School-Aged Children
Littlejen22
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Thanks everyone for your insight on K
Littlejen22
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I feel like I need to start a new post because it is getting long. I appreciate all the insight, it shows me that if full day is done well then I am sure I will like it.
As for the busy work comment, I did not mean to insult anyone and did not mean to stir up anything. I know I would not feel this way if my son was not where he is already, and I also know he learns a lot and he enjoys school. And it is not a critism of the teacher but of the system.
Shopgirl, thanks for your comments as a teacher. I think some of the reasons they are considering the change is we have transitional first grade and in K there is an extra program for one hour free for kids that need extra help, I think those programs are being used too much so they are trying to find a way to fill the gap. Our school is small with only 36 Kindergarten students, 18 morning and 18 afternoon, so at this point he is the only one reading at the level from what I understand and in 2 1/2 hours there is limited time to accommodate the kids that are ahead, or at least this is how I feel things are going. Who knows, maybe if they were there full day there would be more time, I just worry it would be more time of the same. And like I said, he learns a lot there but I am doing more of the actual reading and math although not according to the curriculm, we work on different math like money.
As for the busy work comment, I did not mean to insult anyone and did not mean to stir up anything. I know I would not feel this way if my son was not where he is already, and I also know he learns a lot and he enjoys school. And it is not a critism of the teacher but of the system.
Shopgirl, thanks for your comments as a teacher. I think some of the reasons they are considering the change is we have transitional first grade and in K there is an extra program for one hour free for kids that need extra help, I think those programs are being used too much so they are trying to find a way to fill the gap. Our school is small with only 36 Kindergarten students, 18 morning and 18 afternoon, so at this point he is the only one reading at the level from what I understand and in 2 1/2 hours there is limited time to accommodate the kids that are ahead, or at least this is how I feel things are going. Who knows, maybe if they were there full day there would be more time, I just worry it would be more time of the same. And like I said, he learns a lot there but I am doing more of the actual reading and math although not according to the curriculm, we work on different math like money.
Jen - Mom to two December 12 babies
Nathaniel 12/12/06 and Addison 12/12/08
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Re: Thanks everyone for your insight on K
Littlejen -- I think that in your specific situation, your kids will flourish in whatever type of K is chosen by your school district because you will continue to be there guiding and enriching them before and beyond the end of the school day.
I suspect that you will find that much of the K curriculum is stuff your kids already know.inside out and backwards. On the other hand, some of the "lessons" of K will be things that you can't really teach at home and that even the preschool can't teach. One such lesson might be: How To Handle It If Your Center Activity Involves Playing A Game And Your Partner Cheats And The Teacher Is Busy With Another Reading Group And Wants You To Deal With It On Your Own Anyway. (I acknowledge that certainly kids might have some experience with this type of thing in preschool, but I found that my kids' preschool classmates all came from families with very similar values, and that it wasn't until the wider social scene of the K classroom that my kids had to seriously figure out how to handle other kids who were poor sports and/or cheaters.)
I found that those non-academic moments were the best "lessons" that took place during K. In the long run, those lessons will take place whether your school opts for 1/2 or full day. In either scenario, you will continue to provide academic enrichment at home that keeps them ahead of the expectations of the school. Ultimately, the school will do what is best for the most people. Your family may or may not benefit from the decision, but you will still be there to make it work for your kids.
And you do make a huge point that most of the kids at our preschool are from similar backgrounds and there are surprisingly little problems in the class there, part of the reason I did not stay for Kindergarten there is fear that the transition would be harder in first than in Kindergarten for DS, not sure what DD will be like.
Now I am off to check if his weekly homework is finished already he usually does most on Monday by choice. Thanks again.