I am trying to work out whether or not to keep my son in his private school - it costs $450 a month, not extortionate, but we are struggling to pay it, as I am a SAHM right now.
My husband says it is important to give him the best, and I agree, but not at the expenses of us having to live in a tiny trailer, and never have a vacation, or new clothes.
Anyway, right now in math, my son has just completed all his multiplication, he knows them all. they are doing addition and subtraction with carrying and borrowing, adding and subtracting simple fractions, advanced time telling, word problems involving multiplication, simple geometry, greater and lesser symbols, rounding large numbers.
they have to read 16 chapter books each term, they do coding. spelling tests consist of words such as beautiful and whichever (longer words) they do cursive writing.
science wise, they are doing simple stuff like invertebrates mammals and stuff, PE they mostly just play games like tag and dodgeball, kickball and the like. music they just sing, mainly.
I was wondering if this school is ahead, or average, or below - I need a reference point, so I can decide whether it is worth keeping him in it, or trying out the local public school. He has one or two good friends and he is happy there, so I don't want to move him, and I could try and get a part time job, then that would of course mean childcare costs for my LO.
What you are describing is about where my daughter is at in her public school. (i thought it was a little much for second grade personally) if you are worried about it, put him in public school and hire a tutor. That would certainly be cheaper.
Im from a big city in Texas so I dont know if its any different
That sounds pretty much like what my son is doing in his public school 2nd grade. Also charting, graphing, Venn diagrams, etc.
Academically the math and reading they are doing sound well ahead of typical second grade in public schools around here. Multiplication tables usually aren't until third grade in many systems, and fractions are third to fourth grade. Sixteen chapter books is a lot for one term, though I'm not sure what you mean by "coding."
Check whether the local public school system has a "gifted and talented" program or (another term for the same thing) "advanced academics" program. He may qualify for such a program and that could solve your money problem while also getting him a good and challenging education. Ask to talk directly to a GT or AA instructor, ask how kids who are not already in public school test to get into those programs, etc. Fiind out if the programs are "pull-out" (kids get some higher-level instruction once or a few times a week, but are in a "regular" base classroom most of the time for most subjects) or whether the system has "centers" where the kids are in classes that are all-GT instruction, all the time, in all subjects. It will be up to you to determine whether it's right for your son.
A good education is priceless, absolutely, but you must also think ahead to whether you'll be able to afford college for both kids if you spend everything before they hit college age. You and your husband should think about retirement for yourselves too. Once both kids are older, you may be able to work full-time to help if you and your husband both decide to stay with private schools.
Homeschool him! We are homeschooling our kids right now, and my son is 6 and doing second-grade work; and my daughter is 8 and doing third-grade work. The great thing about homeschooling is that your son would be able to work at his own pace, which means if he is advanced than he can work ahead of whatever "grade level" he's at. Homeschooling would be much cheaper than a private school, you could enroll him in lots of different classes and activities to keep him socializing with other kids and learning lots of new things, and you would know that he is getting a good education because you would be the one teaching him.
Just a thought. :-)
Honestly, I don't think it matters if your son is ahead or behind the public school - it will all wash out at some point. You need to get your finances in order and it doesn't sound like private school is where you ought to be spending those funds. If an emergency came up, do you have the money in savings to deal with it? (car breaks down and you need a new car?). Instead of wondering where your son is in regards to other kids, I would go and talk to a financial planner and see what you need to do to be on track to have a good financial plan. PLAN on buying a house - make the PLAN.
Good luck!
L.
I would call your local public school and see if you can get a guideline of what they teach in 2nd grade. It depends on what the teaching system is. The Becca(sp) system is the older system that the public school systems (here in FL at least) used to use and the private schools now use it. Honestly, the old system, to me anyways, seems to start off faster than the new system, but then the public schools catch up. every school district is different in what they teach and expect out of the children, so i would definitely call and get a printout. or check to see if they have a website and any info on that.
Sounds close to what our son is doing, except for the multiplication & cursive. He has yet to begin either of those.
Keep your child in private school as long as you can. I've dealt with public schools for 3 generations and it's worse today than I ever thought it could be. It's not only the curriculum, but it's also the caliber of people with whom your child will interact and emulate. I'd scrub floors today if I had a school-aged child to keep him in private school. That or I would home school. The children I meet who are home schooled are much more articulate and have better manners.
Hi, Allison!
