly as I expected, but it's hard for me to tell whether that's something I should investigate or not. It's not like he's way behind, yk?

 

Conversations with DS can be quite funny. It's still a novelty to me that he is talking, as he was entirely nonverbal until past his third birthday (apart from a few very clear, apparently anomalous sentences uttered at about 14 months). He's now very verbal, has an impressive vocabulary, and speaks quite formally. He loves verse and prose, and attempts to speak in ways which he would find pleasing to listen to. He rarely just answers "yes". It's almost always more like, "yes, I believe so", or, "why, certainly!"

 

He hasn't napped since about 15 months, and still has a LOT of trouble falling asleep at night. He also has a generally low appetite, and is kinda difficult to nourish. I think he's less stressed by food than he used to be, though, so it is improving. As he tells me, "Well, being sensible is key, I suppose!"

 

He's loved documentaries for years. When he started talking, he called David Attenborough "Mine Man".

 

Can NOT sing. But surprised me by taking to the recorder - even playing some simple music I wrote on the whiteboard on a treble stave. We don't do much art, but he draws for fun most nights in bed. I get paints out maybe once a week.

 

Is minecraft a hobby? He loves it.

 

And nature walking. He's very aesthetically motivated, and a little bit overexcitable, in an amazingly adorable way. He finds beauty among piles of brown leaf litter, on logs, and in clouds. When I take him for walks, I feel like I'm touring an art gallery with a passionate curator.

 

We have many many hours of interaction a day. It's just DS and I at home, so ALLLLL our interacting is with each other. I play board games with him and give him maths puzzles and read him books because what are we supposed to talk about all day??! He thinks I love board games, and occasionally threatens not to play with me if he's trying to get leverage on something. It's most amusing. "Hm. Well. If you're going to speak to me like this, I rather expect I won't be in the mood for a game of chess after dinner." *looks disdainfully at the meal I'm telling him he must finish before dessert*

 

 

[Jess4879]

I have a rising first grader.  We are registered for grade 1, as it's required, he's probably more of a K level still though.

 

What is your 1st grader like?  He is my little snuggler.  And his temperament usually matches...all soft and squishy.    One minute he says he loves school and the next he says he doesn't.  He's usually pretty willing to sit with me and do math or reading.  If he's interested and in the mood, he will beg for more and easily cover several lessons in a sitting.  If he's distracted and would rather be doing something else, he'll roll on the carpet, wiggle, squirm, etc and  you'll be lucky to get 5 minutes of quality work.  He likes to color, but he wants a blank piece of paper to do his own thing.  He still tends more towards "scribbles" than actual forms, aside from drawing people - large circles with faces and stick legs/arms.  He prints a few letters and writes his name, letters are crooked and different sizes still.  My girls were writing more at his age, but everything he does is at his own pace.  One day he won't be able to count to 10 and the next he'll count to 40.  Everything comes in leaps and bounds in between plateau's for him.  :) 

 

S/he does chores?  He makes his bed, helps fold laundry (in his own creative way!), vacuums his room, helps unload the dishwasher, helps weed the garden...

 

Reads x number of books a week?  He's not reading yet, but he enjoys looking at books.  We have a "quite time" daily and he looks at books for 15 mins or so and then plays.  He loves to be read to and will sit through pretty much any book you present.  Last year he got very upset because we were doing our science reading without him.  He loves trips to the library and will take out as many books as I allow.  His sisters and I read them to him and he spends endless amounts of time flipping through them on his own.  That being said though - he hasn't been overly eager to learn to read.  He says he wants to and gets excited when he learns a new sound...but he doesn't really want to put great amounts of time into the process. 

 

Converses a certain way?  He loves "big" words and does pretty well using them correctly.  With the exception of the word "destiny" which he can not seem to grasp.  ;) 

 

Pursues hobbies?  He loves lego, building with Jenga blocks, dress up, remote control cars, books, coloring, riding bike, etc.  He's also pretty willing to play Barbie's with his sisters for a bit. 

 

Naps?  He hasn't actually napped since he was around 4. 

 

Has or does not have behavioral problems requiring discipline/correction?  He has a tendency to yell when he's upset, so it's something we are working on with him.   

 

Hours per day of interaction with you?  He's definitely a Mommy's boy.  He's always the one wanting hugs & cuddles.  He does fine away from me, but he's the one who will come home and squeeze me and say "Oh, Mommy!  I missed you sooooo much!" 

 

Can s/he sing and hold a tune?  He loves to sing but he can't exactly hold a tune.  The passion is there though, so that's the main thing! ;) 

 

Math:  We used Saxon K last year and it went so-so.  This year we are moving to BJU K.  He can count to 100 with assistance on the decade numbers.  He recognizes number patterns, reads graphs, can add and subtract, but isn't grasping skip counting yet when using nickles/dimes (as done in Saxon K).  I'm very glad we are able to homeschool.  He is ready to move ahead in some areas, but not in others, so being able to customize a program for him is such a blessing!

[boscopup]

My ds, a rising 1st grader by age, has a bunch of learning disabilities and labels, and I'm trying to figure out if there are things he *can* do or would do that I'm not facilitating well.  It has been a LONG TIME since I had a first grader, and I'm realizing my memory is faint and skewed by the strengths dd had that are the total opposite of ds'.  Really my only memory was that 1st was like an extension of K5 and that nothing serious happened till 2nd.

 

So blow me away.  What is your 1st grader like?  S/he does chores?  Reads x number of books a week?  Converses a certain way?  Pursues hobbies?  Initiates certain activities?  Naps?  Has or does not have behavioral problems requiring discipline/correction?  Enjoys non-fiction or things you had not anticipated? Hours per day of interaction with you or read alouds? Does any form of art?  Can s/he sing and hold a tune?

 

My first graders have all been different! The current one just turned 6 a couple months ago. He's the 3rd child, is Mr. Independent, has crazy good fine motor skills and overall LA skills, and he's the easiest homeschool child ever.

 

Chores: Absolutely. He can empty the dishwasher (uses a chair to put stuff away), take out the trash, take the big trash cans to the street (quite a walk down our driveway), feed the dogs and cats, clean his room, pick up around the house, vacuum, swish toilets, wipe down sinks, wash windows, etc. Really, he does almost everything his older brothers can do. He's also learning to cook. He has made cinnamon toast in the oven completely by himself (supervised, of course).

 

Reading: He's not really into chapter books that much, though he'll pick up a Magic Tree House book and read it in an hour. He currently prefers various library books, mostly science related. He loves to read and is very good at it (including attacking new multisyllable words). That's part of what makes him so easy to homeschool. He can read the directions to himself, and he can also read to learn (does CLE Math and LA completely independently - I'm available to help, and sometimes I'd prefer to help, but he's been Mr. "I do it myself" for a LONG time, and he'll have it done - correctly - before I get a chance to go over new material :tongue_smilie:).

 

Hobbies: He plays hockey and likes Pokemon.

 

Initiates activities: Yes, I don't suggest activities to my kids. If they can't figure out what to do, I'll give them cleaning to do. So they are very easily able to find something fun without asking me. ;) He also makes a lot of suggestions for things to do. He's very outgoing.

 

Naps: Not since he was 2. Sigh. He wanted to be like his big brothers who weren't napping!

 

Behavior problems: Not really. He sometimes pouts and gets whiny, mostly when big brothers aren't listening to him. Or if he really wants to do something and you say no, he might get pouty. But he's overall very well behaved. I trust him to be better behaved than his 8 year old brother. And most of the whiny stuff happens when he's tired.

 

Non-fiction: He LOVES science. Totally digging science. History is meh. He really doesn't care that much about it at this point. He does history, but I think a lot of it goes over his head. He enjoys his Bible class at church and learns a lot there. My 8 year old asked us what "winnowing" is the other day, and my 6 year old answered him with a very thorough and correct explanation of the process. I was impressed! They've both been studying life in Bible times in their classes the last 6 weeks.

