My kids are struggling somewhat in kindergarten. I kind of think the curriculum is just too advanced for most barely 5-year-olds, but I went to kindergarten in 1973, so my expectations are from way back then!

My kids are often getting work sent home that says, "Did Not Complete" or "Incomplete". The most challenging task so far was the week before Thanksgiving.

Each child had a flip chart and each was supposed to write (with group instruction) a Buffalo Hunt story and illustrate it. There were like 6 pages and sentences with some words the kids don't know yet, but were supposed to copy from the model.

The Buffalo Hunt
I dig a big hole.
I hide in a cave.
We chase the buffalo.
We circle the buffalo.
We have food, a new house and new clothes.

They were supposed to write the sentences and illustrate each page. My kids just COULD NOT DO THIS.

1 refused, saying to his teacher, "I don't do that kind of work." 1 sat probably humming to himself. The other SAID he did do it, but his teacher said he didn't.

We had them do 3 pages at home with our guidance and I thought they were doing OK with it at home with lots of coaching. However, the teacher tried it again, and they produced barely recognizable stuff in the classroom.

We are having NO problems with academic tasks like math, sets, letters, letter sounds, numbers, high-frequency words, etc.

Their problems are mostly related to fine motor skills and attention/direction issues.

They are high energy and very interested in socializing rather than working. There is no recess time or gross motor time at all in the 2.5 hours.

They can't or are not interested in coloring in the lines. They know how to write their names and numbers and a few high-frequency words, but their letter formation is not really acceptable to the teacher and they struggle with it.

I was looking on some OT sites and it says "interest in coloring in the lines" develops between 60 and 72 months of age and that writing letters (with control) develops between 72 months and 84 months. My boys are 64 months old, so I feel like these fine motor tasks just may be beyond them and I don't want to struggle with something that may come more naturally 6 months from now!

Long illustration...thoughts?

BBB born 7/26/04 at 35 weeks

OMG. You would DIE if you saw what my kids are expected to do. There is no way they are required to write that much.

When my singleton was seeing an OT, the OT told me that the school's expectations for kindergartners was appalling to him because a lot of the fine motor skills needed to write just simply aren't there until a much later age. He said he was seeing kids that were not even delayed, but because the expectations were so ridiculous, they were being referred to him.

Anyway, there are kids in my kids' class who had never held a pencil or crayon before school started, so as you can imagine, if your kids went to my school, they would be rockstars. They are still tracing letters and numbers like they did in preschool.

I also think it is naturally hard for boys to sit still.

We got a new teacher today and she told me I could volunteer tomorrow, so I will report back on what they do in there tomorrow.

Michele
Sarah, Gregory, Amanda
born 1/22/04 at 35w1d

Our surprise baby Austin born 06/15/2005

www.fourtimesthefun.blogspot.com

Oh, I also wanted to say that I see a HUGE difference in my kids who are almost six and the kids that are barely five. HUGE DIFFERENCE. Like light years.

Michele
Sarah, Gregory, Amanda
born 1/22/04 at 35w1d

Our surprise baby Austin born 06/15/2005

www.fourtimesthefun.blogspot.com

OMG you are kidding right??? Kindergarten??? That seems a bit advanced to say the least. Maybe the end of kindy or 1st grade but ya I think that is a bit much. Shoot most kids are just learning to write and form letters other than the ones in their names.


Terri~
12/21/01 at 33 weeks

I should scan and post here the "model" and what my kids actually produced. I think I saw a few recognizable letters on the page and I was excited they were even willing to try.

I think what really bugged me was the note "Unable to Complete". That really, really bugged me because I had absolutely NO EXPECTATION they would be able to do this.

I thought maybe it was a fun thing she was trying to do to expand the kids' horizons and maybe give them a taste of things to come. However, the critical note bugged the crap out of me.

That plus private OT has been recommended for one of them for fine motor skills issues (very slow writer, but I am impressed he is actually forming 90% of his letters correctly without tracing!). He has also been diagnosed PDD-NOS and has some other sensory issues.

