Do you supplement in Elementary school?

[Anonymous]

3rd & 1st graders go to Mathnasium. They are a little & a lot ahead and this keeps them there/challenges them & ensures that they don't have to rely on teachers (very hit or miss) to teach important math concepts.

I'm pleasantly surprised by the writing instruction they get in school, and they have chosen some extracurriculars involving writing just for fun, so haven't felt the need to supplement there.

[Anonymous]

Tell me more about this. Does this mean supplement so a kid that's behind can catch up if their teacher can't do enough in-school? Or is this something families with a kid who is excelling beyond what the teacher can (or in our case, will) do through differentiation and small groups?

I have a first grader who is doing long division worksheets for fun. The teacher is only covering the beginning of multiplication skills in her small group.

Teacher has a whole lot of communication and personality issues beyond this, so I haven't pushed the issue since DC doesn't seem bored at school. We will hopefully be going to a new school next year if the lottery gods smile on us. But even then I would wonder if doing our own math acceleration at home or through something like Mathnasium is worth it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:lots of Vitamin D. Some B12.

I supplement with these plus a PQQ lozenge as well as RSM. I have a kindergartener.

[Anonymous]

I have multiple children. One child in middle school never had tutoring or supplementary math/reading/writing, but excels in all of them.

Another child struggled to learn to read so had specific reading tutors at both school and paid private tutors starting in 1st grade. They mostly caught up with reading but love math/numbers/STEM stuff so they started going to mathnasium in 2nd grade and LOVE it. The supplemental math enrichment goes far beyond what they are doing at school.

I personally know 10+ kids ranging from 1st-5th that go to mathnasium at various locations in DC for supplemental math enrichment. There are also middle school and high school kids at mathnasium getting support in subjects.

I also know of other friends/neighbors/co-workers in DC that supplement math/writing/foreign languages on a weekly basis. This is extremely common among families that can afford it (not just in DC but around the world).

If your child is behind in main subjects in DC, schools should be providing additional support services (which we’ve also benefited from). Otherwise, extra enrichment isn’t really necessary but it’s great if your kid enjoys it.

[Anonymous]

I have never supplemented or paid for a tutor in the first 7 years. Time will tell if needed ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have multiple children. One child in middle school never had tutoring or supplementary math/reading/writing, but excels in all of them.

Another child struggled to learn to read so had specific reading tutors at both school and paid private tutors starting in 1st grade. They mostly caught up with reading but love math/numbers/STEM stuff so they started going to mathnasium in 2nd grade and LOVE it. The supplemental math enrichment goes far beyond what they are doing at school.

I personally know 10+ kids ranging from 1st-5th that go to mathnasium at various locations in DC for supplemental math enrichment. There are also middle school and high school kids at mathnasium getting support in subjects.

I also know of other friends/neighbors/co-workers in DC that supplement math/writing/foreign languages on a weekly basis. This is extremely common among families that can afford it (not just in DC but around the world).

If your child is behind in main subjects in DC, schools should be providing additional support services (which we’ve also benefited from). Otherwise, extra enrichment isn’t really necessary but it’s great if your kid enjoys it.

ha ha no, DC will not provide extra support if your child is behind.

[Anonymous]

In our experience, DC did provide support when our child was truly behind. Doesn’t mean we didn’t have to advocate as parents but it did happen. We’ve gotten full psychological evaluations, other assessments and additional academic reading support from DCPS and DC Charters. But yes, we had to advocate and follow-up regularly as their work load is massive.

[Anonymous]

Yes, we do for math bc older child loves it. For anyone in NW who is interested in a local option that isn’t mathnasium and has smaller classes than RSM, Google “Georgetown STEAM Academy”. It’s in palisades near MacArthur HS and is really lovely. They do puzzles and creative problem solving and other fun stuff for math loving kids but I know she also works with kids who are behind and need extra support too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never supplemented for math or writing. First kid went 100% through DCPS and at top 5 college. Second almost through.

Nice work (you and your kids)! Which schools, if you don't mind me asking (not college, DCPS).

[Anonymous]

We have very above grade level kids and do not supplement. If they asked for it, maybe? But I figure middle school and high school will challenge them when there are more levels. If I had kids below grade level (particularly in reading) I would consider it, however.

[Anonymous]

2nd and Kinder. No supplementing. They are ahead by all metrics and seem happy.

Academic skills are such a small fraction of what makes someone successful in life. If I had to pick, I’d take a kid with a high EQ over IQ any day of the week.

[Anonymous]

We supplement our first grader in math because he loves math and is extremely good at it. He's doing 3rd-4th grade math. He's just naturally talented at it so we continue to foster his talent.

[Anonymous]

Math. Fourth grader started fractions. I discovered they don't know how to add, subtract, multiply or divide them.
I have no patience going through his book and see if all this is still coming or they didn't understand.
I showed it all in 5 minutes and they got it.
I did the same with long division. They learned them I think, but still didn't understand. Not even sure.
I don't understand this math. I grew up in Soviet Union.
Math was math and it was super easy.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I supplement with Beast Academy for math. I used the Reading Eggs app and some site words flashcards to supplement reading before kindergarten. It was clear that DC was far enough ahead in reading, so I switched to just reading DC great novels at night that we both enjoy. I supplement because DC is in an immersion school and benefits from a little extra attention at home in math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have very above grade level kids and do not supplement. If they asked for it, maybe? But I figure middle school and high school will challenge them when there are more levels. If I had kids below grade level (particularly in reading) I would consider it, however.

We supplemented at Mathnasium only towards the end of COVID, because our daughter had half of kindergarten and most of first grade in front of a screen so had missed some formative instruction/content. I had planned on continuing, but the teacher told me she'd pull the class back up to where they need to be, and she did. I agree with prior posters that if your kid is behind, sure - hire a private tutor or go find outside support (there are many good options out there). But I feel like some of the supplementing in older grades is more about the parents perception and fear of not 'winning', not so much what the kid needs.

That being said, some of the computer programs DCPS pays for like iReady instruct kids based on where they perform on the assessments in school (either high, low, or on grade level) - so that and Zearn are good options. I also may have my kids do Beast Academy a few times/week over the summer, but more to make sure they don't slip back, and also b/c they like the graphic novel type format of those games.

Lastly, I think it varies school to school with regards to how strong instruction is in older grades. Our personal experience has been that the older grade teachers are some of the strongest/most experienced at our ES, so they were able to differentiate and push/support kids at various levels.