Parents of 5th graders - let’s talk

[Anonymous]

[twitter]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach that age-group and yes; the changes are profound. Not in every kid, but in a very significant cohort.

My child didn’t get the multiplication table memorized. It was started and just got lost in the whole mess. What can you suggest to strengthen this?

NP. I am not a teacher but I taught my kids multiplication anyway. Just buy some flash cards and some math multiplication card games (sold on Amazon). Quiz your kid in the car on the way to soccer. Has to be fun and consistent - and it can take a concerted effort for some kids.

Me again. Buy this.

I meant to say above that my kids are older and didn’t miss out on multiplication during Covid but it still took some extra work to get the multiplying facts to stick. Just make it a goal that you will make your kid fluent this summer.

https://www.amazon.com/Edupress-Resources-Teaching-Material-EP63953/dp/B0722GV9KQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?crid=1UFQXKET7K8VJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-Fo3UjY_Gq73QKah9GRY8BIMSvF43fpGnorgMhNoxI4zkk6SvyS9knlSQFO71r_4ebZTHe9SVFjBkMZwTXLexXwfvCtu9APeOPr6GYG8WSyraIRtvnBhlYshdm-ANBtV7qiDLRis2UJYE7wdxoYwQ1XG7K7zVdy05W7M8_iehLK4nsNjLLldpJuZbbeSuUbPgNuV0yra6dBa6AVdmlew_A.Wt3dMvgw0ECLFveIVpTWaSJpsBvViFiXL0-5ZbQBjB8&dib_tag=se&keywords=math+multiplication+games&qid=1714823655&sprefix=math+mult%2Caps%2C84&sr=8-4

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[twitter]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach that age-group and yes; the changes are profound. Not in every kid, but in a very significant cohort.

My child didn’t get the multiplication table memorized. It was started and just got lost in the whole mess. What can you suggest to strengthen this?

NP. I am not a teacher but I taught my kids multiplication anyway. Just buy some flash cards and some math multiplication card games (sold on Amazon). Quiz your kid in the car on the way to soccer. Has to be fun and consistent - and it can take a concerted effort for some kids.

Me again. Buy this.

I meant to say above that my kids are older and didn’t miss out on multiplication during Covid but it still took some extra work to get the multiplying facts to stick. Just make it a goal that you will make your kid fluent this summer.

https://www.amazon.com/Edupress-Resources-Teaching-Material-EP63953/dp/B0722GV9KQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?crid=1UFQXKET7K8VJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-Fo3UjY_Gq73QKah9GRY8BIMSvF43fpGnorgMhNoxI4zkk6SvyS9knlSQFO71r_4ebZTHe9SVFjBkMZwTXLexXwfvCtu9APeOPr6GYG8WSyraIRtvnBhlYshdm-ANBtV7qiDLRis2UJYE7wdxoYwQ1XG7K7zVdy05W7M8_iehLK4nsNjLLldpJuZbbeSuUbPgNuV0yra6dBa6AVdmlew_A.Wt3dMvgw0ECLFveIVpTWaSJpsBvViFiXL0-5ZbQBjB8&dib_tag=se&keywords=math+multiplication+games&qid=1714823655&sprefix=math+mult%2Caps%2C84&sr=8-4

Oh and buy this too:

https://www.amazon.com/School-Zone-Multiplication-Cards-Tables/dp/0887432875/ref=pd_aw_fbt_img_m_sccl_1/135-7064256-9129300?pd_rd_w=D3tGJ&content-id=amzn1.sym.6d90cd56-3eed-4d23-b409-a3b634cfdc4d&pf_rd_p=6d90cd56-3eed-4d23-b409-a3b634cfdc4d&pf_rd_r=MEEW20FV96S2MYJJW3CM&pd_rd_wg=1ZXTZ&pd_rd_r=8792459d-83e3-41c7-adf7-ce945f7d655f&pd_rd_i=0887432875&psc=1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach that age-group and yes; the changes are profound. Not in every kid, but in a very significant cohort.

