Re: Missed Recess Question

[Guest guest]

Absolutely you should talk to her teacher. She should be helped, not

punished. Her teacher should have known that...

[Guest guest]

Suzi, definitly bring it up

Bridget

[Guest guest]

Does she receive school OT to help with writing? You might want to point

out to the school that if she is missing out on things like recess, that

maybe she needs help from an OT. Maybe an OT could figure out if your child

needs a specialized writing program to help her. I am not sure if a

resource teacher would have special training in teaching handwriting like an

OT would. Isn't a resource teacher more for math and things like that. I

just figured the SLP would take care of speech and language type issues

(reading, spelling, talking, etc), the OT would take care of issues related

to fine motor and the resource teacher would kind of take care of the rest.

As for missing recess, this is kind of a sore spot with me. I really feel

that movement is crucial to learning. Check out this excellent article

about the importance of recess and learning. Maybe you could show this

article to the teacher.

http://web.stclair.k12.il.us/bassc/newsletr/ot092001.pdf

I forgot to mention that before all of this, you should ask the teacher if

this is actually the case (that your child missed recess). Sometimes we get

half the story from kids. It is best to let the teacher be the one to

verify.

Good luck!

Tricia Morin

North Carolina

<< When and came home from school today, told me that

missed recess because she had to redo her writing.

's handwriting is not as neat as most kids in 1st grade because

she has fine motor control problems. Some days she does better than

others, but it's hit or miss. If she's tired, she can't write as

well.

I don't think that she should have to miss recess because her

handwriting isn't very good. If her writing isn't what the teacher

wants, then I think the teacher should have the resource specialist

(or the OT) work with on it. 's supposed to see the

resource specialist every day, and this seems like a perfect thing

to work on.

One thing about is that she usually does her best. I cannot

say the same about my other kids. usually puts in about

150%.

Should I mention this to the teacher or should I just drop it? I

think I should talk to the teacher.

[Guest guest]

Suzi,

I would talk to the teacher. You might not have the whole story.

At Lindsey's school,no child misses the entire recess,maybe just a portion.

It is obvious that Lindsey has fine motor problems,I would be SO mad if her

recess was taken away for that!

Let us know what you find out.

Jennie

[Guest guest]

She does receive OT for writing and other things. So if

missed recess because of messy writing, then I think she would work

with it with the OT (or the resource specialist or whoever works

with writing). seemed pretty down about it last night. She's

a very hard worker, and I don't want her discouraged.

[Guest guest]

It sounds like the writing is not a discipline issue, but rather related to

her disability. Could you make arrangements to let her stay after school to

finish writing assignments or have her bring home unfinished work so that

she can finish at home? Does the OT, come in to the classroom during the

period when the class works on writing. Maybe they need to reformat the

way/when she receives OT.

Tricia Morin

North Carolina

She does receive OT for writing and other things. So if

missed recess because of messy writing, then I think she would work

with it with the OT (or the resource specialist or whoever works

with writing). seemed pretty down about it last night. She's

a very hard worker, and I don't want her discouraged.

[Guest guest]

Suzi -

I want to echo some of what the others have said - please call the

teacher and ask (EXTREMELY kindly and innocently) for an explanation

of what happened on that day. Say that was " really down " and

you couldn't get the full story out of her. Let her tell you - and,

if she was indeed kept in for recess (or even part of it) because of

a skill she inherently lacks, you need to step in - and I, for one,

wouldn't be terribly innocent about it! Be sure to get the full

story first, though. At that point, even if the teacher couches it

or makes light of it, she will know that you read well and that

she won't get away with it again. Also, make sure your OT is made

FULLY aware of what happened - s/he may be able to explain better to

the teacher why what she did was so inappropriate. Hmmm - she's got

a blind child in her class and she punishes them for not being able

to locate something in a photo - about the same, right? Also,

perhaps it needs to be explained to this teacher that sometimes

's capabilities are better than others - that is something that

is always difficult for them to understand. Perhaps was

already frustrated and not focusing on what she was doing and THAT's

why the teacher kept her in - even so, she needs to be made aware of

it.

One last note: if you find out something troubling and you don't get

the right answers or responses from people, you have alternatives -

school boards, principals, etc. - use them!

Marina

> She does receive OT for writing and other things. So if

> missed recess because of messy writing, then I think she would work

> with it with the OT (or the resource specialist or whoever works

> with writing). seemed pretty down about it last night.

She's

> a very hard worker, and I don't want her discouraged.

[Guest guest]

Well, I talked to the teacher. She made and this little boy

who has hypotonia redo some homework that she gave them. The

teacher told them (and my husband and I) that it was not their

personal best work. The teacher said that they have both done

better in class.

I explained that I watched do the homework, and I even erased

it several times so she could redo it. I explained that she is

tired after school, and she probably doesn't do as well after

school. However, I thought she did her personal best at that time.

I also asked if this could be done during 's time with the

resource specialist.

I'm going to call the OT and talk to her. I may even schedule a

meeting between the teacher, OT, and myself to go over handwriting.

The thing is that 's handwriting is perfectly acceptable. It's

readable. It's probably better than her brother when he was in 1st

grade, but it's not as good as . I also had/have horrible

handwriting. In the day to day of life, it just doesn't really

matter. I'm more concerned about speech, reading, and spelling.

Suzi

[Guest guest]

Suzi,

I think you hit it right on the head when you said the handwriting isn't all

that important. I have atrocious handwriting. That is why I love computers

so much!

I hate hand written notes for this very reason. Not only is my handwriting

not very legible but I also have a hard time getting thoughts out when I am

worrying about if someone will be able to read what I wrote.

Is there something specifically in the school handbook (school curriculum)

about handwriting. What are the standards? To me it sounds like the teacher

might be a bit picky.

It sounds like your plan of action is a good one. Let us know how it turns

out.

I am hoping that you all can come to a compromise so that everyone is happy.

Those are truly the best endings for our kids...when everyone gets along and

can work together. Sometimes it isn't possible but it is something to shoot

for.

Tricia Morin

North Carolina

[Guest guest]

I have horrible handwriting as well. I type everything and use a Palm

pilot to keep my notes and schedule on so I can read them. Then if I have

to give hubby a note, I use the infared and beam it over to his. He can't

read my writing either. Even in college professors were asking if I was

pre-med. :-)

Toni

[Guest guest]

I agree with Tricia about your plan. But even if there is something in the

school handbook or curriculum about handwriting, so what. Modifications can

and should be made in certain circumstances. And poor handwriting of a kid

with fine motor difficulties is one of them. Good luck

[Guest guest]

Lots of kids I know had modification in their IEP's in school so that they

could type things and not have to write them - we have computers and spell

check these days and we can work around our spelling and writing

difficulties and get appropriate modifications. No one should be penalized

for their disability.

[Guest guest]

I would absolutely talk to the teacher about this. No child should feel bad

about themselves or miss recess because of handwriting!! Does she have an

IEP? Perhaps you can get handwriting taken out of the equation for her (if

they are graded on it for eg.) and just leave it to the OT or resource room

or whatever to work on. No need for her to get negative feedback - it

serves no purpose - she is working on it and it's an issue for her - how

does missing recess help other than make her feel bad?