Report Cards?

april1974

New Member
The boys got their report cards yesterday :( not exactly stellar remarks or grades...I know I need to be positive and not let it bother me but it does..then I have to remind myself it's only Junior Kindergarden and things will get better, or will they? they did promote them to Senior kindergarden, but they never fail kids in kindergarden...I'm scared that this is a precursor for things to come down the educational highway. :sigh: M remarks were along the lines of "his behaviour gets in the way of having meaningful relationships with his peers" E remarks "when play breaks down it's usually because of his unwillingness to compromise" The both need to learn social cues to have more positive relationships...but then part of me is saying "F U teachers..they are 5, get a grip!":sigh: That is my mommy defences coming into play.

then I need not to compare them to their older sister who was a straight A student and was always " a joy to have in class" I'm trying so hard to not compare but it is really tough, inside I think, why does it have to be so hard for them? And then I have to remember they are boys...and school especially kindergarden is geared for girls....ok....enough of the whine...I love my boys we will get them through these hurdles.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
I didn't actually attend kindergarten, but I can say this... In defense of a lot of kids, not just boys... Making a child sit still for long periods of time is going to escalate even easy child children.

Some kids sit still well, others not so much...
 

Malika

Well-Known Member
Well, I'm afraid reports for 5 year olds also brings out my "the world is sometimes absurd" feelings... Oh and I hate all the "could try harder" snide stuff. I'm not personally so sure that you're being defensive as just a human being who hasn't quite lost it :)
Does your twins' teacher know that they/he have some potential disorder problems? Is this telling you something you did not already know, are you shocked by it?
Funnily enough, my son got his report today... This (translated) is what it says: "Quite a good year. Much progress has been made in the acquisition of autonomy and behaviour in the classroom. Some skills are weak, others have not been integrated. Next year will be determinant for the future."
Oh my... he's only four!
Please don't get too het up about your report. There's time for all that... ummm.... stuff.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
I think I'm going to have to change my handle to "OutOnALimb"...

We were on the opposite end of the Kindergarten-evaluation cycle... THEY said everything was absolutely rosy, and we knew otherwise. But in this case... when I see "social skills" kinds of comments... I'd be listening. The class doesn't just have girls in it - its a mixed class. If they are having trouble socializing with other 5yo boys, then they are headed for trouble in school... starting now.

They maybe simply immature for their age - but school insists on "age-standard peers"... so, 8YOs can't be playing with 6YOs, even though it would be "real peers" in terms of maturity. Dig deeper - what exactly do they meen, what skills do they think are missing (use the skills-list from The Explosive Child as a starting point for yourself), what accommodations or interventions to THEY see helping???

The sooner you can head this one off, the better off the boys will be.
 

Malika

Well-Known Member
No, I don't think you're out on a limb, Insane. And april should take these issues seriously, obviously. It's just that the way in which these things are framed brings out the irreverant 12 year old in me...
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
Im wondering what jr and sr kindergarten are? Is that like pre-k and then K. Were they 4 when they went into junior kindergarten and then will be 5 entering senior kindergarten?

If so, well, I think you should take the social stuff somewhat seriously and see what you can get help for. How did the report say about academics?

My granddaughter was in pre-k this year and she was probably the opposite of your twins. She was socially adept but had some issues with her academics. We learned to spell our name...lol. She can count to 30 but she refused to do it on the microphone at graduation. She cannot pick out all the letters of the alphabet and tell you their names. She does know the basic colors and basic shapes but not going further than that. She is pretty good at large motor skills but cant tie her shoes or ride a bike without training wheels. She isnt good at coloring.

I see some signs of learning disabilities but who am I. I am afraid she is going to slide by in school because she is cute.
 

Malika

Well-Known Member
Oh Janet! These things follow such fashions... 20, 30 years ago NO ONE would expect a four year child to know much of the stuff you've enumerated. When I was a child in Britain decades ago (not saying how many :)), you just played until you were five and went to school and started learning how to read and write. And now, at least in certain countries, if children don't know it, they are suspected of having learning disabilities... It's very odd.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
I did not go to K because everyone thought I was "too smart" after preschool. However, the public schools wouldn't take a 5-y/o, so I went to a Catholic school. They wanted to skip me ahead extra grades - I went to other classes for math and reading for a couple of years - but my Mom said NO to moving me up.

I missed out on some social stuff and am still pretty much a loner. I didn't really have friends till junior high. Even then they weren't really FRIENDS.

I was the class crybaby. Seriously - what's with the hurry to get kids in school & learning? What's wrong with socializing and PLAY?!
 

april1974

New Member
Well, I'm afraid reports for 5 year olds also brings out my "the world is sometimes absurd" feelings... Oh and I hate all the "could try harder" snide stuff. I'm not personally so sure that you're being defensive as just a human being who hasn't quite lost it :)
Does your twins' teacher know that they/he have some potential disorder problems? Is this telling you something you did not already know, are you shocked by it?
Funnily enough, my son got his report today... This (translated) is what it says: "Quite a good year. Much progress has been made in the acquisition of autonomy and behaviour in the classroom. Some skills are weak, others have not been integrated. Next year will be determinant for the future."
Oh my... he's only four!
Please don't get too het up about your report. There's time for all that... ummm.... stuff.

