A question that arose from my last post about Ant being gifted was how his needs were being met at school. I’m not concerned about it at all. Why? Well, remember my 3-day post about the charter school? I mentioned a little bit how the curriculum was advanced and fast paced for the quick learners, but also repetitive for the slower learners. As an illustration, here’s what the third grade did during the two hours I volunteered this week.

When I arrived in the middle of the morning, the students were just coming back from a drink/bathroom break after PE so they were all fresh and ready to work in the classroom.

Daily math problems: They graded and corrected the math problems they worked on individually when they first got to school. These are about 5 problems ranging from addition and subtraction (with carrying and borrowing) of four-digit numbers to reducing fractions to adding and subtracting fractions with different denominators to story problems.

Character Education: The teacher said she was driving home yesterday in her car when someone cut her off. She told the students that she got so mad that she sped up and crashed into the back of the car that cut her off. Some students laughed while others said ‘no way’. The teacher laughed and told them no, that she didn’t really crash into that other car and asked the students what they thought she did. Some said she honked; others said she sped up and then cut in front of the other car. She shook her head and said she just let it go. Sometimes people do something rude to us, and sometimes we just need to let it go.

Another part of the character education is that they memorize and recite some inspiring poems and quotes and make up actions to go along with them. The class worked on memorizing a few of them yesterday as they stood at the front of the classroom like they were giving a choir performance.

Timed Math Minutes: If a student masters their addition facts, they move on to subtraction, then multiplication, then division, then mixed and more complex problems.

Math concept board instruction: Everyone is expected to say (in unison) the steps of solving several problems on the board while the teacher writes their answers. They go over time, geometry (area and perimeter), rounding, fractions, place values, patterns, metric conversions, etc. Here’s an example the 2nd grade teacher gave me last year when she asked me to review the students’ math tests with them.

      3,423
    - 1,287

Teacher: What operation are we doing here? 
Kids: subtraction!
Teacher:  (pointing to top # ) This is called the ___?
Kids: minuend!
Teacher: (pointing to bottom #) and this is the ___ ?
Kids:  subtrahend!
Teacher: and below we get the ___?
Kids:  difference!
Teacher:  We start in the ___?   
Kids: Smallest place value which is furthest to the right!
Teacher:  In this case that place value is ___?
Kids: the ones!
Teacher:  Let’s do it! 
The kids do all of this next part as the teacher listens and writes.
Kids: (ones place) 3 minus 7 can’t do it, bottom bigger, better borrow!  Go next door and ask for more.  Cross out the 2 and that leaves 1.  Add 10 to three and that makes 13.  13 - 7 is 6.   6 down.
Kids: (tens place) 1 - 8  can’t do it bottom bigger, better borrow!  Go next door and ask for more!  Cross out the 4 and that leaves 3.  Add 10 to 1 and that makes 11.  11 - 8 is 3.  3 down.
Kids: (hundreds place) 3 - 2 is 1.  1 down.
Kids: (thousands place) 3 - 1 is 2.  2 down.
Kids: Don’t forget the comma!
Teacher: Which goes where? 
Kids:  Between the 2 and 1. 
Teacher: Our difference is ___? 
Kids:  Two thousand, one hundred, thirty-six! (2,136, the teacher points to the #’s and the comma when they say ‘thousand’).

Shurley English instruction: I can’t describe the method any better than the Shurley website. I just regret my teachers didn’t use it when I was in school. I know what an adjective is because I did a lot of Mad Libs when I was a kid. Ant knows grammar much better than I do.

Vocabulary: The class went back to the front of the class to perform their vocabulary routine. First, they say a set of words and their definitions in unison, and then they perform a little paragraph that uses all of the word set. The kids have made up actions for it.

Bob has a voracious appetite for M&Ms. He is indiscriminate about which M&M he eats. The Hershey’s corporation holds him most eminent of all the M&M eaters in the world. Once he had a dream that he was steeped with M&M juice. His closet is replete with M&Ms. He’s opening the door. LOOK OUT!

A worksheet: The students worked individually on a worksheet. I was in the middle of grading their geography and map making worksheets from the previous week, so I didn’t see what subject this one covered.

Recess: As the students completed the worksheet, they were allowed to go outside for recess. I like how recess is a tool to motivate the kids to get their work done.

With this routine the class did in just two hours, I realized there’s absolutely no way that Ant could be bored or unchallenged as he’s having fun performing, learning through repetition, and pressing himself to do his best quickly so he can have playtime. There’s no need for him to be pulled out for a special class. Every grade has different, but just as rigorous, routines so I don’t fear for Ant’s future education (unless we move out of the area).