Anonymous
Post 09/06/2018 21:07     Subject: Expectations for kindergarten classroom?
Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Thanks everybody, and hopefully there will be more replies also. Back to school night is tomorrow and I'm thinking of bringing up the lollipop thing as it is an issue for us. The other stuff I will wait a bit but I am interested in knowing if it typically happens elsewhere. I know DD can be an unreliable narrator but she was able to show me one of the videos on You Tube (a kids dance thing) and after preschool she's very familiar with how a classroom runs, for example her preschool classroom also had a workstation for the teachers to do email work.

I have heard really great things about this school and I want it to work out. That said, we have been thinking about moving houses in the spring (could be in school zone or out), and private school is a possibility also, so I am interested in knowing whether this is how FCPS classrooms are run.

Op we were in FCPS we switched to N Arlington. One of my kids was in ore school there for special needs. I was not very happy with it and the bus ride was long. I do think that APS ate better than FCPS specially for ES.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2018 13:59     Subject: Expectations for kindergarten classroom?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Thanks everybody, and hopefully there will be more replies also. Back to school night is tomorrow and I'm thinking of bringing up the lollipop thing as it is an issue for us. The other stuff I will wait a bit but I am interested in knowing if it typically happens elsewhere. I know DD can be an unreliable narrator but she was able to show me one of the videos on You Tube (a kids dance thing) and after preschool she's very familiar with how a classroom runs, for example her preschool classroom also had a workstation for the teachers to do email work.

I have heard really great things about this school and I want it to work out. That said, we have been thinking about moving houses in the spring (could be in school zone or out), and private school is a possibility also, so I am interested in knowing whether this is how FCPS classrooms are run.


Don’t bring up the lollipop thing at back to school night. Send an email. It’s a much more courteous way to handle things than bringing up a personal concern in front of a room full of other parents.


Oh, is back to school night not for individual chatting, but more of a group Q&A? I really am new to this. Okay, that's useful info, thank you. Thanks also for the Go Noodle info. I'll wait and watch.

- OP


Teacher here. SERIOUSLY. If you have something that you are that concerned about, like one lollipop, 1- lighten up but 2- please for the love of God do not call your teacher out and put her on the spot in front of everyone. Parents are worse than a class full of middle school girls, and you will just humiliate the teacher and give everyone else the opportunity to start nit-picking and attacking. Just email and say "Hey! I am Larlla's mom, thanks so much for a great first week! She's really loving the dancing and all that she's learned. I did want to politely ask if candy not be used for a reward for her, we are very intentional about dental health and also about not using food as a reward. I can send in some stickers or something if you need to supplement. I am looking forward to working alongside you this year, thanks so much!"
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2018 13:56     Subject: Expectations for kindergarten classroom?
Anonymous wrote:
Oh, is back to school night not for individual chatting, but more of a group Q&A? I really am new to this. Okay, that's useful info, thank you. Thanks also for the Go Noodle info. I'll wait and watch.

- OP


Back to School is typically a chance for parents to see the classroom, for the teacher to maybe give a brief presentation about the school year, expectations and answer general questions from parents. It's not a time for 1-on-1 conversations about individual child issues.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2018 13:56     Subject: Expectations for kindergarten classroom?
Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Thanks everybody, and hopefully there will be more replies also. Back to school night is tomorrow and I'm thinking of bringing up the lollipop thing as it is an issue for us. The other stuff I will wait a bit but I am interested in knowing if it typically happens elsewhere. I know DD can be an unreliable narrator but she was able to show me one of the videos on You Tube (a kids dance thing) and after preschool she's very familiar with how a classroom runs, for example her preschool classroom also had a workstation for the teachers to do email work.

I have heard really great things about this school and I want it to work out. That said, we have been thinking about moving houses in the spring (could be in school zone or out), and private school is a possibility also, so I am interested in knowing whether this is how FCPS classrooms are run.


I know DD can be an unreliable narrator

and as pp said- "If you only believe half of what your child tells you about school, we'll only believe half of what they tell us about home"
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2018 13:53     Subject: Expectations for kindergarten classroom?
Anonymous wrote:You will see super easy worksheets coming home all K year, so you will have to unclench on that.



They are used mostly for morning work when students first arrive to get them into school mode for the day. Once most kids are writing they’ll be writing in a journal for morning work. My son was in K last year and brought home morning work and station worksheets that were way easy for him, but they did plenty other engaging and challenging work throughout the day. Don’t make this a big deal.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2018 13:52     Subject: Expectations for kindergarten classroom?
Anonymous wrote:My kids love Go Noodle videos and I was very happy they let them get the wiggles out. Teachers in our school would never give out food like that. The reading prep stuff (letters, etc.) is going to be tedious in any K classroom if your child already knows the sounds all letters make and can read basic works (cat, map, etc.)


