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@Mrs. Yoyo: How did be conference go, or did it not happen yet. Mine is one that usually falls behind in similar things. And it's not that he's behind, he's good at dottling and it slow at everything! Not sure how to fix that, but I'm sure there are other kids like that.
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@Boogs: Thankfully it went well. The teacher seemed to indicate that he had improved so much in the short time that he'd been in class that she was no longer quite as concerned, and we haven't been getting angry notes anymore. And he has started to get "super" on his weekly report for the first time the past couple weeks. Hopefully he earned it and it wasn't just because I emphasized to her that he needed more positive reinforcement for motivation.
I still think he's probably behind in fine motor compared to some of his classmates, but it seems like the teacher is more willing to look at his own trajectory now, and that's definitely improving. I have been pushing writing at home, which I think has really helped build confidence. (I've been trying to connect it to Pokemon, which he is currently obsessed with, so that he finds it fun. Like, we'll go through his Pokemon book, write the name of one, then he draws it. Or he does a traditional letter worksheet but I put a Pokemon on it that begins with that letter.)
As for slowness, yeah, I feel you. I think the home practice is helping him pick up the pace a bit, and for us, we had to emphasize perfection is not the goal (he was evidently spending a lot of time getting frustrated and erasing, etc.) I admit that this is easier said than done sometimes -- he still needs to concentrate on letter formation and gets really sloppy when he tries to go fast.
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@looch: I think that sounds like a great approach - 10 mins and he is done regardless if its actually finished.
If the teacher has an issue with it then you can suggest she sends it home Friday or gives you a few extra days to finish
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@Mrs. Yoyo: My son's teacher prefers that kids cross out their mistakes, rather than erase...for whatever reason, when the directions come from the teacher my son is happy to oblige. When I suggested it he said it messed up the paper, but now that Miss Teacher said it, he does it no problem.
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We only have from Wednesday to Friday for homework! Thankfully it's only been one or two sheets. But still finding time when she's in a good mood is rough. We are also starting with the "we get done what we can get done".
Parent teacher conference went well. The tests were crazy! Like bubble the image that shows 18 blocks. What five year old wants to count five times to find the correct set. The teacher said a lot of it is learning how to take a test so it should improve. Her biggest issue right now is hands to her self and controlling things.
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@looch: Ah yes. Par for the course. Mom says it, ignore. Teacher says it, must obey.
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So, update from last night and the homework....
My son completed all of it, but I could tell he was tired. The crayon was a problem, the pencils make his hand hurt, etc. I told him that he didn't need to finish all of it at once, he just needed to finish the one sheet he had started and we would try again tomorrow. He seemed fine with that, but once he got going, he found his groove.
So, this week is done and next week, we will try again and be more disciplined about it.
Thanks everyone for the input, it really helped.
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@looch: Aw. Great to hear he got his groove and you came together with a breath of fresh air and patience.
When I am correcting LO 'too much', I somehow add to her frustration. She tells me, "Let me be a kindergartener, Mom!" I don't know where she got that from but I I back off and hope she learns to take correction better. I know she accepts it better from her teacher than from me.
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Oh man, we had quite a morning. As I was waking the boys, I made the mistake of telling younger DS that he would get to wear his Halloween costume to music class this morning. Older DS flipped out and threw a fit because he had to go to school instead of getting to wear his costume.
He finally calmed down(ish) and ate breakfast, but then he whined the ENTIRE way to school that he wanted someone to carry him (we walk), and once we got there, he flipped out again and said he didn't want to go in, didn't feel good, wanted another day off, etc etc etc. Finally the assistant principal basically had to wrench him away and lead him down the hall, sobbing.
This is our first time dealing with tears at drop-off, and I sincerely hope it's the last!
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Ah, to top off our day, we got our first report card. Lots of "approaching expectations" mixed with some "meeting expectations." No "exceeding expectations," which was a real bummer for DH, who is a bit of a tiger dad.
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@Mrs. Yoyo: I didn't get our first report card yet but it is either Meeting Standards or Approaching or Well below. There is no 'exceeding' in our kindergarten.
LO is having a hard day too. I had to leave early so LO had a rude awakening without me there. Surprise. DH had to do the morning routine and drop off. First time all year and he wasn't too happy about the surprise either. Then LO has an early dismissal because of a flu shot which she is not looking forward to do without me. And to top it off...she fell in the mud at recess. With no shorts to change in to! Ack....it's a Monday of the busiest week of the year for me! What a way to kick it off. -
@808love: Sounds like you had a case of the Mondays over there, too. Solidarity.
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@Mrs. Yoyo: our parent teacher conference went over some baseline tests. But the way the teacher described it was that the test covered most of the content they will learn all year. So even though she got like 20/30 on the math test, she's well on pace to learn the last third over the course of the year.
We are dealing with big Behavior issues too.
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@Mrs. Yoyo: Hope drop off went well today. Couldn't get worse, right?! Misery loves company and wanted you to know I was feeling you yesterday.
