NCEP @ Kind. Question

[omgzombies]

For those of you that have kids in kindergarten, or have had kids in kindergarten.  Did you guys get a sheet approximately once a week letting you know what they were doing?  

We don't, and it feels weird to me.  At the open house they gave us a sheet with a general summary of the units they would be covering over the year, but I have no idea what they are working on at any given time, and it feels like my daughter is going into a black hole at school, and I have no idea what happens there.  

"What did you today at school?"
"I dunnoe"

I guess none of the kindergarten teachers send home regular notices (I don't know about the other grades), and I'm used to our old preschool where the teachers routinely sent out that sort of information.  Do I need to just get used to the fact that I'm out of the loop?  I'm not expecting it to be every week on the nose, but an update once or twice a month would be nice.  Just a quick "this week and next we'll be covering these sight words, and number graphing" sort of thing.  Ideally I'd like to occasionally discuss what she's learning at school with her, but I have no idea what they're doing.  

So what's the norm?  Am I expecting too much?

[epphd]

We have received info AFTER the week - "here's what we did this week!" and it often contains an inkling in to what is up next. I'm trying not to read in to it too much. He's coming home and knows more stuff (like all of a sudden he's skip counting by 5s and 10s, reciting a poem and practicing the alphabet in sign language) so I'm going with it'll all be ok

Coincidentally I'm heading out to "curriculum night" tonight, so I'll report back. I think the transition from daily reports at pre-school/day care to the very limited contact in K is tough.

[darnkatz]

We get a weekly sheet telling about what units they are on and all that jazz. She's in second grade and has gotten those sheets since kindergarten. I'd email the teacher and ask if s/he could give you a brief summary of what your kid is doing every week. I doubt they would mind.

[acr]

We get an email at the beginning of the week with the goals and things to discuss at home. It's pretty thorough.

[One Girl In All The World]

G was in kindy last year, and I'm trying to remember if we did. I don't think so. However, he had nightly homework so we had some idea based on that. His K teacher was fantastic so it didn't really bother me that we didn't get weekly updates. This year the teacher sends weekly email newsletters, and we just got a three or four page packet on the 2-D geometry unit they are about to start.

[omgzombies]

Ok, sounds like the norm is more information. I'll nicely ask for a little bit more info from the teacher and see where it goes.

[ringstrue]

Oh- we got a newsletter each Friday but half the time it never made it to me. We think it's because DD put it in her cubby but not her bag? After a few weeks I emailed the teacher because we kept missing out on events (like hat day!) and then the notices came home more routinely. Then the teacher kinda slacked off with them and they had the same info every week.

We also got worksheets or activity sheets which was sort of nice but then I started getting like 3-5 a day and it made me annoyed after a while.

[ECB]

You need to get used to it. 

in K, we'd get a weekly newsletter that would give us an overview of what was going to be covered and his homework was listed.  That was it.  We didn't get any kind of individual feedback on how he was doing until conferences.

And this is the reality of elemantary school.  It's hard.  It sucks.  But I think they jump right into it to get parents used to this.

Now, in 1st, we have been getting some of his math work sent to us "graded" that we have to return signed, so it's giving us an idea of howhe's doing.

I also take no news as good news.  I figure if he wasn't doing well, we'd hear something.  

[KateAggie]

Our K teacher has a blog, and will send out an email about what they're covering that week, but nothing personal/details about our individual children.

[omgzombies]

Oct 8, 2015 19:29:18 GMT -5 ECB said:

You need to get used to it. 

in K, we'd get a weekly newsletter that would give us an overview of what was going to be covered and his homework was listed.  That was it.  We didn't get any kind of individual feedback on how he was doing until conferences.

And this is the reality of elemantary school.  It's hard.  It sucks.  But I think they jump right into it to get parents used to this.

Now, in 1st, we have been getting some of his math work sent to us "graded" that we have to return signed, so it's giving us an idea of howhe's doing.

I also take no news as good news.  I figure if he wasn't doing well, we'd hear something.  

I don't need individualized info, but a weekly class summary would be nice.  Don't get me wrong, if I wasn't tightly controlling my inner helicopter mom, I would absolutely be asking for weekly status updates on Kit's progress.  All I'm looking for is "this week we're talking about Christopher Columbus".

I did have to chuckle when Kit came home telling me that Columbus discovered Virginia, and he was an awesome explorer.  Sorry kid, I don't know what they said at school, but Columbus never discovered the United States.  So this afternoon we talked about where he actually landed, and about how he was not very nice to the people that already lived there, and that he enslaved and killed a lot of them.  I left out the more horrific atrocities, but at least we established that Columbus in no way discovered America.

[ECB]

Oh, sorry. I thought you meant individualized info. You aren't even getting any general info?? Yeah - kids don't talk. You need a spring board to work with!

[KB]

We get a "Monday Memo" each week. It covers what they'll be working on for the week and any special events that are going on. We don't get any individual feedback unless we email the teacher directly. That is discussed in parent teacher conferences at the end of the quarter.

[earlgreyhot]

We get a summary every to every other week. Plus some optional homework each week.

It's enough to be able to ask DS the right questions to get him talking

[irishbride2]

The school I teach at is also the school DD goes to. I teach 8th, she is in K. It is a prek-12.

All teachers have to post a weekly update every Monday. For me, its generally a forecast of the week to come. For DD, its a summary of last week as well as a forecast. For DD, its incredibly thorough. There are also a ton of pictures from the prior week. We also probably get an email or two a week and something almost daily in her bag.

But parent communication is a huge selling point for our school.

[erbear]

We got nothing like that in K or 1st. They update a blog every week or so but it's vague. I'm sure they are learning something...

[eclaires]

Every year we've gotten weekly info like a newsletter from the teacher about upcoming stuff and what they've been working on. In k and first we also got a calendar that was marked every day with a behavior color so we knew every day about that. Our school also does early fall conferences so you get to know the teacher and see where your kid is and what their goals for the year are.

This year, Jackson is in 3rd so he has a big kid agenda. He writes what he does every day in each subject and at the end of the week we get a newsletter and a work habits grade and a behavior grade.

[pinkdutchtulips]

I'd get a folder full of all of the worksheets and projects they did at the end of the week. That was my clue as to what they did.

I didn't expect weekly handouts covering what was going to be covered in class that week.

[twotrue]

We have a monthly calendar. It tells us what sight words, letters, numbers, etc., they are working on each week. It also has suggested questions and activities to do with the kids.

[Deleted]

We get an email when they are having gym class or library. They send home 2books or a worksheet every Friday that we can play with at home. No rules or requirements. No idea what they do.
But don't ask 'what did you do today?' Ask specific questions. 'Who did you play with?' 'Which books did you read?' Sometimes I throw weird questions at her 'where does the tiger sit in your class?' Then she tells me there is no tiger and we go back and forth and she has described the whole room where the tiger is not.

[lauralala]

DS brings home a weekly newsletter each Monday. It lists the sight words and math skills they will be working on during the week, along with any other info she wants to pass along. He also brings home a daily folder with homework (about 5 minutes a night, usually writing practice), a reading assignment a couple of times a week, and at the end of the week he brings his conduct folder and a packet of the worksheets, projects, etc. that they completed.

I am super happy with this level of communication. My inner helicopter mom is loving his teacher.

[laurenpetro]

I get nothing except the papers they bring home which are just completed worksheets.

[hocus2]

We get a monthly newsletter, but I find it really generic. 

You're not going to know specific in elementary school. However if you really feel you missing out on something key it is OK to ask the teacher.