FCPS Kindergarten

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is a summer birthday, is doing well and by five years old there is really no need for a nap nor will your child really want one. As long as your child knows the basics going in, letters and numbers etc, they should not struggle. The only issue might be impulse control if they can't sit still for 20 minutes at a time but then again, that would be an issue in private school as well. They actually move arounda lot between doing morning meetings then going to specials, the coming back and working on reading groups, then PE or recess. It's not like they are sitting in one place the entire day just scribbling in notebooks. Your child will be fine.

Bull. My child's classroom had them sitting still for the entire day, minus 20 minutes of recess, which was frequently taken away. They sat and did worksheets without moving or even getting up for water or the bathroom for almost the entire day. They only had PE once a week. FCPS is a hideously bad school district with no across the board standards at all. You were lucky - we were not. I hope OP gets a better school and teacher than we did.

PP here that you are quoting. What you are reporting does not sound plausible or even reasonable. K classrooms have bathrooms in the classroom so why would they not be allowed to use the bathroom in almost the entire day? I have actually visited my child's classroom for a reading event and other various events and see how the day is structured. We also have a schedule, so I know how often they move about. There is library time, something called lab(??), music, PE and art. They do reading time in groups and also math and morning meeting. How do you expect that all of that is accomplished throughout the week without some fair amount of moving about and frequent changes in the current activity. It sounds like you are angry that your child can't sit still and is having a horrible time in K. I am sorry for that. I knew my child is not the best with sitting still so we put her in a daycare with some academics and she has done great academically and loves K.

OP< for better or worse K has changed and my child is not special or great (except to me of course) and she is doing just fine. We prepared her for K and she went in confident with basic knowledge and that has helped. Even low performing schools in inner cities (I know because of family living there) have seriously raised the bar for K and those kids are learning to read in K and learning basic math like addition and subtraction. Everyone has a fit about it as I would have had I not seen how it is done. While it is tough for some to learn impulse control and not just walk away from the circle time or stay on task, sending your child to any kind of preschool or daycare setting should help your child understand the routine and ease the transition. I did not learn how to read until the end of 1st grade and I would have never thought that my child would be expected to be learning in K. BUT you would be surprised at how capable they are. Your child will be fine.

It is so upsetting to hear people constantly negate our experience because they did not experience the same. My child has no problem sitting still, and he never got in trouble, but he was bored to tears (literally) and stressed by the tedium. They were not allowed to use the bathroom without permission, even though it was in the classroom. They could not leave their seats for any reason. They sometimes sat on a small carpet instead, but were expected to sit absolutely still, with no fidgeting. And then straight back to the seats. There was no group work. The teacher refused to do it, even though several parents brought it up. They did have one special a day, lunch, and a 20 minute recess (which could be taken away for not completing worksheets). I observed the class myself, and this is fact. I wish we had had a good experience. I was expecting to. But this was the experience we had. Those who had something better should consider themselves lucky. Fairfax doesn't seem to have any standards for what is appropriate in Kindergarten, and it's luck of the draw whether you get a good teacher or something like what we got.

But that is what you or that PP did. By responding with "bull", you negated my and a lot of other people's experiences because it didn't match you particular experience. If you are the same poster, you went from very angry and rude to almost victim like. Very odd

Not odd at all. You all believe that your experience is the norm, and it is not. It is lucky. And my experience is not that unusual. As for being angry - wouldn't you be if that was your child's kindergarten experience? And as for being a victim, yes, I do feel that both I and my child were victimized by the school in many ways. I think I am absolutely justified in all of those attitudes.

Actually, the PP's expereince seems to be the norm as many other PP's have posted similar things and your seem to be the only poster who has had a different expereince. I think perhaps, you should consider that your experience is the outlier. Which school did your DC attend and have this honorific kindergarten experience?

I am NOT an outlier. More likely lots of sock puppeting from you. Plenty of people have posted similar experiences both here and in other threads. Also, those with girls often don't understand that boys tend to have a much harder time in the early grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is a summer birthday, is doing well and by five years old there is really no need for a nap nor will your child really want one. As long as your child knows the basics going in, letters and numbers etc, they should not struggle. The only issue might be impulse control if they can't sit still for 20 minutes at a time but then again, that would be an issue in private school as well. They actually move arounda lot between doing morning meetings then going to specials, the coming back and working on reading groups, then PE or recess. It's not like they are sitting in one place the entire day just scribbling in notebooks. Your child will be fine.

