I love our pediatrician. He seems to be a very intelligent man himself, and has an amazing memory. He remembers lots of incidental things about us. Even if he just writes them down in our kids' file and reviews them before he comes in, that's still terrific!
A few weeks ago, he called me out of the blue at about 5:30 pm. He had heard of a charter school in Boise that is only for the highly gifted and called to give me the information.
Of course, I don't know if J would qualify, but I wonder what the testing process is like, and if it is free. And I worry about J changing schools. He seems so happy at his math & science magnet school. I don't know what the commute would be, but it really could only improve from the commute we have now (it's a 15 minute drive each way, and it's sort of in the middle of nowhere, so we can't combine trips. And it's the opposite direction of all our errands and stores.)
I guess it's something to look into, something I need to pursue.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Report Card
J got his second report card today. I realized that I never posted about his first report card, so I'll summarize them both in this post.
Of course, elementary school report cards, and especially those for kindergarten, are quite soft. There aren't A's, B's, and C's, but S's, I's, and N's. Jared got all S's for "Satisfactory Development." Again, there's no grade for anything exceptional. I love how they report tardiness, since at this age, I'm sure the blame is purely parental.
Then there's another section that uses numbers. 1 is not meeting standard, 2 means that the child is learning well, 3 means they know their stuff, and 4 means above-level ability. J got all 3's except for one 4 in "counting to 31."
I was surprised that he only got one 4. I mean, they're learning to count objects and make a tick on a paper to represent each object, and he's multiplying and dividing in his head. They're learning sight words like "a" and "like," while he's reading 4th and 5th grade level books. How can he possibly not be getting 4's?
The clue is in the descriptions of the tasks they're requiring of the children. They didn't evaluate him on addition and subtraction, just "number systems," whatever that means. They graded him on stating the days of the week in order, and using a calendar to say today's date. These are things that you can't really excel at. You can do them, or you can't. He is just not in an environment that would show his reading or math abilities.
I had to laugh at his one 4: "Rote count to 31 by ones." This is the kid who comes downstairs to complain that he can't sleep, even though he counted all the way to 200 and then got bored.
The most interesting part is the teacher's comments. First quarter, she wrote:
My husband and I both commented, "I didn't know he wasn't happy before!" I'm guessing J's just gotten into the groove and isn't nervous about things. He seems to feel more comfortable with his knowledge, which is great. I really wish I could be a fly on that wall to see how he's doing! I want him to be confident and happy, without the arrogance he can sometimes show.
Of course, elementary school report cards, and especially those for kindergarten, are quite soft. There aren't A's, B's, and C's, but S's, I's, and N's. Jared got all S's for "Satisfactory Development." Again, there's no grade for anything exceptional. I love how they report tardiness, since at this age, I'm sure the blame is purely parental.
Then there's another section that uses numbers. 1 is not meeting standard, 2 means that the child is learning well, 3 means they know their stuff, and 4 means above-level ability. J got all 3's except for one 4 in "counting to 31."
I was surprised that he only got one 4. I mean, they're learning to count objects and make a tick on a paper to represent each object, and he's multiplying and dividing in his head. They're learning sight words like "a" and "like," while he's reading 4th and 5th grade level books. How can he possibly not be getting 4's?
The clue is in the descriptions of the tasks they're requiring of the children. They didn't evaluate him on addition and subtraction, just "number systems," whatever that means. They graded him on stating the days of the week in order, and using a calendar to say today's date. These are things that you can't really excel at. You can do them, or you can't. He is just not in an environment that would show his reading or math abilities.
I had to laugh at his one 4: "Rote count to 31 by ones." This is the kid who comes downstairs to complain that he can't sleep, even though he counted all the way to 200 and then got bored.
The most interesting part is the teacher's comments. First quarter, she wrote:
"J is a very capable and intelligent young man. He excels in all areas. Keeping him challenged is a challenge for me. He is kind to others in the classroom."This quarter, she wrote:
"J seems happier in kindergarten now. He often shares his knowledge with the group, enriching our discussions. I am happy to be his teacher."
My husband and I both commented, "I didn't know he wasn't happy before!" I'm guessing J's just gotten into the groove and isn't nervous about things. He seems to feel more comfortable with his knowledge, which is great. I really wish I could be a fly on that wall to see how he's doing! I want him to be confident and happy, without the arrogance he can sometimes show.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
3 1/2 yr old Vocabulary
We had a visitor come on Sunday after church. She asked Z where his big brother is, to which he replied, "I don't know. He arrived, but now I don't know where he is." Arrived? Well, I suppose that's another way of saying "came home." Our visitor asked him if he's smart, to which he replied, "yup."
Later that night (and ever since), he was showing me how one of his toys works and said, "this is the proper way to do it."
It's really fun to hear the words J and Z come up with!
Later that night (and ever since), he was showing me how one of his toys works and said, "this is the proper way to do it."
It's really fun to hear the words J and Z come up with!
Friday, January 8, 2010
Vocabulary
J (almost 6) & Z were wrestling with their dad. Dad had J pinned or something, and kept asking, "Do you give up? Do you give up?!?!"
J replied, "No, I can defeat you, dad!"
Then on the way home from school on computer day, he told me all about the drawing program they'd played with that day. He told me that it was a lot like Tux Paint (the free kids' drawing program we have at home--I highly recommend it!) but the school program had a lot of cool features. Features.
We have a new family addition, just 5 1/2 weeks old now. We saw his first smile just yesterday, to which J responded, "Aw, look at that toothless grin!"
J replied, "No, I can defeat you, dad!"
Then on the way home from school on computer day, he told me all about the drawing program they'd played with that day. He told me that it was a lot like Tux Paint (the free kids' drawing program we have at home--I highly recommend it!) but the school program had a lot of cool features. Features.
We have a new family addition, just 5 1/2 weeks old now. We saw his first smile just yesterday, to which J responded, "Aw, look at that toothless grin!"
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