Posts by Susan Nguyen54

Hey everyone :-) This might be a bit off-topic, but I just need to vent for a second.
My kid has had straight A's through first and second grade and is always on their best behavior, yet they haven't received a single award or certificate... I still keep all of mine tucked away in my files; seeing them always brings a smile to my face. It honestly breaks my heart that schools deprive kids of that kind of recognition. At our local elementary school, apparently the rule is that you only get an honor roll certificate at the end of fourth grade if you've maintained perfect grades the whole time. Personally, I think a little win in first or second grade means way more to a child than some big certificate when they're already heading toward middle school.

Summer, if I notice she nailed ten invoices perfectly but messed up the eleventh one, I don't point out the exact error. I just flag the column where things went sideways, and she figures out what happened and fixes it herself. Most of her mistakes happen there, but even if she slips up on those multi-part projects—you know, the ones with all the little sub-tasks—I still don't give her the answer. I just mark the specific task. She has to hunt down the mistake and correct it. It honestly takes her maybe a minute or two tops.

I wanted to pick the brains of the experts here (since you're all gathered :-) ). What should I make of a kid who nails the heavy lifting but constantly trips up on the simple stuff? Yesterday, I was messaging Klokanica about her work, and she missed four problems. The "meat and potatoes" math was perfect, but she messed up where she had to flip a shape to compare it, count triangles, or count squares. Basically, whenever it required visual recognition, she stumbled. She’s pulling almost straight A's in math and catches on really fast in class. Before any tests, we review together—I don't give her extra practice at home unless there's an upcoming exam—but whatever homework she does, she gets basically 100% right.
On her last assignment—not a test, but still graded—she got a C. Even though her calculations were spot on for the last two problems, she mixed up the terminology for multiplication and division. She actually mastered those concepts practically overnight, but then on the test, she swapped them; she called the division terms the multiplication ones and vice versa. She tells me she just gets confused; she’ll look at one question and accidentally write the answer for another. Honestly, sometimes her grades drive me crazy because I see exactly where she slips up. On the other hand, I'm happy because I know she actually understands the material. She flew through the first three multi-step problems without a single mistake. During the first semester, she got a B on a test. We didn't really prep for that one since topics like length and lines always felt more like a joke to her than serious math, but she still lost points because she forgot to use a dash between two letters representing length, and then used lowercase instead of uppercase somewhere else. The rest of the test was flawless, but those tiny errors dragged her down. At the end of the day, I just care that she knows the material, but it's frustrating when she keeps making these silly little mistakes...

By summer, first grade feels like this massive life pivot for them. In June, they’re still basically in preschool, just playing around and singing songs. Then suddenly, by September, they have to grow up overnight. They're expected to sit at desks, stay quiet, and actually listen to the teacher.

At our local elementary school, the first graders are out on the big playground during recess with all the older kids—which is something I’d honestly ban. It's such a huge jump for them because they’re still little. Just a few months ago, they had daycare teachers watching their every move, so they aren't used to being thrown into a crowd like that without constant supervision. It leaves them feeling a bit overwhelmed or even intimidated. While they're trying to adjust to that, the schoolwork starts piling up too. I stepped in to help my daughter quite a bit during her first year.
If she hit a tough math problem, I never used phrases like, "Okay, you need to add these two numbers and then subtract that one."
Instead, I'd say, "You guys already did this in class and it wasn't hard, you know how to do it... just read it again." Then I'd just wait by her side while she worked through it until she figured it out herself. As time went on, she got way more independent. By the second half of second grade, I'd check her homework, and if there was a mistake, I’d just make a note of it so she could fix it herself. Before a big test, I'll give her some practice problems or a mock quiz to see how she's doing. She studies (I don't get those people who claim kids in grades K-4 shouldn't have to study and should just absorb everything in class). Sure, they pick up a lot during school hours, but they really need to review at home, especially for science. Once she thinks she knows it, she comes to me, and I'll tell her if she's ready or if she needs to keep going.

Hey there.

I was wondering if anyone here has actually used one of those Silvercrest sewing machines from Walmart? They’re going on sale soon for $233...

Personally, I’ve always been a fan of the German education system. It feels way more effective than what we have here in the States. Like Susan Nguyen54 mentioned, everything is lumped together in one big group here, whereas over there, they start tracking students as early as fifth grade. I'm not entirely sure on all the details, but I think it's also possible to switch tracks—like, if you're crushing it in a vocational program, you can move up to a prep school track, and if your grades slip, you move back down. I actually love that approach. It pushes kids to work hard from a young age and teaches them that they have to earn their place. It shows them that they actually have choices in life... which isn't really how our elementary schools operate. Plus, kids who might not be academic superstars in primary school can find their niche through those specialized programs. It helps them find success on their own terms and build some actual confidence. Maybe that boost in self-esteem is exactly what eventually drives them to aim higher and try for the more advanced tracks later on.

Hey ladies 🙂

I noticed someone mentioned Katja making custom greeting cards here...
I haven't been able to track her down on these forums (not that I've been digging for hours) 🙈
If anyone could point me in the right direction or let me know where to find her—and if it's possible to see some of her work—that would be awesome. 😁