What do I tell the kindergarten teacher about my kid's academics?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Her teacher will assess kids in the first week or two of school and adjust accordingly. I actually really like Common Core math (at least as it is implemented at our school) for its ability to adapt to very different math levels within the same lesson. My child is about the same math level and we had a great kinder experience this past year with a teacher who just adjusted lessons slightly to accommodate. I have also found that reading in general these days is pretty well tailored to kids' levels because of the big shift towards things like guided reading. But as a PP noted, don't be surprised to learn that your child's comprehension is not at the same level as her decoding (common in early readers)--it's the teacher's job to have her read at the level she is comprehending until that evens out, even if it may feel like she could read much harder books.

+1 My kid's kindergarten class had a reading group of kids who were reading chapter books, a reading group for kids who were still working on letter identification, and 2 groups that were in between (one who could read Bob books type readers one for those who were reading Level 1 readers).

[Anonymous]

Assessments can take some time, but let the teacher get there. S/he will tell you once they've done the assessment and your child will be just fine.

[Anonymous]

There will be assessments done but IME it takes more than a week or two - more like a month or two.

I would mentally prepare for that and know that they’re learning a ton of new things in the meantime - classmates names, how ES works, the school set up, what are specials, how to buy lunch, where the bathrooms are, etc.

[Anonymous]

Khan academy math didn't line up well with our public school curriculum in VA and it also didn't teach the various "methods" that teachers wanted kids to know and use during math. If they didn't use said methods, the answers were wrong.

I also found there was a difference for my child between doing computer based math and reading vs. doing paper and pencil work.

Reading assessments are usually done orally with open ended comprehension questions which differ from the computer format and need a different skill. Some schools will also include a writing component in the reading score.

There is no way to avoid the first month of assessments. At the first conference, you can raise any concerns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing. You let them get to know each other and figure each other out.

Why are you doing Khan academy with a preschooler?

For fun. Dad’s a mathematician and does more interesting stuff with her, but she likes Khan Academy and I don’t have the pedagogical chops to do what he does.

It's really OK to say no to screen time that your child asks for. Khan Academy is not a great thing to do to a preschooler. The emphasis on problems that have a "right answer" doesn't help her flexibility and problem solving. It's teaching her to be passive.

If you want to work on math with her, then play some strategy games, read math story books, encourage her to explore with materials like tangrams. Or let math be someting special between her and her father.

[Anonymous]

I would say the first month of kindergarten is more about learning the routines & following directions than anything academic. If I were you, I would wait until parent-teacher conference that happens at the end of the first quarter. That gives time for your child & teacher to have gotten to know each other. You can mention what your child is capable of in case they were not aware during the assessment. My child wasn't advanced as yours but was pretty good at math. In kindergarten, they won't be able to give her like 4th grade work. It'll probably only be as high as 1st grade. So if it's important for you, I would continue with it at home.

[Anonymous]

I agree with most of what was already said. One thing to watch out for - when my DC was in K, they were only allowed to take out books from a certain section of the media center, aka, the library. It was picture books, and DC was already reading chapter books on their own. Teacher also did not have chapter books as part of her in class library. So, first we had a chat with the head of the media center (back to school night), so that DC could take out any book. We also made certain that there were always 2 chapter books (paperback so not so heavy) in DCs backpack.

And, recognize that for some kids, K will be about learning school routines and making friends, and that is ok!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with most of what was already said. One thing to watch out for - when my DC was in K, they were only allowed to take out books from a certain section of the media center, aka, the library. It was picture books, and DC was already reading chapter books on their own. Teacher also did not have chapter books as part of her in class library. So, first we had a chat with the head of the media center (back to school night), so that DC could take out any book. We also made certain that there were always 2 chapter books (paperback so not so heavy) in DCs backpack.

And, recognize that for some kids, K will be about learning school routines and making friends, and that is ok!

That seems fine, but people should not think that chapter books are always more advanced than picture books. Picture books can be at a higher reading level than chapter books.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with most of what was already said. One thing to watch out for - when my DC was in K, they were only allowed to take out books from a certain section of the media center, aka, the library. It was picture books, and DC was already reading chapter books on their own. Teacher also did not have chapter books as part of her in class library. So, first we had a chat with the head of the media center (back to school night), so that DC could take out any book. We also made certain that there were always 2 chapter books (paperback so not so heavy) in DCs backpack.

And, recognize that for some kids, K will be about learning school routines and making friends, and that is ok!

That seems fine, but people should not think that chapter books are always more advanced than picture books. Picture books can be at a higher reading level than chapter books.

+1
As the children's librarian reminded me, "'Picture books' is a genre, not a reading level." There are some amazing picture books, and often the writing is more sophisticated or the vocabulary more advanced than the Magic Tree House or Junie B. Jones or whatever chapter books. Plus, the illustrations can be lovely. A librarian also recommended books without words for our advanced reader--it challenges a totally different set of skills. We always try for a mix of books.

