Zachary PT meeting

We had the parent meeting with Zachary's teacher today. Before I get started on that... she showed me she received the Osunas and Rivers Stanley letters. She was very excited to hear that Gramma and Grumpas Stanley letter is on its way also. She will be reading Rivers and Osuna girls Stanley letters today in class. Stanley is currently on his way to Leonard and Michelles. Thank you for the quick returns! Rivers was the first letter received! Yeah Kevin and Kim!!! Zachary's goal is to have Stanley travel the furthest and the most! Leonard and Michelle, you can send him to any of our family members next. Also, on the return address on the envelope you mail to the school, please clearly print your address so that the class (or her?) can write you back. OK, so here's what she had to say about Zachary: Zachary is reading on a DRA Level 8 which is below the level expected for this time of year. He can read the words on DRA Level 8 with 99% accuracy, but read word by word with some short phrases. He also did not detect his miscue which changed the meaning of the end of the story. He also had a lot of difficulty retelling the story - often saying he did not know or telling me general statements instead of details. In the Harcourt reading series, he is asking for less help on the end of story quizzes. Zachary is very inconsistent with comprehension of other stories. Zachary is very inconsistent with improving his writing skills. He is now more able to put his thoughts down on paper. He writes one long sentence - not putting punctuation or capitals. In math he seems to understand most new concepts with just a little extra help. Zachary works well with others and always tries his best. She also admitted that if he was in any other school district in Florida, he would be right where they would want him. But Seminole County literally teaches at a grade and a half higher than any other Florida schools. I am sure that AZ schools don't teach at this level either. I know for a fact Christina wasn't reading at the level that Zachary is now until about the start of 3rd grade. Here is an example in his homework that they expect them to complete by themselves: Add an ending to the base word to complete the sentence. Meg is __________ than Jay. Tall The rock is _________than the soap. Hard The horse is __________of the three Fast The top fish is__________. Long Ice is_________ than water. Cold Write the correct answer: There are ______ kinds of houses around the world. Moved Different Together Her cat is four ____ old. Kind Years Tall One kind of shelter is a ______. Chick House Friend Many people can live together in _______. One room Apartment houses A tent A house on stilts keeps the house ______. In the ice On the sand Above water Of course these seem obvious to us, but to a kid who is still struggling with reading 3 and 4 letter words, this is hard. If I read him the questions he knows the answer. But he cannot do it on his own. They also have to read a book by themselves, then cut out 20 different sentences and place them in the correct order of the story. Math he is ok, with a bit of help. They are working on Groups of Hundreds, Tens and Ones. Also find the pattern and write the missing numbers. 20 23 __ 29 32 __ 38 __ 44. If stories are read to him 3 or more times he can understand it and follow the directions to get an 80%. But on his own, he scores 40% and under. So what does this mean? It means we will probably keep him back. She said he is right at the 70% level. Yes, we COULD put him in 2nd grade, but she said in 2nd grade they expect the student to work independently and they go at an even faster pace. She really feels he will just fall further and further behind. He tries sooo hard, I would hate to see him struggling even harder next year. They hold FCATs (Florida's academic testing) in 3rd grade and she said if he were to fail any of it, that no matter what, he would be held back. I know their FCATs are difficult. At least once a month there is someone complaining in the news about the difficulty of it. Mike and I helped Christina with hers online recently and it was HARD! They purposely put in sentences to confuse and trick the reader. They want you to see that and figure it out. Its not as simple as 2+2=4. We are starting tutoring again April 15. He will go an hour before school 2 days a week. They also have summer school. But if we hold him back I am not going to make him go thru that. Besides we have a lot of things planned for the summer. I want to go with Mike to work as much as possible to see this beautiful state. So what are your thoughts on this? I'd love some feedback. I think its best to keep him back so he can catch up. I don't want him to feel stupid. And who knows, we may move out of this elementary school area, in 2 years, so he'd go to a different elementary, so socially no one would know that he was held back. (unless we move to an entirely different part of the state...Miami.. we would stay in Seminole County. I really like it here.) We are putting Caleb in their VPK. Voluntary Pre Kindergarten in the fall. I hope that it helps him get started early with their standards. Certainly wont hurt!!! I have started a new blog for my recipes. http://myfamilysfavoriterecipes.blogspot.com/ I am posting my families favorite recipes and if there are any others that you enjoy, you can comment them. We are always looking to try new things!! Also be sure that EVERYTIME you read my blog click on the advertisement boxes. Thats all you have to do is click on it, not buy or search the ad. I get paid for every click! Woohoo! This one doesn't have any ads yet, but the recipe one does. I want this site to have them too, but only 1 account per household can get paid. Caleb is on the other computer looking a funny baby videos, and he keeps saying "Look at this cute baby. I miss Elektra. When do I get to see Elektra again?" How sweet.