Are you amazed at what your___________ grader is learning in school?

I remember when my oldest was in Kindergarten and was issued a reader, it was not the usual See Dick, See Jane Book....it was a book with words I could not imagine a kindergarter being able to read. Also, it was not the one or two, maybe three word sentences I had when I was learning how to read in second grade.

It blows my mind. They have them doing algebera in 1st grade. Some of the words they use. My son was reading and writing in Kindegarten. This year he is in 2nd grade and the class was doing Science projects that I am pretty sure I didn't do until 5th grade.

What is bad is when they come home with homework and I don't even remember how to do half of the stuff or I totally forgot about something and I think Oh yeah!!! I remember now. It is like getting a refresher course.

Thank God my DD is old enough to do her work now and doesn't need the guidance as much as my DS.

Just wait until they get to 7th grade... the Math, whoa!!!

Luckily, if there is something on their homework that they do not understand, they can put ??? next to the number and if a majority of the class put ???, the teacher will not count it wrong -- will reteach it.

Yesterday, he was to do a 'box and whiskers' graph (I think that was what it was called)? Huh???

Heh, I know. Sometimes they will ask 'is this right'? and I'm like 'I don't know'! Thankfully we have the google.
Much of it is something that I forgot and some is new ways they are teaching.
It certainly keeps us on our toes!

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My son is in first grade and is learning Chinesse, it blows me away....twice a week the Chinesse instructor comes in and teaches them new words they learn how to speak, write and read them. He comes home and has to practice writting the Chinesse charchters and he asks me if they look correct, I say yes. He then comes home the next day and will have a comment on his homework like.......That was a very impressive "peace" you spelled out but the word was suppose to be "truth" please write truth and turn it back in tomorrow. To tell you the TRUTH I could barely see the difference in the words.

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We're just here to do the Super Bowl Shuffle.

How cool!
I think that is awesome! I so wish my kids school offered something like that here!

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Yes, thank goodness for google!

Well last year my kindegartener was learning spanish in school I didnt learn that until 8th grade. This year she is in first & expected to know how to add & subtract she knows her adding well but is having problems subtracting but I think shes getting it. And as for my 7th whoa she is doing such hard work I cant even help her math looks like what I was doing in college math & btw I quit college she dont even ask me for help she either gets it at school or her & once in a while her friends work on it together must be working this year she is getting all A's

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mom of 3 greats girls

My son is in 5th grade this year.

A few years ago, it amazed me that there were so many different ways to multiply! Lattice method was completely confusing (and still is a bit) to me!!

When I was in school, there was one way taught to multiply and that is it!!

I'm amazed by what they learn, but I'm also really surprised by a few things that they don't......

They have not taught cursive writing, yet the kids are expected to know how to do it....It's very frustrating for them......I remember when I was in school, we spent at least half a year, learning all the letters, then how to join letters then we would practice words......

The math and reading that they do at the ages they do it really has me in awe.....our kids start Spanish in the elementary schools, and continue it till High School, then in high school if you want to continue it it's your choice......

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O-H-I-O

Ours don't teach diffent languages in elem. I really wish they did. Seems it would be a lot easier to learn when they are younger.

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ITA.....the kids don't even think of it as learning....and the are picking it up really quickly.....It just drives me crazy when they use some of it on me, and I have absolutely no clue what they are saying.....

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"You can never really pay back. You can only pay forward."

Wayne Woodrow “Woody” Hayes

O-H-I-O

I was surprised last month when dd (5th grade) brought home work about the Vietnam war! That era is diffucult as an adult to comprehend let alone to try and explain to a 10 yo... I'm all for teaching history it just didn't seem age appropriate to me...

Spanish is required here from Kindergarten through 7th grade. It is then recommended into high school. The math is crazy - I can still help my 5th grader part of the time, 8th grader - forget it. Luckily DH is a math person. They learn cursive here in 3rd grade. Reading in kindergarten, addition/subtraction in 2nd grade, multiplication, division, beginning fractions in 3rd grade. 5th grader is now learning to add/subtract fractions. Uggh. I had to have my 8th grader help her the other day with adding fractions with different denominators.

Lisa

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I was surprised my DD last year in kindergarten learned how to count to 50 in English (which she already knew), Spanish, French, Korean and German.

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Cuthie, my 7th grader had the exact same assignment!! And I agree, 7th grade math is *very* confusing LOL!!

Selena

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How about the multiplication of fractions! My dd asked me how do that and I truly could not remember! And this was 5th grade math! And I am an accountant! I must have learned it and quickly forgot it!

NOT impressed with my kids education here. They didn't teach cursive much here either. I wish they would go back to reading, writing and arithmatic! I hope I spelled that correctly. Let's add spelling too. Our school system is too concerned about "feelings" to correct the children in the lower grades so pretty much anything goes. No grades until 7th grade. Behavior probelms at the high school-gee, I'm so surprised! ANd this is a Big 10 college town too!! Oh, the good old days....lol

[quote=mabear74;2898753]I'm amazed by what they learn, but I'm also really surprised by a few things that they don't......

They have not taught cursive writing, yet the kids are expected to know how to do it....It's very frustrating for them......I remember when I was in school, we spent at least half a year, learning all the letters, then how to join letters then we would practice words......

I agree, I am surprised also that they do not teach them here how to write in cursive. Here, the teachers start writing the work in cursive on the board and the kids are suppose to follow what she/he is writing. Personally, I think they are just missing something by not teaching cursive...However, where I live, they are so focused on cramming in everything in the kids for the state testing....who has time to learn basics like cursive. Also, I think they feel a large majority of work will be done on the computer...so, cursive will become obsolete.