But otherwise, I agree. There will be plenty to learn in the first few weeks, and the teacher will certainly be assessing the kids' reading and math levels.

[Anonymous]

Look, picture books are great and all and my advanced reader still appreciates them now in late elementary, but they go by really quick. My DC could go through 20 of them in one day in K even when reading them carefully, studying the pictures slowly and really throughly enjoying them. They are not enough to pass the time in a class where they are trying to teach kids how to count to 100 and how to sound out three-letter words. Your child will literally have hours each week to read on her own.

FWIW, DD loved that aspect of school. That and being able to socialize with her friends since there was basically no work for her to do. She was not bored.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with most of what was already said. One thing to watch out for - when my DC was in K, they were only allowed to take out books from a certain section of the media center, aka, the library. It was picture books, and DC was already reading chapter books on their own. Teacher also did not have chapter books as part of her in class library. So, first we had a chat with the head of the media center (back to school night), so that DC could take out any book. We also made certain that there were always 2 chapter books (paperback so not so heavy) in DCs backpack.

And, recognize that for some kids, K will be about learning school routines and making friends, and that is ok!

+1
Our DC's teacher kept chapter books in the back of her closet for later in the school year but took them out when some of the kids were asking for more things to read. There was one boy in particular who read through her entire library in a few weeks. They can also borrow books from the 1st and 2nd grade teachers. And we're not talking about June B Jones or Magic Tree House. She had some higher level non-fiction and things like Harry Potter hidden away. Just ask.

[Anonymous]

There are some really bitter people here who just want to put down a parent.

No, there will not be other kids like her, if she truly is as described.

I've had two kids go through kindergarten and there literally was not another kid who could read fluently and independently until second grade. My oldest was reading at third grade level (yes, and comprehending, independently, for hours) and also several grades ahead in maths by age 4 - self taught. Whatever DCUM likes to say it's simply not true that there are tons of kids like that in every class. Every teacher he ever had told me that they had never taught a child like him. Most kids are just starting to read - slowly - in k and are barely beginning in first grade. A kid who can independently read and understand Harry Potter at just turned six, for example is way out of the norm.

This was several years ago now, but now that my younger child is also past those early grades and has learned on the same timeline as her classmates it has become clearer to me how completely different my oldest was from all the other kids in his class.

OP, yes, you should mention it to the teacher, if, for example your child is quiet and it won't quickly become clear. Otherwise she'll work it out.

[Anonymous]

Just be prepared that even once the teacher figures it out, there is little (if anything) she can do about it. She’ll be too busy teaching everyone else how to read. Hope you have low expectations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are some really bitter people here who just want to put down a parent.

No, there will not be other kids like her, if she truly is as described.

I've had two kids go through kindergarten and there literally was not another kid who could read fluently and independently until second grade. My oldest was reading at third grade level (yes, and comprehending, independently, for hours) and also several grades ahead in maths by age 4 - self taught. Whatever DCUM likes to say it's simply not true that there are tons of kids like that in every class. Every teacher he ever had told me that they had never taught a child like him. Most kids are just starting to read - slowly - in k and are barely beginning in first grade. A kid who can independently read and understand Harry Potter at just turned six, for example is way out of the norm.

This was several years ago now, but now that my younger child is also past those early grades and has learned on the same timeline as her classmates it has become clearer to me how completely different my oldest was from all the other kids in his class.

OP, yes, you should mention it to the teacher, if, for example your child is quiet and it won't quickly become clear. Otherwise she'll work it out.

My child was in a small private. Every kid was reading at least a couple levels above grade in K. Mine was reading at 5th grade. It doesn’t seem that odd for this area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some really bitter people here who just want to put down a parent.

No, there will not be other kids like her, if she truly is as described.

I've had two kids go through kindergarten and there literally was not another kid who could read fluently and independently until second grade. My oldest was reading at third grade level (yes, and comprehending, independently, for hours) and also several grades ahead in maths by age 4 - self taught. Whatever DCUM likes to say it's simply not true that there are tons of kids like that in every class. Every teacher he ever had told me that they had never taught a child like him. Most kids are just starting to read - slowly - in k and are barely beginning in first grade. A kid who can independently read and understand Harry Potter at just turned six, for example is way out of the norm.

This was several years ago now, but now that my younger child is also past those early grades and has learned on the same timeline as her classmates it has become clearer to me how completely different my oldest was from all the other kids in his class.

OP, yes, you should mention it to the teacher, if, for example your child is quiet and it won't quickly become clear. Otherwise she'll work it out.

My child was in a small private. Every kid was reading at least a couple levels above grade in K. Mine was reading at 5th grade. It doesn’t seem that odd for this area.

To both pp’s points, my dd is an advanced reader. At the beginning of 1st she was assessed at a 5th grade level. To hear parents talk, you’d think so was half the class. But dd was in a reading group alone, and her teacher told me she asked all the other teachers for a first grade peer and there wasn’t one. By the end of the year, she had one other child in her group. And also just for kicks: she got 3’s in reading until the 4th quarter. Lol.