We didn't afterschool at all with respect to academics in early elementary. I was frustrated (personally) that ds wasn't given challenging work at school, but at the same time I didn't feel any need to teach academics at home either. Instead we read a lot to ds (even after he had started reading and was light years ahead of grade level), and we followed his lead re the things he was interested in (science - he loved visiting our science center, watching Nova/etc videos, things like that).
For now, K was academically challenging for DS. He was behind when we started, has worked hard to catch up, but the program is wacky for reading (I feel they're easily reading on a 1st+ grade level). Honestly, I think he wouldn't have been behind if they actually taught phonics in school, but that's JMO. He quickly picks up on the rules of phonics, but I'm the only one teaching him that.
I went back and re-read a few of your earlier posts, because I was confused by what was going on here re reading in your ds' class - but I think I understand after looking back at your earlier posts. I agree with you that the method they are using to teach reading might be incredibly frustrating for a lot of children. I wonder if part of the issue here isn't simply this year's teacher and her approach to teaching/testing etc? Whether it's just this one teacher or an issue with the school system you're in, I imagine your ds is extremely frustrated at this point, so honestly, If it were my ds I'd probably *not* worry about afterschooling, other than what I absolutely had to do to appease the school and make sure he wasn't held back for a year (which I only mention because it was mentioned in your earlier post).
One question I have - when you mentioned you feel that your ds' K class is reading on a 1+ grade level - does that mean early first grade level or end of first grade level or 2nd grade level? I think how much focus I put on spending time trying to help my child read at home would depend on where that bar is - because honestly, the difference between close-to-end-of-K and 1st-grade-beginning-of-the-year isn't much, and you might find that if you just left your ds alone he would get there on his own over the summer.
If it seems like your ds is continuing to struggle with learning to read, I'd also consider that it may be something going on that hasn't shown up on testing yet due to age or compensating with is other abilities. One of my children did struggle to learn to read and it took quite a few years (into 4th grade) before we really understood what was going on with her reading challenge. Once we did, it was *much* easier to find a program that worked to help her develop fluency etc. When I tried helping her on my own, pre-diagnosis, nothing ever really clicked. I realize (from reading the earlier posts) that you've already had your ds tested with a psych eval, but also think you noted that there was dyslexia in your family, so just wanted to throw it out there that it might be too early to really tease out if there is truly a reading challenge or not.
Just with reading we tend to do 30-60 min daily, which I feel is a lot for K! DS doesn't exactly enjoy our afterschooling because it's a "lot of work", but I'm hopeful focusing on enrichment will be easier and more fun for him.
I agree - I think 30-60 min is a lot for a student in K... when our kids were in elementary school the guideline for after-school work was 10 minutes per day per grade.. starting in first grade, plus 20 minutes per day of reading (which could be all or part parents reading *to* their child). Our school staff has always maintained that the best way to help your child become a good reader is to read to them, even after they've started reading.
If we catch up well in reading/writing over the summer and can switch focus to math/science or other enrichments I think afterschooling may work. But I find it's difficult to include remediation and enrichment unless I alternate days or something.
I'd try to remember life is not a race. Try to remember that some of the after-schooling and subject acceleration etc that you read about on these forums is happening because the *child* is chasing it, not the parent. When we did afterschool, it was child-led. If our children had not been happy about it or eager to do it, or if they resisted, I would not have pursued it at all.
I also suspect that if my children had been in the type of school environment you've described, with a ton of focus on levels and testing, they would have been stressed out by school and wouldn't have wanted to afterschool, even if it was completely different and fun etc. When they were in K-1 they came home from their mostly non-stressful school situations tired and hungry every day and really needed a break. Now that they are older and have their own goals, they do some of their own after-schooling after finishing their homework at night... but they still need that after-school break. The difference now that they are older and self-motivated to do the after-schooling is that they will return to it and happily do it. When they were little, once they'd come home from school and had their much-needed after-school break, it was a lot tougher to expect to get them back onto an academic task.
So I suppose my advice is, if your ds is resisting, give the academics a break for now and find some fun activities that he enjoys that may spur his imagination. Continue helping him with reading if it's absolutely necessary for school, but if not, consider giving him a break and just reading to him through the end of the school year and early summer, then see where he's at developmentally re being ready to really learn how to read.
Best wishes,
polarbear