 

Interaction: He's near me all day long, and he talks my head off. He dotes on his baby sister and I'm constantly having to tell him to get out of her face. :lol: He can listen to read alouds pretty well, but I haven't been doing them since pregnancy/baby happened.

 

Art: He'll draw for science and history. He learned this week how to trace maps for history, and he LOVES doing that (and his tracing is impeccable!). He's not big into art in general, but he does it occasionally on his own. I'm not an artsy mom at all, and in fact I HATE art, so the kids are kind of on their own with it. I do provide crayons, color pencils, markers, glue, scissors, and all the free printer paper from Staples that they can use. :D

 

Singing: He sings pretty well. He and my oldest are both decent singers. My 8 year old can't really carry a tune, but he's also the one with speech problems, so I suspect there is an auditory issue causing that. DH and I are both musical and can both sing decently.

[CAtoVA]

DD just turned 7 and is rising 2nd grade.

 

 

What is your 1st grader like? Sweet mostly, usually problem solver/mediator with friends and siblings (1 older and 1 younger), very loving/affectionate toward me and DH, can be moody and emotional and cry easily, can be bratty about doing what she is asked, loves her doggy, family and being homeschooled—horrified at the thought of being in a school 7-8 hours a day,  popular with many friends in many places (co-op, church, neighborhood), has many interests (dancing, swimming, art, cooking, etc).

 

Used to be a picky eater but now is my most adventurous eater. Loves Indian, Thai, Japanese, and Mexican food. Will pretty much try anything once and considers trying and enjoying new foods a personal challenge.

 

S/he does chores? Puts away clothes and tidies room/play room, carries plate to sink, helps cook, feeds dog

Reads x number of books a week? She reads on her own sporadically: Magic Tree House, Ivy & Bean and various other books. Hates doing phonics but likes to read in general.

 

Converses a certain way? Talks a lot and is very verbal with great vocabulary and syntax

Pursues hobbies? Swimming and ballet mostly now. Also interested in cooking, drama/theater, singing and playing piano

Initiates certain activities? Usually with little sister—"playing" school, VBS, making up games or dances and "shows", doing art activities, doing things outside like making up a scavenger hunt or obstacle course to follow

Naps? When sick or if really, really tired such as in the late afternoon after hours at the pool.

Has or does not have behavioral problems requiring discipline/correction? Nothing unusual.She can sometimes be bratty with siblings. Lately has started "ganging up" on younger sister (with big brother). Can be sassy about being asked to do a chore. Can be slllooooowwwww and resistant about doing school work—doesn't like school work much except for history and science.

Enjoys non-fiction or things you had not anticipated? Has started to really be interested in science and history. Dances and has started to be interested in learning all the ballet "stories." Very girly but also enjoys playing "superhero," learning karate, etc.

Hours per day of interaction with you or read alouds? Reading aloud about 30-45 minutes a day/night (before bed). She's around me or my DH most of the day except for Mondays (co-op day). Very cuddly and affectionate throughout the day typically (with me, DH and little sister). Quiet alone time in her own room for about 60 minutes most afternoons.

Does any form of art? Drawing, painting, collage, bead work, weaving, dancing, singing, theater arts (drama), piano playing.

Can s/he sing and hold a tune? Oh yes, is musical and has fine sense of pitch. Plays piano by ear. Takes chorus at co-op.

 

 

 

 

[RKWAcademy]

I have two rising first graders - turned 6 at the end of April.  I think mine are a bit less mature than their peers.  They were preemies, fairly sick ones, and were sheltered and coddled for the first two years of their life.  No real delays now, except my son has Apraxia of Speech, and my daughter weighs 34 pounds but is as healthy as a (tiny) horse.  They both love gymnastics.  My daughter has a natural gift for it - she is strong and tiny and powerful.  They are pretty active and love to be outside. 

 

They can both read very simple books but they have to be pushed; they have very little stamina.  Neither will pick up a book to read.  My son is obsessed with books, but mostly books beyond his level where he looks at the pictures - think books about space with pictures galore or encyclopedia-type books.  They have quiet time most week days, neither naps anymore but they listen to audiobooks alone in their rooms for about an hour.  My daughter still needs to be taking naps, and she'd have a better temperament if she took them.  They are fairly shy but enjoy being around other kids.  I try to find those opportunities as often as possible.

 

Neither can sing but like tmusic.  My son is very well behaved but my daughter can be a spit-fire.  She's a gentle, sweet girl 95% of the time.  But when something sets her off, she escalates it quickly.  Time in her room alone is usually enough for her.  She rolls her eyes and acts like a teenager sometimes.  Boys are so much easier - I assume that trend will continue. 

 

They love art, particularly my girl.  I'm one of those anti-mess moms so they don't get art as much as they should.  My son is good with math and puzzles and problems.  They are at the same level in math books (Singapore, about to move to 1B), my daughter just takes a bit longer to pick up on things. 

 

My son loves science and history.  He wants to be a pilot (or an engineer like his Papa).  My daughter loves animals, art, and gymnastics.  She wants to be a vet.

 

My son has some struggles with speech but I understand him well.  He tends to take a long time getting to his point.  My daughter has excellent conversational skills, if the topic interests her.  They both use fairly advanced words appropriately, probably from being read to so much. I heard my daughter correct my son's grammar the other day.  It made me proud! 

 

Chores - nope, I need to start that!  They are very helpful when asked, they just don't have anything assigned to them.  Their rooms are disaster areas.  I'm bad about enforcing a clean room. 

 

They are twins so they've always had a built-in playmate.  They struggle if forced to play alone.  They play well together and have great imaginations.

 

It is interesting to read the other responses!

[73349]

  What is your 1st grader like?  S/he does chores?  Reads x number of books a week?  Converses a certain way?  Pursues hobbies?  Initiates certain activities?  Naps?  Has or does not have behavioral problems requiring discipline/correction?  Enjoys non-fiction or things you had not anticipated? Hours per day of interaction with you or read alouds? Does any form of art?  Can s/he sing and hold a tune?

 

DS is a rising 2nd-grader who turned 7 in January but is immature. Only child. No labels so far.

 

He does chores: happy to sweep, start the washer, start the dishwasher, help clean the kitchen floor. Removes sheets from his bed unassisted for washing. Does not make his bed independently. Outside, helps fill a bin with fallen twigs and pinecones, and can rake with supervision. ETA: Recently made pancakes with a little help with the flipping.

 

Reads: Frog and Toad or Mr. Putter and Tabby unassisted, but no more than one chapter at a time; nearly done with Phonics Pathways and finally finding it easy. Still definitely prefers to be read to, and I'm fine with that.

 

Converses: Um... abundantly. :) But he sometimes starts talking first and thinking second when excited, leading to some stuttering or stammering. Prone to taking a bossy tone.

 

Pursues hobbies: Nothing productive like making things; hates to color. But enjoys pretending with toy rockets, cars, etc. Likes messing around with a computer program called Universe Sandbox (basically a solar system simulator).

 

Initiates: Mostly snacktime or having me tell him stories! Loves to go places and do things together.

 

Naps: Hahaha no. I could count on one hand the number of times he's napped since his fourth birthday. He has never been much of a sleeper.

 

Behavior problems requiring discipline/correction: Oh yes. Self-control is not a strength. Seldom sits through church as still and quietly as we'd like, for instance. Needs to be corrected regularly in any social situation. Needs to be reminded that we do not climb on the couch. Tells me I should sew more but bounces around like a maniac when I try. Sometimes has trouble taking no for an answer gracefully.

 

Enjoys: He did really like having me read him SOTW 1. And this is a kid who seems to wake (at sunrise) with a hundred physics and astronomy questions. DS: How close would Jupiter have to be to the sun to get sucked in? Me: Coffee! I need coffee!

