Comments on: Taking Control

By: Queen of Spain

Queen of Spain — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 02:53:07 +0000

Hi Jessica,

He’s in 1st grade there now and it’s going very well. A WORLD of difference. When he rolls his pencil he isn’t in trouble. He’s allowed to stand and jump while doing his math worksheets. He’s encouraged to touch, play, and ask questions. It’s like he’s gone from potentially being one of the ‘bad kids’ to being ‘one of their favorites, so bright and creative.’ Its all in the attitude.

By: Jessica Pederson

Jessica Pederson — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 13:54:04 +0000

Hi, just wondering how his Charter School experience has gone?! I’m totally jealous…very afraid the kindergarten program my youngest will enter next fall is all about worksheets and colors… far from challenging or engaging for my son as well. My daughter had an excellent 4K and kindergarten experience in a different town.. which we now live far from…home schooling is always in the back of our minds.

By: Queen of Spain

Queen of Spain — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 01:16:19 +0000

I’m glad to hear it Cathy. Good luck!

By: CathyC

CathyC — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 23:33:38 +0000

You cannot know how thrilled I am to have found you and this post! You have nearly described my own son who will start kindergarten in the fall. February 14th is the day of the lottery in which he is either chosen or not. I’m on pins and needles. My son too is a “scientist” and can name all the planets (I can’t) and drives his father and I nuts because we won’t give him any batteries (he takes things apart–is that bad?). Anyway, as I sit and wait to see if he will be accepted I am happy to have found you. I’m glad your son got in! He sounds wonderful! PS—my son had that same pj last year. Maybe it’s a sign

By: Tabitha "Tabz" Smith

Tabitha "Tabz" Smith — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:31:56 +0000

Full disclosure, I was homeschooled. It was great and is a great solution for people who can do it.

But that said, it’s not for everyone.

What -is- best for all kids is being able to learn the way they learn. It’s documented that all of us learn differently and classrooms that have the time, the ability and the energy to hit all of the different styles have the highest results.

The kids that suffer the most in big classes seem to be kinesthetic learners – who need to have a physical activity associated with their learning. We had one girl in church who HAD to jump up and down while reciting her memory verses. If she could jump she could say the verse, if she couldn’t jump she couldn’t recite. But that’s distracting to other kids and the one on one would be perfect for those kind of kids, but it’s almost impossible to do.

All this to say – you made a great choice given the circumstances. And not liking coloring isn’t the end of the world… just like not liking filling out spreadsheets isn’t the end of an adult’s world either

By: mary anne

mary anne — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:08:42 +0000

My sister’s children have had a terrific experience in the traditional charter school out of Appleton W. They are bright self motivated kids who are grades ahead in maths and science and almost totally bilingual. Good luck your son is anything like mine you’ll need it!
mak

By: Toasty

Toasty — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 00:28:34 +0000

That’s great! I just finished Sandra Tsing Loh’s book, Mother on Fire, The True Story about M@therf#%&ing Parenting (or something like that…). It details a lot of empowering yourself to navigate the beauracracy (OMG, can’t spell right now, on pain meds from surgery… this MORNING, it’s a wonder I can type) of both public and private schools. Sounds like you found a truly wonderful solution for your son.

By: Myg

Myg — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 20:49:35 +0000

You did the right thing. As a kid-therapist (currently in quasi-retirement from clinical practice as I gestate my first two, who will both be boys) I am driven totally crazy when teachers say nonsense like this to parents. They are usually betraying their own weaknesses in the classroom, as has been shown countless times when a simple change of teachers suddenly cures the kid’s ADHD.

As Karoli said above, if your kid has ADHD odds are you are going to realize something is off before you get them to school in the first place. Five year old boys who have a hard time sitting still in a boring classroom are usually on the smarter end of “normal” for five – not pathological, as too many a stressed out or novice teacher casually suggest.

I have seen way too many kids put on meds and started down a road of mental health treatment when they were so little due to teachers being overwhelmed in the classroom. I am really glad you followed your gut and are giving the Charter School a chance. Best of luck with it.

By: Vicki

Vicki — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:21:10 +0000

Good for you Erin for taking charge. It sounds to me like you made a good decision. I think the tummy-roiling aspect was more because you didn’t have time to think things through first; fear of the unknown. But the known was unacceptable. This will work out.

I’m wondering if Son may benefit from skipping a grade. Not K (good for social interaction; spouse deeply regrets being skipped from K to 1st) but perhaps a little later. Sometimes a child is just ahead of his or her age group.

Congratulations.

By: Jezer

Jezer — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:08:01 +0000

Oh, and another thing–If ANY school representative (teacher, administrator, nurse) suggests that your child has a learning disability or medical condition (i.e. ADD/ADHD), then they may be legally responsible for paying for his psychological and medical evaluations necessary to secure a diagnosis. I’m pretty sure that is a federal, not state-by-state, guideline. I don’t think your son needs an evaluation for you to know that he is just smart and curious and not interested in coloring or doing worksheets (which, by the way, are monumental wastes of instructional time).