Agree, and this seems appropriate to me. Kids at that age can’t be expected to sit quietly working at their desks all day. I saw my daughter doing one yesterday (not sure if it was Go Noodle or something else) that involved dancing as they counted by 5’s.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2018 13:49     Subject: Expectations for kindergarten classroom?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Thanks everybody, and hopefully there will be more replies also. Back to school night is tomorrow and I'm thinking of bringing up the lollipop thing as it is an issue for us. The other stuff I will wait a bit but I am interested in knowing if it typically happens elsewhere. I know DD can be an unreliable narrator but she was able to show me one of the videos on You Tube (a kids dance thing) and after preschool she's very familiar with how a classroom runs, for example her preschool classroom also had a workstation for the teachers to do email work.

I have heard really great things about this school and I want it to work out. That said, we have been thinking about moving houses in the spring (could be in school zone or out), and private school is a possibility also, so I am interested in knowing whether this is how FCPS classrooms are run.


Don’t bring up the lollipop thing at back to school night. Send an email. It’s a much more courteous way to handle things than bringing up a personal concern in front of a room full of other parents.


Oh, is back to school night not for individual chatting, but more of a group Q&A? I really am new to this. Okay, that's useful info, thank you. Thanks also for the Go Noodle info. I'll wait and watch.

- OP
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2018 13:44     Subject: Expectations for kindergarten classroom?
My kids love Go Noodle videos and I was very happy they let them get the wiggles out. Teachers in our school would never give out food like that. The reading prep stuff (letters, etc.) is going to be tedious in any K classroom if your child already knows the sounds all letters make and can read basic works (cat, map, etc.)
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2018 13:43     Subject: Re:Expectations for kindergarten classroom?
Go Noodle is popular at my ES. The videos are used as a stretch break and they are 4-5 mins long. The teacher’s have a lot of BOY testing to do. We do ours on our laptops so that is why the teacher’s seem like they are in the computer a lot because they are. Kids also use iPads to do parts of the test. I don’t give out candy but some teachers do. I personally hate clip charts but many people use them. The worksheets keep the kids occupied while the teacher spends hours testing. Teacher’s have to do this testing within a few weeks so there is a lot of busywork. It is what it is.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2018 13:43     Subject: Expectations for kindergarten classroom?
Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Thanks everybody, and hopefully there will be more replies also. Back to school night is tomorrow and I'm thinking of bringing up the lollipop thing as it is an issue for us. The other stuff I will wait a bit but I am interested in knowing if it typically happens elsewhere. I know DD can be an unreliable narrator but she was able to show me one of the videos on You Tube (a kids dance thing) and after preschool she's very familiar with how a classroom runs, for example her preschool classroom also had a workstation for the teachers to do email work.

I have heard really great things about this school and I want it to work out. That said, we have been thinking about moving houses in the spring (could be in school zone or out), and private school is a possibility also, so I am interested in knowing whether this is how FCPS classrooms are run.


Don’t bring up the lollipop thing at back to school night. Send an email. It’s a much more courteous way to handle things than bringing up a personal concern in front of a room full of other parents.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2018 13:42     Subject: Expectations for kindergarten classroom?
Anonymous wrote:the kids dance thing -was it Go Noodle? Those are very popular for movement breaks. With the smartboards, it is very easy for the teacher to play a 5 minute dance video or several throughout the day.

The only thing you mentioned that would give me any pause would be the behavior chart as those are NOT best practices and NOT part of responsive classroom, which I thought all FCPS ESes had implemented.


+1 to the video maybe being Go Noodle for "brain breaks"
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2018 13:41     Subject: Expectations for kindergarten classroom?
Anonymous wrote:the kids dance thing -was it Go Noodle? Those are very popular for movement breaks. With the smartboards, it is very easy for the teacher to play a 5 minute dance video or several throughout the day.

The only thing you mentioned that would give me any pause would be the behavior chart as those are NOT best practices and NOT part of responsive classroom, which I thought all FCPS ESes had implemented.


+1, the videos aren't usually shows
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2018 13:40     Subject: Expectations for kindergarten classroom?
Anonymous wrote:You will see super easy worksheets coming home all K year, so you will have to unclench on that.



+1

There are things about FCPS K that I don't like, but I can't complain that it's too academic. MCPS seems to be about a year ahead of FCPS with expectations in K and 1st but they even out very quickly, by 2nd and 3rd grade.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2018 13:40     Subject: Re:Expectations for kindergarten classroom?
The video may also be a "brain break". DD's school uses the website Go Noodle as a resource for 5min dance breaks sometimes mid-morning to help them get the wiggles out. They aren't watching videos the way you might be thinking. https://www.gonoodle.com/

Talk to the teacher.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2018 13:39     Subject: Expectations for kindergarten classroom?
You will see super easy worksheets coming home all K year, so you will have to unclench on that.