Tag Archives: Pre-K

School’s Out

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Yesterday was the last day for the 2022-23 school year. Now we have a 75 day summer break. In August we’ll have two in pre-k (at two different schools since Noah will still be in ECSE), one in kindergarten, one in first grade, one in second grade, one in third grade, and a sophomore and a senior in high school.

Fritz is all done his junior year. When he unloaded his backpack he saved a pile of stuff and said there was information about applying to college in there because that’s coming up quick. He took AP US History this year and while it was a lot of work he also learned a lot.

Adrian finished his freshman year. He loves DATA in spite of the long bus ride (his best friend is going to another magnet at the same school next year, though, so the bus ride will be a bonus. There were three or four fires set at their school the last few months so he did indeed learn what happens when there is arson. He said he won’t have holidays because he’ll be going to summer school for six weeks (taking art and PE so he can get all the appropriate credits to graduate because of iCSI).

Zeke completed second grade. I have no idea where he got play tennis for what he plans to do over the summer. He’ll be playing some other sports, but not tennis. He doesn’t know why he said that either.

Mayci finished first grade. Of course she said she wants to do her summer workbook this summer because she loves school and anything that looks like school. The year was a little rough due to having a completely inexperienced teacher, but we made it through! I just hope Anthony doesn’t get her next year.

Anthony finished kindergarten. It turns out the kid is crazy smart, incredibly ADHD, and a little bit lazy and stubborn (maybe more like a lot stubborn). If Nicholas doesn’t get the teacher Anthony (and Mayci) had for kindergarten I’m going to be sad because I absolutely love her. Then again, if he has the other kinder teacher we’ll have collected the whole set (when I said that once a principal said they should totally make teacher trading cards so you can collect them all).

Nicholas finished pre-k. By walker he means the way he gets home from school. I always love how little kids answer the what do you want to be when you grow up question. I’m sad that the teacher he (and Mayci and Anthony) had for pre-k is retiring this year so Joel won’t have her. The assistant principal said they hired an amazing replacement, though, and I’ll love her.

Noah has completed pre-k3. I love that he wants to be Noah when he grows up (and even very carefully spelled it out for me). He’s made amazing progress this progress this year and his teachers both said they hope to get him in their class again next year because they just love him. It’ll be nice when he’s in kindergarten and they all go to the same school and no longer have to get him on and off his bus and deal with a second elementary school, though!

And then there’s Joel who got to be the only one at home this whole school year. He got incredibly spoiled and has been my dad’s shadow (not sure who is going to miss the other more – probably my dad since Joel will be busy in school). I love that he said he wants to be a grown up when he grows up.

Pre-K Progress Reports

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Nicholas and Noah got their final pre-k progress reports last week. They both are making progress on asking questions about new concepts and things they don’t understand. They have both mastered holding a writing tool with a functional grip, identifying their name in isolation, and taking to adults at school. Noah has also mastered drawing a person with a head, body, and limbs and Nicholas is making progress on that skill. They both engage in social play with the other children. (I have actually never seen evidence that Noah holds his writing tool correctly or can draw a person and he is only semi-verbal, but they always score him very high while Nicholas’ teacher is more realistic about what the kids can do.)

Cutting Meat

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One of Nicholas’ favorite things to do is cut food into little cubes. He uses a butter knife and it’s impressive how well he cuts with such a not very sharp knife. He said they learned at school (using plastic knives). The other night we had flank steak for dinner and Nicky volunteered to cut the meat into small pieces for his siblings. He was quite focused and very proud of himself for the great job he did.

Pre-K Third Quarter Report Cards

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Nicholas and Noah have done great in pre-k so far this year. They recently got their third quarter report cards. Pre-K kids get grades of 1-4. 1 means they do not demonstrate understanding, 2 means they require teacher support to demonstrate the skill, 3 means they occasionally demonstrate the skill independently, and 4 means they have mastered the skill independently.

Nicholas got a mix of 2s and 3s in self-awareness. The stuff he got 2s in are all related to his ADHD (which we are having trouble finding the right medication for) like waiting his turn, self-regulating, and following through on tasks. He’s doing pretty well with things like hygiene and taking pride in his accomplishments. He got all 2s in self-management (again, all related to ADHD; things like showing flexibility with changes in routine and remaining engaged during play for 20 minutes). In social awareness he got a 2 for accepting another child’s way of doing things and 3s for everything else. In relationship skills he got 2s in things like interacting positively with peers and adults and 3s in things like verbally communicating for different purposes. He got 2s in responsible decision making for things like following classroom and school rules with occasional reminders and a 3 for showing curiosity and trying new approaches. He identified all 26 upper and lowercase letters and knows 25 letter sounds. His stage of writing is letter-like forms or mock letters. He got 2s in everything for emergent literacy (things like blending words from syllables, rhyming, and writing his name legibly). He can rote count to 30 (as high as they were asked to). In emergent math he got a 2 for recognizing patterns and 3s for everything else which includes things like knowing shapes, one to one correspondence, and recognizing numerals. He also got 3s for using sensory language and participating in art and music experiences.

