Tell me about Math and 1st grade and differentiation. How does it work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP Here - I hear what you're saying, and really I don't need him to do calculus. But he really LOVES math, and he's expressed disappointment off and on throughout the year that they don't do it in K. I would hate for his love to disappear for lack of nurture. And, frankly, beyond brainquest/worksheet type things, (about which I am dubious as to their possible utility anyway) I have NO IDEA how to nurture math at home (reading, science, social studies yes - math, not so much). I guess I'll just have to wait and see. At what point, parents, does it not make sense to take the wait and see attitude?

Our son loved to read, so one of the ways we've nurtured math at home is through story books that have a "math" theme or topic. One of his favorites was called Sir Cumference and the Knights of the Round Table (it is a cute story book and it introduces some geometry concepts and vocabulary) and there are several more in that series. This was a few years ago for us, but one of the books had something like "Angleland" in the title (a play on England). HTH

OP, you should consider Feynman School. It's a new school for advanced learners. My child is happily and comfortably working 3 to 4 years above grade level in math there. They are able to accommodate any level of math and all other subjects for that matter. Their partial immersion Spanish program is amazing as well. They offer financial aid if needed.

http://www.feynmanschool.org/

[Anonymous]

OP:

I'm the PP who talked about the new integrated curriculum and how the advancement is changing. It will change in most schools in the county -- there's no question. I've heard that directly from our school's principal.

I have one child who's always been all math all the time (when he was VERY young, he started doing puzzles cardboard side up for a challenge.) Thankfully, his grandfather's an engineer and comes up with all sorts of free things that engage his mind.

Some math things that you can do:

*EPGY courses online
*Singapore math workbooks (just google singapore math)
*Tangrams -- You can easily make tangrams and print out lots of tangram pictures. My math-y son loved using the shapes to make things.
*Bake or cook and have your child measure. Work through doubling or halving a recipe.
*Do puzzles. All kinds of puzzles. Mental ones, physical ones, mazes, number games.
*Create marble run challenges.
*Make 3-dimensional shapes. Create things with them. See what shapes make what additional objects.
*Work with Legos and gears. How do the gears work? When you change something in the gear, what happens? When you change gear sizes, what happens, etc.

It's really important to remember that math isn't just about the addition/subtraction of lots of big numbers. It's spatial concepts and measurement as well.

[Anonymous]

They differentiate in 1st grade in MCPS (at least at my kid's school and all the local schools and all the schools my friends' kids go to). Their K teacher provides input based on their K assessments and they are assessed in 1st grade early on and put in different classes with different teachers for math. There's on grade level and above grade level. At our school, there's even differentiation within the classes. Trust me, your kid will be challenged, so I wouldn't worry about it. And FWIW, my kid was off the charts in K but is currently doing on grade level with some above level extensions. First grade math in MCPS is challenging. Triple digit addition/subtraction. Fractions. I'm glad my kid is on grade level b/c I can't imagine what they're pushing the above level kids to do. And fwiw, my kid loves math.

[Anonymous]

PP, ITA. OP, listen to PP. K is nothing compared to what's coming. Most of my dc's K class was arguably 'off the charts' and 'bored' in math. But in our school, 1st grade math moves VERY FAST--a new concept introduced every other day without much time for reinforcement. The unit assessments are not a piece of cake by any means (ex--98- __ = 49) Give MCPS a chance, and see where dc is this time next year, and see if you need to be concerned about him not being challenged.

[Anonymous]

PPs, thanks for the info!

Feynman school..... thanks but no thanks. Something about that place seems off to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PPs, thanks for the info!

Feynman school..... thanks but no thanks. Something about that place seems off to me.

I assure you that nothing is off....whatever that might mean.

My little guy is really happy at Feynman. He just turned 4 and is in preschool now. He is working at a 1st to 2nd grade level in math and loving every minute of it. If you have a little one like mine he'd likely really enjoy it there.

I am just so thankful we have the option because I really don't think MoCo would be willing to accommodate him when he starts K in 2 years.

I wish you the best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PPs, thanks for the info!

Feynman school..... thanks but no thanks. Something about that place seems off to me.

Hello all, this is Robert Gold from Feynman School. I would sincerely like to know how you arrived at your opinion that something "seems off" about our school. We receive referrals from current parents, respected local pediatricians and from Dr. Jeanne Paynter, the gifted education specialist with the Maryland State Department of Education. Our parent reviews are consistently stellar and we greatly appreciate these reviews--please see the North Potomac Patch (as well as DCUM) for examples. Even though this is our first year of operations, our silent auction this past Saturday raised over $16,000 for our scholarship fund, a testament to the dedication of parents and sense of community here at Feynman. Only one current family applied out for the fall, this in order for the student to join an older sibling at a downtown school (our student was accepted at every school applied to, including GDS and Maret; the student really blossomed this year and the lead teacher took great care in preparing the student's recommendation). Most importantly, our young students learn to think both critically and creatively, gain both breadth and depth of knowledge, and simply love coming to school every day. I've even overheard them say things such as, "Mommy, I was hoping you'd get stuck in traffic today so I could stay a little longer."

