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!"
Monday, November 23, 2009
A Challenge!
A week ago, J's teacher sent home a packet of worksheets. She said she'd gotten them from a friend of hers who teaches first grade and uses them to challenge the kids who are a bit ahead in her classes.
J is eating them up! He did a sheet about long and short vowel sounds, and when he had to choose a word for a long U and long O, he chose, on his own, November and vocabulary. Usually, he tries to pick the shortest words he can think of so he doesn't have to write so much (exerting much more effort to think of the short words than it would take to just write a slightly longer one!)
And when he was done, he suggested that the page needed to be colored, which he finished under his own willpower and direction.
He finished a crossword-type page in about 3 minutes, all by himself. My jaw about hit the floor! What, no nagging?
Can you hear my sigh of relief? It seems he really was bored with the regular kindergarten homework.
And you should have seen his eyes when his teacher told us that there's a new packet for each month, and that will be his own "special" homework from now on. I think we're all happy about this new arrangement!
J is eating them up! He did a sheet about long and short vowel sounds, and when he had to choose a word for a long U and long O, he chose, on his own, November and vocabulary. Usually, he tries to pick the shortest words he can think of so he doesn't have to write so much (exerting much more effort to think of the short words than it would take to just write a slightly longer one!)
And when he was done, he suggested that the page needed to be colored, which he finished under his own willpower and direction.
He finished a crossword-type page in about 3 minutes, all by himself. My jaw about hit the floor! What, no nagging?
Can you hear my sigh of relief? It seems he really was bored with the regular kindergarten homework.
And you should have seen his eyes when his teacher told us that there's a new packet for each month, and that will be his own "special" homework from now on. I think we're all happy about this new arrangement!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Parent-Teacher Conference
I got more than my allotted 15 minutes with J's teacher. When we sat down, the first thing she said was, "Jared is wonderful and amazing!" Which sounds just like kindergarten teacher talk. But then she went on, saying that academically, he's way beyond anyone else in his class.
She told some fun stories about the standardized testing they do in their class. Student's moms volunteer to take children out into the hall and administer the simple tests, such as the IRI I wrote about before. She showed me one of his tests, which consisted of about 50 words in boxes. The mom asked J to read as many words as he knew. He rolled his eyes and said, "I can read all of them!" The mom made him prove it, and of course he rattled them off quickly. The mom went back into the classroom and told the teacher about his "come on, people!" attitude and how he'd actually read all the words!
The teacher and I had a good laugh about that.
She mentioned that he needs to work on cutting, which makes no sense to me. Some of the work he's brought home looks like an adult cut it out (I thought the teacher had done it). She was concerned, however, that it took him so long, and that all the other kids finished first. I explained that it's perfectionism, that he's just trying really hard. I hope that point made it across to her. Because he can cut fast, and pretty well, but when it counts, he is super meticulous. Hmmm....I wonder where he got that trait from? (The answer is from both his parents)
I told her about our struggle with writing. He just doesn't like to do that. She had picked up on that, but says that he does write for her. That's good. I suspect, as with most things he does, that he'll struggle for a little while and then suddenly it will "click" and he'll zoom ahead with that skill, too.
When we first sat down, I mentioned that I didn't know if J's skills would even show in a kindergarten classroom setting. I mean, if they don't ask the kids to read anything besides See Spot Run, how would she know that he can read words like "glacier" and "defibrillator?" If the math curriculum consists of grabbing buttons out of a jar and counting them, how would she know that at home, he usually groups things in equal numbers and multiplies to see how many there are?
But she said it's obvious that he's far ahead of the class. She gave me quite a bit of evidence that J's entire class is advanced. This is her first year at the Math & Science Magnet school, and at her previous school she taught the advanced group of kindergarten children. She says that because it's a magnet school with an application process, the kids have involved parents, and the whole class is about at the level of her advanced class from her previous school.
But on her Waterford computer program that tells the reading level of each child, every one of those "advanced" kindergartners is on level 1. Except J, who is on level 3.
J's teacher brought up how the standardized test scores only catch children who are performing below grade level, so they mean nothing for J.
The most profound thing J's teacher said during the conference was about skipping a grade. She said she considered trying to figure out how to send J to first grade for reading and math, but then decided that it was pointless because he'd still be above grade level. And no one would think that skipping a kindergartner to third grade would be a good idea.
And how's this for asynchronous development. The teacher and I both agree that he couldn't hack 3rd, 2nd, or even 1st grade, because he doesn't know how to write all his answers. He can perform verbally, but he still writes like a kindergartner.
I mentioned that J wouldn't take his favorite Magic Treehouse books to school for Pajamas & Popcorn day, and insisted on taking the first book he ever read (Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?) instead. I am concerned that he's trying to hide his reading ability from his classmates. She said he tries really hard to fit in, but she's concerned about that, too. She said she often has him read the title of the books she's about to read to the class, and other such things, but is worried that he feels "weird" because he knows how to read and no one else in the class does. We never came to a conclusion about her suggestion that she let him go read by himself, if he loves to read that much. I said he does love to read that much, but we both worry that he'll feel ostracized from the class.
