Child says K is "too easy

[Anonymous]

DD just started K in MoCo. She is a pretty good reader (can read easy chapter books like Junie B. Jones) and has been complaining that all she does in school in "easy worksheets of stuff I already know." I know it is only the beginning of the second week of school, but I'm wondering if others with kids in MoCo have insight on this. Will they assess the kids and brreak them into reading groups based on reading level? I don't want to be the pain in the ass parent, but I also don't want my daughter to continue to be bored.

[Anonymous]

I would wait abit. They are still doing assessments etc. That said, IMO kids that go into K as strong readers don't get too much academic challenge in K. That is not to say they do not learn socially etc..but the teacher's focus will be on the non-readers. My child was reading at a 2nd grade level but the teacher almost never worked with her (she cried over this) For my child it got much better as the years went by..but K never provided much of a challenge. Maybe a really good teacher would have done more with her..good luck!

[Anonymous]

Yes, give them time to work on assessments. But in a month, say, or at least by the end of October, you should have a better sense of what her reading group will be working on. At that point, if it seems way too easy, it would be helpful for you to talk with the teacher, tell her what you see at home, ask how they placed her, find out what skills they think she should be working on, etc. It may end up that they are focusing more on getting her writing skills up to the level of her reading skills, for example, but they should be able to tell you what they are working on.

[Anonymous]

Oh my goodness!! It's the first couple weeks of school! I am a K teacher and we are still getting over first week jitters/crying mornings/ and setting a schedule. They haven't even had a full week yet! (L abor day throws us for a loop- right after we think we are on track, they leave for 3 days) Honeslty, our school mantra the first few weeks is "Get em here, get em fed and get em home" Because its chaotic!

In addition, the first 6 weeks of nearly every grade is a review of things they should already know. That way the children feel empowered and smart going into their new grade instead of discouraged right off the bat.

After Columbus day initial assesments will be finished and things will be in full swing. Just give it a few weeks please. And I beg of you -- do NOT contact the teacher with these concerns yet. She has a class of about 24 kids. And she has been working trying to figure out their names/strenghts/weaknesses/what sets them off/who can't eat peanut butter/who fights with who/ etc etc etc.

[Anonymous]

In addition to what K teacher wrote, don't forget that your child is probably in school with many kids who never went to preschool or prek and they have to work on all of those classroom behaviors plus learning all of the basics, like how to count, the alphabet, etc. Things change during the year and even though your DD might be advanced now, it's not likely that she's ready for first grade (or that they would move her ahead now even if she was), so you just have to bear with the system.

[Anonymous]

Our child is now in First and we had the same "complaint" from him after just a few days of K. I would echo what other PPs have said about waiting. Once the assessments are done your child will be doing appropriate reading and math work for her ability level. Our K teacher was really attuned to our child and gave him some extra, more advanced, math work on the side which he really appreciated. But that didn't happen until early November, so you just have to be patient until your teacher can really figure out what each kid needs. If your kid is socially aware, you can explain the basics of this to her and hope she'll be patient, too.

[Anonymous]

What 10:02 said. Not a K teacher, but given the choice I would much rather have DC coming home saying that the first day of K is too easy than feeling overwhelmed and frustrated because things are moving too fast too soon.

[Anonymous]

I was going to say the same as PP. Better too easy than too hard. K never got challenging for my son, I don't think he learned much academically all year but he loved it and matured a lot socially and emotionally.

[Anonymous]

My son has said that about K and first grade. I'm sure the same will be true about second grade. Maybe when GT classes start in third grade, he might be challenged. He did learn a lot his K year though. He learned about self-control, classroom rules, etc. K is mostly an introduction to formal schooling. Just keep letting her read at home and she will be fine.

[Anonymous]

What is with all pushing for more advanced academically K? Kids are so used to being thrown things at them that
if something ins not piling on them every bit of a minute they get boared? Just like K was only about reading and math.
It is so much about being with peers and learning to have fun. I have super smart kid with readling level of a 3rd grader
yet who can appreciate even simplest books and for Dc it is not only about reading and going through info.. it is about
savoring the book, the story, appreciating the art. DC can take a baby book and still can push it to the next level
and build story upon a story like an adult. It is not all about zooming through books, it is also developing attention span.
In couple of yearas they all read like pro and who cares, it is those who can enjoy any reading material that can
go somwhere from there.

you are talking about reading for the sake of reading.

[Anonymous]

Maybe there is a down-side to all the "hooked on phonics" and "brainy baby" mind-set that we have all come to know. Maybe we are making our kids too smart to appreciate kindergarten before they even get there?

