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Parenting
So I totally had a hyperventilating freakout re: DS & school
I know it's years away, but I was reading the latest Parents magazine and they had a whole section about getting your kid ready for kindergarten. I started thinking about PAC and him going to school in that big building with hundreds of kids and homework and all the things he'll have to deal with.
They also had a section about kids' biggest fears about school:
- Going to the bathroom by themselves (what if he pees his pants and the other kids call him the smelly pee kid? What if he gets locked in the bathroom stall?)
- Walking through the huge school by himself--what if he gets lost and can't find his way back and ends up in the boiler or hvac room with the creepy janitor?!
- the cafeteria--my little guy, carrying that big tray around, or eating his lunch (what if he gets made fun of for his lunch? Or is someone steals his lunch?), and sitting at that big, long cafeteria bench?
- making friends--how's he going to make friends? What if kids are mean?
My poor boy. I don't think I'll ever NOT feel like he's still too little to deal with things like that.
I'm such a tool.
My babies!!
Patrick Aydin, 9.24.07, and Alia Noor, 6.1.11
This discussion has been closed.
Re: So I totally had a hyperventilating freakout re: DS & school
We have a K teacher on our local board, so I thought I would c&p some of the things she looks for in a child ready for K, and some things she likes from parents. Hopefully you will read it and see these things are not so tough! (It really calmed my fears to read some of this stuff--I was totally stressing on Alissa being ready)
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-MUST be able to recognize his/her name
-should be able to write their first name with one capital letter and the rest lowercase
-can button and zip own pants
-is confident enough to ask for help or ask to go to the bathroom
-should be able to wait until you are finished talking to someone else and doesn't tap you and yell, "MOM! MOM! MOM!" Interruptions in the classroom cause everyone's education to suffer. They'll have to take turns. Might as well start that NOW!
-should know where they are going after school and can't be swayed by a friend who really wants him/her to come play at her house. The bus looks really cool but if you're supposed to go to CLC and you try to get on the bus, we're going to have problems!
-should be able to draw a picture with a head, then a body, and legs and arms extending from the body. no head with arms coming out of it.
-should be able to look at the pictures of a book and tell you what is happening
-can sit for 15-20 minutes without having to be super entertained.
-understands that sometimes things don't go your way. no fits. you will be removed from my classroom
-should be able to put own shoes on. Being able to tie them would be great, but a start is recommended. They should be able to tie their shoes before the end of kindergarten for sure
-can run a mouse on a computer
-when coloring uses several colors
-can count objects one-to-one (example: they count the number of blocks they are putting away. They don't put blocks away one at a time and say "1, 2, 3..." then suddenly grab 2 blocks but only say "4" when they put those 2 more blocks in. Does that make sense?)
-accepts consequences for their actions
-should understand the directionality of words (they can move their finger in a left to right direction as if they were reading, then move to the next row correctly). turns pages of a book in the correct way
-should know the names of all letters and the sounds for many of them
-can tell you about the story you just read
-draws pictures and tells you what they are about and you can see some main elements of the story in the picture. (ex: if she's telling you about the park and you can sort of see a slide, that's great. If she's telling you about the park and she has a picture of bedroom, that's not so good)
-sings along with songs
This is only my second year on the job but I've worked childcare and parents are parents. I'll add them as I think of them but here are a few for now...
-I hate when parents have a problem but it was a looooong time ago. They didn't talk to me about it then so how am I supposed to fix that now? If it's important enough to say something now, why wasn't it important enough to you then?
-I hate when parents act like their child is "advanced" and ask me what I'm doing for their child who already knows all of this stuff. Well- from the formative AND summative assessments - your child doesn't have that skill. Instead of worrying about what I'm doing for them beyond the regular kindergarten curriculum, let's teach them the standard stuff first. If they need more, I'll provide more and we'll discuss it then. thankyouverymuch.
-I hate it when parents come in and say, "oh he/she is a handful. Good luck!" That's basically giving the kid permission to act like a butt. So irritating. I know those parents aren't going to do anything to help back me up so it's almost pointless asking.
Basically all you really need to do to be a good parent is...
-bring your kid to school on time with a full belly each morning
-Sign the forms and send them back. If you don't then the office will be hounding me. I don't want to deal with them because you can't sign your name and put it in your kid's backpack.
-volunteer when asked but don't hover. If we need you we'll ask.
-send a box of kleenexes every month or 2 (those aren't provided. we buy all of those.)
-same goes for hand sanitizer
-read read read read read. Don't try to teach them. Just read to "teach" them the enjoyment of reading. It's a happy time for you. If they want to know something they'll ask you, and believe me, they will.
-actually look at the work your kid does. Talk to them about it. Don't come to conferences and act like you've never seen their work.
-believe the teacher. I don't lie to parents. If I tell you your kid is being a butt, don't say, "Really? My kid? She's never done that before!" more along the lines of, "I'm sorry he/she is having this problem. We'll talk about it and work on it at home. Please keep in touch. He/She knows that sort of thing is not ok because he/she doesn't do it at home." We're a team here. Act like it.
-Actually care about your kid. If you don't care they won't care. I actually do care. 17/18 kids is not good enough for me. I want all of them to "get it." I can't be the only one who cares. I want all of them to be happy and to feel successful. I've seen some bad parenting, but at least some of those parents were trying. It's the lack of parenting that really really gets me. It makes me so sad for the poor child who has to deal with a parent who doesn't seem to care. That's so not fair.
photos by jennied photography
Alissa Jean
9.10.2004
Coming from a former teacher, MANY of those skills are skills learned / taught in K. Nobody should freak out if their kid still draws big head people with arms and legs in the wrong place, or can't write their name, or doesn't know the letter sounds. I taught 1st and buttoned many pants, tied many shoes, and knew that my kids couldn't sit still for more than about 10 minutes if we were reading a story or something. Lots on that list is developmentally appropriate for some, but not all, 5 year olds.
OMG DITTO!!! Remember when many of those skills were Kindergarten taught. WTF happened? Why are we pushing our children to learn things they are not ready for? Dd goes to a preschool on a college campus run by early childhood educators with PhDs..... their focus is to learn through play and follow the child's lead. If they are not ready to write, they are not. If you force it, they will resent learning. But one friend went on interviews for kindergartens.. her dd had to say her alphabet, count as high as she could, write her name, recognize shapes and colors and then they talked with her.. one question was (after they laid out pics of about 5 objects), If you had to pack a bag , which two would you pick and why? SERIOUSLY? The child turned to her mother and just said "I don't get it." WTF were they thinking? I would have walked out. that's where her child is going to school this year.