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Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)
Kindergarten Curriculum
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Anonymous
| Hi everyone. I have a kindergarten student at College Gardens ES. I have been in the class on several occasions and am not sure what to make of the curriculum and have been wondering if its the same across the county. The students are currently working on research projects on different topics that they will then have to put into a powerpoint and present to the class. The research was all done at home. Luckily, my daughter can read very well and we were able to find books that she could use but I was wondering about the numerous children in her class that are reading below a level 8 (obviously most of them) and I simply can't understand how a research project would be a reasonable expectation. They are also working on counting by 2, 5, and 10 but many of the children are still learning to count by 1's to 100. My daughter has repeatedly told me how she helps others (and admits that this means doing the work for them). I understand having high expectations and am all for acceleration when it makes sense but what about the students that didn't come into school more than a year ahead? Anyone else seen this happening elsewhere? Does it seem reasonable? |
Anonymous
| Let's assume the research was done at home so that parents could provide lots of assistance to the non-readers. Some of the Powerpoints will only be legible to the 5 year old authors..but they will have all learned a bit about research/Powerpoint and public speaking. You will also be amazed by what the chunk of the class that are reading on the second grade level already can do. Yes a stretch for some kids but handled correctly I (a K teacher btw) think it could be great. I also don't think you have to be able to get all the way to 100 to start skip counting 2..4..6.. I would only worry if the children aren't engaged or are frustrated when you in the classroom. |
Anonymous
| My K DD is reading on second grade level and counting by 2, 5 and 10s. It is not that uncommon in MCPS. No research projects yet, but I think she would enjoy it. It might be hard on kids with no home computers though. |
Anonymous
|
No research projects/powerpoint in our K class. That sounds a little over the top.
I'm surprised your daughter is helping the other kids so much. My son's teacher definitely discourages doing other kids work. |
Anonymous
I have 2 children, 1 year apart. last year when my son was in K, I was happy with the curriculum as it was very easy for him to keep up. My daughter is in K this year and she was keeping up until recently. She is struggling with counting by 2s and she writes 105 as 1005. She LOVES school and I don't want her to get discouraged and feel stupid when the problem isn't her, but the speed and lack of depth that they teach some things. She just learned to count by 10s and the next week it was 5's and the next it was 2s. God forbid you get ill and are out for any length of time (which is what happened to my daughter). My son is a math wiz, my daughter is not - she is more creative, but she isn't "slow", just normal! I have volunteered for her class and they just seem to cover a lot in a very short amount of time. There is just one teacher and no aides in her class. |
Anonymous
| I had children at CGES. When was in 1st grade, they did research projects in power point. We were invited in for presentations. They all did great..some worked alone..others with a buddy. Many different levels but I think a learning experience. About math..do you know about MCPSs spiral system? These kids will see the same topics next year so if they don't have full mastery they can pick up more later. |
Anonymous
|
oh geez.. Powerpoint in 1st grade. Yes, the program is easy to learn but there is no need for it and it teaches the child basically nothing.
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Anonymous
| All Mcps are following the same curriculum but is presented differently by each school and each teacher. Not all K classes or 1st or even 2nd or 3rd grade or doing anything with PowerPoint. Look at the demographics of your school. If your daughter is ahead of the curve you may find it difficult to keep her challenged in the classroom. The teacher has no choice but to teach to the majority. There isn't enough time in the day to give an outlier appropriate attention. If you find this happening in K, it may become more evident in higher grades. |
Anonymous
I know! Seriously, what is the point of teaching PowerPoint in Kindergarten? I would much rather have them focus on counting by 2s, 5s or whatever rather than spending energy teaching them PowerPoint which can be self-taught after a certain age.. |
Anonymous
| Geez let the kids be kids |
Anonymous
| PowerPoint is a bunch if fluff in K. |