My child didn’t get the multiplication table memorized. It was started and just got lost in the whole mess. What can you suggest to strengthen this?

Reflex daily. It's an app and the best.

[Anonymous]

It seems very kid specific. Learning issues that would have been there anyway were ignored and blamed on covid so this delayed some kids getting help. Also I think there are some social quirks that could be Covid related.

[Anonymous]

I put my now-5th grader in private for 2nd onward because of covid, but we're still very close friends with about 8 kids who are in public and had that online year. I do not see major differences in maturity right now. I hear them talking about school and they all sound engaged, for example they all love history and chatter about it. My kid is more comfortable in math and writing, but that can be a personal variation not a sign the other kids are lagging as a group.
We have admittedly self-selected into a group with similar parenting styles, so that affects how much you can generalize.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. Not really. I don’t think the pandemic was a big deal for my kids. They go to Catholic school, so other than spring 2020, they were mostly back in the classroom starting fall 2020, albeit with a lot of changes. Plus, they were at an age where they still liked being with us. And I supplemented their work.

Yeah, we were in a public school and spring of 1st was a total loss.

Then kids were fully virtual for all of 2nd and that was pretty much a total loss too. The principal of our school agree with teacher that it was too much to teach virtually all day so she let teachers combine classes, so the video calls has 45-60 second graders on them. It was awful.

Then third grade was still full of masks and distancing and Covid tests (at school). It was an improvement, but not great. Kids were all over the place with some kids still not knowing how to read or their addition/subtraction facts and others being advanced from being home schooled. None of the kids knew appropriate classroom behavior and our teachers (in a very very Covid cautious school) were scared, stressed and unhappy to be there because they all thought they were going to get sick and die. They did almost everything on iPads because they thought they'd get Covid from paper. Kids still had to stay 6 feet apart and couldn't get up from their desks. It wasn't a good.

Finally 4th was normal-ish. But kids were still really behind. The schools had done nothing to remediate kids who were behind. There were no extra resources. The teacher shared that half of the 4th grade class was still writing their 5s backwards.

It's been a slong, but most kids seem to be on track now in 5th.

The kids with ADHD and LD who would have gotten resources and support in end of 1st or 2nd, hopefully making progress in 3rd, really suffered the most. It's hard to make up those losses. There were kids at a kindergarten reading level going into 3rd who hasn't had supports or interventions for a year and a half. That's hard to make up when by 3rd and 4th kids should be reading to learn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. Not really. I don’t think the pandemic was a big deal for my kids. They go to Catholic school, so other than spring 2020, they were mostly back in the classroom starting fall 2020, albeit with a lot of changes. Plus, they were at an age where they still liked being with us. And I supplemented their work.

Yeah, we were in a public school and spring of 1st was a total loss.

Then kids were fully virtual for all of 2nd and that was pretty much a total loss too. The principal of our school agree with teacher that it was too much to teach virtually all day so she let teachers combine classes, so the video calls has 45-60 second graders on them. It was awful.

Then third grade was still full of masks and distancing and Covid tests (at school). It was an improvement, but not great. Kids were all over the place with some kids still not knowing how to read or their addition/subtraction facts and others being advanced from being home schooled. None of the kids knew appropriate classroom behavior and our teachers (in a very very Covid cautious school) were scared, stressed and unhappy to be there because they all thought they were going to get sick and die. They did almost everything on iPads because they thought they'd get Covid from paper. Kids still had to stay 6 feet apart and couldn't get up from their desks. It wasn't a good.

Finally 4th was normal-ish. But kids were still really behind. The schools had done nothing to remediate kids who were behind. There were no extra resources. The teacher shared that half of the 4th grade class was still writing their 5s backwards.

It's been a slong, but most kids seem to be on track now in 5th.