 

Hours of interaction: Much less than when he was younger; he has a 90-minute quiet time and also plays on his own for a while during the day. But he behaves best when we have done enjoyable stuff together, like baking. He needs me at his elbow for all of his table work in school, and I scribe for subjects other than handwriting.

 

Does any form of art: Has to be coerced into drawing and does not color, but enjoys painting at an easel and playing with clay.

 

Singing: Enthusiastic, especially when immersed in water. Skill level is decent. He will make up his own songs, which are not so tuneful.

[YsgolYGair]

My ds, a rising 1st grader by age, has a bunch of learning disabilities and labels, and I'm trying to figure out if there are things he *can* do or would do that I'm not facilitating well.  It has been a LONG TIME since I had a first grader, and I'm realizing my memory is faint and skewed by the strengths dd had that are the total opposite of ds'.  Really my only memory was that 1st was like an extension of K5 and that nothing serious happened till 2nd.

 

So blow me away.  What is your 1st grader like?  S/he does chores?  Reads x number of books a week?  Converses a certain way?  Pursues hobbies?  Initiates certain activities?  Naps?  Has or does not have behavioral problems requiring discipline/correction?  Enjoys non-fiction or things you had not anticipated? Hours per day of interaction with you or read alouds? Does any form of art?  Can s/he sing and hold a tune?

 

Rising First Grader: Age 5. Will be 6 in October. Firstborn. Boy. My "good child." 

 

Personality: Gentle, super sensitive, compliant, people-pleaser, good concentration. Able to work for long periods of time, but prefers to play. A bit socially awkward.

 

Chores: Yes. Not routined, but does whatever is asked of him. Sometimes must be told several times, but often does it the first time right away. These are usually vacuuming, tidying, getting/taking things for me, setting table, requires help to make his bed.

 

Number of Books in a Week: Multiple - about half and half assigned reading vs. chosen reading. 

 

Conversation: Never shuts up.. we get the running commentary on everything that goes through his mind. He speaks three languages, but I wouldn't imagine that he's quite at level in any of them. Lots of glaring grammatical mistakes, more than would be in a single language child. 

 

Hobbies: Puzzles: large, 500-1000 piece. Putting together things / lego kits / erector sets etc. that are several years above his age. 

 

Naps: No. Sleeps about 12 hours a night. Not nighttime potty trained, for all the effort we're putting into it. 

 

Behaviour problems requiring discipline: rare.

 

Enjoys non-fiction / unexpected interests: Yes. He's really into space / astronomy, and reading non-fiction books about them at present. Announced the other day that he wants to learn to speak Italian. 

 

Hours a day of interaction: About 4 hours of school, plus seat work. The rest of the time is spent in independent play, reading, watching tv, etc. 

 

Art: Loves to draw. I have no idea if he's any good.

 

Sing or hold a tune: Couldn't hold a tune with a bucket.

[mommymonster]

I dearly love my DS6, but he's a hot mess. I'm responding because I don't know that there is such a thing as a "normal" or "typical" 6 year old. DS6 has had multiple life-threatening medical issues, near starvation (due to the medical issues), multiple surgeries, and months in the hospital. He's doing better now, medically. We have doted on him tons, I'll be honest. Most of the time it was because he was sick. Sometimes because we weren't sure if he was going to live, and sometimes we doted on him just because we could. We had to have baseline testing done prior to a surgery and he is allegedly profoundly gifted. I don't see it, and would say he's pretty bright, but not blowing me out of the water. 

 

What is your 1st grader like? Intense. Draws in a breath upon waking and doesn't stop talking until he falls asleep. Has serial obsessions (currently: fishing, animals, Nerf, Legos. Former: keys, elephants, dogs). Going to be the dictator of a small country or a used car salesman. Could go either way.

 

S/he does chores? Only with much huffing and puffing. He's not a neat person at all -- more into piles. Always has a few things in his hands, small "engineering" projects.

 

Reads x number of books a week?  Will watch others read, isn't really "into" reading. Will listen to some books periodically. Loves math.

 

Converses a certain way?  Tends to talk just to talk. I sometimes think it's a nervous habit. Is terrible at irregular verbs, but has a large vocabulary. 

 

Pursues hobbies?  Yes. He is persistent about his interests (as is his older brother).

 

Initiates certain activities?  Enjoys games, television, and is happy to do just about anything (except for school work and cleaning). 

 

Naps?  Started refusing naps at three. Will occasionally fall asleep while in the car after a particularly active day.

 

Has or does not have behavioral problems requiring discipline/correction?  Sometimes gets intense and needs to calm down. Consistently sassy and rude to me, not to DH. I think it's because I'm "safe" -- or because I'm a pushover (I never thought of myself as a pushover, but...).

 

Enjoys non-fiction or things you had not anticipated? DS6 prefers non-fiction. Finds most fiction books confusing or unrealistic. DS9 is the same way. I blame DH, who is an engineer. We watch quite a few PBS shows like Nature and Nova. Currently, we also watch many fishing shows. :001_rolleyes: 

 

Hours per day of interaction with you or read alouds? DS6 is super social, and will interact with DS9, DH, and I pretty much the entire day. He might spend a few minutes alone, but it's pretty minimal. It is hard, as DS9 needs quiet to do school work. We've given up on keeping DS6 quiet, so DS9 has noise-cancelling headphones.

 

Does any form of art?  Loves art. (In stark contrast to DS9.) Loves to color, cut things out, make little projects, make big messes...

 

Can s/he sing and hold a tune? Sorta. Kinda. 

[Tanikit]

My DD7 now halfway through 2nd grade:

 

What is your 1st grader like?  She is outgoing, sweet and caring, but also has quite a temper and some anxiety at times

 

She does chores?  Carries her plate to the sink, makes her bed, feeds the fish and sometimes the dogs, makes herself and her younger sister a drink in the morning (sometimes), cleans up her toys when asked to (whines occassionally), other chores with her Mom's help.

 

Reads x number of books a week?  I have required reading for her but she also reads independently when a book interests her. She was a very early reader and was reading fluently in 1st grade.

 

Converses a certain way?  She does talk a lot, tells stories and enters discussions.She does change the way she talks depending on who she is talking to.

 

Pursues hobbies?  She loves playing outside, building things, prefers gross motor activities to fine motor ones, collects things, likes those loom bracelets, likes large scale projects.

 

Initiates certain activities?  She is the eldest, so initiates most things between her and her sister. She also likes to get her parents involved.

 

Naps?  Not since 2, if she does nap then she is sick.

 

Has or does not have behavioral problems requiring discipline/correction?  Rudeness mostly. She does try being outright defiant every now and then though it has improved greatly with swift discipline.

 

Enjoys non-fiction or things you had not anticipated? She does like non-fiction and likes to quote facts from these books, loves mud, mess and insects and things not usually associated with a blonde little princess - her looks can be deceiving.

 

Hours per day of interaction with you or read alouds? Read alouds for at least an hour and a half. The amount of time she spends with me has decreased slowly over the last year - she was with me all day at the beginning of first grade and now prefers to play at friends without me around and plays alone or with her sister much more now.

 

Does any form of art?  Goes through stages of wanting to draw or paint.

 

Can she sing and hold a tune? She can sing and likes to, but can sort of hold a tune.

 

 

[Hobbes]

I have a young first grader this year, because of her December birthday. Last year my oldest was a first grader, but was really a year older because of a January birthday. I notice a huge difference because of that extra year and I'm adjusting my first grade expectations accordingly.

 

This year's first grader:

 

- Is pretty steady and set with our routine. She does daily and weekly jobs (makes bed, tidies room, sets dinner table, dusts the house, clean garbage from the van, folds and puts away her laundry). During last year, the other first grader also learned to wipe bathroom sinks and mirrors, vaccum, and sweep.

