Re: Kindergarten work

September 7, 2004

Right off the bat, I'd ask for a schedule of his day. I have a schedule for ALL

my kids, not just Noah. It makes scheduling Dr. appts much easier. You can

always use that if you think you need an excuse. They automatically provide a

schedule at our school...I guess they just got sick of people asking.

As for the communication book, maybe you can devise a " fill in the blank " type.

we used that in preschool, and it was much easier for the teacher. Of course

her excuse was that she had 10 special needs kiddos and needed to say a little

something about each one of them, and that was a daunting task. The blanks were

things like; For snack we had______, we sang_____at circle time, ______ was line

leader...etc. Whatever is relevant to you is what should be included.

Sometimes they think they need to write a complete summary of the day, and it

just isn't going to get done. Stress the brevity and maybe you'll get a better

response.

Karla in Texas

Kindergarten work

Isaac has had 2 weeks of all-day kindergarten so far and we thought it was

going fairly smoothly until I picked him up from school today and the teacher

had me come in and sit down for 20 minutes. I wasn't prepared for a conference

and it sort of caught me off guard. Anyway, she was thinking maybe a full day

was too much for him. I asked her if he was a problem and she indicated that he

was not. He is in a regular classroom with only 10 students, a teacher and he

has a full-time 1/1 aide. He does get tired in the afternoons, but it's only

been 2 weeks and it is a big adjustment for him, as it is for any kid. She said

that during naptime some of the kids have been actually sleeping for 1 to 1 1/2

hours and she just lets them sleep because she figures they must need the sleep.

Isaac did that 2 days last week and he did not nap today at school.

She was also asking me if I thought the work was too hard for him and I told

her that of course it was and she did say that she wanted to start the year out

by giving him what the other kids were doing because she didn't want to " assume "

he wasn't capable of doing something. I respect that. For instance she sent

home a sheet with his name on it and he was to trace his name and then write it

about 12 times. He does not like to use a pencil and basically it just ended up

being me holding his hand, doing the work while he looked around the room. As I

did it I told him all the letter names and described how we were making the

letters. However, there has never been a person with DS at this school and

there is no modification of curriculum going on here. I don't believe the

teacher has ever had to do that. I don't know who is supposed to be doing the

modifying here. I don't want to be out of line, but I told her that starting

right off trying to write his name seems a bit unrealistic to me since he hasn't

had much luck with a pencil before. I suggested perhaps he could just practice

drawing some lines (like the " I " in Isaac) and then some circles or other

things. Where can I get some help with this?!! I don't want to have to tell

the teacher what to do, but I believe she needs some guidance/assistance.

She also asked me what I was getting from him at home. I told her that I felt

I was kind of in the dark because when most kids get home from school the

parents can ask how their day was, what they did, etc. (I did send a

communication notebook on the 1st day and it has only been written in 2 times).

He can't tell me when his library books are due (we missed the due date), I

don't know how many days a week he has art, music, pe, etc. because he can't

tell me that. How do I politely get more information? Since Isaac is the

first kid with DS in the district, I don't want this to be a bad experience for

the school/teachers and definitely not for Isaac!

I like this teacher, but I know that she is one of those " no hair out of

place " kind of ladies and everything is always just perfect and smiley in her

classroom. Isaac doesn't fit that mold and I don't want her to suggest he not

be there on the off chance that it's because it's not fitting in with her ideal

class.

Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks,

Jill

Mom to , Lydia & Isaac (5 1/2, DS)

September 8, 2004

Jill,

We had a similar situation when my son was in kindergarten. He is also the

first child with DS to attend our home school, and this was really new to

everyone (still is, and he is in third grade)

After a few weeks, the teacher suggested that he go home after lunch because

he gets tired in the afternoon. I found out that they were not modifying

anything (here the resource teacher does the modifications) and they really did

not know what to do with him when he could not do what the other kids were

doing. At my suggestion, we tried several different things...exercising to

music

after lunch to get moving again (the whole class did this)...allowing Nick to

do a shorter version of what the other kids were doing (ie practicing the first

letter of his name instead of the whole name, and building to the whole name,

etc) He should work on his IEP goals, and they will get to know his

abilities as they get to know him. I also did not have a problem if he worked

individually with his 1/1 aide occasionally, ie if he would not benefit by

participating in what the rest of the class was doing (should be rare in

kindergarten).

