Thoughts?

shadypines

Do you think this type of note is appropriate for a kindergarten (4 & 5 yrs. old)?Note: Ooops! Today I did not earn my stamp because I:  Date: ____
__ Did not stay in my seat.
__ Did not stop talking when it was not my turn to talk.
__ Did not raise my hand to speak.
__ Was disrespectful to my teacher, classmates, or another adult.
__ Misbehaved at lunch.
__ Was acting silly and playing.
__ Did not finish my work.
__ Did not pay attention when my teacher was teaching.
__ Misbehaved in the bathroom.
__ Misbehaved at P.E., Music, Library, or Character Education.
__ Misbehaved on the playground.
__ Continued to play even in timeout.
__ Did not mind my own business.

Parent Signature_______________________________

PunkyBooster

I personally would take issue with that note.

I'd much rather the teacher tell me if there's a real problem. Like excessive hitting, biting, etc.

Staying in his seat? Talking out of turn? Guess what? That's called a 5 yr old.

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LoveActually4

I don't mind the idea of it but some of the items are completely unrealistic. Mind your own business? Ah, no.

I find the entire letter has a negative undertone and I feel it could be written with a more positive spin.

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shadypines

emkatrine said:

I don't have a kindergartener, but that seems kinda crazy.

"Did not mind my own business" made me side-eye the most. Is this note for real?

@emkatrine

DS came home with a packet from the teacher. And this was in it. I was little put off myself with that one along with..

Was acting silly and playing

klondikebar

I'm on my 3rd kindergartener and have never heard of a note like that. The teacher will contact parents if there is an ongoing behavioral issue. It seems like a waste of time on a daily notes for minor infractions if they aren't a common occurrence..

Libby1978

Yeah, that's a bit much.  Most of those "issues" just sound like a 4 or 5 year old acting like a 4 or 5 year old.

ppants

When DS flips a card at school, I have to rely on what he says as to the reason why.  It has happened before that he "doesn't remember" so I don't usually give it too much thought.  Plus if it's truly an issue, I expect the teacher will contact me.  FWIW, yes these are the types of behavior expectations of K.

MrsJakes

Is it a one strike and your out kind of thing? Or does it take several instances of "did not raise my hand to speak" to get that checked off? 

They should be learning how to do these things in kindergarten, so I would want to know if my child is having any problems with what is expected of them. The behavioral aspect is just as important as the educational aspect. I want to know if they are having issues in either area. 

shadypines

Libby1978 said:

Yeah, that's a bit much.  Most of those "issues" just sound like a 4 or 5 year old acting like a 4 or 5 year old.

@Libby1978 its been awhile since I had a 5 yr old kindergartner.... But I was like WTF.... 8-|

Libby1978

Manneek1977 said:

Libby1978 said:

Yeah, that's a bit much.  Most of those "issues" just sound like a 4 or 5 year old acting like a 4 or 5 year old.

@Libby1978 its been awhile since I had a 5 yr old kindergartner.... But I was like WTF.... 8-|

Yeah, it's been a while for me too, but that list is crazy.  Why are kids allowed to act silly and play in kindergarten? @Manneek1977

ppants

With my kids they get up to 3 warnings for a behavior before having to have a color change. 

MrsJakes

kiraliz2 said:

Was acting silly and playing? So like, all kids always?

There's a time to act silly and play, and there's a time to sit in your seat and do your work. If they are acting silly and playing at an inappropriate time, I think it's acceptable to have that as a check box. 

Libby1978

Libby1978 said:

Manneek1977 said:

Libby1978 said:

Yeah, that's a bit much.  Most of those "issues" just sound like a 4 or 5 year old acting like a 4 or 5 year old.

@Libby1978 its been awhile since I had a 5 yr old kindergartner.... But I was like WTF.... 8-|

Yeah, it's been a while for me too, but that list is crazy.  Why are kids allowed to act silly and play in kindergarten? @Manneek1977

I mena NOT allowed. 

ReeseFox

I would assume they don't lose their stamp for just one offense. Like, they kept talking out of turn after being warned (maybe repeatedly). I don't think it's so outrageous. Yes, these are all normal behaviors for the age, but they're also supposed to be learning to NOT do those things.

ReeseFox

MotherOfPearl85 said:

At 5, shouldn't there be some common understanding of following the rules. I highly doubt the teacher would withhold the stamp after one time. Most likely after multiple prompts the teacher tells the child they didn't receive the stamp for the day.

Ha! I replied before reading all the responses. Great minds!