 

- This one is eager to read and writes most letters. Is constantly asking us to spell things for her. Last year, my older first took off with reading and constantly had her nose in a book, but she did have the benefit of an extra year to process that info. I started them on phonics at the same age, but different grades because of the gap.

 

Trying to remember what else you asked...

 

- This one still naps occasionally, though not most of the time. We have a daily quiet time and they usually listen to audio books. The other first grader never, ever napped.

 

- Her focus is pretty good. She was able to do basic phonics workbooks last year and stuck with them well. She is more of a mover than an academic right now, though. :) She will focus on Playmobil setups for long stretches at a time.

 

- Would listen to read alouds for HOURS. Always wants more interaction. The other one was more independent.

 

- Major behavior things are pretty settled, but sulking and attitudes and squabbles are ongoing. Generally, things proceed smoothly.

[ThursdayNext]

My rising 1st grader is 6 turning 7 in the fall. She's lively, talkative, cautious, loves stories, pretending, thinking. She thinks about what she will do when she's grown up (inventor right now), wanted to learn to vacuum because she would need to know when she left home, and worries about whether she will pass her driving test. She is kind and nurturing, sensitive and has easily hurt feelings. She thinks she is the boss a little too often.

 

She helps her little brother get dressed, clears the table, puts away her folded laundry, cleans her room, makes sandwiches. She keeps an eye on her little brother and plays with him so I can get things done.

 

She's reading picture books, level 2 readers. She doesn't have the stamina for longer books or chapter books. She reads mostly because I tell her to, not as often for pleasure. But she will read to her little brother. She just moved into her own room and we are letting her stay up a half hour later if she wants to read in bed.

 

She is happy talking about kid things or adult things, and loves conversation. She loves attention and talking about herself, which annoys the in laws, but I think is normal for her age. I'm correcting her grammar ( me vs I, brought not brung, etc).

 

Hobbies- she wants to invent things, and pulls stuff out of the trash and recycle bin. But she quits easily. She wants a pet rabbit, and if she saves up $40 she can have one, but often decides to play instead of do optional jobs for money. She would listen to audiobooks, watch TV, and eat snacks all day if we let her.

 

Behavior- not a lot of issues. She likes to tell us all what to do, can be bossy and rude. Doesn't always listen well.

 

Enjoys- she loves a lot of the things that I love. Strolls in nature, camping, animals, plants, great fiction. Nothing surprising.

 

Hours with her- We are doing our longer read aloud at bedtime, as well a time for conversation and cuddles. The boys kept interrupting chapter books, so now that she has her own room, this works best. Not sure how many hours of attention, but not enough to suit her. She is always wanting more attention, more conversation, more dates just the 2 of us. My husband and I are both introverts, and don't have the energy for all day chatting. I often send her away to play or listen to an audiobook, which she will do.

 

Art- drawing, coloring, etc. Nothing special here. Planning to teach her a few how to draw lessons to improve a little.

 

She is finally learning to hold a tune, no exceptional talent. Finally starting to like to sing, but still shushes me if I try to sing with the cd or radio, or out in public. She is uncomfortable singing to an audience.

 

She is so very different from my 4 year old, that parenting one is not much training in parenting the other.

[AppleGreen]

Hmm, mine is a far, far cry from some of the other children in this thread. Mine was a late talker. Very late. Walked the latest of all my children and just generally on a slower time table. No loose teeth at 6.5.

 

Not reading, but loves being read to by anyone in the house willing to read. Knows a few letter sounds and writes by copying other writing (sometimes quite a lot)

 

Not much for singing, either self generated or from someone else.

 

Can clear dishes from the table and other simple chores, but definitely not a fan and often pouts about it.

 

Some drawing and painting, but still very simple stick figures with enlarged heads etc.

 

No major behavior problems to speak of, but gets grumpy sometimes or storms off if asked by someone to not do something. 

 

No naps, not since before age 2, I think. This child does not need a lot of sleep and often stays up quite late puttering in their bedroom.

 

This child is very mechanically inclined, loves doing science experiments, taking things apart, cutting cardboard, pictures from magazines, building with Legos and RC vehicles of all kinds. Said child has been riding a two wheeled bike since 5 years old. Likes to poke around on the skateboard. Loves playing with our 9 year old. Engages in imaginative play with said older sibling, as well as dear friend. Is also able to engage and play independently for varying periods of time. Oh, and my six year old is generally incredibly patient with his very talkative mother when we are out and about.

 

My rising first grader reminds me very much of my DH and his father. Both tolerate people with a good nature, but prefer solitude. My DH definitely did many of the same things as our youngest growing up (including being a late talker), although our child has a myriad of words when interested in a topic. 

[prairiewindmomma]

What is your 1st grader like?  She is sweet and charming and would love it if I could sit and read her stories and bake cookies all day.

 

 

S/he does chores?  She makes beds, sets the table, picks up things, and can do other things with direction. She's not the best sweeper of floors and she's still learning to fold laundry, but her skills are right on par for her age.

 

Reads x number of books a week?  Nope. She reads slowly and with help, but not independently. She's in the middle of OPGTR.

 

Converses a certain way?  She will talk with whomever will listen. She follows social cues pretty well, but she chats up old ladies in the grocery store, small children at the park, and usually makes friends wherever she goes.

 

Pursues hobbies?  She went to horse camp this summer, likes to go to the gym, and spends a lot of time with her dolls and doing crafts.

 

Initiates certain activities?  Yes and no....she knows she can't pull all of her craft stuff out without asking, and she usually wants someone to do whatever she is doing with her.

 

Naps?  Not since she was 2.

 

Has or does not have behavioral problems requiring discipline/correction?  Not really. Sometimes she asks to do something she has been told no to a few more times to just try to wear me down, but in a NT kind of way. When she is really tired, there is a flair towards drama (door slamming, foot stomping), but again, in the normal range for NT.

 

Enjoys non-fiction or things you had not anticipated? She doesn't have the drive that my 2E gifted kids have (thank goodness). She has interests, but nothing like the overwhelming need to LEARN that my 2Es have.

 

Hours per day of interaction with you or read alouds? We spend a couple of hours with school time. She has another hour she spends on apps (dream box, etc.). She can listen to audiobooks or do whatever, but I have a toddler and two 2Es so I can't be her all-day companion.

 

Does any form of art?  She draws and paints and loves to make jewellry and crafts with help.

 

Can s/he sing and hold a tune? Yes. Sometimes she mishears lyrics, but in a NT way.

[bluemongoose]

 What is your 1st grader like? Mine is a rising 2nd grader also, but he is young for his grade. He has a December birthday and will be turning 7yo.

 

He does chores? Yes! Although he hates them and usually doesnt have a great attitude about it. He puts away laundry (his and the kitchen towels and washrags), he wipes down the tables and chairs and counters and knobs, and he helps keep his little brother occupied. He volunteers to help me make dinner and loves to talk about what herbs/spices/seasonings we are going to use and often gives input on combinations he would like to try. He would not consider this helping as a chore.

 

Reads x number of books a week? He often has more than one book going at a time so it is hard to say how many books he finishes in a week. He started reading at about the Magic Tree House book level sometime in late fall of first grade. He is now reading and enjoying Roald Dahl books.

 

Converses a certain way?  He is very animated and can be quite loud when he is speaking.  He is also very lovable and can say really heart warming things. He makes friends easily, but also likes things his way. He is very competitive. He is a talker.

 

Pursues hobbies?  His favorite hobby is any kind of game console or tap dancing. He also likes legos and star wars.

 

Initiates certain activities?  He will beg to play board games. He loves them and this is what he usually initiates if he wants to play with others. Games like Ticket to Ride and specialty Go Fish (art go fish or history go fish) and Uno are some favorites.

 

Naps?  Very infrequently

 

Has or does not have behavioral problems requiring discipline/correction?  He whines if he doesnt like something and will ask for something continuously even though he knows it will make it so that it doesnt happen. He also tried out lying at the end of 1st grade. He is generally well behaved but can be too busy for some people.

