UPDATE page 2 - Parent-teacher conference tomorrow

[Pin Wizard]

DS's first grade class was adding, had LISTS of sight words that we made "flash cards" for and ran through them EVERY night, and they had plenty of phonics. By Christmas they were subtracting and reading clicked with them. They also kept journals. First grade was a horendous year! By March all the moms were ready for the school year to be over. They had a LOT of work that year.

 

[tiggerlover]

UPDATE

Well, I just got home from our conference and I do feel a bit better. First when I got there the school secretary comes to me and says do you realize you are late, the teacher has been waiting on you for 25 minutes. I pull out my notice and I said no, I am 5 minutes early. She proceeds to look at my notice and says "oh my", we have you down for 10:00, sorry. Now there are two parents waiting to see one teacher at the same time....so naturally my time is cut short.

Anyway, as I said I feel a bit better after talking to the teacher. She said that she is well aware that the first grade parents have concerns about the combo class and because she is so aware of this she feels she is teaching to the first grade side of the class and really not to the kinder side. I got to look in DS's math book and he is in fact learning the basic math, I have no idea why he told me he wasn't. In regards to spelling, she said in first grade they are not required to do formal spelling, that comes in second grade, however, she does have certain site words that are listed on the board that she always requires to be spelled correctly. She said DS has a good grasp on his spelling for his level. As far as the standards for first grade, she is required to test the students knowledge of the grade standards every quarter and she showed me DS's test and I am very proud to say that he scored 100%. She said his reading has improved tremendously and he is one of the top readers in his class. The only thing she said DS really needs to work on is his writing (which he really dislikes), he is only willing (he is stubborn) to give the minimum requirements when it comes to writing and she (and I) know he is capable of more. I spoke to her about time and money and she said that they will be exploring those soon and it was definitely a part of the first grade curriculum. So it appears he is doing well and she said I shouldn't worry because he is already working above his grade level.

Thank you all for listening to me and thanking for your thoughts, it has really helped me to be able to unload this in a forum where people not only listened, but were able to offer their knowledge and guidance. You guys are great!!

 

[jsmith]

The one thing I would suggest Tigger is to try to get a copy of the standards or "outcomes" for DOD schools ( just a guess but your posts lead me to believe that you are at or near Aviano). The standards your teacher is expected to meet may be different than what those of us in the real world deal with and making sure she is teaching to the standard will be helpful. (11 kids in one class with an aid-that sounds awesome for the kids)

CJ-man I can relate to the thick armor-one child a senior and one in 8th grade and I have had to struggle every step of the way-Do your self a favor and don't buy into the myth of IB and you'll be a lot happier!

 

[wvjules]

Originally posted by CJMickeyMouse
So, what you are so eloquently saying is that children who are advanced should just sit and be quiet until everyone else catches up? Sorry, I don't buy into that.

I think he was referring to you saying "from day one" meaning from birth. Hence, the "out of the womb..." I also think he was just joking.