All turned out well with LO at the end though. According to her, she got ready fast in the morning and flu shot was not too bad. I was extra nice (read: normal and not grouchy) to DH so that I made up for putting him on the spot yesterday The mud was covered up by the dress I put in LOs back up clothing bag. (Teacher had thought it was a shirt with no shorts). So all ended well except I still have a pile of work to do....sigh.
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@T.H.O.U.: I wouldn't be surprised to hear that's the case here ... anyway, given how far he's come over the past couple months, I hope to see some improvement next time.
@808love: He was happy as a lark this morning, lol. I said to him a couple of times, "See how much nicer mornings are when you don't throw a fit?" And he nodded solemnly and asked a couple times if I still loved him, ha. (My response is always "I ALWAYS love you. But sometimes it's awful hard to like you.")
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@Mrs. Yoyo: LOL at "nodded solemnly" ! So everything is reset back to normal! Wonderful
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@Mrs. Yoyo: sometimes on tough mornings I've been bribing with a treat and we race to get ready seeing who can go the fastest.
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@T.H.O.U.: I threaten -- most tough mornings the prospect of losing some privilege or another is enough. I am thinking of busting out the bribes for certain schoolwork practice that he finds "boring" though, and chores. We've been trying to get him to contribute a little more around the house and do small things for himself -- doesn't always go over very well!
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Bumping this up....our first marking period has come to a close and now we're having parent conferences.
I was surprised at the reporting that they do and how in depth it is. I have a new appreciation for both the daily tasks that are asked of the teacher as well as the amount of effort that they have to go through to put together the progress report.
Overall, I was pleased with my son's progress. At the beginning of the year, he wasn't reading and now he is able to read primary phonics readers. It's amazing how they've taught him to sound out words and the rules that go along with learning to read.
I did ask the teacher about math though, and they do about 50 minutes of math instruction per day...is this on par with what they're doing in your schools?
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We had a parent teacher conference last week. It was really informal (no prepared materials), but the teacher is clearly an experienced professional. She was extremely positive and very pleased with how DS is doing. She said we should just keep doing what we are doing because it's working. The only academic thing he needs to work on is reading faster. He can sound out words but it still takes some time to string them together. As for math, they also have 50 minutes a day but we rarely have math homework. My son brings home all of his workbooks and notebooks every Friday so we can see how he is progressing. He seems to be just fine in math. In January, they are going to be taking tests, tests that the 4 kindergarten teachers have put together, not anything official or standardized. It's just to get a better idea of where all of the kids stand (there are about 100 kindergarteners). My son's class is also going to go ice skating every week for 6 weeks! I've signed up to be a chaperone for two of the outings.
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@looch: I think that sounds about right. @lamariniere: We only have math homework once a week too.
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I feel like there is such a focus on literacy...we get math homework that comes from the Everyday Math parent workbook, but it's very basic...like right now, it's counting and sequencing. The problem is that we do have access to a math app, but I don't do screentime during the week, and that's what the teacher recommended, that he do Dreambox or Everyday Math (the apps subsidized by the school) when he asks for "math homework." Thoughts?
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@looch: we get a math calendar at the start of each month and it has something for everyday.
Examples:
count by 1's to 65
count by 10's
count by 5's
Find something taller and shorter than you
Count all the windows in your house
Find 3 numbers that come before 75 -
@Mamaof2: Oh I like that idea, I am going to search and see if I can come up with something.
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@looch: @Mamaof2: we have a similar math calendar each month. It seems to be getting progressively more challenging each month too.
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@MamaG: @looch: @Mamaof2: We have the same thing. That being said, I would be okay with bending screen time rules for something academic if you want your son to have more math practice.
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Here it is in case you didn't scroll. -
@looch: Our school is using the Go Math curriculum. I've actually been pretty impressed by it! They are doing addition problems in base 10. Most days of the week they get one sheet of homework.
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Bumping to check in and see how everyone is doing. I've been pretty pleased with how much better DS has got with reading/writing, but we've had a handful of days lately where he's gotten notes sent home about sub-par listening. They have a clip system where they move from green to yellow after one infraction, and yellow to red after two. He's gotten yellow a few times in the past month and red twice. Sigh. It's hard to know what (if anything) to do at home, but he just appears not to care because "it happens to his friends too." And that drives me batty, but I was always the kid who would have died if I did something "bad."
Anyway, if any of you have dealt with behavioral stuff at school, how (if anything) do you deal with it at home?
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@Mrs. Yoyo: Thank you! I am actually having a call with the teacher today because this month we have gotten 4 notes home. I dont totally understand the behavior system. I think that means she's been given a warning, lost recess time and then now is getting the note home. What I dont understand is when or what she is doing that includes not listening. Not that it really matters, but its really hard to talk to her about it when I dont understand the issue. I know a lot of parents offer small rewards at the end of a solid good week, but I really don't want to reward the good behavior because it should be expected! Also she keeps blaming it on the other kids that are distracting her.