ReeseFox

andrea99 said:

Ugh.  This sounds like SD's K teacher.  She seriously had such high expectations for 5 and 6 year olds.  Does this teacher have kids?  The problem with our K teacher was that her LO was about 18 months, and she had no idea what that age was really like.

Do you really think that she came to be a Kindergarten teacher with absolutely no knowledge of the age? I'm pretty sure childhood development classes are standard requirements to teach.

LoveActually4

MH is a teacher and he says for very negative feedback there should be a positive one. So if she's going to send home notes about bad behaviours she should have a checklist for all of the good things your kid is doing as well.

shadypines

mamaREB29 said:

MH is a teacher and he says for very negative feedback there should be a positive one. So if she's going to send home notes about bad behaviours she should have a checklist for all of the good things your kid is doing as well.

@mamaREB29

Great idea..

MrsJakes

kiraliz2 said:

MrsJakes said:

kiraliz2 said:

Was acting silly and playing? So like, all kids always?

There's a time to act silly and play, and there's a time to sit in your seat and do your work. If they are acting silly and playing at an inappropriate time, I think it's acceptable to have that as a check box. 

Then it should be worded differently or fall under another category. I'll never tell my kid they are in trouble for acting silly or playing in those words.

This is a note to the parents. The kindergartner isn't going to be reading it, and if they do manage to read it and understand what it says, they will already know they were acting silly and playing at an inappropriate time.

Edited for clarity.

ReeseFox

andrea99 said:

ReeseFox said:

andrea99 said:

Ugh.  This sounds like SD's K teacher.  She seriously had such high expectations for 5 and 6 year olds.  Does this teacher have kids?  The problem with our K teacher was that her LO was about 18 months, and she had no idea what that age was really like.

Do you really think that she came to be a Kindergarten teacher with absolutely no knowledge of the age? I'm pretty sure childhood development classes are standard requirements to teach.

While I get that, this woman was seriously ridiculous.  She made these kids feel like shit.  They would get notes sent home daily telling us how awful they were.  And then on the report cards it would tell you how many notes your kid had vs the class average.  SD's said something like 55 to a class average of 11.  But when I talked to other parents, all of their kids' report cards said the same thing.  It was seriously fucked up.


That' pretty fucked up, but it sounds like she was just a bitch, and probably not well suited to her job. But I don't think it has anything to do with not having a 5 y/o herself.

aforst

This sounds just like DS1's Kindergarten. He is constantly getting notes sent home for "being silly." I understand they need to learn that there is a time and place for being silly in school, but it's kind of ridiculous to notify us every time.

I'm with you. Tell us if there is a major ongoing problem. I don't need to know every time he giggles with a classmate.

ReeseFox

andrea99 said:

ReeseFox said:

ReeseFox said:

andrea99 said:

Ugh.  This sounds like SD's K teacher.  She seriously had such high expectations for 5 and 6 year olds.  Does this teacher have kids?  The problem with our K teacher was that her LO was about 18 months, and she had no idea what that age was really like.

Do you really think that she came to be a Kindergarten teacher with absolutely no knowledge of the age? I'm pretty sure childhood development classes are standard requirements to teach.

While I get that, this woman was seriously ridiculous.  She made these kids feel like shit.  They would get notes sent home daily telling us how awful they were.  And then on the report cards it would tell you how many notes your kid had vs the class average.  SD's said something like 55 to a class average of 11.  But when I talked to other parents, all of their kids' report cards said the same thing.  It was seriously fucked up.

That' pretty fucked up, but it sounds like she was just a bitch, and probably not well suited to her job. But I don't think it has anything to do with not having a 5 y/o herself.

That could be true.  I think a lot of us parents just assumed it was because, while you can read about an age all you want, kids don't always act how the textbooks tell you they will.  That's why it's hard to understand until your LO gets to that age.  K is a really big time for learning and adjustment, and you can't expect them to just *get it* all at once. 

Was this her first year teaching? I get your point about textbook v. real kid, but any reasonable person after getting a feel for the actual kids would learn to adjust their expectations accordingly. Common sense should tell you if ALL  the kids act differently than expected, it's the expectation that's flawed, not the kids.

shadypines

aforst said:

This sounds just like DS1's Kindergarten. He is constantly getting notes sent home for "being silly." I understand they need to learn that there is a time and place for being silly in school, but it's kind of ridiculous to notify us every time. I'm with you. Tell us if there is a major ongoing problem. I don't need to know every time he giggles with a classmate.

@aforst

Sent you a PM....

shadypines

emkatrine said:

emkatrine said:

I don't have a kindergartener, but that seems kinda crazy.