As parents we have so many incredibly important decisions to make for our children. Education is a necessity. My grandfather paid it forward to make sure that my brother and I went to the best school where we lived. He provided a priceless gift. It was absolutely worth it. I am now doing the same for my daughter in the spirit he taught me. I checked out the public school my daughter would be attending. And then I kept looking. My brother encouraged me to consider homeschooling. I did. And I decided to place my child in private school. She is in a school very similar to the one I attended. My husband and I accept the sacrifice. I am impressed with the curriculum your son is working on. Is he is doing well there and is it a good fit for him? Try to remember the reasons you and your husband chose this school to begin with. Do they still apply and can you continue to support him going there? Sometimes we have to make changes beyond our control. If you have a choice try to make the best decision for your son and for your family. In my opinion, if you can manage it, he should stay where he is. Best wishes:)
Hi,
My 1st grader is doing everything you mentioned including algebra, BUT he's in a gifted program at a public school. Public school's educational levels vary according to neighborhoods and socioeconomics. In the Highland Park neighborhood of Dallas, several of the schools are Blue Ribbon status. Friso ISD and Plano ISD have some of the best public schools in the nation and Plano ISD continues to produce the highest number of National Merit scholars in the entire state of Texas. I've had children in private and public school. Maybe you need to meet with the principles of public schools in your neighborhood and see what they're doing with their students and make a pros and cons list compared to the private school your child is in. I'm not advocating one over the other because there are no perfect institutions. Hope that helps. Wish you the best.
If you discover that he's ahead than traditional second graders, you may want to consider applying for a charter school. Harmony Schools (http://hsadallas.org) & Uplift Education (www.uplifteducation.org) have excellent schools. I don't know what would be close to your home, but you might want to research it. My son's school is excellent academically, has the freedom to adjust curriculum and is free. That's an additional option to the district public school. Most charters are public schools that use a lottery system to pick their students.
Well we have three kids. The work your second grader is currently doing seems to be on track what my son did in second/third grade in our school district.
I agree with both you and your husband..crazy huh! The reason I agree with your husband is grade school has becoming so competive. I dont mean between the parents/kids. I am talking about the school itself. It has become competive globally.
It stinks you have to live in a tiny trailer do he is able to go to a good school.
My oldest is in 5th grade. He gets 1-2 hard test a week. The whole school year it has been like this . Fourth grade was the same thing. This year he receives on average 2 hrs of homework every night. He is only 11yrs. He is pleasant about it.
I understand your frustration. It bothers me on a regular basis. We want to move before our oldest reaches hs. Our local hs is huge and we are concerned he will be lost in the massive number of kids attending that school.
Having taught second grade for 8 years, and my son is now in second grade, I can say that your son's math curriculum is ahead of most public schools in Texas. He is working on end of second grade and 3rd grade stuff. I taught 3rd for a couple years, too. I say keep him where he is if possible. I'm not sure which district you are in but I have heard some bad stuff about some of the districts in that area. A great education is much more important than new clothes or a big house. Can you hang in there until your LO starts school? Then you could get a job.
I'm not sure where my daughter's school ranks, but your son's math is a little more accelerated than our public school. My daughter is in 3rd grade and has been learning multiplication, fractions (just started this week), and word problems. They also are just now allowed to use to cursive even though they have been practicing it since last year. The other things you mentioned are typical of what she learned in 2nd grade. Since the school year is almost over maybe considering switching him for 3rd grade. You can go to the public school and speak to a 3rd grade teacher to get an idea of what he will be expected to know and what he will learn. That would give you a good idea of where his current school is compared to the public school he would attend. I know my daughter's teacher had a packet at the beginning of the year outlining everything she would learn. Maybe the school in your area does something like this too.
Sounds similar to my 2nd grader - she has been doing fractions, reading chapter books, etc. I don't think she's done any geometry or cursive. . . .
We talked about doing private school - we had her in a private preschool but because of finances ended up putting her in public school. Because it is public school and we don't have to pay extra for it, I can afford to only work part-time (like 10 hrs a week) and I am actively involved in her school. Just my humble opinion, but I think she does better for having me there, and I don't think she is missing much at all by being in public school. I've never once regretted the decision. (and I have a lo at home as well who I get to spend my days with AND she gets to "help" up at her sister's school so by the time she starts she'll be super-comfortable there)
The math, cursive, and spelling seem in line with my 3rd grader at public school. My 3rd grader, however, only does optional reading and has no reading assignments. And we go to a good school! So.....in making your decision, your son would likely be repeating curriculum at a 3rd grade public school next year.
In Texas, I'd say he's AHEAD of his public school peers. I taught 2nd grade in a low-socio-economic area. Of 20 kids in my class, maybe one or two were on chapter books. Most were reading small Clifford and Mrs. Nelson Is Missing type books.
You can see what the guidelines are that all public schools teach their second graders here http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=6148
Scroll down and read each subject (pages will start in Kinder and go up) or scroll down farther and click on 2nd grade TEKS.
You could also google "TAKS TEST" and the first link will give you old "release tests" that are just old exams given to public school children all over Texas. They start in 3rd grade. But you could give your son some of those problems/stories and see how he does. (The test is given towards the END of 3rd grade btw). I would say that likely, with the math, your son would know HOW to solve some of the problems (subtracting fractions) but may not WHEN to subtraction of fractions is to be used based on the wording of the math problem scenario.
In other words - sounds like your son is ahead of public school 2nd graders, yet only slightly. The application of these skills has yet to mature and I'd guess he is at about the same level as his peers in that sense.