My DS is having a good time with it. I think he could "pass" the academic part of kindergarten right now if there was such a test, but he needs this year to mature and just absorb the processes that grade school has. He is a beginning reader, but there really is NO need to push a child to read before first grade. They might as well enjoy making puppets and pretending to run a bakery and whatever else they have them do in kindergarten.

I'm wondering if OP's child was red-shirted last year or if her child is just way far ahead for her age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe there is a down-side to all the "hooked on phonics" and "brainy baby" mind-set that we have all come to know. Maybe we are making our kids too smart to appreciate kindergarten before they even get there?

My DS is having a good time with it. I think he could "pass" the academic part of kindergarten right now if there was such a test, but he needs this year to mature and just absorb the processes that grade school has. He is a beginning reader, but there really is NO need to push a child to read before first grade. They might as well enjoy making puppets and pretending to run a bakery and whatever else they have them do in kindergarten.

I'm wondering if OP's child was red-shirted last year or if her child is just way far ahead for her age.

NP here. I don't really have a dog in this fight yet, but I think this is an unfair statement about parents of early readers. While we provided assistance as requested, we didn't 'push' our child to read - she decided she wanted to read herself. The issue isn't with kids who are 'too smart' for kindergarten, it's that the current academic model of kindergarten isn't really set up to handle them. While I worry about my child being bored in kindergarten, this doesn't mean I want her to be pushed further along in reading, or in other academic skills. I just want my child to find the process of learning as fun and rewarding as I did, and I worry that spending time going over things she already knows how to do will give her a negative attitude towards school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe there is a down-side to all the "hooked on phonics" and "brainy baby" mind-set that we have all come to know. Maybe we are making our kids too smart to appreciate kindergarten before they even get there?

My DS is having a good time with it. I think he could "pass" the academic part of kindergarten right now if there was such a test, but he needs this year to mature and just absorb the processes that grade school has. He is a beginning reader, but there really is NO need to push a child to read before first grade. They might as well enjoy making puppets and pretending to run a bakery and whatever else they have them do in kindergarten.

I'm wondering if OP's child was red-shirted last year or if her child is just way far ahead for her age.

NP here. I don't really have a dog in this fight yet, but I think this is an unfair statement about parents of early readers. While we provided assistance as requested, we didn't 'push' our child to read - she decided she wanted to read herself. The issue isn't with kids who are 'too smart' for kindergarten, it's that the current academic model of kindergarten isn't really set up to handle them. While I worry about my child being bored in kindergarten, this doesn't mean I want her to be pushed further along in reading, or in other academic skills. I just want my child to find the process of learning as fun and rewarding as I did, and I worry that spending time going over things she already knows how to do will give her a negative attitude towards school.

Agree with PP poster. However, a lot of countries start formal schooling at 2.5 (india) and 3(france), 4(england). So views on what constitutes the appropriate time to start to teach kids a formal curriculum can vary by country and culture - just as they can by family views and kids' own pace of development. No need to start being judgemental at gut reactions that kids or parents have at their first experiences of public schooling.

[Anonymous]

I'm the OP. Thanks for all the replies. My DD has a summer birthday, so is already on the young side for K, and I certainly wasn't suggesting that she skip a grade or that she doesn't need to learn the social skills kids learn in K. But I am concerned about her losing interest in school and she mentioned again today that the work is too easy. I am hugely sympathetic to the teacher, who I know has kids with a range of experiences in the class (from kids whose parents don't speak English at home and don't know how to write their name to kids who can read pretty fluently.) I'm going to give it a few more weeks to see how things settle before talking to the teacher.

I also wanted to add that we did not push DD to read. She has been interested in books, letters and words ever since she was a baby and whle we have fostered that interest, we haven't pushed her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the OP. Thanks for all the replies. My DD has a summer birthday, so is already on the young side for K, and I certainly wasn't suggesting that she skip a grade or that she doesn't need to learn the social skills kids learn in K. But I am concerned about her losing interest in school and she mentioned again today that the work is too easy. I am hugely sympathetic to the teacher, who I know has kids with a range of experiences in the class (from kids whose parents don't speak English at home and don't know how to write their name to kids who can read pretty fluently.) I'm going to give it a few more weeks to see how things settle before talking to the teacher.

I also wanted to add that we did not push DD to read. She has been interested in books, letters and words ever since she was a baby and whle we have fostered that interest, we haven't pushed her.

You are describing our DD exactly. I was in your shoes last year. Just as I was about to talk to the teacher (maybe 6 weeks in), DD started bringing home more accelerated work, additional homework, and stopped saying she was bored. So, give it some time.