Advanced reader, need advice

Littlejen22

My son's teacher called today and talked with DH. Yesterday DS's Kimdergarten explained to DS that she was getting him a second grade reading buddy for him to read with while she is teaching the rest of the class how to read. DS got tearyeyed so she called us to talk to him. DS is an introvert and it appears his main concern is meeting someone new, meaning the reading buddy. I told him I would ask the teacher to have the buddy come to meet DS in his class before they start reading together. And I explained to DS that they would be reading in the hall.

So, what are your thoughts? Any other suggestions? Would you be happy or mad at this solution to DS being so ahead in reading. And if you were unhappy with it what other solution do you propose?

august06mom

I'm not sure why you would be unhappy ...? I think your solution to meeting him ahead of time is a good one.

Other than being nervous about meeting someone new, is there any other reason your DS doesn't want to do it?

neverblushed

Mom of 2 advanced readers here.  

On one hand I'd be happy because at least some effort would be made to accommodate my child's needs.  At least my child wouldn't be wasting time going through material he already knows.

On the other hand, I'd be aggravated because all the other kids are getting real teacher instruction that's appropriate for their reading level.  Your kid will be "taught" by a second grader.  Your kid's educational needs deserve to be met by a teacher, not by a reading buddy.

That being said, this might be the best solution the school can manage, given the resources they have. You might have to settle for this arrangement.

 I would talk up the idea of working with a really nice older-kid buddy -- make it sound appealing to your son.  Talk to the teacher and make sure that they pick a second grader who is a good match for your child. A mature girl or another quiet, sensitive boy might be a good choice.

Littlejen22

I think it is just that he is nervous which is typical for him. He seems ok with the idea this afternoon at least when he talked to me.

And mad was not the right word, I guess I wanted to know if others would be unsatisfied. I guess the idea of my introvert sitting in the hall does not sit well with me, the more I think about it the more it is bothering me. And Mrs Lee brings up a good point about this solution being child led versus teacher led. But he is in afternoon Kindergarten so chances are the 1st grades are doing reading in the morning so going there is not an option. I will look into if the gifted and talented program might be able to help him. I guess I am trying to balance in my head the fact that I know there are limited resources and the teacher has 17 kids she needs to teach how to read but at the same time my DS is still entitled to be taught reading this year and if this is the solution then he is actually not receiving this instruction.

I have a conference in 2 1/2 weeks, I have a feeling I am going to research before then and talk to the teacher about specifics then because as this point I do not know how much time we are even talking about.

oprastr

Mother of voracious readers and a teacher here! Couple of things cross my mind. First, does your child attend public school? If that is the case your school should be using the Rti model, in which case an advanced reader should be getting level appropriate interventions from a licensed teacher. I would not consider a reading buddy an appropriate intervention.

Secondly, I think one of the best things you can do for an advanced reader is to talk about what theyre reading. The comprehension part of reading is what really makes brains grow!

neverblushed

If he's in afternoon K, and 1st has reading in the morning, would they let him ride the bus in the morning and have language arts with a 1st grade class, eat lunch with them, then join his K class in the afternoon?  This way he'd get the instruction he needs in language arts from a teacher & surrounded by kids at his level.  But he would also get the socialization and support of the K classroom.

That would be a big change for him: going to school all day.

I have experience with this because it's what I did as a kid.  The school wanted me to just move up to 1st, but my mom really wanted me to have that year of K for the social/emotional growth.  I was also a shy/sensitive child, and this arrangement actually worked out well.  Eventually, closer to the spring, I moved into 1st grade all day.  By that time, I was socially better connected to my first grade classmates, and it was becoming hard to leave them each day and go to my K class.

Littlejen22

Thanks ladies for all the suggestions. He is in public school. And I have to sy it is nice to talk to people that do not act like I am nuts because I feel like everyone in town that has/had an advanced reader was just satisfied with the schools acknowledging this fact but doing nothing about it. I think I got even more nervous when my friend whose kids go to a different school in town and she is a teacher made a comment that ther first grade teacher said that over the year the kids tend to even out. Well of course the average students will catch up if no one is teaching the advanced students! I am sortof sickened by the fact that people are ok with that as a statistic.

