I'm not sure where this fits, so I'll put it here and a mod can move if necessary.

My bf and I are...concerned about the school the boys attend. We are finding that the school (and upon research all the schools in edmonton for their age group) teach to the lowest intellitect in the class. So, we get reading books like "ribbet, ribbet, ribbet, gulp" (that was the entire book, btw - not even The Cat in the Hat).

There is no science, little math and no overall "where are we in the world" teaching going on. Sure, lots of getting along with others, sharing, being friends, but no math, science, geography, etc.

Now, Michael is in kindergarten, so we're not overly concerned about that. After all, kindergarten is for getting used to a new authority figure, learning how to work in time constraints, and getting out of the house for a while.

Jacob, however, is in grade 1 and, well, we are less then pleased. He hasn't even seen a map of Canada yet. He hasn't learned the time. He hasn't learned about animals, other then turkeys are good to eat.

So, we've decided to make an evening class for both of them, once a week, where we'll teach them some of the things we feel are missing in school. I've done this before (I've tutored and guest taught homeschooled kids), but I've never had to do it completely on my own (usually, the kids came with their own program).

I'm not looking for a book to just teach out of. I'm looking more for an overall theme. For example, pick an animal of the month. We have a map of the world. We put a flag on the map where we live and colour in the areas where the animal lives. Then, talk about what the animal does to live - fur, food, shelter, etc. Just basic things like - "The bear likes to eat berries and likes to sleep all winter in a cave." Just simple things. Have pictures of bears for them to colour. Draw some of the food bears like to eat. Count how many different bears there are on this page.

Any ideas? Are we completely nuts? If nothing else, if we do this, that's yet another evening that they don't get the watch TV. And, with these kids, any time away from the TV is a good thing at this point.

Maybe you are expecting too much.

1st grade, how old is that?

i think picking a theme is a great idea, and you can do a lot with those themes. For instance, pick a place in the world. Learn about that place: language, people, native foods, plants, animals, cutural traditions, etc. Over time, you can go into more and more depth.

let the kids guid ehow much they want to learn. Also, i used to get national geographic WORLD magazine. i LOVED it. my hsuband got it too--he LOVED it. you may want to consider magazines and fun work books like that--even math ones.

I had a "speak and math" toy where the computer would pop up a question and i would answer that question. i would play with it for hours.

there are lots of educational toys outthere, perhaps you can take some inspiration from them. You don't have to get the toys/books, etc per se--just the ideas.

For instance, a popular thing here are "leap frog" books. basicly,t he kid touches the word with the wand, and the computer will sound it out for them. teaching phonetics. But, parents can actually sit there with the kids and do it (as mine did)--teaching how to read. same can be done with math flash cards, or white boards, or construction paper. so, take the idaes, and then make it simple.

even more fun is spending time with parents, and that's what makes the learning easy. ;)

I don't have any suggestions, but I do think that it's a wonderful idea.
When I was very young, my mother spent time teaching me the simple things. By the time my teachers got to it, I already understood. It helped me to focus more on the new stuff and help other kids.
Just don't push too hard.

Maybe you are expecting too much.

1st grade, how old is that?

6-7.

I still have my school books from kindergarten - grade 12. I also taught kids this age in homeschooled settings.

In Grade 1, I learned:

Canada + the provinces' names
"cute" animals and where they live, what they eat
moon, stars, sun, earth, "universe", "planet" (ie earth is a planet. There are other planets, too. all the planets together with the sun and stars live in the universe. The universe is a very big place. That is where spaceships go.)

The homeschool classes I taught at knew, at grade 1, all the planets, the milky way, most of the industrialized nations' names, what a prime minister was, what a premier was, what a fossil fuel was, and ways to recycle.

His reading is beyond "ribbet". He understands photosynthesis (we taught him that last year). He needs something more.

We're not expecting him to know how to muliply or do long division (although I have met homeschooled kids that could at his age). But he should at least be exposed to more then some of the basics that he is being taught.

I really don't think it's asking too much, considering I learned it and others I have taught learned it. And, he seems bored in school.

This isn't about pushing him to be a top A student, becoming a doctor, becoming the next PM of Canada, have 2.3 kids and get married at 26. This is about pushing his imagination; teaching him to use it.

And, the younger kid can hang out, too, and listen in. If you listen to something, even if it is too advanced for you, you pick up a few ideas along the way. Also, the younger one just likes "homework" and listening to it when his older brother has it (yes, he's in grade 1 and has homework every night. Well, the adults have homework and Jacob gets into trouble if we don't do it :rolleyes:)

I was thinking about the place in the world thing, too. Maybe that would work better then the animals. He doesn't care much about animals. His younger brother, however, is big into them.

