Allison has this homework sheet tonight where they are given a story problem, asked to solve it, and then asked whether or not it's reasonable. What??
Ok - if the question isn't reasonable - don't ask it. These are 5th graders learning fractions. They don't need to be tricked.
Secondly, if the answer isn't reasonable - you did it wrong. How would you know you did it wrong if you did it - and got that answer? What if you were wrong, but reasonable? Then you just end up justifying your incorrectness as correctness.
I don't understand, and this common core math crap is driving me nuts. I was telling a colleague the other day - it's like rather than give you the steps to climb to the platform, they want you to stand at the bottom and think of all the ways to get to the top. Should I use a ladder? Stairs? Maybe I could build a teleporter.....
Then, they have the kids envision being on the platform. Wow - how did I get here? Did I use the ladder? The stairs? The teleporter?
OR - they could just show the kids the flipping stairs. Because, you know, there like RIGHT THERE. I had a stick that's 5 1/4 feet long. Then I broke some off. Now I have a stick that is 3 4/5 feet long. How much did I break off? Subtract them for heaven's sake! It doesn't require a paragraph of reflection!!!
Monday, September 30, 2013
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
What does 5th grade homework look like?
Monday:
Math worksheet - 1 side.
Play math game.
Write spelling words in alphabetical order.
Write 5 sentences with two spelling words in each.
Read 20 minutes and record pages.
Tuesday:
Math worksheet - 2 sides.
Math crossword puzzle - 1 side.
Filling out a grid for the 5 paragraph story.
Cutting out new spelling words.
Writing a question about your book.
Read 20 minute and record pages.
Question - what the heck do they do during the DAY?
Math worksheet - 1 side.
Play math game.
Write spelling words in alphabetical order.
Write 5 sentences with two spelling words in each.
Read 20 minutes and record pages.
Tuesday:
Math worksheet - 2 sides.
Math crossword puzzle - 1 side.
Filling out a grid for the 5 paragraph story.
Cutting out new spelling words.
Writing a question about your book.
Read 20 minute and record pages.
Question - what the heck do they do during the DAY?
Evils of ziploc
So, I said there might be a post about uncool things at Jacob's new school. And it's not even about singing! It's about the "No Waste Lunches." What's a no waste lunch? Exactly what it sounds like.... your child finishes eating at and has nothing to throw away.
So why is this bad? Um, let me list the things that I like to put in kids lunches that I cannot put in Jacob's lunch or send as a snack:
Gogo Squeeze (or other applesauce containers)
Individual yogurts or gogurt (a gogurt that is pre-frozen is still nice and cool at lunch time)
Granola bars
Fruit cups
Packs of cheese & crackers
Nutella dip cups
All terrible crap processed food..(?).... Actually, it's usually the relatively healthier stuff that I buy pre-packaged because it's easier to grab a go-go squeeze and throw in the lunch than to cut up other fruit. Typically it's either go-go squeeze or skip the fruit. I'm all about 'easy' in the morning and Jacob is not a fan of cut up veggies.
Also, when I do buy in bulk and then pare it down for the meal, there's a "no ziploc baggie" rule. I have cheese + crackers and I have to put it in some type of snap-lid reusable package that may or may not come home at the end of the day (Jacob had 6 in his desk at one point). Given that those little gladware containers are not that robust to begin with, get lost, accidentally thrown out, or left a school long enough that they've now molded and are unhealthy to reuse - I'm not sure the actual quantity of plastic "consumed" is less than if I were to just send them in ziplocs. Yes, there are other alternatives (like glass), but you think I'd send a kid to school with glass in their backpack? - yeah, no.
I've complained to other parents who then follow up with "yes, but if I think about it, my child's lunches and snacks are mostly waste free anyway." Yeah - key word mostly. It's getting rid of the 1-2 things that you send regularly that's the biggest pain in the butt (like granola bars and gogo squeeze). It doesn't seem like such a hassle until you have to implement it 100% of the time. And I resent the feeling that I'm being forced into a "make it all from scratch / why don't you have enough time to cut up some strawberries in the morning" situation. Because I don't. Because it's not a priority for me.