And he is not anywhere near emotionally ready for first grade and a kindergarten has been great for him to grow in other areas. The other thing is that he is far ahead of them in math too, I have no idea how he did blob any of the PMAP but he can count double digit numbers, can count to 1,099, can subtract at least single digit numbers in his head, etc.

Ugh, frustrating.

Please feel free to keep giving suggestions. Like I said, I likely will not push anything until the conference but think I will need to after the conference. I actually might call the GT coordinator before then but in first and second grade it is an in classroom program.
"is an activitybased enrichment program that is integrated into each K1 classroom throughout the district. Teachers use enrichment kits that build upon the grade level curricula and provide differentiated learning activities to further challenge students higherorder thinking skills. Students, who are identified by their classroom teachers as having specific areas of interests or needed challenges, are provided with opportunities within the regular classroom to further develop these observed strengths."

neverblushed

Littlejen22:

1)Well of course the average students will catch up if no one is teaching the advanced students! I am sort of sickened by the fact that people are ok with that as a statistic.

2) in first and second grade it is an in classroom program. "is an activity based enrichment program that is integrated into each K1 classroom throughout the district. Teachers use enrichment kits that build upon the grade level curricula and provide differentiated learning activities to further challenge students higher order thinking skills. Students, who are identified by their classroom teachers as having specific areas of interests or needed challenges, are provided with opportunities within the regular classroom to further develop these observed strengths."

I totally share your frustration.  As far as #1, so much attention is put on "leaving no child behind" in public school that no one seems to care about meeting the needs of kids who are above grade level.  And I hate when people seem to imply that it's not that my kids are smarter than normal; it's just that I've somehow tried to game the system by "pushing" them ahead, and that it's somehow proper that they finally be slowed down once they get to school.  Groan!  

My school district also has a fairly nonchalant attitude about giftedness in primary grades.  I have found that the old "activity based enrichment program" really means "if the teacher gets around to creating enriching activities, your kid will get to do some of these, but this probably won't happen since it's low on the teacher's extensive list of priorities."

My DD has a late birthday.  Also, like you say, she wasn't ready for 1st grade math. And although she could make all her letters, her ability to write wasn't up to 1st grade speed either. She wasn't really a candidate for skipping to 1st grade, although she read at a high 3rd grade level when tested at the start of K.  During K and 1st, although she basically learned nothing in language arts, school was very worthwhile.  She did grow socially/emotionally, and her math and writing skills more or less caught up to her reading/thinking skills.  Then it wasn't so bad, because our magnet program starts in grade 4, and she had that to look forward to through 2nd and 3rd grades.  

DH and I have always said that, although our kids attend public school, they are mostly home-schooled.  We don't do worksheets or formal activities with them, but we both take every chance we can to live by the rule of A.B.T. -- always be teaching.

Hang in there! 

 

jlw2505

I don't get why you would be upset or unhappy.  Your child is an advanced reader so the teacher is making a special accomdation to keep him learning and moving forward vs being bored in class and not learning.  I don't see how this is not a great thing.  I get your child is shy - that is an easy fix by having the kids meet in advance, maybe the reading buddy can come play a time or 2 in class before they meet 1 on 1?

Littlejen22

jlw2505:

I don't get why you would be upset or unhappy.nbsp; Your child is an advanced reader so the teacher is making a special accomdation to keep him learning and moving forward vs being bored in class and not learning.nbsp; I don't see how this is not a great thing.nbsp; I get your child is shy that is an easy fix by having the kids meet in advance, maybe the reading buddy can come play a time or 2 in class before they meet 1 on 1?

This is why I posted, to see other people's opinions. But the reason I am not thrilled is that his "learning" will be from a 7yo instead of from a teacher do essentially the school is telling me that since my kid is ahead in reading he will receive no teaching in that subject this year.

I am not going to freak but I will talk to the teacher at conferences to see if anything more can be done.