I remmeber how much I loved national geographic world. I'll have to look into their kids version. Canadian Geographic also has a kids one. Those would be the type of science we'd want to teach; a general understanding of the world.

My little boy is in Kindergarten and already this year they have learned all the letters, blends, are learning to read 3 and 4 letter words, tell time, and doing addition, subtraction, history and geography. And it is only November! I'm actually very pleasantly surprised at how quickly they are learning and how much he loves school and is excited by learning.

That said, my husband and I are struggling hard to pay the tuition for him to attend a private school, because I've heard too many complaints about people being dissatisfied with the public school system in our area. Even though it costs us an arm and a leg, I am convinced it is well worth the cost.

I'm not sure if this would be an option for you, or even something you would be interested in pursuing, but many private schools have financial assistance to ease the burden somewhat for those who need it.

I would think that the first thing to do is to talk to the teachers and let them know that you are concerned about this matter, and possibly interview with other schools (both public and private) in the area to see if you can find one that is a better fit for your family.

I believe that supplemental teaching at home would be an amazing option - the only issue is that when children advance too far ahead of their classmates, they could potentially get very bored with school and lose a love of learning and education that could harm their attitude later on down the road.

This very thing happened to me - I was so advanced that school wasn't a challenge at all to me - I got bored and ended up causing trouble till they allowed me to skip a grade (3rd grade.) This was a great move for me academically, but disastrous socially - I became very shy and weird and withdrawn and got made fun of for being freakishly smart. Ultimately, my solution was to try to hide my intelligence and "just be average" for the remaining years of junior high and high school. A stupid mistake, in retrospect, because I wasted a very gifted brain and lots of great opportunities.

Just by caring so much about your children's education being properly suited to their abilities and personalities, you are off to a wonderful start. Explore all your options and talk to a couple of different principals or school counselors. I'm sure the best opportunity to help your children thrive will make itself known!

Good luck!

It's not good to teach to the lowest common denominator. The average and smarter kids can get bored that way. When I was in 2nd grade, I was tested for and entered an accelerated learning program called TARGET. Do they have anything like that?

It's not good to teach to the lowest common denominator. The average and smarter kids can get bored that way. When I was in 2nd grade, I was tested for and entered an accelerated learning program called TARGET. Do they have anything like that?

It doesn't seem that they have such a program until high school. In school, I the smarter kid and ended up being the teachers' assistant until I was in advanced classes in Gr 10-12 (then, I actually had to pay attention). When I was in school, they taught for the average student and the lower ones and higher ones got to choose if they wanted to go into different classes.

MG, your story is what we're trying to avoid. We don't want to teach some of the "typical" school items (like direct math and direct reading). Instead, more of a general knowledge.

Private school is out, unless we want to ship then off somewhere. And that isn't going to happen.

Krista,
Keep in mind that learning happens EVERYWHERE. While you´re in the car, if you pass a llama farm, point it out the kids. Perfect opportunity to talk about llamas. Depending on what your boys´ interests are, you can get much more in-depth about llamas than, say, frogs. There´s so much info online, in libraries, in the homes of older folks who love to tell kids about their experiences... It´s only limited by your creativity and what your kids want to/are capable of doing.

(What is with VB and llamas?!?!)

Jacob isn't interested in anything that isn't a TV or an X-box game. Hence, the desire to stop that :) And, we both feel like the bad cop, because we don't let him have unlimited TV, whereas in other places he gets it. And, as he spends a lot of time in "other places", we can only control our end of the deal.

His dad is going to teach him the insides of a computer and how to build one.

His aunt got reading on the computer "games" for him.

We'll sit down and talk to them about it, ask what they like and figure out from there.

Thanks!

(What is with VB and llamas?!?!)

Jacob isn't interested in anything that isn't a TV or an X-box game. Hence, the desire to stop that :) And, we both feel like the bad cop, because we don't let him have unlimited TV, whereas in other places he gets it. And, as he spends a lot of time in "other places", we can only control our end of the deal.

His dad is going to teach him the insides of a computer and how to build one.

His aunt got reading on the computer "games" for him.

We'll sit down and talk to them about it, ask what they like and figure out from there.

Thanks!

My sister has/had the same problem with her children in the Houston Texas public schools. She believes strongly in the public school system, and tried and tried to work with the teachers, etc., but finally ended up pulling the kids out and putting them in Catholic school for a few years. Now, they are back in public school.