So why is this bad? Um, let me list the things that I like to put in kids lunches that I cannot put in Jacob's lunch or send as a snack:
Gogo Squeeze (or other applesauce containers)
Individual yogurts or gogurt (a gogurt that is pre-frozen is still nice and cool at lunch time)
Granola bars
Fruit cups
Packs of cheese & crackers
Nutella dip cups
All terrible crap processed food..(?).... Actually, it's usually the relatively healthier stuff that I buy pre-packaged because it's easier to grab a go-go squeeze and throw in the lunch than to cut up other fruit. Typically it's either go-go squeeze or skip the fruit. I'm all about 'easy' in the morning and Jacob is not a fan of cut up veggies.
Also, when I do buy in bulk and then pare it down for the meal, there's a "no ziploc baggie" rule. I have cheese + crackers and I have to put it in some type of snap-lid reusable package that may or may not come home at the end of the day (Jacob had 6 in his desk at one point). Given that those little gladware containers are not that robust to begin with, get lost, accidentally thrown out, or left a school long enough that they've now molded and are unhealthy to reuse - I'm not sure the actual quantity of plastic "consumed" is less than if I were to just send them in ziplocs. Yes, there are other alternatives (like glass), but you think I'd send a kid to school with glass in their backpack? - yeah, no.
I've complained to other parents who then follow up with "yes, but if I think about it, my child's lunches and snacks are mostly waste free anyway." Yeah - key word mostly. It's getting rid of the 1-2 things that you send regularly that's the biggest pain in the butt (like granola bars and gogo squeeze). It doesn't seem like such a hassle until you have to implement it 100% of the time. And I resent the feeling that I'm being forced into a "make it all from scratch / why don't you have enough time to cut up some strawberries in the morning" situation. Because I don't. Because it's not a priority for me.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Am I Special Needs
So Allison has been riding the bus home now. This was my solution to a carpooling problem and a boy who is slow to get out of school. We don't technically live in an area with bus service. We're too close to the school and there are sidewalks the whole way and a crossing guard at the busy street, provided you don't walk the most direct way home. I thought (briefly) about having Allison walk home from school - a view that was much discussed at my book group. Not Allison, specifically, but that "kids these days" don't walk home, they expect Mom to pick them up and then how Mom shouldn't complain about the fact that there is *no where* to park because there's *no where* to park because everybody drives and why don't we just have our kids walk home.... yada, yada, yada. (No, I don't have book group with a bunch of grumpy old men "I walked both ways uphill in the snow!!")
Anyway, we tossed this idea because while I find Allison capable of walking home, I don't trust her judgement. I don't think she has a good radar for danger (like cars and watching for them while crossing the road), she's distracted easily, and if something were to happen I don't think she'd make the best choices in response. Also, she'd be walking alone.
So, I put in a request for bus transportation, which is an option we have with her IEP. It took only a few days, but I got her on a bus that drops her off in front of the house at 3:28pm. (granted, this does not buy me much time, but it does get me out of my carpool arrangements - so that's something). The first day, I met the bus and all seemed to go well.
But then later we were driving to the YMCA and I asked Allison if she liked the bus. She said yes. But then she followed it up with "Mom, am I Special Needs?"
The conversation that followed was me doing my best to say "yes, you have Special Needs" without making it seem like a bad thing and also while connecting it to her other friends who also have Special Needs. "Special Needs" really is quite the big tent. She didn't seem upset by it, and maybe in some ways comforted by all the other people she knew in the same boat.
It was interesting, though, that while I had previously sat her (and Jacob) down and talked about autism and what that meant and how she gets help from Ms. Jahnke and the therapists - she hadn't connected that with "Special Needs." Now, however, she was on the Special Needs Bus with all the Special Needs Kids, and she had questions.
