The First Kid Goes To School – Tomorrow, the Second Born Registers for Kindergarten

Posted on Feb 23, 2010 04:36:00 AM

Yes, when my first born was starting Kindergarten I was skeered (that’s hillbilly for Oh my, what if he gets in trouble or isn’t very smart).  But, indeed, he does talk too much sometimes but has maintained straight A’s, nothing below a 98 that I can find for that matter. 

My husband is a genius. I’m sure you’ve heard that more times than you care to but he isn’t called Boy Genius on my other blog no reason.  As a matter of fact, the folks at the Disney conference got a taste of his genius when the bus driver taking us to one of the events was asking riddles over the loud speaker and he never once fooled Boy Genius.  Simple stuff really, if you have your head in that same space (and my head is never in the space with his).  Although there were plenty of riddles, the first one is the one that sticks out in my mind and caused conversation all over the bus.   What can you put in a box to make it lighter?  A hole! 

Yea, duh! 

With that, we don’t call Ditto Boy that for no reason either.  Of course, he didn’t get the riddles but he takes in way more information than your average tourist and certainly more than your average 7-year-old tourist. 

Either way, he has only been in trouble for talking and it hasn’t been near as difficult this year as it was last.  But, his teacher last year did a great job of helping him learn when it is appropriate to chatter and when it isn’t.  The best!

My parents never made a big deal about my grades until I was absolutely old enough to have some major input into whether I studied or did homework.  As it is right now, if we have a lot going on one night in particular, we send a note and he is isn’t punished for not getting his work done.  And, considering that he is well above level right now, that helps. 

But, I mentioned the straight A’s and I want to clarify that my own father never mentioned that only straight A’s were acceptable.  Even when I was in high school and it was obvious that I was making more B’s than A’s because my social schedule was a bit cluttered, he never made a big deal out of anything but “do your best!”. 

And, my husband made good grades simply because…well yea, he is a genius.

And the two of us haven’t discussed how we would handle grades and for now, I really don’t see it necessary.  But, that doesn’t mean that my son is immune to the chatter of other kids.  Other parents just don’t think like we do.  So, although we’ve never made much of a big deal over straight A’s (although we do celebrate a good grade on a particular test now and again), his classmates who haven’t been on the A Honor Roll all year are quick to jump in and mention his intelligence and his grades.  Other parents talk about it.  It’s almost like people think we beat him to make sure he gets good grades.  Honestly, I really hope it never comes to that.

I can’t speak for my husband but my own grades were dictated by the drive within me.  Not something my parents pushed on me.  I didn’t make anything but straight A’s til I started high school.  And, wow!  That was a major change.  But, I still made mostly A’s with an occasional B thrown in for good measure.  By the time I was old enough to drive, I was making about a 50/50 split between A’s and B’s.  Boys were obviously on my mind too. 

And then…….I learned to drive.  I was playing sports, I was participating in every extra-curricular activity known to man-kind and by this time, there were more B’s than A’s.  And finally, the last grading period of high school, my senior year, a C!  The nerve! 

Nothing important about that, just interesting to me in hindsight how obvious my lifestyle was just by looking at my report card.

Now, back to my first born. I still had that fear that I was going to be going to school every day with my duct tape to close his mouth and some rope to tie him to his chair.  Nope, hasn’t happened yet!  What a great surprise that has been!

So, what does next year bring?  My happy go lucky first born and my stubborn as a mule second born….this could be interesting!

Another “what would you do?” post

Posted on Sep 2, 2009 04:01:00 AM

OK, I think I know the answer but I am going to ask this as objectively as I can and then I am curious to see what you have to say about it.

Here is the rule regarding my son’s reading grade:

Your child will have an assigned reading folder.  THIS FOLDER IS VERY IMPORTANT!  Please do not lose or destroy this folder.  This folder will contain a daily behavior chart with happy/sad faces that a parent must sign everyday.  The reading log portion of the folder must be filled out nightly and signed by the student and the parent.  This portion of the folder is a reading homework grade.  Every part of the log is worth one part nightly.  If one part isn’t filed out, it will be highlighted through and one point deducted.  This includes the part where the reading homework is to be filled out (the log), parent’s signature, and student’s signature.  I will go back through the folder at the end of the 6 weeks and total up for the reading folder homework grade. “

Ok, with that in mind, thus far my son has made 100 on everything reading related.  He has made in the low 80’s on his spelling test although he has spelled the words correctly, she has taken off points for his handwriting.

However, the first week of using the “Reading Folders”, I signed his behavior log, and Walker signed that he did his homework.  I did not remember to sign the homework portion and when the reading folder came home the next day, the day was highlighted.  If I understand the information quoted above which came directly from his teacher’s welcome letter and is on the PhD in First Grade site in the Reading Folders post, then my son will not have a 100 for a reading grade.  He will instead at this point, assuming I do not miss signing any other nights, a 99.

Now, looking at the big picture, what’s the big deal right?  Looking at it from my angle.  That is unacceptable.  I am not the person in first grade nor am I the person being penalized.  My son is being penalized because I forgot on the second night of using the reading folders that I was suppose to sign in more than one place.  Is that really fair to deduct points from his grade?

I know you are all screaming at your monitors that I need to just homeschool already, but the fact of the matter is this, if I homeschool, then I’ve not only not been helpful, I could very well be part of the problem for another child out there somewhere.  What about the kids who have single parents and they have to depend on a grandparent to see that homework is done.  And, what if that grandparent couldn’t really care less.  Is it ok to punish the child’s grade?

I think not.   And, that my friends, that leads me to where I am taking my career.  Yes, I’m blogging.  Heck I’m blogging at a pretty impressive rate.  I’m maintaining……….

no, I can’t tell the whole story here when it is already written on my personal blog…….

so…jump over there, see what I am trying to do and where I’m trying to use my skills…then come back and give me your opinion, your advice…..and you can’t simple say “homeschool already”.  I need a real opinion as if homeschooling were not an option (I know it is for me but for many it isn’t and I know it isn’t my place to worry about everyone else, but I do.)  So, let me know what you think after slipping over to Mom~E~Centric and reading about my new direction.

Go Read Jerri Ann Reason, aka Mom~E~Centric, has changed her primary focus on blogging to pursue her passion to educate.