If you supplement at home, please share what you do (not a debate about whether it's good)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Music lessons
Trips to the library
encouraged extracurriculars like chess, Mad Science, ceramics, summer swim team
Attend theater productions
travel
Read a lot of books to my kids
let them play outside a ton

two kids, both attended CES, both attended magnet middle, one headed to a high school magnet, the other attending a high school magnet

This. My kids hated worksheets at school, and would have been miserable coming home to do more of them. Same with computerized lessons. And moving ahead in a curriculum would have meant even more boredom and frustration in school. It was bad enough when they were sitting through three days on a concept they grasped the first time it was presented, and would have been worse if they’d already mastered it ahead of time.

We just facilitated exploration, exposed them to new things, and encouraged them to explore every interest as fully as possible. Math, science, and history all got worked into daily life, and expanded as they expressed interest. Weekly library trips, books, newspapers, and magazines in every room of the house, museums and national parks, travel (even just local day trips).

I feel like it’s far better to encourage brain development and a love of learning than to just tack on more formal lessons that stifle creativity. Even if a kid doesn’t mind worksheets and computer lessons, and they learn a lot from them and get “ahead,” that doesn’t mean it’s what best for them. If you truly want to *supplement* your child’s education (not just give them a leg up on the “competition”), shore up the parts that the modern educational system neglects: creativity and intellectual curiosity.

+ 1000. My kids hate to brush their teeth and wash their hands, so we don’t bother with it. We want them to be happy above all else.

Appreciate the sarcasm, but I could not agree with PP more.

Weekly library trips, NPR in the car, nature documentaries on tv. Wordle and Sudoku. But no worksheets or RSM or Kumon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Beast Academy for us also.

My kids got zero enrichment in Math. Like another PP said, if your kid is above grade level, they are largely ignored. MCPS has no incentive to help kids who are already working above grade level as that simply makes the Achievement Gap worse.

Beast Academy is great if your kid enjoys Math because it goes deeper into concepts and provides a much better understanding. If your kid dislikes Math, I still think it’s a good way to help your kid understand math better (and maybe dislike it less). BA was recommended on here for me years ago and I am so grateful.

they offer free tutoring

The point of tutoring is not for enrichment and I sure hope you aren't using it that way.....

The point of the tutoring is for any child whose parents feel they need it. You can use it any way you want.

NP. Have folks had good experiences with the free tutoring? Did your kids respond to it?

Very good. We’ve had a mic of tutors and when we get a bad one we just switch. It’s been great overall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Music lessons
Trips to the library
encouraged extracurriculars like chess, Mad Science, ceramics, summer swim team
Attend theater productions
travel
Read a lot of books to my kids
let them play outside a ton

two kids, both attended CES, both attended magnet middle, one headed to a high school magnet, the other attending a high school magnet

This. My kids hated worksheets at school, and would have been miserable coming home to do more of them. Same with computerized lessons. And moving ahead in a curriculum would have meant even more boredom and frustration in school. It was bad enough when they were sitting through three days on a concept they grasped the first time it was presented, and would have been worse if they’d already mastered it ahead of time.

We just facilitated exploration, exposed them to new things, and encouraged them to explore every interest as fully as possible. Math, science, and history all got worked into daily life, and expanded as they expressed interest. Weekly library trips, books, newspapers, and magazines in every room of the house, museums and national parks, travel (even just local day trips).

I feel like it’s far better to encourage brain development and a love of learning than to just tack on more formal lessons that stifle creativity. Even if a kid doesn’t mind worksheets and computer lessons, and they learn a lot from them and get “ahead,” that doesn’t mean it’s what best for them. If you truly want to *supplement* your child’s education (not just give them a leg up on the “competition”), shore up the parts that the modern educational system neglects: creativity and intellectual curiosity.

+ 1000. My kids hate to brush their teeth and wash their hands, so we don’t bother with it. We want them to be happy above all else.

Appreciate the sarcasm, but I could not agree with PP more.

Weekly library trips, NPR in the car, nature documentaries on tv. Wordle and Sudoku. But no worksheets or RSM or Kumon.

LOL. NPR in the car? What kind of nonsense are you trying to teach them? NPR is a joke of a station now, no where near the quality of reporting that it used to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Music lessons
Trips to the library
encouraged extracurriculars like chess, Mad Science, ceramics, summer swim team
Attend theater productions
travel
Read a lot of books to my kids
let them play outside a ton

two kids, both attended CES, both attended magnet middle, one headed to a high school magnet, the other attending a high school magnet

This. My kids hated worksheets at school, and would have been miserable coming home to do more of them. Same with computerized lessons. And moving ahead in a curriculum would have meant even more boredom and frustration in school. It was bad enough when they were sitting through three days on a concept they grasped the first time it was presented, and would have been worse if they’d already mastered it ahead of time.