The kids with ADHD and LD who would have gotten resources and support in end of 1st or 2nd, hopefully making progress in 3rd, really suffered the most. It's hard to make up those losses. There were kids at a kindergarten reading level going into 3rd who hasn't had supports or interventions for a year and a half. That's hard to make up when by 3rd and 4th kids should be reading to learn.

This was exactly us too, except our school doesn’t use iPads. But they also were very heavy on computer use the first year back from virtual. Kids were all over the place and that year was certainly not normal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach that age-group and yes; the changes are profound. Not in every kid, but in a very significant cohort.

My child didn’t get the multiplication table memorized. It was started and just got lost in the whole mess. What can you suggest to strengthen this?

NP. I am not a teacher but I taught my kids multiplication anyway. Just buy some flash cards and some math multiplication card games (sold on Amazon). Quiz your kid in the car on the way to soccer. Has to be fun and consistent - and it can take a concerted effort for some kids.

I am a sub. I am always surprised when I sub for 5th and 6th grade classes and they still don’t have their basic math facts down cold (including addition, subtraction, multiplication and division). It makes math so slow. I agree, flash cards and they also have online math facts games. If they just spent 10-15 minutes a day….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach that age-group and yes; the changes are profound. Not in every kid, but in a very significant cohort.

My child didn’t get the multiplication table memorized. It was started and just got lost in the whole mess. What can you suggest to strengthen this?

NP. I am not a teacher but I taught my kids multiplication anyway. Just buy some flash cards and some math multiplication card games (sold on Amazon). Quiz your kid in the car on the way to soccer. Has to be fun and consistent - and it can take a concerted effort for some kids.

I am a sub. I am always surprised when I sub for 5th and 6th grade classes and they still don’t have their basic math facts down cold (including addition, subtraction, multiplication and division). It makes math so slow. I agree, flash cards and they also have online math facts games. If they just spent 10-15 minutes a day….

Me again. I forgot to mention that using dice seems to work. Kids love the change up.

[Anonymous]

We paid for a tutor for our pod and it made all the difference in the world. We had four kids and all four kids probably ended up better off than if they had been in school for the year.

[Anonymous]

My kids are a little older - middle school. My 8th grader took it all in stride. My 7th grader - not so much. He’s struggling a lot with all of the online stuff - I know he would have been better off with paper, writing stuff down, physical books, etc.

He tests well so knows the material - but the Canvas and Clever and Google Docs and whatever is just a lot for him to manage. He would have been fine with notebooks and paper.

[Anonymous]

Your age group was probably the best group with the least impact. I know that is not the answer you were looking for.

I think parents with kids who are behind always want to find a reason. Most kids your kids’ ages are doing fine with no issues.

[Anonymous]

Mine are in 6th and 8th grade now and are accelerated 2-3 yrs ahead. I think it is a direct result of pandemic. I homeschooled them for a year and a half. It made me realize how little public schools actually do. They are back to school, but we still heavily supplement at home. If you leave 100% of your child’s education up the school system, you will likely be disappointed. Including recognizing disabilities or learning problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine are in 6th and 8th grade now and are accelerated 2-3 yrs ahead. I think it is a direct result of pandemic. I homeschooled them for a year and a half. It made me realize how little public schools actually do. They are back to school, but we still heavily supplement at home. If you leave 100% of your child’s education up the school system, you will likely be disappointed. Including recognizing disabilities or learning problems.

My kids are in 7th and 9th and I also realized how little they learned. They were in 3rd and 5th when school shut down.

OP’s kids were probably in first. I have a current first grader. She is reading early chapter books and easy math. All OP needed to do is get books from the library, order some math workbooks online. This is a very easy fun grade.

[Anonymous]

I just reread that OP has a child with learning disabilities so I apologize. I have friends whose kids were flagged and get supports and it is still frustrating and difficult for them. If it makes you feel better, the kids got little to no support during the pandemic. My friend’s daughter has speech therapy online, which was just hard for my friend since the child had no attention span. Then they went in person with a mask so also unhelpful.