Inclusion is difficult when the teacher expects the child to fit into how she

teaches; it's really about changing what and how the material is taught so

all children can learn together. That's why it usually benefits all kids in the

class. One fantastic incluion teacher told me, " it's not about how I teach,

it's about how kids learn and I have to change for them. "

See if his aide can write regularly in the notebook, instead of the teacher,

and suggest a standing meeting of the team every 4-6 weeks to monitor

progress. I found that they will generally try new things when they are

suggested, so

I suggest politely but firmly. My experience has been that although it's

never easy, it does get easier. Good luck.

Donna

September 9, 2004

I can remember that when tim started school I suggested that he should start

with half days and build up to a full day as he was very small and

frequently ill so had little stamina. the head was agast and said no, he'll

miss too much social stuff (afternoons was when they did the 'fun' stuff)

and that if he fell asleep he could sleep in a cuddle with the TA or on a

little bed in the 'quiet' room (it was a dolls bed but tim fitted it

perfectly well!!). He fell asleep every afternoon that year, and many the

two following years. She was equally horrified when I suggested he go home

for dinner initially for the same reasons. That one was solved for me becoz

tim, after one home dinner, refused to come home again any other day!!

Loves his school dinners. Anyway, they learnt a lot from tim that year and

introduced half days for ALL children the follwing year until half term.

Their new recruits (with DS) to the schoool this year have the benefit of

teachers and TAs throughout the school learning basic sign language before

the kids arrived and many other things. Tim was their learning curve, and

while he benfitted greatly from their openess and willingness to learn these

two little boys who started this week (6 years after tim started) will have

the benfit of much better prepared teachers and a far more flexible system

to work with. Anyway, long story short, no need to go home for falling

asleep and being tired unless you want it becoz its affecting your child

badly.

sue wong

Re: Kindergarten work

> Jill,

> We had a similar situation when my son was in kindergarten. He is also

the

> first child with DS to attend our home school, and this was really new to

> everyone (still is, and he is in third grade)

>

> After a few weeks, the teacher suggested that he go home after lunch

because

> he gets tired in the afternoon. I found out that they were not modifying

> anything (here the resource teacher does the modifications) and they

really did

> not know what to do with him when he could not do what the other kids were

> doing. At my suggestion, we tried several different things...exercising

to music

> after lunch to get moving again (the whole class did this)...allowing Nick

to

> do a shorter version of what the other kids were doing (ie practicing the

first

> letter of his name instead of the whole name, and building to the whole

name,

> etc) He should work on his IEP goals, and they will get to know his

> abilities as they get to know him. I also did not have a problem if he

worked

> individually with his 1/1 aide occasionally, ie if he would not benefit by

> participating in what the rest of the class was doing (should be rare in

kindergarten).

>

> Inclusion is difficult when the teacher expects the child to fit into how

she

> teaches; it's really about changing what and how the material is taught so

> all children can learn together. That's why it usually benefits all kids

in the

> class. One fantastic incluion teacher told me, " it's not about how I

teach,

> it's about how kids learn and I have to change for them. "

>

> See if his aide can write regularly in the notebook, instead of the

teacher,

> and suggest a standing meeting of the team every 4-6 weeks to monitor

> progress. I found that they will generally try new things when they are

suggested, so

> I suggest politely but firmly. My experience has been that although it's

> never easy, it does get easier. Good luck.

> Donna

>

September 9, 2004

In a message dated 9/7/2004 10:54:21 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

briggsj@... writes:

> I like this teacher, but I know that she is one of those " no hair out of

> place " kind of ladies and everything is always just perfect and smiley in her

> classroom. Isaac doesn't fit that mold and I don't want her to suggest he not

> be there on the off chance that it's because it's not fitting in with her

> ideal class.