 

Enjoys non-fiction or things you had not anticipated? He likes history and archaeology. I had not anticipated that.

 

Hours per day of interaction with you or read alouds? We do about an hour-2 hours of school together which includes me reading to him, spelling/phonics time, and science labs. He does math independently with assistance as needed.

 

Does any form of art? He plays the cello and enjoys studying art (he doesnt like nudity in art though...he thinks it is gross Lol) and drawing. He does not like cutting out paper types of art or models. He is a perfectionist and often gets upset when his art doesnt turn out as he wanted.

 

Can s/he sing and hold a tune? Not perfectly, but decently.

[againstthegrain]

What is your 1st grader like?  S/he does chores?  Reads x number of books a week?  Converses a certain way?  Pursues hobbies?  Initiates certain activities?  Naps?  Has or does not have behavioral problems requiring discipline/correction?  Enjoys non-fiction or things you had not anticipated? Hours per day of interaction with you or read alouds? Does any form of art?  Can s/he sing and hold a tune?

 

My first grader is 5 (so would be Kinder by age in the fall). She does chores though needs reminders. She reads 1-2 short books per day. She loves to talk and converses in a very dramatic social way with full on body language and attitude (we're working on that). Her hobbies are drawing, singing and storytelling - she initiates those activities as well as many others. She has requested to learn begin musical instrument lessons this fall. She does not nap. She pouts often to get her way, especially with her brother and we are working on correction. She enjoys drawing and illustrating stories. She can sing and holds a tune better than myself. She dislikes handwriting practice immensely.

[KSinNS]

So, up front, we aren't the most neurotypical family, and Mr. D is off to see the ped this week.

 

He's a fire cracker, full of energy and the devil. But loving, fun, and wildly funny. My Facebook page is basically stuff he says.

 

He does some chores, bed, clear table, etc but it's a constant battle, and I'm saving my energy for other things.

 

He's breaking through on reading now, with Frog and Toad and such. He needs support to read simply because he is so easily frustrated.

 

School is short and sweet. He can work about 10 mins at a time, per subject. He needs constant redirection. For math he learns quickly, everything else, not so much.

 

He's a chatterbox, and never stops talking. His oral language is precocious but hard to understand. He likes other kids, and makes friends easily. But his intense moods can get in the way.

 

Behaviour is a challenge. He is very impulsive and can be unkind. He has trouble keeping his hands to himself. That being said, I don't think it's all that serious, just super busy little boy stuff. We're working on kind words now.

 

He loves to join in on his brother's latest obsession. He likes music, likes to draw and loves Lego, make believe. Video games make him a raging monster, so we avoid those.

 

He can't quite carry a tune yet, though he is very musical. A teacher once told me this is very common in little boys. My 10 year old with perfect pitch could not carry a tune at 7.

 

Lots of variety at this age, and my others would have had completely different answers. Hope that helps.

[PeterPan]

Thanks ladies, this has been fascinating and helpful!  The broad variety amazes me. I expected more homogeneity, so it's fascinating to see the huge range of responses. Now I'll try to answer!   :)

 

chores--He does them with reminders or can do them independently with a picture schedule for the steps.  It sounds like there are a few more things he could be doing if we created a picture schedule for them.

 

converses a certain way--It will be entirely on his area of interest and entirely one-sided.  Does better with adults than children.  We're working on it.

 

Pursue hobbies--He's into legos, playmobil, and audiobooks.  His play it not typical/appropriate, but that's what he does.  I'm thinking he has a career in his obsession if it sticks, lol.  He *can* enjoy other things like Snap Circuits.

 

initiates certain activities--I was trying to see the pattern here.  He has issues with manding (figuring out what he needs to meet his problem, asking or determining the steps), but he can play just fine around the house.  This week we had to pull up all the toys for a funeral, and he had problems.  I'm thinking maybe if he could SEE the life things, and not just the toys, he'd have an easier time with the life things?  Or maybe more picture schedules?  Hadn't thought through it that way.

 

naps--Well I'm glad to know this is so common!  He hasn't napped for a LONG time, mercy, easily since 2.  The Barton wears him out, so I try to mandate a daily quiet time to let him recover.

 

behavior--I think he's been having an emotional growth spurt, because we've been having to pull him in check a bit more.  He's always a challenge to work with because of the rigidity, perspective-taking, etc.

 

enjoys non-fiction--I'm honestly shocked at how many kids are enjoying this!  I had NOT anticipated that at all and thought ds was an anomaly.  Fascinating.

 

reading--He can read short phrases or a sentence.  He can now *decode* something longer, but just to pick up and read he won't do that at all.  He never picks up any book on his own to attempt to read.  He more just reads environmental print.  Barton doesn't actually see them picking up non-Barton reading material till after he gets through another level, but he struggles with comprehension even with the short stories in Barton.  We're working on it.

 

hours per day of interaction--This is a challenge.  It's easy for me to get one-sided interaction for him (audiobooks, science videos, etc.), but the two-sided I never feel like I do enough of.  Per the books I'm supposed to do 4 hours a day (8-30 minute sessions), oy.  Hmm, when you think about it, he's also getting that in his swim lessons, etc. etc.  Maybe I should just lower that target to a more realistic 6?  And of course dinner/time with dad counts for one of those.  Then you're down to 5.  If I tally it that way, I'm much closer than I think. If I do 2 hours of academics with him and 1/2 hour of some kind of games, he's usually pretty happy. What does surprise me is how many of the kids have some things they do independently.  That's clearly something we can work on.  That would be a step up.  Anything with picture schedules, I guess, lol.

 

art--This is the one I feel guilty about!  I have this frustrated inner artist and keep thinking we ought to be able to do videos where you imitate the teacher.  I don't know if it would actually work with him, lol.  We've mostly done crafty things so far and some picture study.  It may be that creative art needs to wait till we get done with some of this OT for retained primitive reflexes, etc.  Can't do everything at once, lol.

 

sing--We're struggling on this, and it's interesting to hear the range of where it's at for kids.  He can't go up and down with his voice to match a note, even with hand motions.  He can sometimes get some of a tune.  He likes to try.  My plan is to get him eval'd by a music therapist who specializes in ASD next month and add that to our list if it would be beneficial.  But seeing these responses, I'll definitely be open to her thoughts on whether it's just in the range of normal.  Really though, I think if a child WANTS to sing and can't at all, it's time to help them. When I worked in K5, I don't remember anyone being as off as he is.

 

Well thanks ladies, this has been fascinating!   

[Wabi Sabi]

I'm answering for my daughter who just finished her first grade year. 

S/he does chores?  She's great at feeding her dog, cat, fish and hamster daily without reminders. She does the vast majority of her pets' care. She's not so great with keeping her room tidy or doing much housework, but she clears the table and helps put away laundry after I've folded it. She also gets paid by the next door neighbor to take their dog on a short mid-day walk several days a week.

Reads x number of books a week?  She started off her first grade year able to read books like "Frog and Toad" or "Little Bear" and finished the year reading "Little House in the Big Woods," but the longer books took her weeks to read and she would get frustrated by it. She prefers shorter transitional chapter books. She might read 2-3 Magic Tree House type of books in a week plus numerous picture books. 

Converses a certain way?  She doesn't stop talking which is funny considering that she was silent for the first three years of her life and in speech therapy because of it. She still has a few things that she says funny (her Ls usually sound like Ws for example.) In some ways her vocabulary is surprising for her age, in other ways she sometimes has some odd syntax and puts sentences together in an unusual way. 

Pursues hobbies?  Yes, she loves animals and has turned it into a paid job by walking the neighbor's jobs and pet sitting for friends. If Minecraft counts as a hobby then yes, she pursues her hobbies with enthusiasm. ;-)

Initiates certain activities? Her latest thing is building fairy houses and yes, she initiates that herself.