We are constantly looking to improve our program and know that there is much to learn and improve upon, so if quoted PP or anyone else has constructive comments, please do not hesitate to contact me at [e-mail] or at 301.330.9652. Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PPs, thanks for the info!

Feynman school..... thanks but no thanks. Something about that place seems off to me.

OP HERE - I did not post this - not that it matters. I have no opinion one way or the other about Feynman - but I moved to MoCo for the public schools - not the private.

[Anonymous]

I hate to see people use this board as advertising...makes me think less of the organization...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate to see people use this board as advertising...makes me think less of the organization...

i agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PPs, thanks for the info!

Feynman school..... thanks but no thanks. Something about that place seems off to me.

Hello all, this is Robert Gold from Feynman School. I would sincerely like to know how you arrived at your opinion that something "seems off" about our school. We receive referrals from current parents, respected local pediatricians and from Dr. Jeanne Paynter, the gifted education specialist with the Maryland State Department of Education. Our parent reviews are consistently stellar and we greatly appreciate these reviews--please see the North Potomac Patch (as well as DCUM) for examples. Even though this is our first year of operations, our silent auction this past Saturday raised over $16,000 for our scholarship fund, a testament to the dedication of parents and sense of community here at Feynman. Only one current family applied out for the fall, this in order for the student to join an older sibling at a downtown school (our student was accepted at every school applied to, including GDS and Maret; the student really blossomed this year and the lead teacher took great care in preparing the student's recommendation). Most importantly, our young students learn to think both critically and creatively, gain both breadth and depth of knowledge, and simply love coming to school every day. I've even overheard them say things such as, "Mommy, I was hoping you'd get stuck in traffic today so I could stay a little longer."

We are constantly looking to improve our program and know that there is much to learn and improve upon, so if quoted PP or anyone else has constructive comments, please do not hesitate to contact me at [e-mail] or at 301.330.9652. Thanks in advance.

This is the MD Public (PUBLIC) Schools Forum. Not private, PUBLIC.

Could you please stop posting your SPAM on this forum?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate to see people use this board as advertising...makes me think less of the organization...

I think that person from Feynman did not write out of blue. Someone made a negative comment and he used his right to reply and very constructively in my opinion. I was considering another preschool. Now I may look into Feynman as well. Considering a lot of noninformative posts here, I thought his post was quite useful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate to see people use this board as advertising...makes me think less of the organization...

I think that person from Feynman did not write out of blue. Someone made a negative comment and he used his right to reply and very constructively in my opinion. I was considering another preschool. Now I may look into Feynman as well. Considering a lot of noninformative posts here, I thought his post was quite useful.

I agree. But Mr. Feynman, (and I did not write the post about your school being 'off'), I feel a number of parents in MoCo perhaps resent the fact that there is a sense of 'exclusion' in your school. You tailor to a very specific population. For example, do you include children who may be GT/LD, or twice exceptional? Would you be able to successfully enroll a highly gifted student who happens to have a physical challenge? It's the kids who have no real place in MoCo who are not being served. Just my opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate to see people use this board as advertising...makes me think less of the organization...

I think that person from Feynman did not write out of blue. Someone made a negative comment and he used his right to reply and very constructively in my opinion. I was considering another preschool. Now I may look into Feynman as well. Considering a lot of noninformative posts here, I thought his post was quite useful.

I agree. But Mr. Feynman, (and I did not write the post about your school being 'off'), I feel a number of parents in MoCo perhaps resent the fact that there is a sense of 'exclusion' in your school. You tailor to a very specific population. For example, do you include children who may be GT/LD, or twice exceptional? Would you be able to successfully enroll a highly gifted student who happens to have a physical challenge? It's the kids who have no real place in MoCo who are not being served. Just my opinion.

I'm not Mr. Gold but wanted to point out that there are far more programs and accomodations in the county for other types of exceptional children than for highly gifted ones. There are in fact no programs for these kids before 4th grade. I don't want to debate whether this is right or wrong, I'm simply sharing this fact.

I think we should welcome all educational options in the county and not fault any program for making it's mission to focus on a particular need.

[Anonymous]

Again, getting off track here (and I am not a PP). My issue with Feynman would be that there seems to be no firm criteria for entrance. In fact it does not appear that any testing at all is required for preschool. Sure, they are welcome to do their thing, but makes me wonder how many of the kids there are really that "gifted" and instead have parents that are just wiling to fork out the extra cash. Anyways....