Bull. My child's classroom had them sitting still for the entire day, minus 20 minutes of recess, which was frequently taken away. They sat and did worksheets without moving or even getting up for water or the bathroom for almost the entire day. They only had PE once a week. FCPS is a hideously bad school district with no across the board standards at all. You were lucky - we were not. I hope OP gets a better school and teacher than we did.

PP here that you are quoting. What you are reporting does not sound plausible or even reasonable. K classrooms have bathrooms in the classroom so why would they not be allowed to use the bathroom in almost the entire day? I have actually visited my child's classroom for a reading event and other various events and see how the day is structured. We also have a schedule, so I know how often they move about. There is library time, something called lab(??), music, PE and art. They do reading time in groups and also math and morning meeting. How do you expect that all of that is accomplished throughout the week without some fair amount of moving about and frequent changes in the current activity. It sounds like you are angry that your child can't sit still and is having a horrible time in K. I am sorry for that. I knew my child is not the best with sitting still so we put her in a daycare with some academics and she has done great academically and loves K.

OP< for better or worse K has changed and my child is not special or great (except to me of course) and she is doing just fine. We prepared her for K and she went in confident with basic knowledge and that has helped. Even low performing schools in inner cities (I know because of family living there) have seriously raised the bar for K and those kids are learning to read in K and learning basic math like addition and subtraction. Everyone has a fit about it as I would have had I not seen how it is done. While it is tough for some to learn impulse control and not just walk away from the circle time or stay on task, sending your child to any kind of preschool or daycare setting should help your child understand the routine and ease the transition. I did not learn how to read until the end of 1st grade and I would have never thought that my child would be expected to be learning in K. BUT you would be surprised at how capable they are. Your child will be fine.

It is so upsetting to hear people constantly negate our experience because they did not experience the same. My child has no problem sitting still, and he never got in trouble, but he was bored to tears (literally) and stressed by the tedium. They were not allowed to use the bathroom without permission, even though it was in the classroom. They could not leave their seats for any reason. They sometimes sat on a small carpet instead, but were expected to sit absolutely still, with no fidgeting. And then straight back to the seats. There was no group work. The teacher refused to do it, even though several parents brought it up. They did have one special a day, lunch, and a 20 minute recess (which could be taken away for not completing worksheets). I observed the class myself, and this is fact. I wish we had had a good experience. I was expecting to. But this was the experience we had. Those who had something better should consider themselves lucky. Fairfax doesn't seem to have any standards for what is appropriate in Kindergarten, and it's luck of the draw whether you get a good teacher or something like what we got.

But that is what you or that PP did. By responding with "bull", you negated my and a lot of other people's experiences because it didn't match you particular experience. If you are the same poster, you went from very angry and rude to almost victim like. Very odd

Not odd at all. You all believe that your experience is the norm, and it is not. It is lucky. And my experience is not that unusual. As for being angry - wouldn't you be if that was your child's kindergarten experience? And as for being a victim, yes, I do feel that both I and my child were victimized by the school in many ways. I think I am absolutely justified in all of those attitudes.

Actually, the PP's expereince seems to be the norm as many other PP's have posted similar things and your seem to be the only poster who has had a different expereince. I think perhaps, you should consider that your experience is the outlier. Which school did your DC attend and have this honorific kindergarten experience?

I am NOT an outlier. More likely lots of sock puppeting from you. Plenty of people have posted similar experiences both here and in other threads. Also, those with girls often don't understand that boys tend to have a much harder time in the early grades.

Not sock puppet. Have two boys no girls. Anything else you want to sling with absolutely no information? If you don't reveal the school, we don't really have anything to go one.