Also, it highlights how kids like to categorize themselves into same/different. And how she phrased her question "Am I Special Needs?" like is this a part of me and my identity? It was not "Do I have Special Needs?" I could spin this as a good thing that she's conscious of her place in the world and curious as to how she fits in. But the larger question is that I don't know how to balance the one side of the unique part of *her* that makes her *her* and the parts of *her* that we work on changing so that she fits and functions with *us.*
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Review and Revise
So, there was an article popping around facebook the other day about how some failing schools are finding success by getting rid of their sports programs. The basic argument was that students could play club sports on their own time which would free up lots of money that schools could then spend on academics. There was immediate cost savings (no games, equipment, security, travel), but also things like not having to hire substitutes (when teacher-coaches left early on game day). While studies have shown that student athletes perform better than their peers on things like AP exams; those gains are diminished when one factors in socio-economic factors. So, basically, most student-athletes would be more likely to perform well on AP exams even if they were NOT in any school athletics.
Then I listened to this podcast today on parenting and what things parents do/don't do that will affect their children's future performance (college, jobs, success, happiness, etc). They claimed that the "gains" by all the things we parents feel like we "should" be doing (tons of extra activities, visits to museums, etc.), are relatively small compared with other things. For example, if parents smoke you see much more of an effect (negative) than if a child was in piano lessons (positive). Any supposed advancement due to hyper-involved parents can be more easily explained by the fact that hyper-involved parents are more likely to have higher income and education levels. The higher income and education levels are a much greater predictor to future "success" than whether or not you were hyper-involved. (the kids from higher income families who were not hyper-involved do just as well as those whose parents carted them around to every activity they could find).
So, this is either freeing (hey! I can be a lazier parent and my kids will still be OK) or disheartening (why do I even try if it doesn't matter at all in the end). But none-the-less, I will try to review and revise our activity schedule.
This will not be easy. I still believe it's important that the kids can swim (life/death thing), play music (learning persistence and how to practice to attain a goal), participate in sports (physical fitness and being part of a team), and other enrichment activities (they need to try things out to see what they might really like). But, would the world come crashing down if we quit piano? - no. Would they end up overweight and unhealthy if they played one sport non-competitively? - no. Do I want to be like the neighbors - giving up almost every other weekend for tournament travel so my kid can play a sport that they'll *maybe* continue into HS, barring some unforeseen injury? Heck no.
Check back with me in a year and I'll let you know how it's going. I told Allison today there wasn't a girl scout troop this year. She looked at me and said, "Don't give up, mom. Girl Scouts never give up. I will not give up on Girl Scouts."
Then I listened to this podcast today on parenting and what things parents do/don't do that will affect their children's future performance (college, jobs, success, happiness, etc). They claimed that the "gains" by all the things we parents feel like we "should" be doing (tons of extra activities, visits to museums, etc.), are relatively small compared with other things. For example, if parents smoke you see much more of an effect (negative) than if a child was in piano lessons (positive). Any supposed advancement due to hyper-involved parents can be more easily explained by the fact that hyper-involved parents are more likely to have higher income and education levels. The higher income and education levels are a much greater predictor to future "success" than whether or not you were hyper-involved. (the kids from higher income families who were not hyper-involved do just as well as those whose parents carted them around to every activity they could find).
So, this is either freeing (hey! I can be a lazier parent and my kids will still be OK) or disheartening (why do I even try if it doesn't matter at all in the end). But none-the-less, I will try to review and revise our activity schedule.
This will not be easy. I still believe it's important that the kids can swim (life/death thing), play music (learning persistence and how to practice to attain a goal), participate in sports (physical fitness and being part of a team), and other enrichment activities (they need to try things out to see what they might really like). But, would the world come crashing down if we quit piano? - no. Would they end up overweight and unhealthy if they played one sport non-competitively? - no. Do I want to be like the neighbors - giving up almost every other weekend for tournament travel so my kid can play a sport that they'll *maybe* continue into HS, barring some unforeseen injury? Heck no.
Check back with me in a year and I'll let you know how it's going. I told Allison today there wasn't a girl scout troop this year. She looked at me and said, "Don't give up, mom. Girl Scouts never give up. I will not give up on Girl Scouts."