A couple of things to suggest. You are not alone in encountering this problem. One of the things my sister did was to get the series of books that were put out by the fellow who wrote Cultural Literacy. I think his name is Edmund Hirsch. At any rate, he also has a series of books titled something like: Everything Your Child Needs to Know in the _____ Grade. I believe it goes 1st Grade through 12th Grade. Probably worth getting, perhaps through your library first.

Nashville is fortunate in having a number of good public and private schools. Almost all of these schools have published reading lists for their students. These lists are available at the public library. I copied many and sent them to my sister. You should be able to find similar lists through your public library, or you can look up school webpages on the internet and find some of their reading lists.

Another idea is to look at award-winning books. These lists are also on the internet with a little research. Again, ask your librarian for help.

Finally, there is an international organization of high IQ people called MENSA. They often have resources available for teaching gifted children, etc. it might be worth contacting them.

Also, "Math Blaster" and similar reading and math computer games can be very educational as well as enjoyable for children.

Thanks Joe. I think we have Math Blaster computer game. I'll doubt check when I'm home.

I really like the "everything you need to know" book idea. Will definately look for that.

I don't have an overall problem with public school systems and I do understand that the courses are meant for a large number of children. But, with that said, there really needs to be some learning going on, not kids bringing in their X-boxes and learning about those types of things.

/avoids rant on show and tell and why I believe it is the absolute worst thing you can ever do in a classroom, espeically if there are poor children in it.

Where was I? Ah yes. Well, I'm not smart enough for MENSA, but my BF is (spits in his direction for beating me by 10 points; that's ok, I'm better looking), but I guess I can aspire to read their reading lists :stinkeye:

Thanks for your suggestions everyone. This has been helpful in steering me in the right direction.

The author of the series is E.D. Hirsch, Jr.

For example,

What Your First Grader Needs to Know: Fundamentals of a Good First-Grade Education (Core Knowledge Series: Resource Books for Grades One Through Six

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385411154/qid=1068062889/sr=1-7/ref=sr_1_7/102-5913733-4590505?v=glance&s=books

Check out this website. It's even Canadian! :D

The Children's Literature Web Guide

http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/

An excellent resource, if I say so myself.

Some of the links are broken, though. For example,
Read Up On It is now at

http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/read-up-on-it/index-e.html


Read Up On It is a program to promote Canadian children's literature and reading. It highlights notable books on a variety of themes, and features award-winning Canadian children's books in all categories. The current theme, Magic, is available as a published kit free from the National Library of Canada.

here in BC the teacher's federation has a list of "learning outcomes" listed for each grade in the public school system, that tells parents what each child should have learned by the end of each grade. teachers use this as a guide for their curriculums each year and i have noticed that different teachers do things in different orders and in different ways. has your bf talked to your son's teacher to find out exactly what the kids are supposed to have learned by the end of the school year? it may just be that his son's teacher has a different way of going about educating her class than you would like or expect. it's always good to talk to the teacher.

of course there's nothing wrong with doing learning outside of school, either -- we do this with our son, too. it's hard to know what's best, though...because i remember being EXTREMELY bored in school when the materials presented were something i already knew and understood, and i want to avoid that feeling of boredom with my son.

remember that public schools have an obligation to teach EVERY child a certain amount of knowledge, and that most public schools are understaffed and over-studented, and that individualized learning is no longer an even remote possibility. funding is being cut left right and center and most schools are fighting to just have basic supplies and bare-bones staff now. it sucks for our kids and is very different from the public school i went to as i grew up, but it is reality. it's up to parents to do their best to help out, either by volunteering at the schools when they have time (i go up once a week and listen to kids practice their reading), helping with fundraisers, joining the PTA/PAC, or simply just doing your part at home with your own kids.

Kreeli, I'm heading out but I really want to address what you said later - living in alberta, we know about funding cuts to education :(

The teacher is...content with the reading and the topics. As is the principal. Right now, J needs to stay in this school. he needs that stability right now in his life.

anyways, more to follow

Sorry about that, Kreeli.

I will look into the learning outcomes. Right now, this school has a push on literacy, as their numbers have fallen. The problem is that it seems that they are doing the literacy (although, I admit their programs seem hookey and J doesn't seem to be benefitting from it; not to mention the excessive homework every night that we have to do) at the expense of their other programs.