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@T.H.O.U.: Yes, a thousand times. Even with the notes it's somehow not clear. The only time I felt confident I knew what happened was when DS said he'd gotten his clip moved because he ate a treat when he wasn't supposed to (I think the kids were setting up for a class party and had been instructed that they had to wait to eat). And that was pretty cut and dry to me, but other times it seems to be related to not getting his work done, and I'm not sure if it's just because he's goofing off (in which case I understand his clip getting moved) or if he is having a hard time with something or doesn't understand instructions and is afraid to ask (in which case I feel like he's not really "not listening" per se). If it keeps happening, I think we will need to chat, too. I would like to know how he compares to others as far as this stuff -- like, is this pretty standard for most of the class, or is it happening to him much more often?
And yes, regarding the reward thing, I have thought about it too and came to the same conclusion -- behaving and listening should be the default and I don't want to "reward" it necessarily. But it seems like the opposite (consequences like not getting a much anticipated toy) isn't working either.
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@T.H.O.U.: Also, I HATE that they take away recess time. He's had that happen a couple times when he didn't get work done and I just think about how it probably backfires x100. He's 5, he needs the break.
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@Mrs. Yoyo: I'll let you know how our chat goes today!
During the first semester (before thanksgiving), the teacher was pretty open that this was somewhat on par with the rest of the class and general adjustments to kindergarten.
I feel like we are at a big disadvantage because she got moved to the new (new and 1st year) teachers room on the 3rd week of school and it wasn't until the 5th or 6th week of school that the new teacher really settled on a behavior chart. I think they started with the idea of a clip system but then they moved to something else? I feel like my daughter really needed someone strict and firm and clear and she's maybe not getting that and now she's learned to manipulate the system.
I'm not even really sure what else to ask on the call. Suggestions?
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@Mrs. Yoyo: Yes! I dont want to buck the system but I wish we could not have that happen.
To make it worse, she got a note home Monday and we had a big talk. We talked again last night to see how her day was and she said she still had to sit out at recess. Turns out she "owed" her teacher recess time from behavior issues Monday.
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We just finished the semester and got our third report card. Lo had a rough last week and I fear it carried to the report card. We have always had still working type markings on listening to directions, speaking at correct times. This time staying on task and respecting peers were added in. I know much of the problem is social maturity, she's the youngest in class. I volunteer monthly and know that LO isn't the only one with these issues.
Yesterday's note was for mocking the teacher.
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@Mrs. Yoyo: @T.H.O.U.: I had this issue with DS and now DD. To be honest its the school's issue, not mine. Sure, I can talk to her until she is blue in the face but that doesn't necessarily translate to what happens at school. Its like me telling the teacher that DD is not focusing during homework and if she could do something about it that would be great! yeah....
So, I told the teacher that we aren't having issues at home. DD loves homework and will sit and complete it fine for me. I asked her how she thought she could help DD while at school , since I am not there. Maybe move her seat closer to the teacher? Maybe she is antsy and needs a break (suggest she grab water if you notice her acting out), etc.
I asked the teacher if maybe she was just a little immature and needs time and the teacher agreed that yes this could be it and we would keep an eye on her.
At home I DID talk to her about it but she didn't have much of an answer for me. We are practicing listening skills/focusing but again I cant promise those skills will go back to the classroom.
She is a totally different child at school vs home.
It will be 2 weeks since the last email on Friday so I am going to email her for an update - I haven't heard anything so I am hoping that's good news!
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@MamaG: That's actually exactly what happened at my son's school....a girl wrote a note that Miss D is bossy and put it in my son's cubby. She signed her name on it, so it wasn't a mystery who it was, but I am kind of surprised at the stuff going on in the classroom. How do they even have time to do that kind of stuff?
When I get a call home, the teacher always ends it with "what can we do together to address and solve the problem." Last week, I got a call home because my son took it upon himself to inform a parent that came in for a mystery reading session that her son shouts out in class. I happen to know it to be true, so I told my son very matter of factly that I got a call from the teacher and from now on to leave those things to the parent and teacher, he doesn't need to get involved.
I would check the district policy on removing recess, in our district that is prohibited.
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Overall, I try not to get too worked about the behavior issues. I know that we have a social maturity issue. The teacher knows it. The teacher thinks socially, it might have been wise to red-shirt since we just make cutoff. But my daughter is one of the tallest kids in her class and she's in an accelerated reading program. Those items would be an even bigger disconnect if we had red-shirted.
Recently, when we had three consecutive days of notes about behavior, LO lost pajama day privileges. My choice, not the school. She knew it was the consequence, we set it on day two and she agreed to it. I wrote a note to the teacher that we didn't forget our pajamas, it was the agreed consequence for three days of behavior notes.
LO has a sassy mouth and I dislike it. But we are having a really hard time breaking her habits.
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Pretty good. She's improving in her reading, which is great and seems to still enjoy school.
I feel like she's always bringing home a cold though since winter started. The stomach flu went through our house last week and she had it the worst so was out all week. So that plus the fever she had in the fall she's missed 7 days, that seems like a lot but at the same time I couldn't send her when she's sick. How many have your kids missed?
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