Friday, September 20, 2013
Cool things about Jacob's new school
1) He likes it. He 'I-am-willing-to-share-non-essential-information-about-my-day' likes it.
2) Field trips! Tuesday they were at a pond most of the day catching crayfish and identifying things, then classifying them as to whether or not they "should" be in the pond (invasive/non-invasive).
3) More field trips! Next Tuesday they are going to the headwaters of the Fox River and a bunch of other stuff in Portage, WI.
4) They learn Spanish. I did not even know this going in, but they have Spanish class twice a week which starts in 3rd grade (so he's not even behind any of the other kids).
5) He walks to piano lessons on Thursdays, which means we get piano started (and ended!) a half hour earlier than usual. Not only that, but other kids in his class also take piano lessons (at different places) and so piano lessons are more "cool" than they have been before.
Sometime there may be a "5 uncool things about Jacob's new school" blog post, which *might* include how his parents got stuck sitting around a campfire singing with other adults. Just really kinda not my thing. But the camping was fun!
2) Field trips! Tuesday they were at a pond most of the day catching crayfish and identifying things, then classifying them as to whether or not they "should" be in the pond (invasive/non-invasive).
3) More field trips! Next Tuesday they are going to the headwaters of the Fox River and a bunch of other stuff in Portage, WI.
4) They learn Spanish. I did not even know this going in, but they have Spanish class twice a week which starts in 3rd grade (so he's not even behind any of the other kids).
5) He walks to piano lessons on Thursdays, which means we get piano started (and ended!) a half hour earlier than usual. Not only that, but other kids in his class also take piano lessons (at different places) and so piano lessons are more "cool" than they have been before.
Sometime there may be a "5 uncool things about Jacob's new school" blog post, which *might* include how his parents got stuck sitting around a campfire singing with other adults. Just really kinda not my thing. But the camping was fun!
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Jumping in Time
Another thing that I have not yet blogged about - the results of Allison's growth hormone test.
They were, of course, inconclusive. Well, maybe not "inconclusive" because there were results - they just weren't clearly one thing or another.
I don't have the letter handy and so won't be able to recall the exact name of the hormone that they were checking.... but, apparently a level of 10 or greater indicated a robust growth system and a level of 5 or lower indicated a clear growth hormone deficiency. Allison scored a 7.3. I'm not exactly sure how much more "in the middle without leaning one way or another" she could get - but there you have it.
Her bone age was between 6 years 8 month and 7 years 8 months (seems like they could have pinpointed that a bit more), her chronological age was 10 years, 8 months - so she's either 3 or 4 years behind.
Good news - she's not totally hormone deficient and she's still got plenty of time to grow.
Bad news - she doesn't have a healthy growth system and we don't know why.
My theory - she's found the elixir of life. She's aging at about 66% of the normal rate, which means she'll probably live to be 150 years old. Many people believe that evolution is not a slow, steady process; but the result of large step-wise changes. Just say'n.
They were, of course, inconclusive. Well, maybe not "inconclusive" because there were results - they just weren't clearly one thing or another.
I don't have the letter handy and so won't be able to recall the exact name of the hormone that they were checking.... but, apparently a level of 10 or greater indicated a robust growth system and a level of 5 or lower indicated a clear growth hormone deficiency. Allison scored a 7.3. I'm not exactly sure how much more "in the middle without leaning one way or another" she could get - but there you have it.
Her bone age was between 6 years 8 month and 7 years 8 months (seems like they could have pinpointed that a bit more), her chronological age was 10 years, 8 months - so she's either 3 or 4 years behind.
Good news - she's not totally hormone deficient and she's still got plenty of time to grow.
Bad news - she doesn't have a healthy growth system and we don't know why.
My theory - she's found the elixir of life. She's aging at about 66% of the normal rate, which means she'll probably live to be 150 years old. Many people believe that evolution is not a slow, steady process; but the result of large step-wise changes. Just say'n.
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