Naps?  She's always needed more sleep than the average kid and even though she gets a good 10-11 hours of sleep each night, she has started napping again this summer. So far I've just chalked it up to the summer sun/heat and us just being really active outdoors right now, but really, she just likes to sleep.
 

Has or does not have behavioral problems requiring discipline/correction?  No behavioral issues. She's a total people pleaser who thrives off of the positive attention she gets from adults in her life for being well-behaved and sweet. That's great now, but I'm not naive. Little girls who are people pleasers can get into some sticky situations when they're older. Ask me how I know, sigh. 

 

Enjoys non-fiction or things you had not anticipated? She likes books about animals or biographies of interesting people, but only when they're told in a more narrative form.

Hours per day of interaction with you or read alouds? We're almost always together, but as for 1:1 interaction it's hard to say. I work nights and need to get some rest during the day, so she's good at quietly entertaining herself for several hours in a row. As for read alouds, we're more of an audiobook family (it's hard for me to read aloud when I'm tired from working night shift and audiobooks are something the kids can listen to together while I'm resting.) Sometimes we might go a week or two without any audiobooks, other times she'll listen for hours a day and finish 2-3 full length books in a week. 

Does any form of art?  We've never done any formal art lessons, but she likes to draw and is always snipping away at pieces of paper (cutting out hearts and stars that she then tapes all over the house is one of the things she can do for hours to entertain herself.) She also loves air dry clay and spends lots of her time making little bowls, cups, etc. for her fairy houses. She knows a good deal of art history too and likes to visit art museums. (Disclaimer though: my dh works at an art museum, so she's had more exposure to attending art openings, special exhibits, etc. than the average kid.)

Can s/he sing and hold a tune? She's always loved to sing but was always a little off-key until this past year. She also started piano lessons at the beginning of first grade and likes to sing along to the little tunes in her piano book. 

[Tsuga]

OhElizabeth... your son sounds wonderful and normal to me.

 

Thanks ladies, this has been fascinating and helpful!  The broad variety amazes me. I expected more homogeneity, so it's fascinating to see the huge range of responses. Now I'll try to answer!   :)

 

chores--He does them with reminders or can do them independently with a picture schedule for the steps.  It sounds like there are a few more things he could be doing if we created a picture schedule for them.

 

 He doesn't need to do what everyone else does. If he's doing some chores and managing, why add to it? You have three or four chores, no? 

 

converses a certain way--It will be entirely on his area of interest and entirely one-sided.  Does better with adults than children.  We're working on it.

 

Children are unable to see the other person's interest, period. Typical of the kids I see at six:

 

Six-year-old: "I like My Little Ponies. Which is your favorite?"

Adult or other kid: "I'm not that interested in My Little Ponies. I like playing the ukulele."

"But I like My Little Ponies."

"Okay."

"So between Pinkie Pie and Fluffy* which do you like best?"

"I really don't know anything about Ponies."

"Well one is pink and the other is fluffy."

"I... I just don't care. Fluffy."

"But Pinkie Pie is better."

"Okay."

 

*I made this pony up.

 

Most of them can do a bit of back and forth, though. Although, not too well. My kids are horrible interrupters. So are my across-the-street neighbors. I can't say the interrupting self-absorbed kids (including mine) are the most pleasant but it certainly doesn't seem to be unusual. I do know kids who are much better at listening. That's always nice to see!

 

Pursue hobbies--He's into legos, playmobil, and audiobooks.  His play it not typical/appropriate, but that's what he does.  I'm thinking he has a career in his obsession if it sticks, lol.  He *can* enjoy other things like Snap Circuits.

 

While his mode of playing may be unusual, his hobbies to me seem extremely typical. I would say 80% of the 5-7 year old boys I know spend 90% of their time on lego, minecraft, lego, and pokemon. Even if their moms try to interest them in other things, like, ANYTHING.

 

initiates certain activities--I was trying to see the pattern here.  He has issues with manding (figuring out what he needs to meet his problem, asking or determining the steps),

 

I am just glad I did not know what manding was or else I'd have realized my children have a problem with it. Something I have said about 3,491 times per day since 2007: "Can you use WORDS to say that? Thank you. Now, that is your problem. So what do we need to solve your problem? Let's start with the goal and then go step by step." I am guessing he encounters an obstacle and freaks out, because you are concerned. This is frustrating for the parent and I think there's a huge range in kids at this age. Some seem to be natural problem solvers and others, you have to wonder if they will ever be able to string two thoughts together.

 

but he can play just fine around the house.  This week we had to pull up all the toys for a funeral, and he had problems.  

 

I feel reading your posts that it is more the magnitude / mode of his expression of the problems, than the fact that he had a problem, is that correct? Lots of kids would get upset about this, but many would get over it, or turn it on themselves. Heck, lots of ADULTS would have a problem with this, judging by vent threads on this very forum.

 

That said there are definitely ASD behaviors that make it seem like "having a problem with" creates an end-of-the-world scenario.

 

reading--He can read short phrases or a sentence.  He can now *decode* something longer, but just to pick up and read he won't do that at all.  He never picks up any book on his own to attempt to read.  He more just reads environmental print.  Barton doesn't actually see them picking up non-Barton reading material till after he gets through another level, but he struggles with comprehension even with the short stories in Barton.  We're working on it.

 

That seems normal to me. I live on a block with about 15 children between the ages of 3 and 9. Apparently 15 is not enough to get the eerie early reader because many of them were not interested in sitting with a book until they saw other kids doing it in K and 1st. Most of them were able to decode at about 5 - 6 or so, but didn't read regularly and especially did not pick up books for fun until 7 or so. You would NEVER guess that is normal judging by what people post on the Internet or brag about because nobody is going around saying, "My little Johnny is so perfectly average!" But the reality is, no matter how people push or don't push, it's still rare for kids to spontaneously read or go beyond decoding at six. Not to say it doesn't exist. It is absolutely possible. It's just not a realistic expectation for most children.

 

hours per day of interaction--This is a challenge.  It's easy for me to get one-sided interaction for him (audiobooks, science videos, etc.), but the two-sided I never feel like I do enough of.  Per the books I'm supposed to do 4 hours a day (8-30 minute sessions), oy.  Hmm, when you think about it, he's also getting that in his swim lessons, etc. etc.  Maybe I should just lower that target to a more realistic 6?  And of course dinner/time with dad counts for one of those.  Then you're down to 5.  If I tally it that way, I'm much closer than I think. If I do 2 hours of academics with him and 1/2 hour of some kind of games, he's usually pretty happy. What does surprise me is how many of the kids have some things they do independently.  That's clearly something we can work on.  That would be a step up.  Anything with picture schedules, I guess, lol.

 

You need other people to help you. There is nowhere in the world, traditionally, that a child would get 100% or even 80% of his interaction from his biological mother. My suggestion for more interaction is to have more people with him. How can you possibly be everything to a kid? What about grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors, babysitters? 

 

Also--some people are more independent, but that can't be everybody! My little one is much more independent. My older daughter needs me to sit there and she's eight. DSD, first kid, can work very independently and has since she was like, born. DSS? HAHALOLNOPE. Can't. Do. It. He will literally just not work without someone nagging. "Geez dad you don't have to say it 10 times!" "Well how many times then because you still haven't even moved?"

 

We can't compare these kids.

 

art--This is the one I feel guilty about!  I have this frustrated inner artist and keep thinking we ought to be able to do videos where you imitate the teacher.  I don't know if it would actually work with him, lol.  We've mostly done crafty things so far and some picture study.  It may be that creative art needs to wait till we get done with some of this OT for retained primitive reflexes, etc.  Can't do everything at once, lol.

 

It doesn't have to be fancy. It just has to be his expression in color, line, or tone... to me art class is about feeling the medium and going wild, getting in touch with that Dionysian side.