Our insurance doesn't pay for private OT unless you've lost a skill...it doesn't pay to develop the skill. So....trying to decide if I should pay $90/week for private OT (he also gets OT in school) or if waiting 6 months might not just accomplish the same darn thing!

BBB born 7/26/04 at 35 weeks

I can give you my opinion as a teacher. I taught first grade for nine years, and am now in my eighth year of teaching 4K. The copying task about the buffalo is a ridiculous assignment with NO educational value. Truly, copying sentences means NOTHING. They should be focusing on forming letters, not copying sentences that they can't read. I wouldn't worry ONE bit about your boys not being able to complete that task. I would ask the teacher what the objective of this lesson is. I just don't see the value of it. If your boys know their letters and are able to write them AS NEEDED, then I see no problem. That assignment just looks like busy work to me!

LCN
21 year old college senior
14 year old bbg triplets--teenagers!

Hillyt mom to
Ian 11
Ella, Holly, Jilly 6
Hadley 3

I think a reasonable adaptation of that would be a page with most of the words filled in "I went on a buffalo _______."
The child would then be guided to write in the answer and read it as a class, then draw their own picture. My kids are in a pretty tough district, and there is no way that is a kindergarten assignment.

Oh, wow! That's totally advanced!

There were 2 buzz words when I was in college and they were: developmentally appropriate. And that seems really challenging for the typical 5 year old.

And. When I was in college in the 90s studying to be a teacher, the philosophy was: Let the child play. Let them explore. Don't write sentences about Buffalo Hunts. Let them smell the flowers and feel the mud.

Well, that ain't workin' today. And maybe it's a good thing. I don't want my kids frustrated at school, but I must say that I like the high standards.

I was SO taken aback when I volunteered at my girls' school to see some kids at a much higher ability level.

But. BUT! What I keep telling myself is: my girls are young 5 year olds. A lot of their peers are 6. And I don't wanna play the triplet card, but... They're triplets.

We hardly had a lot of time and energy to teach them a ton. At least, I didn't. I'm kinda paying the price now, but my girls have made some major strides with some extra time and practice at home.

You mentioned your kids know letters, math, sight words, etc. That sounds awesome and are the building blocks of being able to write sentences about Buffalo Hunts, IMHO.

It will all click in the next few months.

Lisa

There is a kid in their class who turned six right after school started. He is a foot and a half taller than the smallest kid in there. He wrote the teacher a paragraph in her birthday card by himself. He can read at a third grade level.

All three of mine can read, but Holy Cow, this kids is so advanced. Not just academically. He is more mature and physically way ahead of the smaller kids. He was clearly ready for school last year.

Michele
Sarah, Gregory, Amanda
born 1/22/04 at 35w1d

Our surprise baby Austin born 06/15/2005

www.fourtimesthefun.blogspot.com

That kid sounds like he would benefit from skipping a grade or he'll be bored and then turn into a punk.

I wish I would have played more Baby Einstein videos.

Well, see, I AM kind of a slacker Mom.

I mean, I did not even ATTEMPT potty training until after 3 years old because I just didn't want to. So...I waited...potty training was accomplished with very little more than a suggestion to them on my part....and some candy rewards.

I never put scissors in their hand, but I DID send them to preschool so someone ELSE would put scissors in their hand . Ditto with Play-doh and paints.

Pre-school was awesome with lots of exploration into various writing/art media and yes they also learned their pre-academic skills there but I swear they did not KNOW they were being taught...the best kind of learning for a preschooler!

I never drilled them on letters or numbers or shapes or colors or basic pre-math skills...I swear they just developed all of that through exposure to lots of different things.

Right before they turned 5, a doctor evaluating my one son asked him..."If you had 3 pieces of candy and I gave you 2 more, how many would you have?" This slacker Mom was shocked that he could listen to the sentence, analyze it and come up with the right answer! This is a child who is challenged when trying to follow 3-step directions and 1/2 the time does not know WHAT he is supposed to be doing!