She says that the rest of the class is advanced enough that she has to teach them how to read. She just can't hold them back, so she just got approval from the principal to add a new program called SIPS. She used it with her advanced group of kindergartners in her previous school. And she hopes that teaching the other kids how to read will help Jared feel more comfortable with his own abilities. We can only hope!
I came away relieved that the teacher recognizes J's abilities and my plight, but disappointed that she doesn't have any answers, either. I guess that's how it goes! But wouldn't it be nice if someone would just hand me a solution?
She told some fun stories about the standardized testing they do in their class. Student's moms volunteer to take children out into the hall and administer the simple tests, such as the IRI I wrote about before. She showed me one of his tests, which consisted of about 50 words in boxes. The mom asked J to read as many words as he knew. He rolled his eyes and said, "I can read all of them!" The mom made him prove it, and of course he rattled them off quickly. The mom went back into the classroom and told the teacher about his "come on, people!" attitude and how he'd actually read all the words!
The teacher and I had a good laugh about that.
She mentioned that he needs to work on cutting, which makes no sense to me. Some of the work he's brought home looks like an adult cut it out (I thought the teacher had done it). She was concerned, however, that it took him so long, and that all the other kids finished first. I explained that it's perfectionism, that he's just trying really hard. I hope that point made it across to her. Because he can cut fast, and pretty well, but when it counts, he is super meticulous. Hmmm....I wonder where he got that trait from? (The answer is from both his parents)
I told her about our struggle with writing. He just doesn't like to do that. She had picked up on that, but says that he does write for her. That's good. I suspect, as with most things he does, that he'll struggle for a little while and then suddenly it will "click" and he'll zoom ahead with that skill, too.
When we first sat down, I mentioned that I didn't know if J's skills would even show in a kindergarten classroom setting. I mean, if they don't ask the kids to read anything besides See Spot Run, how would she know that he can read words like "glacier" and "defibrillator?" If the math curriculum consists of grabbing buttons out of a jar and counting them, how would she know that at home, he usually groups things in equal numbers and multiplies to see how many there are?
But she said it's obvious that he's far ahead of the class. She gave me quite a bit of evidence that J's entire class is advanced. This is her first year at the Math & Science Magnet school, and at her previous school she taught the advanced group of kindergarten children. She says that because it's a magnet school with an application process, the kids have involved parents, and the whole class is about at the level of her advanced class from her previous school.
But on her Waterford computer program that tells the reading level of each child, every one of those "advanced" kindergartners is on level 1. Except J, who is on level 3.
J's teacher brought up how the standardized test scores only catch children who are performing below grade level, so they mean nothing for J.
The most profound thing J's teacher said during the conference was about skipping a grade. She said she considered trying to figure out how to send J to first grade for reading and math, but then decided that it was pointless because he'd still be above grade level. And no one would think that skipping a kindergartner to third grade would be a good idea.
And how's this for asynchronous development. The teacher and I both agree that he couldn't hack 3rd, 2nd, or even 1st grade, because he doesn't know how to write all his answers. He can perform verbally, but he still writes like a kindergartner.
I mentioned that J wouldn't take his favorite Magic Treehouse books to school for Pajamas & Popcorn day, and insisted on taking the first book he ever read (Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?) instead. I am concerned that he's trying to hide his reading ability from his classmates. She said he tries really hard to fit in, but she's concerned about that, too. She said she often has him read the title of the books she's about to read to the class, and other such things, but is worried that he feels "weird" because he knows how to read and no one else in the class does. We never came to a conclusion about her suggestion that she let him go read by himself, if he loves to read that much. I said he does love to read that much, but we both worry that he'll feel ostracized from the class.
She says that the rest of the class is advanced enough that she has to teach them how to read. She just can't hold them back, so she just got approval from the principal to add a new program called SIPS. She used it with her advanced group of kindergartners in her previous school. And she hopes that teaching the other kids how to read will help Jared feel more comfortable with his own abilities. We can only hope!
I came away relieved that the teacher recognizes J's abilities and my plight, but disappointed that she doesn't have any answers, either. I guess that's how it goes! But wouldn't it be nice if someone would just hand me a solution?
No Easy Answers
I realized today that when J started school, I was hoping for some relief. For once, J's brain wouldn't be my burden to bear alone. I wanted an ally, some professional help in handling the great responsibility I feel. I especially realized that my unstructured instruction on whatever topic J wanted to discuss was leaving major gaps in his education, and counted on school to fill those in.
But the past two months since J started kindergarten have gradually disappointed me, leaving me to realize that school really won't be much of a help. I am grateful that school is filling in the gaps, as I'd hoped, but it's definitely just brought its own problems.
That point was made clear today at my first ever teacher-parent conference, which I'll write about in a separate post.
But the past two months since J started kindergarten have gradually disappointed me, leaving me to realize that school really won't be much of a help. I am grateful that school is filling in the gaps, as I'd hoped, but it's definitely just brought its own problems.
That point was made clear today at my first ever teacher-parent conference, which I'll write about in a separate post.
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