Does your kid struggle in school?
The Elementary Education landscape has changed. There’s no more half day kindergarten, some no nap Pre-K, and greater use of technology. The climate is different, not necessarily worse, however it often makes me wonder if it’s possible that we are expecting more than our kids are developmentally ready for?
When my oldest started elementary school, I was excited for the pictures that would come home and the parent teacher conferences. After the first month I realized it wasn’t going to be what I expected.
I didn’t expect homework, and Chromebooks in kindergarten, geometry in second grade or spelling words like “Ironsides” and “impressment”. The math curriculum didn’t look anything like the way I learned it.
At first, it was easy to be frustrated with the new curriculum, especially if your little one struggles with homework. It is a big change and it leaves parents wondering, “Is my child doing okay?” every day. If I am unsure I always reach out to the teacher (I don’t wait for conferences anymore). I have learned it is best to reach out with specific questions, instead of an overall “How is he doing?” or similar. Yes, it did anger me at first because I felt like I wasn’t being kept in the loop or that they were just going to pass my child off to the next grade without him actually comprehending the lessons. There’s some truth to this and we are simply forced to accept it. Some teachers will go above and beyond and some will just do the teaching and nothing more. At the end of the day, we are the ones ultimately responsible for our kids’ learning. Teachers can be a help or a hindrance, but they are not the arbiters of knowledge for all who enter their domain.
I remember a specific night, my son was sitting in front of his homework while I cooked dinner. I realized he was doing nothing, writing nothing, just staring at the page. I asked him “Why haven’t you done anything yet?”
He replied, “I don’t know what this word means.”
We had been having issues with him not completing tasks during class and this prompted me to probe a bit deeper, asking “Why didn’t you ask for help?” and “Is that part of why you aren’t finishing your work at school?”. When he confirmed that he had not been seeking help from his teacher, I told him he needed to raise his hand ask if he doesn’t know what he is supposed to be doing.
His response shocked me. He told me that he was not allowed to ask questions to his teacher while she was wearing her crown. I thought that can’t be right. Why would he not be able to ask questions to his teacher? And why would she be using a crown? He explained that the teacher would sometimes give them a task and she would don a crown from her desk. Once the crown went on her head, they were not permitted to ask for assistance. I reached out to another classroom parent and to my surprise her child had already told her the same thing.
I know, they have a ton of cats to herd and every student learns differently. Some need to build self-sufficiency. At the time, I figured if they don’t have the resources to give him the extra support than I as his parent can’t dwell on my feelings toward their approach, though it was not easy. I need to figure out how I can help him in this modern elementary school setting. If I feel this way than I’m sure other Moms do to. These are my top websites for supplemental Elementary Education worksheets and learning.
* If you have any great resources offering free material you’d like to share drop a comment!
Homework Tips and Tricks:
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Establishing a healthy routine for school mornings and homework is essential for us. My children are capable of go with the flow but things run a lot smoother if we stick to a routine during the school year. I have used various methods to get them into a routine once home from school so they can be a little bit more independent.
For example, we will usually stick to empty the lunch box, eat a snack, homework, dinner, bedtime routine. We have incorporated this low-cost checklist for my oldest. Who doesn’t like checking off things on your to do list! If you are consistent enough you’re brain will know when it needs to switch on. During this time we try to minimize distractions as much as possible and have a dedicated work space for them, which is usually the dinner table where they can be under our watchful eye. We will also utilize this visual timer. There are different styles to you can purchase that will suit your child’s favorite colors. I have found this visual timers helps in so many other situations as well. I tell my son, “Okay, if you get finished in this amount of time, you will have enough time to play before dinner.” This will usually give him enough motivation to stay focused on his goal. I will caution you against using it with the verbiage of “beat the timer” because then that could provoke some anxiety about not beating the timer.
No routine is perfect right away, you may need to tweak it a few times but if you stay consistent, provide rewards, and include short breaks you’ll build habits that build confidence and make learning smoother. Additionally, it makes things a little easier on the busy working mom once the kiddos know the routine.
Thanks for visiting my page. If you have any awesome tips please feel free to share in the comments page.
