s/o How do you supplement?

[Anonymous]

Spinning off of the middle school thread to ask what sort of academic supplementing you do to support elementary and middle school? Is everyone doing Kumon? How do you supplement grammar and writing? My kid is a bit young to start all of that, but we are EOTP and would rather not move so I would like to get an idea of how people make sure their kids keep up.

[Anonymous]

We're OK with the DCPS math curriculum, it's ELA and humanities that's weak to the point of being paper-thin. We're OK with what our first grader is learning at school in an EotP DCPS, but bribe our 3rd grader with awarding her "challenge credits" she can cash in for treats like trips to indoor rock climbing places and sleep-away summer camp. Credits are rewarded in return for learning a good deal of geography/world cultures, preparing and competing in in-house spelling bees, and rewriting school essays with correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. The school couldn't care less if the kids can write grammatically. We watch a lot of historical dramas on PBS and talk about what we can learn from them.

[Anonymous]

We felt, for the early elementary years, the best way to supplement would be with lots of experiences (travel opportunities, but also local stuff like museums, plays, concerts, sporting events, nature centers, etc.). We also read a ton, visit book stores and libraries, listen to audio books, etc. We play games, which often include math skills. We do puzzles and encourage imaginative play. We pick a variety of camps in the summer- sports camp, an art camp, music/theater camp, science camp, social studies camp, etc. And we generally talk about the things that interest us- politics, current events, civic engagement, sports, theater, etc. We keep some "workbooks" around, which we have found to be useful when the kids are interested in pretend school play or when one child is particularly interested in something. (Based on our experience, one kid loves them and one hates them. We never force workbooks but have them just in case the mood strikes)

Around second grade, we started being a bit tougher with the homework. It isn't good enough to just do it- we check all the answers and have them correct mistakes. This is also when we started allowing time at home to work on the computer programs available through the school. (We don't require it, we just allow it).

Not sure what we will do going forward. I would like to find a typing class because I think that would be both a useful skill to refine and a benefit to academics. I have generally heard that writing skills are lacking, not just in DC education but American education in general. So I think that is the path I will explore if I look into any more targeted supplementing.

[Anonymous]

reading. Real beautiful fiction books, not graphic novel crap. We read aloud as a family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:reading. Real beautiful fiction books, not graphic novel crap. We read aloud as a family.

Agree about reading. Disagree on the graphic novels. Some are truly outstanding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:reading. Real beautiful fiction books, not graphic novel crap. We read aloud as a family.

Agree about reading. Disagree on the graphic novels. Some are truly outstanding.

Agree! Read all the books. My kids are allowed to read anything. My 9 year old read The Hunger Games series and my son read the entire Walking Dead comic book series.

[Anonymous]

We read. And take our kids to museums, the zoo, plays, concerts, etc. we’re headed to Williamsburg for spring break. Sometimes our 2nd grader asks to play math games. But otherwise, we don’t yet see a need for tutors or anything.

[Anonymous]

As a teacher I would add discussing books--themes, ideas, connections. Don't force it, but go beyond just basic comprehension like what happened. Encourage creative responses to it--act it out, tell a new ending, what would happen if X had been in the story. Get them thinking about what they are reading (but don't force it!). Also, encourage lots and lots of writing! Daily journaling, story writing, letter writing, create their own newspaper/newsletter. It's almost more quantity than quality. Most kids I teach can barely write a paragraph without support!

[Anonymous]

Our kids go to a public charter in DC and honestly it’s all they can do to keep up with the daily homework. We “supplement“ by taking them to sports practice and music lessons, but not even travel teams or anything like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our kids go to a public charter in DC and honestly it’s all they can do to keep up with the daily homework. We “supplement“ by taking them to sports practice and music lessons, but not even travel teams or anything like that.

Yikes. Which charter?

[Anonymous]

SpiderSmart enrichment/tutoring
Private tutoring

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our kids go to a public charter in DC and honestly it’s all they can do to keep up with the daily homework. We “supplement“ by taking them to sports practice and music lessons, but not even travel teams or anything like that.

Yikes. Which charter?

I don't know that it's "yikes" worthy--I just meant that since my kids seem to be plenty challenged by the school work they're assigned, I don't feel the need to sign them up for Kumon or anything. They're very happy there and I think they're learning a lot. Washington Latin.

[Anonymous]

We don't do Kumon. I actually like the math curriculum. We "supplement" with weekly trips to the library, museums, nature centers, zoos, and musical performances. We have books all over our house and we encourage and facilitate reading (and while I suggest and provide classic literature and books that might provide a bit of a stretch, she is allowed to read whatever she wants. Reading is a skill that improves with practice, and I think a love of reading serves her best in the longer run.) We read together and talk about books. We watch documentaries.

I think that kids tend to need more time for independent play, to use their imaginations, and outdoor time. Running around on the playground, exploring our neighborhood, hiking, etc., are really important to us.

As for grammar and writing, we encourage journal writing and letters to grandparents. We also tell stories together and write them down into books. For assigned writing projects, she writes a first draft, I review and discuss it with her, choosing a few key things to focus on, and then she re-writes it, so everything goes through an editing process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We don't do Kumon. I actually like the math curriculum. We "supplement" with weekly trips to the library, museums, nature centers, zoos, and musical performances. We have books all over our house and we encourage and facilitate reading (and while I suggest and provide classic literature and books that might provide a bit of a stretch, she is allowed to read whatever she wants. Reading is a skill that improves with practice, and I think a love of reading serves her best in the longer run.) We read together and talk about books. We watch documentaries.

I think that kids tend to need more time for independent play, to use their imaginations, and outdoor time. Running around on the playground, exploring our neighborhood, hiking, etc., are really important to us.

As for grammar and writing, we encourage journal writing and letters to grandparents. We also tell stories together and write them down into books. For assigned writing projects, she writes a first draft, I review and discuss it with her, choosing a few key things to focus on, and then she re-writes it, so everything goes through an editing process.

How do you have the time to do all this with your kids? Do you stay at home, work part-time? Do you kids not go to after-care or participate in structured extracurriculars?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're OK with the DCPS math curriculum, it's ELA and humanities that's weak to the point of being paper-thin. We're OK with what our first grader is learning at school in an EotP DCPS, but bribe our 3rd grader with awarding her "challenge credits" she can cash in for treats like trips to indoor rock climbing places and sleep-away summer camp. Credits are rewarded in return for learning a good deal of geography/world cultures, preparing and competing in in-house spelling bees, and rewriting school essays with correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. The school couldn't care less if the kids can write grammatically. We watch a lot of historical dramas on PBS and talk about what we can learn from them.

I feel the opposite way. My child tests well above grade level in teading, but is being adequately challenged in ELA. His school (EOTtP DCPS) does teach spelling, grammar, and punctuation. The math curriculum isn't bad per se, but moves way too slowly. We do extra math (workbooks, Prodigy app)