 

Can he just have paint on a board in the front yard and get it all over? Can he create art with the primitive reflexes? Can he create art with stamps, just pounding them all over butcher paper? Can he just bang on a xylophone? Honk through a harmonica?

 

That's how my now-eight daughter started composing music. It's not going to sound good, just like nothing they cook at this age will taste good, or at least very little. It doesn't mean they are behind.

 

Maybe I have low expectations but my kids seem to do just fine compared to our nice suburban neighbors... to me they are pretty much experimenting with texture and pressure for the first four years, are they not? My happiest art moments were when the teacher came around and daubbed finger paint on a clean white sheet of paper and we had a half an hour to do what we wanted.

 

One of my kids would smear it all around until she was like... okay she is EIGHT and sometimes she does that. The other one draws a rainbow every single time. Both of them have had their better pieces chosen for display at school, the mall. But they did not get there through picture study. They got there by squeezing paint through their fingers and smelling glue and making it rain glitter. Then they realized that glitter sticks to paint OMG you guys look at the car! MOM WE PAINTED YOUR CAR!

 

Covering an entire piece of wood with glue and pouring the sand from a state fair sand bottle onto it. That is art at this age.

 

Both of my kids have come home having smeared themselves head to toe with fingerpaint. They were not the only children in the neighborhood to do this. Another personal favorite activity of neighborhood children is stamping one's self in constellations. They also seem to enjoy making spiderwebs with string on trees. I count Barbie hairstyling as art.

 

Maybe we live in freaky lalaland, but from my perspective there's a reason Crayola makes everything more or less edible or at least non-toxic. Someone's gonna eat some paint. That is okay.

 

If you haven't made face prints on butcher paper, or drawn an outline of yourself (even with extra arms or NO ARMS AT ALL) and filled it in with pictures of your dreams, you need to get cracking. That is the start of art. That is the start of joy in art. One boy at my daughter's school filled the entire thing in with bugs. That is okay! 

 

Art is joy in the medium, joy in form, art is silly, art is no rules.

 

I think my children would break down into tears if I forced them to paint what someone showed them on a screen.

 

Maybe that means they are not well, because they can't do that? In my opinion there is something wrong with someone who doesn't ever even TRY to eat the paint. I mean come on, look at it. How can that not be worth putting in your mouth at least once? (That said, we absolutely stick with Crayola non-toxic, LOL!)

 

ETA--does your son enjoy the sensory thing of using chalk on asphalt? My kids LOVE that. Big chalk, all over the road. It can be one thing over and over and over. Also, they enjoy repeatedly grinding the chalk into dust and creating some kind of unholy Holi holiday with the chalk dust. I'm surprised nobody's gotten pneumonia yet from all the dust, but they love it. They rub it all over their bodies. Repeatedly. It's kind of a disaster in the house. But they love it! And they will also then make prints with their hands having rubbed the chalk well in. I would say this is about 90% of the art they do through 2nd grade. Around 1st, my older daughter started more accurately doing representational art and following instructions, but she was seven then. I think probably half the boys in her class were doing absolutely no art in art but just going through the motions to get the teacher off their back, and then spending all their creative energy drawing and redrawing the same comic book or cartoon characters. My stepson is neuro-typical and a very typical boy and he does this at 11! I swear if that child spent half his energy following instructions... but art isn't instructions, it's self-expression, it's getting in tune with some greater pattern of beauty in the universe. And right now, his universe is the Marvel universe. :)

 

 

sing--We're struggling on this, and it's interesting to hear the range of where it's at for kids.  He can't go up and down with his voice to match a note, even with hand motions.  He can sometimes get some of a tune.  He likes to try.  My plan is to get him eval'd by a music therapist who specializes in ASD next month and add that to our list if it would be beneficial.  But seeing these responses, I'll definitely be open to her thoughts on whether it's just in the range of normal.  Really though, I think if a child WANTS to sing and can't at all, it's time to help them. When I worked in K5, I don't remember anyone being as off as he is.

 

Some people just can't sing and they still enjoy it. I have 13 years of music lessons and I still can't sing and I still sing in the car and shower and I love it! It is okay that I'm not good at it. I make up for lack of voice control with enthusiasm and discretion.

 

As for K5... yeah, but there is a lot of self-selection going into signing up for courses there, is there not? You can't compare your child, at five or six, to the children whose parents pay for after schooling enrichment in music.

 

Why am I posting this?

 

Because I think you have extremely high standards for your son, which is great, but I also think that I would not want to be at the receiving end of your detail-oriented high standards. You've listed pretty much every area of human development and academics and he's not even seven.

 

Nobody's good at everything, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun with it.

 

He's six and he's sounding out and learning to swim. IMO that's about as normal as you can get. I appreciate that you have many issues that have not been listed here but skills-wise he sounds like he is doing great.

[Upennmama]

My ds, a rising 1st grader by age, has a bunch of learning disabilities and labels, and I'm trying to figure out if there are things he *can* do or would do that I'm not facilitating well.  It has been a LONG TIME since I had a first grader, and I'm realizing my memory is faint and skewed by the strengths dd had that are the total opposite of ds'.  Really my only memory was that 1st was like an extension of K5 and that nothing serious happened till 2nd.

 

So blow me away.  What is your 1st grader like?  S/he does chores?  Reads x number of books a week?  Converses a certain way?  Pursues hobbies?  Initiates certain activities?  Naps?  Has or does not have behavioral problems requiring discipline/correction?  Enjoys non-fiction or things you had not anticipated? Hours per day of interaction with you or read alouds? Does any form of art?  Can s/he sing and hold a tune?

 

My rising 1st grader, who turned 6 in April. 

She does chores such as cleaning her room, putting books away, folding laundry and putting it away, clearing or setting the table, etc.

She reads a lot, I don't know how many books. But stacks and stacks of picture books, and usually several chapter books per week (Ramona, Boxcar, Judy Blume, American Girl, etc). 

Converses pretty normally, but has trouble with Rs at the end of words, generally. 

Hobbies, not really consistently. She has a handful of activities she likes, such as drawing, reading, singing, playing paper dolls, etc. She does them as she chooses, but doesn't yet apply herself to a specific hobby or task to completion.

Behavior? Sometimes she disobeys, sometimes she will whine about finishing her broccoli or stick her tongue out at her big sister. Little things with occasional big defiances or foot stomps. No tantrums or freakouts on a regular basis. Maybe once every six months she'll freak about something?

No naps. 

Sings and holds a tune. 

Likes art. Nothing very organized but she will attempt any project. 

She likes mostly fiction but LOVEs poetry. 

 

There's such a huge range of normal though. I have 8 kids and some have read at 3 and some at 6. Some are behaviorally behind and some are good as gold from toddlerhood. My littlest we call Destructicon because she's so naughty. There is no one right way to be 6. :) I know you know that, but just a reassurance.

[Jackie]

My ds, a rising 1st grader by age, has a bunch of learning disabilities and labels, and I'm trying to figure out if there are things he *can* do or would do that I'm not facilitating well. It has been a LONG TIME since I had a first grader, and I'm realizing my memory is faint and skewed by the strengths dd had that are the total opposite of ds'. Really my only memory was that 1st was like an extension of K5 and that nothing serious happened till 2nd.

 

So blow me away. What is your 1st grader like? S/he does chores? Reads x number of books a week? Converses a certain way? Pursues hobbies? Initiates certain activities? Naps? Has or does not have behavioral problems requiring discipline/correction? Enjoys non-fiction or things you had not anticipated? Hours per day of interaction with you or read alouds? Does any form of art? Can s/he sing and hold a tune?

Where to start? The only official label my daughter has is for phobias, specific to some life-impacting stuff that I needed parenting help with. If we had a full assessment, I would suspect EG, maybe SPD, definitely anxiety beyond the phobias, possibly depression. No LDs.

 

Chores: yes, mostly grudgingly. She can make her bed, help empty the dishwasher, clear the table, pick up after herself. All with reminders. Heck, I have to remind her to get dressed most days.

