Hit send too soon. Should read:

They view diagrams of opposite gender reproductive systems, including a profile of male genitalia. The female drawings are all internal systems, and fairly basic.

Definitely go in and review the material. If you are not comfortable, don't feel badly about opting out. You can also pull her out mid week if it gets to be too much. Our school said several parents do this each year.

We went to the meeting and are opting out of stds and possibly day 3. Too much info for our young 10 yo.

I think the STD part is inappropriate because the kids do not yet have the maturity, reference point or knowledge to learn about them effectively. How do you teach STDs when you can't talk about condoms? How do kids understand the risks when they are too young to understand sex? The kids in my child's 5th grade class are still playing with legos & American Girl dolls. They are light years away from sexual promiscuity. We prefer to teach those two days within our moral framework, not in a group setting and absent of any discussion of values.

Most of the parents at our meeting said they were opting out of STD day. Whether they actually do remains to be seen.

FYI OP, the kids learn about opposite gender maturation on days 1 & 2, and they both see diagrams of the opposite gender genitalia

Anonymous wrote:How tolerant some of you are...not. A family is conservative and may not wish to approach this at this age. ACCEPT that and respect them.

I don't think anyone has not accepted that. FCPS allows families to opt out and they should if they are not comfortable. One conservative poster has said she was happy with the instruction because it gave her the opportunity to discuss her values with her child Stop seeing problems where there are none.

Anonymous wrote:I have not reviewed the material, nor do I plan to. But looking at the lesson plan, it seems that the focus is on abstinence. STD's are a really important to learn about.

So are apostrophe rules.

How tolerant some of you are...not. A family is conservative and may not wish to approach this at this age. ACCEPT that and respect them.

Anonymous wrote:I have not reviewed the material, nor do I plan to. But looking at the lesson plan, it seems that the focus is on abstinence. STD's are a really important to learn about.

They talk about abstinence and STD's in 5th grade...good grief.

OP here. Thanks everyone for your perspective. I've always answered her questions and have been open with her in an age-appropriate manner. She's so uncomfortable because of the "yuck" factor as most kids feel. I even bought her an AG All About You book but she wouldn't read it. I've been giving her space but honestly know that the time is ticking. I think it will be a good way for her to face the facts in an environment with her friends and then we can discuss.

I agree with 17:53. My DD has really wanted to discuss these issues as they discuss them in class. It has been a great way to get her to open up and to force me to actually discuss the issues. Interestingly, I'm probably the opposite of conservative, so I'm glad FLE seems to work well for both sides of the aisle, so to speak.

I have not reviewed the material, nor do I plan to. But looking at the lesson plan, it seems that the focus is on abstinence. STD's are a really important to learn about.

Review it first, then decide.

We are really conservative on these issues too, but I have found that FLE week is a great conversation week for my dd and I. We talk about what they discussed that day, and it gives me a chance to talk to her about the topics in relation to our beliefs.

Ask the school for an opportunity to review the materials.

No real religious reasons but I find that we are more conservative than most. In looking at the description, I guess the only thing that gave me pause was the section about STDs. I think that can wait a year or two. Just wanted to get a feel for others' experiences.

Why would you do that? Do you have some sort of religious issues?

We are new to Fairfax County. I did not get a chance to review the FLE materials for 5th grade. Does anyone opt-out of it? If so, which parts?