[Anonymous]

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/ofc/docs/stepping_into_kindergarten_online.pdf
See page 9 for sample schedule. Each Es does kindergarten a bit different. But, in general there are 15 mins recess prior to lunch. About 30 mins quiet time after lunch. And 30mins of pe or music. The state requires a specific number of minutes of physical activity per week ( think ffx is around 150mins)

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure if anyone that's actually had experience with Shrevewood answered your question, OP. I searched, but it got really off topic, so I wanted to let you know that my DD went to Shrevewood for K (last year) and they did have a nap time (there's a mat on the school supply list). They do phase it out eventually, but kids were still welcome to take naps if they were tired. The K classes all have assistants. And from what I could tell they had plenty of recess, gym time, and play time. Not sure on the teacher/student ratio.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure if anyone that's actually had experience with Shrevewood answered your question, OP. I searched, but it got really off topic, so I wanted to let you know that my DD went to Shrevewood for K (last year) and they did have a nap time (there's a mat on the school supply list). They do phase it out eventually, but kids were still welcome to take naps if they were tired. The K classes all have assistants. And from what I could tell they had plenty of recess, gym time, and play time. Not sure on the teacher/student ratio.

OP here - thanks, this is really helpful!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 3 year old who will be starting Kindergarten in two years - so yes, we're a little bit getting ahead of ourselves! We're starting to get a little stressed out about Kindergarten based on what we've heard about FCPS -- e.g. Kindergarten is full day instead of half day, there is very little recess or gymnasium time, no nap or rest time, and kids are expected to be learning what our generation learned in first and second grades. Is this true of all FCPS? My child will specifically be attending SHREVEWOOD. Anyone have experience with this school's Kindergarten program? I know the school is overcrowded - what is the student-teacher ratio? Are there assistants in the class? We're so nervous. DD is in preschool now, but it is play based and the ratio is 2 teachers to 16-18 kids.

Your child has nearly 2 1/2 years to mature and be ready. If DC is already in a class with 16-18 children and two teachers, DC shold be able to handle a class that is 25-28 with two teachers (one teacher and one aide) in 2+ YEARS. Things have NOT changed that much. Kindergarten is more like half 1st and half kindergarten. With three years of preschool under her belt, she should be MORE THAN READY.

OP here - even if that preschool is 100% play based? There's no academic, sitting still for hours on end component to our preschool. There's still a 2 hour long nap/quiet time period, even for 4 year olds. They go outside 2-3 times a day.

No 4 year old class should be having a 2 hour rest period. Something is very wrong with that preschool. And, why on earth are there no academics to get them prepared for K?

Because that's what K is for.

[Anonymous]

We are in FCPS. Our child's experience was great. There was no homework. Kids had 2 snacks and an early lunch. There was recess twice per day and gym twice per week. The kindergarten teachers at our school are seasoned and nurturing.

[Anonymous]

OP here - even if that preschool is 100% play based? There's no academic, sitting still for hours on end component to our preschool. There's still a 2 hour long nap/quiet time period, even for 4 year olds. They go outside 2-3 times a day.


No 4 year old class should be having a 2 hour rest period. Something is very wrong with that preschool. And, why on earth are there no academics to get them prepared for K?

For a four year old who goes outside 2-3 times per day and is busy with other activities, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a two hour quiet tine. This sounds like a day care situation where the kids probably come early and stay late. Quiet time includes books, etc and, yes, some kids may nap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

OP here - even if that preschool is 100% play based? There's no academic, sitting still for hours on end component to our preschool. There's still a 2 hour long nap/quiet time period, even for 4 year olds. They go outside 2-3 times a day.


No 4 year old class should be having a 2 hour rest period. Something is very wrong with that preschool. And, why on earth are there no academics to get them prepared for K?

For a four year old who goes outside 2-3 times per day and is busy with other activities, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a two hour quiet tine. This sounds like a day care situation where the kids probably come early and stay late. Quiet time includes books, etc and, yes, some kids may nap.

Not sure why people feel the need to make a big deal out of the distinction between full day preschool ("that's daycare!") and half day preschool ("that's a playgroup!"). My child goes to a full day preschool. Someone else's 3 half days a week program is a preschool, too, just a different kind. To address the bolded, there's been a ton of research that says that children even out in the first 2-3 years of elementary school regardless of the type of instruction (play based vs. direct instruction) they had in preschool (if they went to preschool at all). Kids learn a lot while they are playing even if it's not how to read, and there are things that kids don't learn while they're doing worksheets at a table and learning how to read.