 

Books: constantly. She was a very early reader and devours books. She can read any book I hand her and comprehend most of them. But she still prefers picture books that she can complete easily in one short sitting. She'll read a whole stack of them happily.

 

Conversation: She does regularly get comments from acquaintances and strangers on her vocabulary, so I'm figuring it's better than average. She talks constantly.

 

Initiating activities: she will regularly ask for activities she finds enjoyable. She will never independently start a task she does not find enjoyable.

 

Naps: Sleep is her nemesis. It is to be vanquished. She dropped naps at 2 and really wishes she didn't need to recharge overnight either.

 

Behavioral issues: a pile of them. Some I know are related to the possible SPD and the pretty definite anxiety. Some are... quirks. When she doesn't want to hear a correction, she puts her hands over her ears and then throws a fit. She will deliberately state things that are false to get a reaction. She will still tantrum like a 2yo despite the fact that we have *never* given in. There's a long list. Suffice it to say we have our hands full.

 

Unexpected interests: she loves all nonfiction. Seriously, all of it. Especially history. And science. It can get intense. She likes making things out of found materials, but has no interest in evaluating them or making them better.

 

Interaction: she's an only child and would love to be interacting with someone 90+% of the waking day. I can not manage that much.

 

Music and art: she loves them both. I can honestly say she has no natural talent in these areas. Her previous violin teacher and current music teacher have very, very politely indicated she might be the least musically inclined student ever, despite her enthusiasm. Her art teacher compliments her vocabulary, enthusiasm, and participation, but is silent regarding her art. But she really loves art and I love that she is enjoying herself.

[PeterPan]

Tsuga, I may steal that art idea.  :D

[Heathermomster]

OhElizabeth... your son sounds wonderful and normal to me.

 

 

Why am I posting this?

 

Because I think you have extremely high standards for your son, which is great, but I also think that I would not want to be at the receiving end of your detail-oriented high standards. You've listed pretty much every area of human development and academics and he's not even seven.

 

Nobody's good at everything, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun with it.

 

He's six and he's sounding out and learning to swim. IMO that's about as normal as you can get. I appreciate that you have many issues that have not been listed here but skills-wise he sounds like he is doing great.

 

I'm sure your comments are motivated by a sincere desire to provide loving and helpful encouragement; however, they came off discouraging.  Without being on the receiving end of her high standards, her child would not have learned to literally open and close his mouth to articulate and form words.  

 

In one posting, you are dismissing very serious SLDs that have taken years to deal with.  If the OP is thick in the woods of therapy and exhaustive teaching, it is ok if she pops her head out to ask a question about normal childhood behaviors.  

[SilverMoon]

I'm sure your comments are motivated by a sincere desire to provide loving and helpful encouragement; however, they came off discouraging.  Without being on the receiving end of her high standards, her child would not have learned to literally open and close his mouth to articulate and form words.  

 

In one posting, you are dismissing very serious SLDs that have take years to deal with.  If the OP is thick in the woods of therapy and exhaustive teaching, it is ok if she pops her head out to ask a question about normal childhood behaviors.  

 

I agree. I have a highschooler with a couple/few acronyms. The DC would have been content in a comfortable rut and not tried to do better if we didn't keep the bar raised and consistently expect greatness.

[Heathermomster]

The SLDs are more than being stuck in a rut. There would be no movement at all without interventions that take time and money.

 

As to the original question...

 

My DD is a rising 2nd grader. She is a motivated self starter. Highly organized with a scary memory. Her only delays seem to be handwriting and I see improvement after working with an OT/PT and practice. She reads anything I hand her but prefers books on about a 3rd grade level. She loves non-fiction and science documentaries. Vocabulary is huge. She builds snap circuits, wooden blocks, Zome, and Star Wars Legos. She loves her Brock Magiscope. She is very talkative and makes friends easily. She cleans house better than her brother. I expect that if we strapped blocks to her feet and handed her the car keys, she would drive better than her bro. I don't allow her to empty the dishwasher because she is too short to put the dishes away. She draws, uses scissors, can knit, loves card making, and beads. DD is a lot of fun. Very picky eater. A vegetarian really because she loves animals. She does not nap. Loves dragons and playing dress-up. I taught her to sew on my treadle during the winter. Eta... DD sings all the time.

[SeaConquest]

My ds, a rising 1st grader by age, has a bunch of learning disabilities and labels, and I'm trying to figure out if there are things he *can* do or would do that I'm not facilitating well.  It has been a LONG TIME since I had a first grader, and I'm realizing my memory is faint and skewed by the strengths dd had that are the total opposite of ds'.  Really my only memory was that 1st was like an extension of K5 and that nothing serious happened till 2nd.

 

So blow me away.  What is your 1st grader like?  S/he does chores?  Reads x number of books a week?  Converses a certain way?  Pursues hobbies?  Initiates certain activities?  Naps?  Has or does not have behavioral problems requiring discipline/correction?  Enjoys non-fiction or things you had not anticipated? Hours per day of interaction with you or read alouds? Does any form of art?  Can s/he sing and hold a tune?

 

My rising first grader (age 6) has a January birthday. Although he has never been tested, I suspect that he is gifted. So, please keep that in mind re his academic development.

 

I would describe my son as sweet, social, imaginative, passionate, and intelligent.

 

He does not do any chores at present, save for picking up toys or clothes (if prompted). He is very short for his age, and cannot reach our cabinets. I imagine that he will help out with dishes when he is taller. We also do not have any pets at this time. I have a housekeeper to save my sanity; she does our laundry and puts it away.

 

He currently reads at about an early 5th grade level, but prefers slightly easier books for pleasure reading (the stuff labeled grade 3-4 at the library). Our current read-aloud is the second Harry Potter book. He can listen to audiobooks, or me reading to him, for hours, but prefers to spend his downtime watching Stampy videos or playing video games. We do not currently set limits on his screen time.

 

He is extremely articulate, and talks incessantly. He has an expansive vocabulary, and picks up other languages easily (my husband is a native French speaker, we lived in Mexico for a year, and he has attended immersion preschools in 3 languages).

 

His main hobbies are Pokemon, Minecraft, coding in Scratch, Wii U video games, playing imaginary games (wizards, dragons, etc.), Lego, and watching YouTube videos.

 

He has attended full-day summer camp at our local Jewish Community Center for the past two summers, and loves it. I imagine that he will be ready for sleep-away camp in the not to distant future. He likes/plays soccer, tennis, swimming, Parkour, and just began Kung Fu. Having said that, I would not describe my son as naturally athletic. He is currently smaller and weaker than most of the other kids his age on his soccer team. Granted, he plays on a very competitive soccer team, so that has skewed my perception a bit. 

 

He has not napped since he was required to in preschool (ages 2-3) unless he is sick or spent all day in the sun at the beach/waterpark. 

 

His main behavioral issue is that he prefers to talk rather than listen. Also, because he is working several grade levels ahead, he has been disruptive in class. He was sent to the director's office in preschool on several occasions. His giftedness, and inability to blend into the typical classroom environment, are why we are homeschooling. We are gentle parents, but have not had to do much disciplining to keep my son in line. 

 

Science is a particular strength of his, and he adores learning anything about it. We have watched adult science documentaries since he was 3. He asked for a tornado cake for his 6th birthday. He went to science camp last summer, but ended up teaching the instructor things (or so the instructor told me). 

 

I am terrible about doing art/crafts with my kids, but thankfully, my son gets a lot of art instruction through classes at his charter school and at summer camp. He occasionally colors, but prefers video games these days.

 

He sings well, and has attended theatre camp the past two years. He has been in several performances to date, including a poetry cafe (where he performed a solo poetry reading). He is starting guitar lessons in the fall.

 

I have really enjoyed reading everyone's responses, so thank you all for sharing.