So...now I think I AM paying the price! I seriously thought about holding them out for a year for maturity reasons, but their preschool teachers, my husband, the district ALL insisted they were ready!

I do think a challenging curriculum is good, and I think I would have at least one hoodlum on my hands if they were copying shapes at this point .

Although instead of having a hoodlum due to boredom, I know have a bit of a class clown on my hands because he doesn't have a hope of completing the task at hand (writing 6 sentences and illustrating a story!)

BBB born 7/26/04 at 35 weeks

Is there an icon for high fiving? Because I want to high five a fellow slacker Mom! LOL!

No, really. I think we're hardly slacker Moms. We were dealing with basic needs. Not showing them flashcards in Chinese.

At least, I wasn't.

Lisa

P.S. They potty trained themselves. I was too tired.

The assignment is advanced for a kindergartner, but our local district does attempt similar activities. There is a reason to do this, as it incorporates copy work and learning simple sentence structure. However, it should have been done over the course of a week (or more), granting time to copy 1-2 sentences and illustrating before moving on to next activity. Fine motor skills come easily for some children, but are a huge struggle for others. (My kids would've bombed this assignment because of the tedious copying.) Much like some kids don't do well at PE or recess when they don't have gross motor skills, other kids have a tough time with copy work and holding pencils required with fine motor skills.

Don't worry about the assignment. It's a good idea to stretch a child. Let them see what can eventually be done. The teacher concerns me greatly. It appears as though he/she lacks compassion and common sense. Not a good teacher for a first academic experience. My oldest child had Attila the Hun, kindergarten style, and took him a complete year to overcome fear of teachers. She often demeaned him and labeled his papers in bright red ink "INCOMPLETE". Just not necessary for a very young child.

Homeschool mom to:
Tracey
Michael, Soccer Dude (13)
Francesca, Classical Guitarist (12)
Matthew, Slide Tackle Soccer Dude (10)
Alexis, Cheer Chick (10)
Gabrielle, Sassy Gymnast (10)

Host mom to exchange students:
Johannes, Germany (18)
Torunn, Norway (21)

Okay, guys. Here is what MY kids did all day yesterday. It is on my blog.


http://fourtimesthefun.blogspot.com/2009/12/when-i-unleash-wrath-of-mom.html

Michele
Sarah, Gregory, Amanda
born 1/22/04 at 35w1d

Our surprise baby Austin born 06/15/2005

www.fourtimesthefun.blogspot.com

When I saw "write the letter Ee for 15 minutes" I started laughing before I continued on. Because I was thinking...well, my kids would scribble it as fast as possible and then have a big freee-for-all for 14.5 minutes! Which is pretty much what you described.

Maybe that is why my kids' teacher has more advanced worksheets -- trying to keep them busy and trying to stretch them for more than 30 seconds!

I hope this is because it was a substitute day. I really, really hope so for your kid's sake! You will have to go back and see their permanent teacher in action -- or IS this the permanent teacher for the rest of the year?

We have centers, but I think they are pretty organized and the teacher DOES make them switch centers during that time...no more than 4 or 5 at any one center, be respectful, be responsible, etc. They would definitely be in timeout for throwing plastic bears!

We do have "math" time too. They have learned to count to 121 by 1's, to count to 100 by 10's and they have learned to tell "time" for hours only (not minutes yet). They have also learned the penny, nickel, dime, quarter names and values, so I think it's great that you did that on your own with the class!

I think they are covering a little bit of addition because now my kids are asking me what 5+3 equals and things like that. They probably wouldn't be asking if they weren't seeing it at school.

YAY for you on the popcorn words! Ours come home from school as homework. Four new ones each week, which the kids cut out themselves. I did not laminate ours . We practice recognition with them and then use them to form sentences now that there are enough words to work with.

