She can't pay attention, ya'll
The kid brought home her report card last week. She is graded on a scale of 1-4.
1 = Does not meet expectations
2 = Partially meets expectations
3 = Meets expectations
4 = Exceeds expectations
She got lots of 3s and a few 4s in areas like math, science, reading, history, and social studies. She is reading above grade level. Academically, I'd say that my little smartie does fine.
She did receive some 2s, though. Most of them are clustered under an area called "Life Long Learning Skills." The 2s were in:
"She does struggle with not talking while others are talking and respecting the speaker."
"A does have some self-control issues. She is often times distracted during instruction and work time by objects in her desk or talking to others."
"I do sometimes ask her to slide her desk away from others so she is able to focus and complete her work."
There were good comments, too, of course. An example: "A is a very accurate, smooth, fluent, expressive reader."
I'm happy that my daughter is doing fairly well academically, but I don't know what to say or think about the fact that she seems to tank when it comes to "Life Long Learning Skills." I can't help but think that these are traits I cannot fix. I'd have to re-scramble her DNA or something. If she was having trouble with reading, we'd just read more. We'd work on it. When I had a conference with her teacher a few weeks ago, I asked her if she thought I should have my daughter tested for ADD/ADHD. She said that it wouldn't hurt but that she didn't think my daughter was an obvious case. She said that with some kids, she can tell by about 9:00 a.m. on the first day of school if they have it. With my child, she said that she can see shades of ADD but that it's not a given in her case.
So, I think I'll just wait and talk to her doctor in May when she goes in for her annual wellness exam (when she turns nine). Until then, I think all I can really do is to remind her regularly to listen and be respectful at school. Obviously, we have some of the same issues at home with not listening, inability to focus, etc. I also know that I need to remember all of the awesome things about my kid: she's creative, smart, friendly, and friendly. Note to self: remember to ask the kid what she has in her desk that's so amazing (and then, whatever it is, threaten to take it away).
On a somewhat related note, we're trying a "chore jar" on for size. I modeled it after a chore jar that my friend Sarah uses for her boys. Do you like how I used the Old English font to make the chores seem super fancy and desirable? She gets paid on a per-chore basis. So far I can't say that she's wildly enthusiastic about it. However, in time I hope she will have a better understanding of the correlation between work and money. And if someone wants to buy ugly clothes from Justice . . .
1 = Does not meet expectations
2 = Partially meets expectations
3 = Meets expectations
4 = Exceeds expectations
She got lots of 3s and a few 4s in areas like math, science, reading, history, and social studies. She is reading above grade level. Academically, I'd say that my little smartie does fine.
She did receive some 2s, though. Most of them are clustered under an area called "Life Long Learning Skills." The 2s were in:
- Follows school/classroom rules and directions.
- Demonstrates self-control.
- Works independently.
"She does struggle with not talking while others are talking and respecting the speaker."
"A does have some self-control issues. She is often times distracted during instruction and work time by objects in her desk or talking to others."
"I do sometimes ask her to slide her desk away from others so she is able to focus and complete her work."
There were good comments, too, of course. An example: "A is a very accurate, smooth, fluent, expressive reader."
I'm happy that my daughter is doing fairly well academically, but I don't know what to say or think about the fact that she seems to tank when it comes to "Life Long Learning Skills." I can't help but think that these are traits I cannot fix. I'd have to re-scramble her DNA or something. If she was having trouble with reading, we'd just read more. We'd work on it. When I had a conference with her teacher a few weeks ago, I asked her if she thought I should have my daughter tested for ADD/ADHD. She said that it wouldn't hurt but that she didn't think my daughter was an obvious case. She said that with some kids, she can tell by about 9:00 a.m. on the first day of school if they have it. With my child, she said that she can see shades of ADD but that it's not a given in her case.
So, I think I'll just wait and talk to her doctor in May when she goes in for her annual wellness exam (when she turns nine). Until then, I think all I can really do is to remind her regularly to listen and be respectful at school. Obviously, we have some of the same issues at home with not listening, inability to focus, etc. I also know that I need to remember all of the awesome things about my kid: she's creative, smart, friendly, and friendly. Note to self: remember to ask the kid what she has in her desk that's so amazing (and then, whatever it is, threaten to take it away).
On a somewhat related note, we're trying a "chore jar" on for size. I modeled it after a chore jar that my friend Sarah uses for her boys. Do you like how I used the Old English font to make the chores seem super fancy and desirable? She gets paid on a per-chore basis. So far I can't say that she's wildly enthusiastic about it. However, in time I hope she will have a better understanding of the correlation between work and money. And if someone wants to buy ugly clothes from Justice . . .
Comments
Bug gets very similar grades on her report card. Her teacher last year asked of I have considered medicating her. HELL no! Maybe our girls do have a bit of ADD, but I'm not a fan of medicating someone just because they're bored at school!
I gave Bug a spiral notebook to take to school. I told her that whenever she's finished with her work, she could write in the notebook. Now she writes little stories all the time, and it's really helped to improve her behavior. Maybe you could try to something like that, something that A is really interested in? Just a thought!