how to handle K-2

[Anonymous]

My DC is advanced and we're hoping AAP will provide enough challenge. We are not seeing that in K except for some differentiation. What should we expect and ask for in 1st and 2nd grade?

[Anonymous]

DC was also exceptional. K-2 was a waste educationally but great socially. In AAP and excelling; all 4s, and very social. Expect very little k-2.

[Anonymous]

PP, what did you do to stimulate your DC?

[Anonymous]

I taught her at home. Seriously. Every day from 3 - 4 was school time in our home. I bought educational materials that were 1 year advanced and she did them. AT the end of KG she was working on 2nd grade materials. The school could not stand me - really! I asked for her to be put into a 1st or 2nd grade reading group - she was reading at 5th grade level, and they said NO. I pushed back and they pushed back even harder. I just said fine, I will educate at home after school. Very frustrating as FCPS does not really know what to do with exceptionally bright kids in k-2. I was told, in fact, that b 3rd grade, she would taper off and be average. I responded that if that happened they would have greatly failed my child. Thankfully, that did not happen. However, FCPS AAP is only so good. Meaning that if a kid is getting all 4s with very little effort, it tells you the program is too easy for her. She isn't really being challenged. If she put more time into school work, she will still have the same outcome so she doesn't. I've asked her if she would like to skip high school and go to Mary Baldwin at 13. She replied that there is no way she is going to miss her prom or high school years.

Overall, I took k-2 as an opportunity to supplement her needs at home. We went to the nature center every Monday (early release) and would spend hours there. On Thursday's we went to Frying Pan Park to take part in the milking and see all the animals. Every day we had a stimulating activity after school. It was wonderful! Now she is in 5th grade AAP and a stellar student. She puts very little effort into her work and receivedsall 4s. I sometimes wish that the center offered more, but she is happy. We don't do so much activity these days. But with the nice weather coming, we will start back in to the Mon and Thu routine (she has 2 younger sibs in ES). During the summer, we try to go to a regional park or nature center 2 - 3 times a week. Mind you, I hate the outdoors and bugs, but know that offering my kids all that the area has to offer is a must. We usually go into DC more often in the spring and fall. The kids LOVE the zoo and the museums and art galleries. We go to Williamsburg 2x a year, and travel to a variety of other places.

All in all, any school - public or private - can only do so much, You need to take the lead. We had her tested in 1st grade and she was off the charts. The school told us that there was still nothing they could do - there are no special services for the highly gifted in k-2. Her GBRS were 16, NNAT was 150s, CogAT was 99%.

[Anonymous]

to each his own.... I found when my very energetic sons got home from school the last thing they wanted to do was something academic. so we bagged homework as a regular deal until 3rd grade and they went out an played sports, games, whatever. It was unsupervised and self-driven and above all it was fun for them. too little of that in K-2. funny though, two are in high school now and both doing very well academically. If you know your kids are smart, kids who are taught to work hard and follow their interests find their way.

Sometimes it seems like parents on these boards think if you don't push, push, push your kids and fill their heads with constant challenges and new information they'll somehow fall behind. That's not how learning works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I taught her at home.

That sounds seriously a full time job. Out of curiosity, are you still teaching her at home for 5th grade? How far that will go? I'm trying a little bit, but I can't image myself to teach anything above 3rd-4th grade.

[Anonymous]

My kids were completely unchallenged and a bit bored K-2, and the schools would not allow them to work ahead at levels that challenged them. Once they were in AAP, it still wasn't very challenging in the early years. You've just got to accept that and take it upon yourself to provide your own learning experiences.

There are so many ways to enrich your child's knowledge and academics, without sitting around "teaching" and drilling. Science is scarcely taught in elementary school now, so think of all the fun science-oriented things you can do outside of school. I also like learning other languages with my kids. We play games that involve logical thinking and math, and when they ask questions, we have the whole Interwebz for answers. I also let them run free and have plenty of down time, because it's not easy for them sitting around all day at school.

[Anonymous]

PP, as you may have noted in my original reply, I taught her at home by doing things WITH her. I never drilled, I offered her information on topics that interested her and she would work on them for an hour. The school did not offer her any supplementary offerings.

Often times, what she most enjoyed was science and writing, and for an hour I would monitor her and offer support when needed. We always did stuff out of the home; FREE enriching things - see my post for ideas. I never taught her full time, though. Although, what we did in an hour would have been 2 - 3 hours of her school day.

Additionally, I encourage reading to all of my kids. My daughter would read, and still does, for 3 - 4 hours a day. She usually reads 2 - 3 novels at a time and does not get the plots or characters confused. When she was younger, I would read about as long to her. I love reading and have, thankfully, passed this past time on to all of my children.

Lastly, I believe in unstructured play time. However, my kids know that they have to do HW and any chores before they head out to play. My kids are completely under-scheduled. Kids need to be kids and not be on a sport or in a program every day of the work week. Having time to explore their own interests is key to success. However, you as a parent need to guide them.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I didn't mean to imply that you sat around doing drills or anything. We're on the same page.