Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Elementary School Kindergarten help!

Hello!

I am completely new to this forum and came across it while looking for additional resources and guidance.

My DS1, age 5 1/2, attends full-time public kindergarten. Since early own, he has shown that he has a great memory, learned upper and lower case alphabet very early (I know he was spelling out his name with capital and lower case letters before age 2), and became an early reader. He has been reading very well since age 4, and at my best guess, currently reads at the 2nd grade level or so. He has a very photographic memory. He went through a phase when he was 3 when he liked to spell everything backwards, his ABC's, his name, etc. He loves non-fiction material, reading about dinosaurs, space, ocean creatures, etc.

So fast forward to Fall 2010, when he is enrolled in FT public kindergarten in a very highly regarded school (good test scores). His kindergarten class has been working on learning their ABC's, learning their shapes, patterning, sorting, etc. I am concerned about whether he is being challenged and am trying to figure out what questions to ask.

I had a parent-teacher conference in November, and didn't come away with a satisfactory understanding as to how he was doing or whether they were making any accommodations to keep him challenged. His teacher showed me that they did an AIMS-web test, testing "Letter Naming Fluency" and that he had tested above their "target box." She definitely didn't make it sound like it was a big deal at all. At that point, I found out that the k-kids are assigned to reading groups, and that he was in the reading group of a different teacher.

I contacted that teacher, and inquired about whether there was any testing that she had where we could test his current reading level, both to see where he's at, and to follow his progress. She responded last week that she wasn't aware of anything for kindergarteners, she would "ask around," and I haven't heard back.

So I thought the best way for me to perhaps get the understanding of curriculum that I was seeking was to inquire about scheduling a visit during the class day to observe some of the sessions like Math and Language Arts. His kindergarten teacher responded that they do not like to have visitors as it is too disruptive. She said from time to time, there are special projects where she is looking for parent volunteers, and when one comes up, she will "let me know!" So I'm getting just a little frustrated here. I didn't want to go to the room to watch them work on a craft project, I want to understand their curriculum....want to make sure that my son is being challenged and that they have accurately identified his skills. He brings home books that they are reading along the lines of "My tree. This tree is big. This tree is brown."

I live in downstate IL (not Chicago area), and am struggling to find out what kind of resources are available. I really feel like the school is blowing me off. Since he is my oldest, I don't feel like I know the right questions to ask or how to ensure his needs are being met. Any thoughts or guidance would be appreciated!!!

I guess your options are to request an assessment (from someone higher-up than these teachers), or to get outside testing done. I'd start by finding out your options by calling the school or district directly. It's my understanding with outside testing that you would ideally want to know what sorts of testing the local district accepts, so you don't potentially waste your money.

I know you posted this in December, but I am answering your post just in case you are still suffering with this issue. I also have my oldest son in kindergarten, he is from January 2005 so he is already 6 years old. I had his first conference (Teacher-Parent) in November and his teacher recommended moving him half day to first grade, but he only goes to school for three hours therefore he goes to first grade for only like an hour each day. He is also really advanced in Math, but because he is an English Learner (we only speak Spanish at home) he stays in kindergarten during Math so he can learn the vocabulary related to this science.
I have to mention that at his school all of the classes, through the different grades, have Language Arts at the same time, which makes this acceleration easier.
I did not have to say anything to his teacher during our conference, because she mentioned first but I was also feeling that he wasn't being challenged enough for his intellectual capacity. I would like you to know that his first grade teacher send notes telling me that he is doing great, and getting 100% on the spelling and comprehension tests that he is taking in her class. I feel this is going to be a long road, but I am glad his teachers are being so understandable. Good luck with your son!!