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Sorry for the delay in posts. The holidays were busy. We finished up road runners, I attended some parent meetings, saw the Christmas concert (it had Spanish and English songs) and I have also been trying to have lunch with my son and help out in the classroom some. It's just Kindergarten as usual. So far, I play letter and number games in English with some of the Hispanic kids that need help with their English. This is important because the students are tested in English. Georgia is recognized as an English speaking state and that is why the standardized test are in English. They are also trying to incorporate more Science and Social Studies into Language Arts. So when a kid is learning to read they will be reading about how a seed turns into a plant for example. I get it. They have a new principle this year who came from a "School of Excellence" so I'm expecting great results in the years to come. I'm realizing this school is great the longer I'm here. The teachers really seem to care. They are always having meetings about how they can improve scores and parent involvement. Only problem. It's the same 5 parents that show up all the time. I don't understand how out of 500 students only 5 parents can make it to the most important events that make a difference in their child's education. They pack in for chorus concerts and free hot dog dinners but ask them to participate in the academic part of their child's development and you can hear crickets. I don't even want to hear the, "I work" excuse. They offer these meetings at all times to accommodate schedules. They spoon feed information to these parents constantly in two different languages so 5 parents showing up is quite a surprise. I can't imagine how that makes the teachers feel. They bring in speakers from other schools and prepare handouts for only 5 parents.
Oh, I went to the Latina Breakfast this time with my Hispanic neighbor. Glad I went. They handed out 200 flyers to Spanish moms and all that showed up was 2 Spanish moms and this Gringa! I wasn't even supposed to get the flyer. If was fine that I was there. They said I was welcome at any event. But I love going to these meetings...anything they will let me go to. Because I learn a lot. I think people don't show up because they don't think it applies to them or they won't learn anything new. This isn't true. I don't know how many times I almost don't go to things and then end up glad I did because I always learn something new about the school and how things operate. Teachers can't do everything. They need parent involvement. They care but they don't get paid enough and they are people too. Don't be one of those people who think that the school will just teach our kids everything and we don't need to be involved. At some point, your going to want to be involved. You may not agree with what public school is teaching your child. I'm not a fan of conformity so I want my hands in it. I want them to know who I am. Also, those 5 moms that show up to meetings....all transfers moms like me. And a mix of ethnicity and social class. Just in case those details interest you.
Just a side note. They also had us renew our transfer forms recently. I guess they like to get their ducks in a row for Spring. My spot is secure before they open up new transfers for next school year. This was a relief. For a moment I thought I was going to have to compete for my spot again. But it's not official till I get the letter.
As for Mason, the reason for this blog. WOW! What a huge difference from when he started till now. He is reading small words or at least trying to sound them out. He attempts to spell things on his own by sounding it out. His interest in art has increased. He actually reads his Spanish books and site words better in a way. I think this is because the Spanish letters just sound how they sound in a word. We've all heard English is complicated. He really enjoys the Eric Carlyle books in Spanish. The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Polar Bear, Polar Bear What do you see? He kept checking them out of the library in Spanish so I went ahead and bought him his own copy. He has a natural Spanish accent. He pronounces Spanish words better than I did back in high school. I think the kids feel less inhibited about sounding silly so they go for it. He "Rolls his R"s" constantly now. Even when he doesn't have to. Which makes me mad because I can't do it. I mean, I can make the sound just not with words....if that makes sense. He still continues to sing Spanish songs he learns and if we go eat Mexican food he will try out his Spanish with the servers. He doesn't like me to speak Spanish. I think my the time he gets home he's burned out it unless he's doing it himself. I love sitting in the classroom and hearing the teacher ask questions in Spanish and the kids answer her in Spanish. All that repetition makes a difference. It's been a fascinating process. If not for this program I think my son would be a little bored in class. Spanish time is when he is challenged.
Also, in case you haven't heard. Georgia has a new law being implemented this year. If your child is not 5 years old by August 1st. They can not start school until the next year. The current guideline is that they have to be 5 yrs old by Sept. 1st. They are doing this because there is some argument about young 5 yr olds starting Kindergarten and not being ready and not being able to keep up with the class. I personally think this is a case by case situation. My son was ready. He had been in a church preschool since he was 2 yrs old. He is not behind at all. My best friend said she wished she had held her son back from Kindergarten till he was 6. All kids are different!! Unfortunately, a lot of parents just send their kids to school never thinking about this. They are thinking they need the childcare or maybe they don't know they have the option to hold their kid back. Either way, I think if they are ready they are just ready and should be able to test into it. My son turned 5 a week after school started. Thank goodness he started when he did. As far as he has come I can't imagine having to hold him back and make him repeat pre-school.
Well, that's all I have for now. We just got progress reports. Mason is on track. Occasionally they say he misses recognition of a number or letter sound. I think he just has brain farts because when I show him at home he knows it. He likes to be shy and silly when put on the spot so no doubt that messes with his ability to answer questions properly. We have a parent-teacher conference next week. Just routine.
I've posted some photos below of some of his work. One of my favorites is the "Monsturo de figueros" not sure I spelled that right. It means shape monster. It eats shapes and is made of shapes. Learning about the shape monster has actually helped his drawing. His stick figures have started to fill out now that he realizes shapes are everywhere. The books I posted a pic of are from the book fair they had around Christmas time.
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| Grr...don't know how to fix this. Anyway, the print out and color their own books. They are repetitive and easy to read |
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| Sorry this is upside down. It was for Thanksgiving. Things they were thankful for. |
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| Shape Monster |
Thanks for reading! I have started another blog about my journey officiating a wedding soon. So pardon me if I take a while to update my blog. Please excuse my typos.
