Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion ds does loves his kindergarten

DS 5 has started kindergarten. We are so pleased that he only has 13 kids in his g&t class and he is very happy. We were so excited at what the teacher would be able to accomplish with the kids this year. I realize that it has only been three weeks of school but I am a bit worried that despite the small class size the teacher is not really differentiating the curriculum. My son keeps bringing home homework that is more busy work. The teacher did say that they will be doing kindergarten and "touching" on first grade math this year but my son is already beyond 1st grade math and he is bringing home very easy readers when he is reading at an end of second grade level. So now I am wondering what to do for him next.
Should I somehow ask her if she will be teaching a standard curriculum or if she will assess the kids and differentiate the curriculum? If she is not going to teach ds at his level should I supplement at home with a math program? Has anyone tried using Kumon workbooks or Singapore math workbooks? I was hoping that I could just let the school handle everything but ds loves to be challenged and to learn more.

I think it's really important to start a 'home tradition' that children work at their readiness level at least 5 minutes per day at home. It's a lot of work for the parents, but it is better than the powerless feeling of waiting for teacher to 'do something.'

It's also 'not fair' and schools 'should' test and differentiate for kids who's parents can't or won't provide more at home, but as parents we have an obligation to the children who are in our lives and are children for such a short time.

I would make an appointment to talk to the teacher, show some work samples from home that make you think that your son is reading and doing math at 'beyond 1st grade level' and ask point blank: Is your goal to teach all kids the standard curriculum or are you willing to assess my son and give him work that is in his readiness to learn level.

Then sit back and be ready to listen.

Good luck,
Grinity

Thanks, Grinity. I just got an email from the class parent that more than half the class' parents have concerns over the program and now I'm wondering if others are having the same issues as us. I let ds do first grade math today and yesterday and he seems to like it. I want to limit him to a page or two a day but once he gets started he wants to do more. I don't want him to spend all day doing "work" though. Even though his homework from school is too easy I still think it is important to make him do it so if I give him additional work then he'll be averaging 45 minutes of work a day which may be a bit too much. He has the same issue with reading. The school only requires him to read 10 minutes a night but once he gets started he reads for 30 minutes to an hour. That does not leave him a lot of time to play. I feel like there is just not enough time in the day for him to do kindergarten work as well as his own work. What do you think?

Why? What you're saying is that it's so important for him to do inappropriate work that he won't have time to do appropriate work... That seems very odd. I've read that some people here simply substitute appropriate work for any inappropriate work that comes home - with varying success, it has to be said.

I have used some Kumon workbooks in the past, but mostly for writing. My opinion of them is good and bad. They do seem to be low-stress, and at their best can be effective for some things. On the other hand, some of the Kumon material I've seen has given the impression of placing too much emphasis on drills.

For math specifically, I have read lots of good things about the Singapore Math site and materials. I have read of lots of other good resources here (Life of Fred, etc.) that I have yet to check out, though I plan to do so. The main math extracurricular resource I currently use with DS5 is IXL. I tend to use it as a curriculum guide as well as a skill/confidence booster. Using IXL and my own homegrown approach to teaching math, my son has progressed pretty quickly so far.

I don't think any certain number of minutes per day is too much. The real questions for me would be whether your son is learning, whether he is enjoying himself, and whether he is in danger of burning out. If your son gets started on reading and reads for an hour because he doesn't want to stop, I'd be happy that I have that sort of happy reader for a son.

My son currently brings home homework that is far, far beneath his readiness levels in essentially all ways except for handwriting; he's actually embarrassed to talk about his homework, even with us. Like you, we have him do the work for now. We see value in learning to follow school rules, and his handwriting still does need some work.

So what you're saying is don't bother doing the easy work in school? My DC are required to do whatever homework they bring home, regardless of how easy or difficult it is. Just because they may be above grade level doesn't mean they are above doing what is expected of them in their class.

Actually, I didn't say anything about what they should do in school. There, the considerations are a bit different: for a child not to do their assigned work might be disruptive, and the teacher is right there and better able to determine whether the work is appropriate. At home, neither of those is true. I accept a responsibility to make sure my child does tasks assigned by school if they are educationally valuable, but not just because the child has been told to do them. Absolutely, I'll tell my child not to do something, if I consider it inappropriate, and I'll explain to the teacher why I've done so. If it's something that would only take a few minutes, leaving plenty of time for appropriate activities, I might just let it go; but the OP was saying that the inappropriate work was making it impossible to fit in appropriate work. In that case, I think the responsible thing to do is to substitute.

I think the aim of school is to get children to the point of being able to take responsibility for their own learning - not to teach them to be obedient.

There are different approaches to homework in different school districts here in the States. In some cases parents can apparently even get away with telling a teacher that they refuse to have their children do any homework at all. At the other end of the spectrum, some classes feature graded homework; don't do the assigned homework, and it affects your grade. In general here in the US, though, you don't have a right to refuse to do homework-- you can refuse it if you're allowed. I'd be on board with substitution, but I'd double-check first to get any required permission. In my case, if we stay in the public school system, I may ask to substitute, but for right now we are awaiting the results of an assessment that may result in a grade skip and/or some pull-outs.

I think the aim of most schools is, in part, to teach children to be obedient. Being obedient in a school setting is a useful skill that will help the child later-- in fact in most school/university settings a certain amount of obedience is a necessary skill for optimal achievement. Of course, perfect obedience is not necessary for most people to succeed in life, nor should anyone strive for slavish obedience.

How many minutes of work is being sent home from kindy? If it's more than 90 seconds, I would make a deal with the teacher that I'll be giving my kid worksheets to hand in. Do it behind your child's back so that the child isn't caught in the middle, and is still obeying the teacher.

I don't think 30 minutes of reading to oneself is a lot for a 5 year old,and would count is as 'fun' time but I do think reading aloud should be kept to the 10 minute minimum, because I've never experienced reading aloud as fun for a child - or the listener, but if your family really enjoys it, then I think it's ok.

As far as how long to allow the Math, it's tricky. I think the ideal is that there should be time for everything, but perhaps school counts as scocial 'play' time and a child needs to 'use their brain' at home. I do think that afterschooling has limits and that's why getting the school to do their job is so important, but it is a rather long process, and can't always be accomplished.

Best Wishes,
Grinity

I'm sorry, I didn't mean at school. I meant for school, meaning home work as well. I don't enjoy when my children get busy work, but in every day life, they will both be faced with work that isn't stimulating or worth their time. They may be in a job that it is required to do such. I don't believe in teaching them that they only have to do that which I, as their parent, see as beneficial.

The OP was stating that the homework given by the school was not at the child's level, and the extra work given at home was more challenging. If I was going to tell my DS's teacher that he was not going to do the easy homework because I am giving him more challenging work, then I might as well homeschool. I don't see how telling a child not to do the "easy" homework is teaching them responsibility. If the child needs harder work, then it's up to the parent to go to the teacher and/or the school to work out a better situation. While I agree that parents are responsible for their children's learning outside of school, I don't agree with my child not doing school assignments because of the level of difficulty.

I'm not trying to start an argument, but as a former teacher, it's frustrating when a parent dictates what a child should or shouldn't do without coming to the teacher and/or school first, whether it's during school or after school assignments.