Since the strike issues here in Alberta, some teachers have been doing their bare job and nothing more. It's really sad on both sides. While I understand where they are coming from, it is difficult to respect a teacher that acts as though they have no love of their job and go on and on about money and nothing else (being in the capital of the province doesn't help, either). There are days we just want to say to the teachers at the school - look, we know you feel screwed over, but either do your job or do something else; stop screwing with our kids just because you don't want to take work home.

I admit I don't understand the large classroom size, as I never had a class smaller then 30 students my entire schooling; but I also grew up in a small town and they couldn't make 2 classes for a grade. It didn't seem to affect our learning back then, but whatever. I wasn't teaching it (although I was a peer tutor for most of my years).

There are other schools in Edmonton that are better, but like I said, J really needs some stability, especially with his mom and all those problems. Also, my bf went to school there as a kid, so he's having a hard time accepting that he doesn't like what they are teaching his kid, considering that he loved his time there so much.

C'est la vie, right? I'll check around, see what i can come up with.

well, i completely understand your frustration. i come from a long line of teachers (my mother currently teaches highschool) and i can tell you that out here things aren't looking much better. i know my mom spends her entire life doing her job now, what with marking and lesson plans and trying to be involved in the BCTF, etc. as well as trying to be a open, approachable teacher that students like and trust. many teachers LOVE teaching but fear for the profession in general. as more funding cuts are made to education, and the salaries decrease (or remain static in the face of rising living costs), and the hours spent working increase, you will lose the really dedicated teachers and gain embittered, underpaid and overworked instructors and schools will see high turnover rates of teachers or else experience a teacher shortage.

but this is about our kids and how we want to make sure their public education is as beneficial as possible, i know. it's not easy, because the main way i try to get government money funneled into the programs and services that mean the most to me is by voting. so few people vote the way i do, though, that it has never steered the course of things into a light i would deem acceptable.

literacy outcomes are not good anywhere right now. mom says she has kids coming into grade nine with grade four or five reading levels, and it's just getting worse. she says she believes the main problem to be that most of these kids come from homes where there isn't so much as a magazine laying around to read. there is just no reading in their homes, they never see it modelled, it's never encouraged. that seems like such a foreign thing to me, but i do believe it exists.

i think it is wonderful you are so concerned about this and want to be active and proactive with his education. i think the public school system can work, but it works differently now, and parents have to have a hand in it moreso than ever.

As a potential evil step-mother, I probably shouldn't care about them, but I can't seem to help it :shifty:

I remember books being around; even if it was just a bible - there was always a book everywhere I went. In fact, there were some near illiterate people in my church (a brother being one of them) who learned to read from the bible and reading his son's schoolbooks at night. Literacy, unfortunately, has not gotten much better. This is such a sad thing for me to admit.

Then again, I can't see how the book of ribbet is helping their literacy, that's for sure :rolleyes: I keep going on about it, but it was the last book in a long line of crappy books. But that was the worst one. At least the others all had 5 different words in them.

This is going to require some heavy duty research. I'm rusty when it comes to young children.

What is with VB and llamas?!?!!

I just thought of it because there are several llama farms near where I live, and my mom HAS used this as a learning tool for my younger sisters.

So, after some research, we've decided to get them Chirp and Chickadee magazines. They will be my Christmas gift to them.

I went through the magazines and they haven't changed much since I was a kid. They have theme months and talk about different places, things, concepts, etc. Just what we were looking for. We can use the magazine to have our classes.

Thanks everyone for being a sounding board for me.

http://www.owlkids.com/chirp/

http://www.owlkids.com/chickadee/

Is the kid member of the local library?

Sometimes kids can become member for free.

Is the kid member of the local library?

Sometimes kids can become member for free.

ya gotta pay here and the resources aren't too good for kids. Lots of playboy, though.

Krista,

I have to say I greatly admire and respect what you and bf are trying to do. I think one of the biggest hurdles in improving education is increasing parental involvement.

I have no kids of my own, but all the kids in my apartment cpmlex come over and we cook (recipes are a great way to learn fractions), sew (following directions), other art projects, workbooks, plants, talk about animals (even some veggie info) and we read books and talk about all sorts of topics. There is no TV at my house, nor any video games (though we do occationally do spelling and math games on thed PC) and yet they all seem to want to hang out here. Most kids love to learn!

Attention from parents/ caring adults is great for kids and learning like skylark said, learnig happens everywhere!

btw: Good source for kids books is ebay! I got my neice and nephew a child's atlas a few years ago, so they could look up wherever I was calling from (Belgium, turkey etc) and they are great with Geography now!

Best of luck!