They also usually come home with 1-2 paper/photocopies books each week that feature some of the popcorn words and have little mini-pictures to help the kids with unfamiliar words. I don't think they've started "de-coding" yet, but are building the list of sight words to make the sounding out/de-coding part go faster.

BBB born 7/26/04 at 35 weeks

WOW! I have not read the other post. But that seems like way to much. I am a third grade teacher, and some of my students could not even do that. My boys will be in kindergarten next year, and they would never be able to do that.

that's a lot of writing, especially for boys (imho). I could see doing one line plus drawing something, but not six! doing that much might lead to bad habits or sloppiness.

I wouldn't bother with paying for an OT at this age. I would encourage them at home coloring, drawing, using the chalkboard, scribbling on the DoodlePro- basically anything that mimics having a pencil in their hand to work on their finger strength some. I do think kids need to 'practice' in that sense. I notice a huge difference in writing stamina between my daughter (who absolutely loves to color and draw) and my boys. But I've also noticed a big improvement in the boys since I've concentrated on having them do more crafts, cards, and pictures involving drawing, writing, and coloring. since they are doing more of it, they are enjoying it so much more, and getting better at it. my son who would hate even to write him name on a card, went to writing a fairly lengthy (a few sentences) card for his PopPop. I kept asking him- are you sure you want to write all that?! I was amazed.

we also have some workbooks called Developing the Early Learner that I really like. we bought them through Sonlight (our homeschool curriculum). they help determine which areas a child needs work on, and help them develop it- Motor (Left/Right), Motor (Hand/Eye), Visual Memory, Auditory Memory, Comprehension,... We do a page or two a day; there are 4 workbooks (each has 60 pages) that progress in difficulty. a page may take anywhere from 1 to 3 minutes- very simple, fun, and brief. but enlightening.

Mary

born 12/12/04 33w2d

I have bbb who turned 6 in Sept and are in Kindergarten. My guys missed the cut off and are the oldest. I think I might keep my guys back if I were you. Not, because I think they're behind at all, but because they might be happier if you do. Two of mine are in full day and one in half day and they all have recess. The half day boy gets a 20 minute recess and a 5 minute special 4/5 days (either creative movement or Art).

I would worry that the teacher is writing those sorts of comments on their work. You might want to look at the state academic standards and find out what it is she is trying to get them to do. In our state the department of education and our local school website posts the standards. They are the things the kids should master, be taught at each level in each academic area. I can't imagine that no gross motor activity is advisable at the kindergarten level.

I think it's most important that your little guys feel great about school and have a good feeling about it. Finishing work at home seems ridiculous to me. I don't think I'd do it. And that Buffalo story is beyond what any of the curriculum is covering in my boys classes. I would say it's similar to what the 1st graders are doing in the classroom that I work in. ( I am a special ed. teacher).

Good luck!

Peggy
mom to
Tricia 19
Lyndsay 18
Sydney 12
Millie 10 and
Robert, Julian and Max 9/2/03 @ 36wks
http://lilypie.com>

Is this teacher new to the school? The reason I ask is I wonder if she taught full day K before. Or maybe first grade. I have noticed a difference in the type of work given in half day and full day K when talking on the boards.

The assignment sounds like it was an attempt at a sequencing assignment. Though I don't think it was an effective one. In K here they do sequencing assignments all the time. But the kids don't copy sentences they have to use their own words. The way it usually works is the teacher reads a book. Then the kids go back to their tables and get a worksheet(s). They have boxes labels beginning, middle, end. The children are expected to write in their own words something that happened at the beginning of the story in the first box and illustrate it. Then something from the middle of the story in the 2nd box and illustrate it and so on. Of course spelling doesn't count and if the illustration doesn't look like what they are trying to do, oh well. We get used to deciphering creative spelling and save the good ones. Oh some of them are so funny. We save those for the parents. If we can't figure it out a spelling we call the child up and ask him/her to read it to us. If we can't tell what the picture is we call the child up and say, "tell me about your picture". The point is can they remember beginning, middle and end sequence of a story.

Tasha
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