What to expect in K

[Anonymous]

16:54 here. It was probably how you phrased the question, with a sort of breezy assumption that your kid is way above everybody else's kid.

[Anonymous]

Teacher here who taught K for 10 years at public and independent schools. K curriculum is not going to vary much in most of the private and public schools. You should consider having a sit down conversation with your child's K teacher (if possible before school starts). Please understand that any teacher will administer assessments to see where your child's strengths and challenges are in reading and math. In all my years in K, I have taught a child (or 2) with advance decoding skills every year. What I have found (and many K teachers will probably agree) that children who do enter K reading at a above grade level, most times their comprehension is not on the same level (it is usually a lot lower). This is not just for K. It happens to a lot of children in other grades who have advanced decoding skills. Most importantly, K is a year in which children should really enjoy coming to school each day, learning how to socialize appropriately with their peers, working together and problem solving, strengthening their fine and gross motor skills. In my humble opinion, I think to much is expected of K children and the social-emotional curriculum is not emphasized enough. Anyway, sorry for babbling, if you take a look at your child's curriculum handbook the teachers will pretty much stick to that. If you are anticipating a new curriculum to be developed for your child, that probably won't happen. You can ask for your child to have some time with the reading specialist and/or small group instruction with a group of students on a different grade level. K will be a fun and wonderful year for your child! Good luck!

[Anonymous]

[Any that is probably certified...Auguste Montessori in DC goes to age 6; Mater Amoris in Ashton goes to age 12. We knew kids who were doingalgebra and geometry in the fourth grade.

quote=Anonymous]@15:19 which Montessori do you recommend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: ... What I have found (and many K teachers will probably agree) that children who do enter K reading at a above grade level, most times their comprehension is not on the same level (it is usually a lot lower). This is not just for K. It happens to a lot of children in other grades who have advanced decoding skills.

Our DC's experience bears this out. He was reading chapter books in K. But this was mostly because he was (and still is) incredibly persistent. He had the ability to sit still for 4 hours and finish a book (and to run for a mile, when he decided he wanted to). His comprehension wasn't all that terrific, though.

He went to the Smithsonian daycare through age five, BTW, which de-emphasized reading because of their philosophy that there is so much else to learn when you are five. For example, swinging around on the jungle gym, which is basically moving your body through space, has been linked by various studies to higher math abilities later on. So the Smithsonian would take the kids around every day to stare at the Calder sculptures or whatever, but when they hit 1st grade many of them couldn't read. Which was OK. Many European countries don't teach reading until 1st or 2nd grade, either.

That said, once a kid is reading, you don't want to have them sit through the ABCs again. So check into whether the teacher is willing/able to differentiate.

[Anonymous]

I would go public. Most privates do not accelerate in K. Depending on the school, this may not happen till MS. In MoCo, they do accelerate much earlier in reading and math. You will miss out on other things like more art, music and pe but you have to balance what is more important to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I would go public. Most privates do not accelerate in K. Depending on the school, this may not happen till MS. In MoCo, they do accelerate much earlier in reading and math. You will miss out on other things like more art, music and pe but you have to balance what is more important to you.

With all the money you save from privates, you can supplement with music lessons and art camp. Speaking from experience, having your kid do recorder for 2 years in private doesn't actually accomplish that much. I'm not even sure DC could still read music if we hadn't supplemented with lessons anyway. If you want them to be proficient at an instrument, you need to start them with private or Suzuki lessons in K or 1st grade. Public schools generally do have choruses and percussion-type orchestras at all grade levels, so all is not lost.

You will miss out on science and social studies by going public, and this is a bigger loss IMHO, because it's harder to supplement. You can buy them the Magic Treehouse time-traveling books and take them to Europe or Africa. It doesn't feel the same, though. However I'm not sure how much kids actually retain from studying state capitals in 3rd grade anyway.

You could also try the gifted program at Takoma Park ES.

[Anonymous]

@17:13 that's your issue.

To all others, thank you for the insightful advice, it is appreciated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP I appreciate your answer to my question. I raised the question b/c I don't believe my child is "gifted" I think my child enjoys learning at an accelerated pace. Why a parent is considered a PITA if they raise legitimate concern is beyond me. I posed the question b/c I assumed with all the 99% in privates (which btw my kid isn't) I would find others who would be able to shed some light on the subject. Ugh!

Why a such a parent would be considered a PITA is that many other parents present are in the same boat, but they either handle their questions on the side or are familiar enough with early readers to know that many are sight readers who still requiring training in other areas.

[Anonymous]

You take issue with a parent who asks a simple question about her child's learning style but the thread on looks and the admission process gets a pass? Wow!