Let's call this post Fifth Grade, Third Time Around
I remember very little about fifth grade. I remember I had Mrs. Kleppner. I remember that I did my first social studies/fair project on the Pyramids at Giza and the horrible time my Dad had cutting the triangles so they would fit together properly. I remember fifth grade was hard; reading comprehension issues made every subject a challenge from word problems in math to class speed reading with a little machine thingie on the board. I always failed those reading this/answer questions sections b/c I could NEVER keep up much less comprehend what was going on. Somehow I managed b/c my Mom wasn't one to help me with school work. If my brother couldn't help me with math, I was screwed. (THANK YOU Dale for being a good brother!)

The state standards are getting pushed into younger age brackets; they are doing some pre-algebra stuff as far as I'm concerned. Here in CA, 5th grade is hard too. Maggie made it through 5th grade well enough. And here we go again - Sean is in 5th grade. His teacher is awesome and a guru about organization and responsibility. Sean gets the pre-algebra stuff and seems to 'get' math overall. (thank goodness!) BUT (you knew there was a but!) he struggles with reading comprehension as I once did. So I'm delving into US History once again. I'm learning that I certainly didn't truly learn a lot OR I've forgotten a ton (I'll wager a little of both, but I did remember the capital of Kansas!). Sean has his first history chapter test tomorrow. We've been going over his study guides, re-reading the chapter and reviewing vocabulary. He is allowed a notes page so I'm typing it for him. There is such a fine line between feeling like I'm doing too much and letting him handle it on his own. I'm just not one of those sink-or-swim kind of Moms I guess. (I had one of those.) He can sit in the pool and tread water forever but he can't learn to butterfly if he isn't helped along. kwim? I absolutely WILL NOT do the work for my children (book reports, dioramas, science fair projects, etc.) but I feel like it's my job to guide them and help them along. He has studied and written out his notes page but I offered to type it for him so he will have it more clearly written. He told me how he wants it laid-out and how to outline stuff. All I'm doing is typing it b/c he has sports commitments.

So tell me, is typing it for him wrong? It's a notes paper. It's not a state project that he has worked on for six weeks and was expected to type himself. He has studied; he has written notes. I sat with him and went over the chapter/sections to make sure he got the BIG PICTURE. ( he tends to have a hard time analyzing stuff)

Am I fretting over this because my Mom didn't do a thing for me academically? (especially as I struggled to even tread water sometimes) She didn't go to parent teacher conferences, ferpetesake.

I am untying some apron strings with Maggie now in middle school. I'm letting her spread her wings (even if they need to be clipped a little). I want my kids to be confident learners so I will continue to guide them academically.