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Post by Honeysmom on Sept 9, 2004 16:50:22 GMT -5
Honey started school last week and everything has been going pretty well as I expect it to go for him, but I am not sure about a few things. He is in Kindergarden, and I incorrectly assumed that they'd hold his hand a little more than they do. How much independance did your kids have at this age. Here are some of the things that bug me. 1. He is supposed to have hot breakfast at school, but he thinks he has to wait for his teacher to bring him to breakfast as they did last year and she does not. So today I found out that he has not had breakfast yet this year! I'd feed him at home, but he can't eat for an hour or so after he is up. 2. They gave him his own food card (basically a debit card) to keep track of. Had I known this I'd have only put about $5 on his lunch account, instead I put $50. Now the list is longer, but these two really stand out to me. Does anyone else think this is a little too much responsibility for a 5 y/o? We have a IEP meeting comming up and I am wondering if I can put something about breakfast into it. I tried to get him to take something to eat on the bus, but that is not his routine so he won't eat it. He insists that his old teacher will bring him down for breakfast and his current teacher thinks if he is hungry for enough days in a row he will figure it out. She is in for a suprise! She obviously does not realize this is the same kid who didn't go poop for a week just to get his way about wearing a diaper!  Anyhow, is that something I can add into an IEP. Also, when do you cross over to a 504 plan? Or do you have both? This is all too confusing for me!! Becky |
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Post by eaccae on Sept 9, 2004 17:06:36 GMT -5
Unfortunately this sounds about right. One of the reasons we chose private school for my nonadhd daughter this year - only 11 kids with two teachers for a full day! Wish I had done that with adhd DS!!! I would definitely have it put down in the IEP - even if it is a short term goal - that she will take him to breakfast in the beginning while trying to eventually - maybe after Christmas break - have him be more responsible towards the *end* of the year - but something *slowly* ramped up -not something suddenly. One of the things I have battled with the school over - that although DS should be responsible for certain things - one of the things he needs is a routine - if he doesn't get the initial tools - it isn't going to happen. If he can get a routine intially and they "hold his hand" persay on certain things - guess what - he will soon have more independence. If they never do it - he never really gets it. Does that make any sense? (I know what I am trying to say but I am not sure I am getting it out!!)
We don't have a breakfast option at our school so I don't really know how it works - does he get there before the other kids and do other kids get breakfast there? I was wondering if even a buddy system would work? Alot of kindergartners probably wouldn't want to go get their breakfast by themselves - especially in the beginning of the year! There are plenty of children that refuse to get on the school bus! Not to mention - his routine has CHANGED!! It took DS and some others last year a good week to realize that they had to actually go pick up their homework and that the teacher was no longer handing it out. That shift totally messed with a bunch of the children!
The debit card thing sounds ridiculous to me!! I could barely keep track of my college one for crying out loud!! Does the teacher hold them - or could she be responsible for holding it? We have a ticket system for lunch (as if DS would actually EVER keep track of a ticket) - he doesn't buy lunch anymore - but he did K-3rd and I *believe* either the teacher held onto them (for all the kids) or the lunch room just kept track of it themselves. A debit card - with actually money on it - is WAY TOO much for ANY elementary school student, in my opinion!!!
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Post by Honeysmom on Sept 9, 2004 22:14:06 GMT -5
Eaccae,
The debit food card only works at the school so at least if it is spent up on him someone else who was hungry has a full belly.
The way hot breakfast works is that when the busses arrive at school, those who want breakfast go and eat. If they don't, or if they eat at home, they go and play outside. Last year they all went right to the classroom from the bus and then went and ate as a group to ensure that everyone ate. I think I am going to start getting him up earlier and having him eat here. The advantage to hot breakfast is that he gets to sleep later. Right now he gets up at 6:15 to make the bus as it is.
I don't have to option of a private school here. The closest one is 25 miles away, and in the wrong direction of where Avery and I need to go. We are lucky though, our school participates in the SAGE program. I don't remember what it exactly stands for, but the largest class size in the school is 16 kids.
He does have the responsibility of keeping track of the food card on his own. Maybe I am just not ready for this, I don't know. Today the bus brought him home 5 minutes earlier than usual and let him get out alone, not knowing if anyone way home or not, and that is also new. I am not sure what he would do if I was not here, but I know panic would ensue.
Becky
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Post by rosyred45 on Sept 10, 2004 10:22:58 GMT -5
They let him off the bus with out knowing i fanyone was there?  Around here, in Pre-k and K there has to be someone visible and they let the kid off. If no one is visible, they drop them back off at the school. Safety concers for the kid being home alone and all that. Our kids have PIN's that they enter into a thing before they get their lunch, it shows the lady at the front what might be in their account, if they have any charges, and a picture of the child to verify they are using money from their own account-if it's in there. I'm a meany and make my two pay as they go. Tara ran up $10 in a week last year when she PACKED lunch for a week :oSo She is no longer entiltled by ME to buy more than one dessert or extra a day....that's on the list too. I would look into whether or not he could do the buddy system thing, that sounds good. If not, have it written into the IEP since it is school sponsered |
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Post by eaccae on Sept 10, 2004 10:40:33 GMT -5
They have to be in 2nd grade here before they will let them off the bus without a parent. The bus drivers all have phones here - there have been several times (during bad weather or early dismissal) when she has had to call me to arrange a pick up place because there was NO WAY she would be able to get the bus to our driveway without crashing. In K she ended up calling me once when I was in the shower - lost track of time  ! There was one day last year that I was stuck in traffic - I called up DH who was working close by at the time and he made it home about 5 minutes after Alexander - oh the panic!!! After that - we wrote all of the numbers and posted them on the fridge - and if I had an errand I would let him know before hand that if I wasn't home - I would be within minutes and to call me on my cell. We did a test run and he called me up on my cell (of course I was on our road) and he was highly upset that I got home within a minute of him! My fear with the debit card would be that Alexander would DEFINITELY lose it (and he's almost 9) - (gets that from me) - and then nobody's tummy would be getting any fatter!! Kaiti - that is kinda cool with the pin number! I still have no idea how they work it at our school - I know the lunch lady knew DS as he was down there everyday for 4 years! But we also have no cafeteria - so the kids would order their lunch in the morning (don't know if they had to go the lunch room or if they did it in class) and then a couple of kids would go pick up a box with the lunches in it and bring it back. Becky - how nice that there is such a small class size. Isabella is going to the private Kindergarten at her preschool - it only goes up to K but that is okay - I can't even afford it now - would never be able to do it for 1st! (I really wish I had known about it for Alexander way back when! But then again - I didn't know about the adhd or that he would have a nightmare kindergarten teacher either) We have a bunch of private schools around her - 3 others in our town alone! But they are too expensive! But that class size is nice! ;D |
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