They do seem to be trying to cram as much in the kids heads as they can these days. My ds , who's in 5th grade, was just issued a laptop! We had to go to a "course" about it and sign an agreement on how to take care of it. He keeps it at home and does his homework on it. He then takes it to school every Thursday to turn everything in.
Talk about being nervous! Transporting a laptop on a school bus in the care of an 11 yr old boy..ughh! I make sure to go over the rules with him before he gets on the bus so he has it fresh in his mind. They're supposed to carry it a certain way and everything.
Dont get me wrong, I'm glad he's learning computer skills early but the risk of losing or breaking the darn thing scares me to death at times.

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Amy mommy to Ash,Zach&Alexis


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Dd is in 2nd grade. They are learning and being tested on parts of the ear and eye. Sorry but there is no way my dd can correctly spell cochlea.

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Wow, a laptop in 5th grade. That is amazing! I can only imagine the stress of safely getting a laptop to and from school weekly. Hopefully your son has a nice protective case for it.

I do not think they learn enough different thing about the world.they learn things pertaining to the US,and that is pretty much it.
too much testing and learning about how to do well on tests.

I am really not impress.
by 5th grade ,I was already learning a second language(english),and just starting german and was taking latin.which were mandatory.

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My dd has a laptop for school, 6th grade, lets just say the make you buy insurance for it. Glad they did because she already broken the thing!

Just curious, why do they have laptops? Is it for learning the computer or is all their work done on it?

Insurance would be a good thing to have for it if it is going back and forth to school.

I guess my district is behind the times. The kids do not have laptops. The kids do not get a foreign language until they are in middle school and high school. It is not mandatory in middle school. I think in high school they need 2 years of Foreign language to graduate.

Ours have laptops so they can do their homework on them. They also take a computer course on how to work with it.
Insurance was mandatory here too. Luckily , the school supplied carrying cases(over the shoulder) for them to make it easier to transport them.
They also have to keep track of their flashdrives which holds all their assignments. I was definately leary about letting him take one since we could have opted out of it. His laptop would have stayed at school. Only problem with that is, he would have had to write out certain things and then be to school early several times to upload it all onto his computer.
Just keeping my fingers crossed that he is extra carefull and that all will go well until they turn them back in come May.

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Amy mommy to Ash,Zach&Alexis


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not really in school but we went home for Christmas and my grandpa told my 9 year old how to count from 1-10 in japanese and he can almost rattle those words off faster than you can think em.


My oldest is haveing to do a power point presentation with sound on what if a meteor hit earth, the pp, index cards, written report ect. glad he didnt have to build the working remote ontrol car geesh whats up with that

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Yes, I'm amazed at what my kids are doing in school, compared to what I did at their ages (I just turned 38!). Where we are in NC (Union County), the kids take Spanish 2x/week in elementary school - yet oddly, in my oldest DS's middle school - foreign language is NOT required, it's an elective. But, in high school, starting with DS's graduating class - they will need 4 years of foreign language to graduate. Now that doesn't make sense to me: taking Spanish for 6 years in elem, then possibly no language, then 4 years in HS? Hmm...

And oh my, the projects, and the papers that I've heard that HS's have to write -- the hardest thing I EVER DID was my Senior Term Paper, it took 1 semester to work on it! That was *HUGE* back then!

Thank God I don't have to go back to school now, I'm not sure I could graduate w/ all the requirements the kids have to do now..... Geez....

Suzanne

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Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant, filled with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like. - Lemony Snicket

Suzanne, I totally agree...things sure have changed since I have been in school. All I can say is THANK GOODNESS for the INTERNET and the amount of online resources available to help our children with homework!!!!!

My kids have had group projects in elementary school. I did not have group projects until I got to college. I am also amazed by those power point presentations they have done in elementary school...I can't even do that!

Oh, I forgot about that. DS (12 - 7th grade) had a Power Point presentation due today on Anthrax for his science class! Like you, I don't know how to do a Power Point! I asked DH if he could help DS save it or do whatever had to be done (DS knew how to do Power Point, he was taught that in his computer class the first 6 weeks), but then it had to be "burned' on a CD or something... I'm just happy I can surf the net and send e-mails, although I do know how to use Microsoft Works and Excel. UGH! But DS logs on to schoolnotes.com and sees his homework assignments, etc. My twins in 2nd grade have done "Writer's Workshop" since kindergarten. In kindergarten (which was 1/2 day when I went!), we were singing songs, learning numbers, etc. We didn't learn to read until first grade, and even then, it was the Dick and Jane series of books, mostly. My kids were reading CHAPTER BOOKS in first grade!!!

The times, they are a-changin', LOLOL.
Suzanne

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Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant, filled with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like. - Lemony Snicket

Do you have to buy the software to create the power point presentations? I create power point presentations at work, but I don't have the software at home - it is very expensive. Just curious if you have to buy the student versions or what?

Talk about feeling stupid... I asked DS about that last week. He brought me into our office, and showed me WHERE on our PC it had Power Point software! I was like, Oh yeahhhhh, I get it! Just further proof to my DS that I'm "clueless," LOL.

I also forgot to mention in one of my other posts: They started offering 1 semester of CHINESE at my DS's (public!) middle school this year!

Suzanne

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Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant, filled with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like. - Lemony Snicket

Young children are sponges! I think it's great. I wish they would have figured that out when I was young, then maybe I could help my child with homework.

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Mary

What surprised me the most was that in kindergarten and first grade they wanted the kids to do journal writing. Since they didn't know how to spell very many words, they had them spell phonetically (the way it sounds). Well that was all well & good until 1/2 way through 1st grade they wanted everything spelled correctly. That was very difficult for my DS and others who had just mastered the phonetic spelling to then have to stop it abruptly and spell correctly. Personally, I think they should have waited until they could spell correctly and then do the jornal wririting.

Sarah.........mom to Jason & Devin