I really like Jared's kindergarten teacher. Tonight was for parents only, and she talked to us about how she runs her classroom and what the kids are learning.
I got there a bit late because the door I went to was locked, so I had to walk all the way around to the front doors and through the school. When I got there, she was just saying something about how the program they are using this year is self-adjusting to reading level. That's my biggest concern, so I stayed after her presentation to talk to her about it, excited to hear about this new way to teach.
The self-adjusting program isn't her curriculum, but a computer program that each kid gets to use about twice a week. That was disappointing for sure. Yay, he's being challenged twice a week.
Mrs. G was very well prepared and answered all the parents' questions well, with a smile on her face. She assured me that every child was being challenged, that the entire class was "high" (for kindergartners), and that she planned on getting groups together based on the Idaho Reading Initiative test results and the computer program. But when I mentioned that Jared had just discovered the Magic Treehouse books, her face went blank. She'd never heard of them. So I told her they're beginning chapter books with 10 chapters each, and that Jared can read an entire one in about an hour. That was the first time she looked like she didn't have an answer. But she told me, "We'll have to do something about that" several times.
At least now she knows what Jared does at home. She asked for that information at Meet-The-Teacher Night, but who knows. Most people think I'm exaggerating about Jared, especially educators. "Everyone thinks their child is special," they say. Ha.
I find myself in unfamiliar territory. I firmly believe that I need to be my child's advocate and make sure he gets what he needs, but I also don't want to come across as a braggart, be a pest, or insinuate that the teacher doesn't care.
P.S. I just looked up the grade level of the Magic Treehouse books. Scholastic Books rates them each separately, ranging from grades 2.1 to 3.5 No wonder a kindergarten teacher hasn't heard of them!
3 years ago
Posts
2 comments:
Matt LOVES Magic Tree House. He calls them the "Jack and Annie" books.
I don't know if you already knew this, but they also make "research" books to supplement the stories. So if Jared is interested in, say, the dinosaur story, there's a book that goes into more detailed information about what Jack and Annie learned.
We have a few of them :-)
I say be the biggest pest when it comes to making sure Jared gets what he needs at school. You are his only advocate and the one who really knows what he is capable of doing. Don't back down.
I ditto what that mom said. Make sure that Jared is getting what he needs. Don't feel like a pest trying to get people to realize what he can do. He is a smart boy and needs to be challenged. :)
Caden loves listening to the magic treehouse books on cd in the car. They are awesome.
Post a Comment