We just facilitated exploration, exposed them to new things, and encouraged them to explore every interest as fully as possible. Math, science, and history all got worked into daily life, and expanded as they expressed interest. Weekly library trips, books, newspapers, and magazines in every room of the house, museums and national parks, travel (even just local day trips).

I feel like it’s far better to encourage brain development and a love of learning than to just tack on more formal lessons that stifle creativity. Even if a kid doesn’t mind worksheets and computer lessons, and they learn a lot from them and get “ahead,” that doesn’t mean it’s what best for them. If you truly want to *supplement* your child’s education (not just give them a leg up on the “competition”), shore up the parts that the modern educational system neglects: creativity and intellectual curiosity.

+ 1000. My kids hate to brush their teeth and wash their hands, so we don’t bother with it. We want them to be happy above all else.

You really thought you were being clever and saying something intelligent when you typed this, didn’t you?

How sad.

[Anonymous]

We have been doing Khan Academy since 2nd grade, about 2 hours a week. This works well for my kid who's been able to multiply in their head since KG. My kid is self-driven, so it works.

For reading, it wasn't until 3rd grade where we got the MAP reports with Lexile Levels that I understood where my kid was reading wise (at a 6th-7th grade level according to Lexile). I got Spectrum Reading Comprehension and Language Arts workbooks from Amazon at the 7th grade level and that gave my child the enrichment/supplementation they needed to beat the boredom and lack of instruction at their level at school. The Spectrum passages are diverse and interesting, so it peaks curiosity to explore topics further, usually.

My child also reads at least 3-4 books a month (non-fiction, novels, etc.). Again, mostly self driven.

My kid is usually 98-99 percentile in MAP-M and MAP-R.

Not bragging here, but trying to honestly answer OP's question. We are in a W district, for context. No private tutors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Music lessons
Trips to the library
encouraged extracurriculars like chess, Mad Science, ceramics, summer swim team
Attend theater productions
travel
Read a lot of books to my kids
let them play outside a ton

two kids, both attended CES, both attended magnet middle, one headed to a high school magnet, the other attending a high school magnet

This. My kids hated worksheets at school, and would have been miserable coming home to do more of them. Same with computerized lessons. And moving ahead in a curriculum would have meant even more boredom and frustration in school. It was bad enough when they were sitting through three days on a concept they grasped the first time it was presented, and would have been worse if they’d already mastered it ahead of time.

We just facilitated exploration, exposed them to new things, and encouraged them to explore every interest as fully as possible. Math, science, and history all got worked into daily life, and expanded as they expressed interest. Weekly library trips, books, newspapers, and magazines in every room of the house, museums and national parks, travel (even just local day trips).

I feel like it’s far better to encourage brain development and a love of learning than to just tack on more formal lessons that stifle creativity. Even if a kid doesn’t mind worksheets and computer lessons, and they learn a lot from them and get “ahead,” that doesn’t mean it’s what best for them. If you truly want to *supplement* your child’s education (not just give them a leg up on the “competition”), shore up the parts that the modern educational system neglects: creativity and intellectual curiosity.

+ 1000. My kids hate to brush their teeth and wash their hands, so we don’t bother with it. We want them to be happy above all else.

Appreciate the sarcasm, but I could not agree with PP more.

Weekly library trips, NPR in the car, nature documentaries on tv. Wordle and Sudoku. But no worksheets or RSM or Kumon.

LOL. NPR in the car? What kind of nonsense are you trying to teach them? NPR is a joke of a station now, no where near the quality of reporting that it used to be.

I know we listen to recordings of Tucker in the car. It's so informative!

[Anonymous]

I listen to NPR all the time, but how is it at all appropriate for a 1st grader?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I listen to NPR all the time, but how is it at all appropriate for a 1st grader?

It’s not. But it’s a great way to virtue signal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I listen to NPR all the time, but how is it at all appropriate for a 1st grader?

It’s not. But it’s a great way to virtue signal.

Seriously. I forgot to change the station one day when I picked DD up from school. She was in kindergarten. They were doing a report about Ukraine. She immediately asked me “what’s Ukraine? Why was there a fire in someone’s apartment? Is that going to happen here?”

Reminded me to shut it off before she got into the car.