I mean get real, right? Talk in laymans terms and the teachers have become lazy, they don't even choose their own words when making report cards, they scroll through a predetermined list of acceptable teacher jargon and choose the best quote that fits....it's such BS! your right he's 4 and way too young to have the future determined by some half wit teacher. Einstein didn't even speak until he was 4!
 

april1974

New Member
Im wondering what jr and sr kindergarten are? Is that like pre-k and then K. Were they 4 when they went into junior kindergarten and then will be 5 entering senior kindergarten?

If so, well, I think you should take the social stuff somewhat seriously and see what you can get help for. How did the report say about academics?

My granddaughter was in pre-k this year and she was probably the opposite of your twins. She was socially adept but had some issues with her academics. We learned to spell our name...lol. She can count to 30 but she refused to do it on the microphone at graduation. She cannot pick out all the letters of the alphabet and tell you their names. She does know the basic colors and basic shapes but not going further than that. She is pretty good at large motor skills but cant tie her shoes or ride a bike without training wheels. She isnt good at coloring.

I see some signs of learning disabilities but who am I. I am afraid she is going to slide by in school because she is cute.

Hi Janet, kids in Ontario(Canada) must be 4 or turning 4 by Dec 31 to enter Junior Kindergarden...my boys were 4 when they entered JK turned 5 in January and now this fall they will be 5 1/2 entering kindergarden turning 6 in january, bang on for age.

M knows all the alphabet upper and lower case, knows his numbers and can dial a phone, can spell his name, academically he's fine, his issues are more social in nature, aggression being the most worrisome, he's "busy" very curious, lot's of energy, he's a handful, but very bright.

E knows some of the alphabet, can not dial a phone, does not know numbers, he is very very stuborn but is bright, and when you think he isn't listening he is!

Both of my boys have their strengths.....part of the problem with the class is this.....95% come from daycare and are already used to the "system" my boys had the luxury of my mother in law babysitting them(which I don't regret) but the teachers have been spoiled with kids who come to school already knowing circle time, lunch time, play time, quiet time, my kids were behind before they even began...this isn't their fault....when I went to school none of us knew this stuff...kindergarden is where we learned all of that.
I could go on and on about the system....

We have already had a meeting about M and the head of the special needs dept(whom I trust 100% is on board)
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
She is pretty good at large motor skills but cant tie her shoes or ride a bike without training wheels. She isnt good at coloring. I see some signs of learning disabilities but who am I.

YOU ARE one sharp grannie.

She definitely has motor skills problems. Get her to an Occupational Therapist (OT) ... on the double... for evaluation AND therapy. Occupational Therapist (OT) therapy does help motor skills, and the sooner you start bridging the gap the better. (if we had only known back in kindergarten..... we probably wouldn't be here)

But that's just my take on it. (out on a limb again?)
 

april1974

New Member
Im wondering what jr and sr kindergarten are? Is that like pre-k and then K. Were they 4 when they went into junior kindergarten and then will be 5 entering senior kindergarten?

If so, well, I think you should take the social stuff somewhat seriously and see what you can get help for. How did the report say about academics?

My granddaughter was in pre-k this year and she was probably the opposite of your twins. She was socially adept but had some issues with her academics. We learned to spell our name...lol. She can count to 30 but she refused to do it on the microphone at graduation. She cannot pick out all the letters of the alphabet and tell you their names. She does know the basic colors and basic shapes but not going further than that. She is pretty good at large motor skills but cant tie her shoes or ride a bike without training wheels. She isnt good at coloring.

I see some signs of learning disabilities but who am I. I am afraid she is going to slide by in school because she is cute.

That is normal! my kids where velcro shoes or crocks and the school informed parents NO SHOELACES, most kids in pre-K cannot tie their shoes, my boys ride a bike with training wheels, that is normal too, I know kids who never learn to ride a bike, my boyfriend(best friend,not boyfriend) son who is 10 can't ride very well but his 8yr old sister rides great, it's individual, some kids take longer to learn certain things. My neice was told she needed to improve her large motor skills etc, blah...blah...blah....she's 12 straight a's and does cheerleading...she turned out fine.

My one son can swim really well and did 2 levels at once...but he doesn't know how to dial the phone...my other son doesn't swim as well but can dial a phone...in their own time they will pick this stuff up.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
Well...unless I get my hands back on Keyana in the next two years, its a moot point. Maybe the schools on the base will pick it up.

She is excellent at dancing even though she was a bit shy on the video. She skipped before she was two even though she didnt walk until she was 13 months. And she is perfect at skipping. She was the best skipper in her dance class...lol. She can skip forwards, backwards and in a twirling motion ..forward and backwards together. Not as easy as it sounds.

She learned left and right in two sessions at dance class. No one else even thought about teaching her that but they had to learn that to do routines and she caught right on.

we had to work with her on her letters this year and boy was that a task. We would take like 15 minutes to work on say the letter A and try to make it fun. Get a big A to color.. let her do that. Talk about the name..what it sounds like. Let her draw one on her drawing board. all that stuff. Ten minutes later show her that A...ask her what it was...she says...K. UGH>
 
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