"Did not mind my own business" made me side-eye the most. Is this note for real?

@emkatrine

DS came home with a packet from the teacher. And this was in it. I was little put off myself with that one along with..

Was acting silly and playing

I think that teacher might be expecting too much from a grade that is for having fun and learning the routines and schedules of school. Isn't K supposed to be a prep for grade school? If so, she might be teaching the wrong grade.

I agree.  19 5yr olds in 1 class with no teacher's aide. I think that could be a bit much too.

Libby1978

Here's the thing, part of pre-K and K is learning the "rules" for school.  You have to leave room for error in the learning process.  If you browbeat someone about every little mistake in the learning process they are more likely to shut down and not learn what they are supposed to.

In other words, the K teacher that wrote this ridiculous list of "issues" for a bunch of 4 and 5 year olds needs to remove the huge stick from his/her ass.  Or teach an older grade that already knows all the rules.

shadypines

@emkatrine same here....

~X(

MrsJakes

Did the school year just start for your son or has he been going for a while? The kids here have been in school for almost 2 months. 

shadypines

MrsJakes said:

Did the school year just start for your son or has he been going for a while? The kids here have been in school for almost 2 months. 

Sept 5

Wow! Where do you live?

74dragonfly

This seems excessive to me. Id rather get a note weekly if something is a repeat issue/ I suspect my DD would get a lot of these notes. I also dont like the negativity of it. 

Libby1978

Manneek1977 said:

MrsJakes said:

Did the school year just start for your son or has he been going for a while? The kids here have been in school for almost 2 months. 

Sept 5

Wow! Where do you live?

My kids started August 9th.  Almost 2 months ago as well!

MrsJakes

Manneek1977 said:

MrsJakes said:

Did the school year just start for your son or has he been going for a while? The kids here have been in school for almost 2 months. 

Sept 5

Wow! Where do you live?

Tennessee. They started the first week in August. 

shadypines

MrsJakes said:

Manneek1977 said:

MrsJakes said:

Did the school year just start for your son or has he been going for a while? The kids here have been in school for almost 2 months. 

Sept 5

Wow! Where do you live?

Tennessee. They started the first week in August. 

Oh ok.... Interesting.....

lildevil968

I think it is. DD's K teacher had something like this, and so does her 4th grade teacher. I think it lets the kids, and the parents know that there is room for improvement in their behavior in class.

SpaceGirlSpiff

Yeah a few of those are definitely side eye worthy.... 

"Didnt mind my own business" ...wt..?

Kids these days...wantin' to act silly and play. Pft.

shadypines

katem3277 said:

I think those are all good things to work on (I assume the acting silly/playing is meant for a time when they should be paying attention or whatever).  Is it one strike and no stamp or do you have to have several of those offenses before your stamp is taken away?

@Katem3277 I will address those concerns with her at our upcoming meeting. We need further clarification.

LuckyDad

Libby1978 said:

Here's the thing, part of pre-K and K is learning the "rules" for school.  You have to leave room for error in the learning process.  If you browbeat someone about every little mistake in the learning process they are more likely to shut down and not learn what they are supposed to.

In other words, the K teacher that wrote this ridiculous list of "issues" for a bunch of 4 and 5 year olds needs to remove the huge stick from his/her ass.  Or teach an older grade that already knows all the rules.

I think I will echo this. I'm not sure this is the best way to teach the skills Kindergartners are supposed to be learning, but not necessarily have mastered until closer to the end of the school year.

EMOmamma

That's a long, specific list.  I can't imagine that with kids that age more than 1 out of 5 of them wouldn't have at least one thing checked off every day.  Especially at the beginning of the year.  The other issue is that if it's coming home every night it will just turn to white noise for the parents - I would glance at it and sign it after a week straight of getting them.  

Lastly, how does she have time to do these every day?!? 

Unknown

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pandaglitter

I think that if these notes are coming home every day with things checked for whatever your kid did that day, then that's a problem. If it's once in awhile for repeatedly doing things they've been asked not to do and they've had an off day, or they consistently aren't listening or doing something, then that makes sense, but I know my kid isn't behaving properly 100% of the time. I don't need a note saying she did something wrong unless its a real problem and she didn't correct the behavior and had major sassy pants and went crazy (or continuously is having an issue we can work on).

Playing and being silly while the teacher is trying to talk I can understand? But it seems like it could be cut down to "didn't listen" or "was disrespectful" or "hurt someone or something" if they're going for vague descriptions. I don't know why there are so many choices...you might as well just write in what happened.