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First grade

The Report Card

June 7, 2010 By Lor

Report Card

The other day my husband and I went to the first PTC meeting with our daughter’s teacher, Ms. A. Report cards had just come out and I was eager to see how N had fared in the first term of first grade. It was a big adjustment for her as her preschool was tiny (8 kids on her class!), and her new “big school” was huge (almost 1,000 kids up to grade 12!). I knew that she was happy there, but as any parent knows, the way your kid is at home and at school can be two very different things.

Well, Ms. A told us that N was an enthusiastic learner, did well in all her subjects, especially p.e, art, computer and music. She then also said N was not really a “self starter” and needed some time (i.e. would play, draw or get distracted) before she could sit down and complete a task. In maths, she was very good with numbers, but often got confused with “problem solving” work. In reading, she had also improved vastly (she could hardly reading at the end of Kindergarten), but tended to rush through reading, using context clues to guess the words rather than going through them slowly.

Of course, I also had other questions- like the grading system, which was new to me, ranging from 4-1 (4 being the highest, and meant to be “super, super” not given lightly) and I was used to the old-fashioned ABC’s or 95, 85, 75 etc. N mostly got 3’s, a few 2’s, and two 4’s, but I can’t help but feel that she could have done better – that I could have done more to help her.

I think its up to us as parents to really know and understand our kids learning styles (again, think of the Animal School) as it could really help them not just in their school years, but for the rest of their lives.

Photo via AJC1

Letting Go in First Grade

September 1, 2008 By Lor

Balloon
Letting go of the balloon

When you have a new first grader, the world suddenly revolves around two words Moms like me hate to hear (and, gulp, do). Let Go. Ever since Kindergarten, my daughter has proudly been telling us, her teachers, and anybody who cared to listen, that when she turned 6, she would be going to the biggest school in our area. A huge co-ed establishment with fantastic facilities and a great sports programme, my sporty, sassy and independent kid loved the idea of it, and so did I, until the day came when I actually had to leave her there. On her own.

So there she was, hair neatly braided, brand new Hannah Montana backpack and My Scene lunchbox, sitting in her first grade classroom with 13 other 6-year-olds whose Moms were slowly leaving the open door where we all peeked in. As I watched my child sitting proudly at her desk, I secretly hoped that she would look back at me and say she didn’t want me to go (which she never did), and eventually, as I made myself walk away as all the other parents had, I realized that today we had both reached a milestone. She was growing up and I was letting her get to it.

Photo via against the tide

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