Comments on: School Daze

By: Daphne

Daphne — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:27:53 +0000

sounds like a good outfit to me!
Thanks for this Heather. It ‘s hard to know when you are over thinking it. I agree, I want her to feel confident so she continues to like school.

By: Heather M.

Heather M. — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:22:31 +0000

Ah, Kindergarten. We just wrapped up the first quarter of Kindergarten and parent/teacher conferences with our son. talk about feeling like you’re in the hot seat. I was a classroom teacher before he was born, so I thought it would be so easy to be the parent— nope. Sometimes I feel like I know too much. I read between the lines of every comment from the teacher, feel like I’m constantly trying to get a read on the teachers, staff, etc. My son is in a wonderful public school with a strong staff and a great teacher and I still spend lots of time wondering if he’s doing well (his teacher says he is), if he’s making friends, if he’s happy, etc.

On the plus side, he does really seem to LOVE school and he’s made some really good friends. It’s fun to get to know other parents and to have a new social circle. I think the thing to remember is that there are very few high school students who can’t cut with scissors or write neatly— Kindergarten really is about allowing the children to feel good about themselves, learning, and building a good foundation for future years. (Even if I obsess over every paper he brings home and checked and double checked his report card.)

p.s. OMG. 8:10 is SO early. And, it’s not gotten easier. At first, I felt pressure to be fully dressed and “cute” (pulled together) even though I never get out of the car in the carpool drop-off lane. Lately? Zip up hoodie over my pj’s and slippers. Sheesh.

By: Daphne

Daphne — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:11:46 +0000

very good point about not passing on our flaws. And I like the glass half full attitude some of you have about learning from your children’s school work.

I’m not sure what her learning style is yet. She doesn’t like disorder in the classroom or in her sports class. So I think she she likes some structure. She is very social. hmmm, not sure.

By: stanz

stanz — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:04:12 +0000

My son did private montessori kgarten and then on to public school for first grade. I was very glad I had signed him up for township soccer in k-garten. It gave him and us a chance to get to know other kids in his soon to be school. It gave me a chance to learn about the teaching style and school culture and he was thrilled when he knew three kids in his class on the first day.

As for the homework, never let them see you sweat. When I started to struggle with math in about 5th grade my mother blithely said “well I was NEVER good at math and you are a LOT like me…” I of course took this as a pass to suck at math. Which I do, till this day. But I have decided that my kids will not know and I will use their education as a chance to bone up my skills. And I will NOT give them the pass to suck based on my knowledge or lack thereof.

By: Caroline

Caroline — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:13:28 +0000

I think Alexandra had some GREAT advice about paying attention to your child’s learning style and trying to go with a school that will appeal to her. I’m not quite there, yet, but that would definitely be something I keep in mind for the Bitlet.

By: Daphne

Daphne — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:03:56 +0000

Melinda, that is such a sweet story about your mom. Okay, I have to stop thinking everyone else had a great education except me!
7:35… why go to sleep?

By: Melinda

Melinda — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:19:31 +0000

I would guess helping with homework will be your education mulligan. I remember my mom studying the encyclopedia (pre-internet days) so she could learn enough to help me with my homework. Now that I have a son of my own I am already looking at those little one sheet study guides to brush up on all the stuff I never really learned in my lame schooling experience. They were so interested in making sure they had good graduation rates that we got better grades than we deserved most of the time.

By: Alexandra

Alexandra — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:46:24 +0000

8:05? That’s a walk in the park, we have to be in place before 7:35 when the bell rings.
Oh, and it’s cold and dark here at 7:15. So, I’ll be having waaaaaay less fun than you.

What does Viv get excited about when she sees a school? That’s her style of learning: is it visual, sensory, etc? I checked schools based on how my kids would feel when they were there. You can see it in their faces.

Good luck! Have fun!