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

[Anonymous]

My oldest kid is starting public kindergarten in September, and is reading at a 4th grade level and doing math that I think works out to common core 3rd grade. (Khan Academy "grades" are synced to that, right?) Is this the kind of thing I should tell the teacher up front, or do they do some kind of assessment, or does it not matter because the students will all be working on the same stuff regardless of their own level? I want to be helpful and don't want my kid to be bored, but I also don't want to give the impression I expect special treatment for my snowflake. I'm just not sure what to expect.

[Anonymous]

She'll figure it out.

[Anonymous]

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

Why are you doing Khan academy with a preschooler?

[Anonymous]

Your child will be assessed quickly. Let her data speak for itself.

[Anonymous]

They'll figure it out.

[Anonymous]

They evaluate kids early-on in kindergarten, and much of this will become apparent to the teacher. However, don't be surprised if the school's assessment of your child's reading level does not match your expectations. You may be tempted to think that they are keeping him at an artificially low level, but they aren't just looking at decoding. They are also looking at comprehension and, in the early grades, the ability to write at the level at which the child can read.

[Anonymous]

They’ll figure it out. They’ve seen it before.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

I was in a similar position and said nothing. At all.

The teacher will figure it out quickly.

[Anonymous]

You tell the teacher nothing until at least the end of the first quarter. In the beginning they are far more focused on setting up the school routine, getting the classroom functioning, and helping these tiny people get comfortable in a brand new environment.
During that time they are also probably doing evaluations (at least reading) with the kids.

If, at the end of the 1st quarter, your child is miserable and not learning anything at all, then you can ask the teacher what her impressions are and what the plans are for the rest of the year.

- mom of a very average 4th grader and an off-the-charts 1st grader

[Anonymous]

Thanks all. I will keep my mouth shut and let the teacher gauge things.

[Anonymous]

NOT THIS AGAIN. this question gets posted every year.
1-your child is not as advanced as you think. everyone came into our school thinking their child was advanced. eye roll.
2-your kid will be bored, or at least have boring work. she will have to deal like everyone else.
3-i've never met a teacher who differentiated in k. they did do pull outs in our k, but it was a very small group, 2-3 kids, but even that advanced work was really easy. dd would have preferred to be in the classroom with her friends.
4-the best thing you can do for your child is teach her how to read quietly after she finishes her work. dd brought piles and piles of books to school.

[Anonymous]

The important lesson in kindergarten isn't academic anyway. Let the mb figure it all out.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all. I will keep my mouth shut and let the teacher gauge things.

Please dont be THAT parent