>

Jill,

Liam just finished Kindergarten. He was in class of 12 little boys, all with

different levels of ability. He was one of 2 kids with DS in the school.

Most of the work was over his head in a way. There was very little homework he

could do without me. We sat for 30-60 minutes a night. I put my hand over

his and wrote the letters, talking all the time about what we were doing. The

curriculum was very similar if not identical to the one in the 'typical'

classes my friend's son goes to because we compared notes. He learned a lot

this

year.

Technique wise the teacher told me not to worry. Liam would probably not

learn in a linear progression. So they use 'spiral' techniques. They introduce

a concept/letter/number/word/song/game and reinforce it later on. He also

learned a lot from the other kids in the class. It didn't seem to bother them

how nonverbal he is. He's just one of the gang. I'm happy that for first grade

most of the kids will stay together, even though they're transferring to a

different building.

Kathy, Liam's mom( 6)

September 9, 2004

had half day kindergarten last year (that is what is offered

to all kids on our district) and it took a month or two for her not to

be exhausted at the end of the half day. Even my other kids seem to

take awhile to adjust to the new school year, though it is not as

dramatic as with . She is going all day this year is 1st

grade, and I am so thankful that the homework packet is for a week at a

time so that we can work on homework on the weekends because she gets

off the bus and just wants to flop down. She would be a bear right now

if we had to sit down at 3:30 and start homework right away! I would

certainly give it time.

As for modifications, we found that also didn't like to write

(it was really hard for her, and she doesn't like to do things that are

hard, EXCEPT for the monkey bars, which she will work at all recess

until she gets blisters!) The teacher or aide would use a highlighter

to form the letters/numbers she was supposed to write, and then she

could continue to trace while the other students were doing the

independent writing. When she got more comfortable with writing, the

aide would encourage her to write on her own, and then if she

couldn't/wouldn't, she would come back in with the highlighter. Things

like her name came first, then numbers, then writing words with a model

(she copies pretty well). This technique also worked later when they

were trying to write sentences..... would tell the aide what

she wanted to write (with prompting), the aide would write her words out

as she said them, and the would come back and trace. She

still doen't just sit down and write without a hassle, but it's getting

better. Perhaps the OT can suggest some writing practice? Handwriting

Without Tears is a great program.

Also, does your district have an Inclusion Specialist? If so, it is

usually this person's job to assist the classroom teacher in

implementing modifications. We didn't use her last year (because I

didn't know that was her job :-), but as things are moving more quickly

in 1st grade, I have suggested to 's teacher that she contact

the Inclusion Specialist for assistance, if needed. The teacher didn't

even know what the Inclusion Specialist did, and that she could ask for

assistance until I told her.

In terms of " what you get from him at home " , there is frequently a

difference between school and home performance, and there is often no

way to figure out why and what to do about it. For example, last year,

knew all her letter sounds (I knew this for certain because

she sang the song multiple times per day, and if I asked her about a

particular letter, she could tell me the sound... ).. So, I was shocked

when the kindergarten teacher showed my a phonics goal a couple days

before the IEP (I had asked the resource teacher to write one) and said

she thought it was too hard, since didn't know any of her

letter sounds yet. So, the night before the IEP I made a video of her

sitting in front of the computer, saying letters and sounds. Brought

the whole thing to the meeting, just to be told be the teacher.... " hey,

guess what, you're right..... yesterday she told me all the letters and

their sounds! " We see this in many things, and there are also things

she will do at school that we can't get her to do at home. I am

starting to accept that this is her personality, and just like in other

ways, I don't understand why she can " clam up " , " shut down " , or just get

" plain old stubborn " , but as long as she can do it, I am not caring so

much where she does it, as long as both the teacher and I communicate

and know her capabilities.

Good luck....... inclusion can be challenging, but can be really great!

, mom to (8), (6 DS), and (5)

briggsj wrote:

>Isaac has had 2 weeks of all-day kindergarten so far and we thought it was