In self-awareness, Noah got 3s for waiting his turn, hygiene, self-regulation, and showing initiative. He got 2s for using feeling words and initiating problem-solving strategies. He got 4s for coordination and balance, small-muscle control, taking initiative, and taking pride in his accomplishments. In self-management he got a 1 for 2- and 3-step directions and a 2 for remaining engaged in group activities for 15 minutes. He got 3s for most things including transitioning without getting upset and using a visual schedule. He got 4s for taking pride in his classroom jobs and remaining engaged in play for 20 minutes. He got all 4s in social awareness. He got all 4s and a 3 (verbally communicating) in relationship skills. He got all 3s and a 4 (showing curiosity and trying new approaches) in responsible decision making. He clearly wasn’t interested in being tested the day they evaluated him because he only recognized 20 uppercase and 15 lowercase letters (he knows all of them), gave the sounds for only 3 letters (he knows almost all of them) and only counted to 10 (he can count to nearly 100). In emergent literacy he got a 4 for intentionally using marks to represent words and then telling what he means and engaging in pre-reading activities. He got 1s in everything else (which of course is age appropriate since he’s a year younger than the pre-k curriculum is designed for. He is in the stage of writing where he makes letter-like forms or mock letters. In emergent math he got 2s for understanding position words and recognizing patterns and 4s for naming common shapes, one-to-one correspondence up to ten items, and recognizing the numerals 0 through 9. He got 4s for using sensory language and participating in art and music experiences in the classroom.

Joel’s Registered for Pre-K

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The documents have been uploaded and the forms filled out and Joel is all registered for pre-k next year. This means in just about six months I’ll suddenly find myself with a lot of extra time with Noah and Joel in Pre-K, Nicholas in kindergarten, Anthony in first grade, Mayci in second grade, Zeke in third grade, Adrian in 10th grade, and Fritz in 12th grade. Sounds kind of like heaven.

Pre-K Progress Reports

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Near the end of the second semester we got Nicky and Noah’s progress reports. Nicky is all over the place thanks to ADHD so he’s having trouble remembering (or, more likely, letting the teacher know he remembers) what he’s been taught. Everything he didn’t get mastery on is also because of his ADHD. Noah knows all 26 uppercase letters and 25 of the lowercase letters. He can count 1-10, skips 11-19, and says 20. He apparently loves when he gets to be in charge of his teacher’s keys. I’m so glad he is able to be in ECSE. It’s made a huge difference for him.

Nicholas has mastered telling his age, pinching things to pick them up, identifying colors, reciting the alphabet, and that the number counted indicates how many there are. He’s progressing on participating in classroom and movement activities as well as following the morning routine. He’s in the social play stage meaning he plays together with others.

Noah has mastered pinching things to pick them up, participating in classroom and movement activities, identifying colors, and reciting the alphabet. He’s progressing on telling his age as well as following the morning routine. He does not yet understand that the number counted indicates how many there are. He’s in the parallel play stage meaning he plays near other children, but does not play with them.

Nicholas and Noah’s First Report Cards

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With the first quarter completed Nicholas and Noah brought home their first report cards. Pre-K kids get grades of 1-4. 1 means they do not demonstrate understanding, 2 means they require teacher support to demonstrate the skill, 3 means they occasionally demonstrate the skill independently, and 4 means they have mastered the skill independently.

Nicholas got all 2’s in self-awareness (this is stuff like waiting turns, using feeling words, and self-regulating). He got all 2’s in self-management as well (this is stuff like remaining focused for 5 minutes, showing flexibility, having good habits of personal safety, and utilizing the visual schedule). He got a 2 in social awareness (using imagination to act out pretend play). He got 2’s in relationship skills (awareness of where his body is in space and respecting personal space and interacting positively with peers and adults). He also got 2’s in responsible decision making (taking care of materials appropriately and following classroom and school rules). He recognizes 12 uppercase and 13 lowercase letters. He got a 2 for intentionally using marks to represent language and verbally sharing the meaning. He is in stage 2 of writing (scribbling). He can rote count to 10.

Noah got all 2’s and a 3 (demonstrates coordination and balance in isolation) in self-awareness. He got all 2’s and a 3 (transitions throughout the day without becoming upset) in self-management. He got a 2 in social awareness. He got a 2 (aware of his body in space) and a 3 (interacts positively with peers and adults) in relationship skills. He got a 2 (following rules) and a 3 (uses materials appropriately) in responsible decision making. He recognizes 20 uppercase and 15 lowercase letters. He got a 2 in intentionally using marks to represent language. He is also in stage 2 of writing. He can rote count to 3.

Pre-K Progress Reports

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Nicholas and Noah got their six week progress reports a couple weeks ago. I like these reports much better than the incredibly long and in-depth checklists their teachers used to have to do. I’m sure their teacher like them better, too.

Nicholas got progressing for says first and last name. He says his last name fine, but usually says Nicky for his first name and his teacher wants him to say Nicholas instead of Nicky. He got mastery for drawing pictures, independently using the restroom, independently feeding himself, and walking, running, and jumping. He got emergent for says teacher’s name (which is funny because he tells me he had fun with his teacher – by name – every day) and telling how he gets home from school (he tells me he’s a car rider, but sometimes says by mommie and daddy so that could be why she put that). His current stage of play is associative.

Noah got emergent for saying his name, saying his teachers name, and telling how he gets home from school. He got progressing for drawing pictures and independently using the restroom. He got mastery for independently feeding himself and walking, running, and jumping. His current stage of play is parallel.