Unsure of How to Help My 3Rd Grader with Learning

I am a school music teacher but i am also a reading interventionalist for struggling student, so im a little qualified to respond.
With the math, how are his grades calculated? If he completes his worksheet with no problem it may not be him, it may be the testing procedures, or how his teacher grades him.
Reading- what is he having trouble on? there are usually specific things that will hold a student back from reading. Sounds, segmenting, blending? i think his teacher should be able to tell you, and then you can work from there. Im not sure how leapfrog explorer is, and i just know the intervention program i use and it's for small groups. Figure out what the problem is, the teacher should KNOW, it's her job. hope this helps!

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Hi, before spending money on any program(leapfrog, hooked on phonics,etc) please talk to your child's teacher. Perhaps he could qualify for extra help at school, sometimes during the day. I would be proactive and let the teacher know your focus is on helping your child learn and not placing blame on the school, teachers, program, etc...

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Changing schools is stressful for a youngster, so don't be surprised if he flounders for a while. Talk to your son, but don't lecture. What you really want to do is listen to him talk to you about school. Find out his take on the school, the other kids, the teachers, the playground, everything.

He obviously knows his math. It might be the classroom that's getting to him right now. Have you talked with the teacher? You don't even want to think about moving your son again (more stress!) before you do this.

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I would start with actually talking to his teacher. Are you checking his math homework to make sure it's correct? You say he's doing it unassisted, if it's all correct, then maybe he isn't handing it in when he gets to school, maybe he isn't completing tests or class work? There are a lot more questions you need answers to before you can move on. Start by talking with his teacher and finding out the real issues. Also, ask his teacher what are some easy things you can do at home to help him.

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Talk with your teacher, guidance counselor, principal. Important to make a relationship with the people at the school, communicate and then be educated so you can guide your child in his/her education. Please make yourself available to these people. It will put your mind to rest.
Blessings

1 mom found this helpful

Changing schools can be tough...I would talk to him and make sure it is not anything going on at school that is bothering him.

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Put him back where he was doing well.
best, k

Talk to the teacher. Every school has different standards. For example, our county school's first grade is about the equivalent of a neighboring schools kindergarten. Maybe his new school has higher standards than the old or he is just trying to figure things out. When I was around that grade level I would do the work but not turn it in because it wasn't cool to do your homework and it was cool to go to the office. This teacher may also be teaching it differently. The other thing you may want to do is check his vision to see if he is seeing correctly.

The problem may not be academic but emotional. Changing schools is huge and he may be acting out in a way that he knows will get noticed and perhaps moved back to his old school. Make sure he knows why you moved him and that going back is not an option. Insulating our kids when we have financial issues does them a huge disservice. They need to know when cash is tight and begin to understand about fiscal responsibility and savings. This may prove to be a great teaching opportunity for you. Good Luck!

I am not sure what area you live in, but in our county we have some different choices for situations just like this. My kids attend a school that is a title 1 school, so they are eligible to attend free tutoring, paid for by the school system, for 25 sessions, at the tutoring program of my choice. I just enrolled both of my kids at Sylvan for tutoring, one in math and 1 in reading. After the 25 hour sessions, the kids will be retested and hopefully will be at grade level or above. If they are not I then have the option of keeping them there at my own expense, or looking into other tutoring options in our county. Sylvan has assured me that in the past they have had great success with the 25 hour program and getting the kids who were having difficulty back to at least their grade level, if not a little above. Most towns and states have these programs since it is a federal program, so I would check into that before you move the child again. You must have had reasons for the move to begin with, so I say try everything you can first before changing him again. Good luck!

Get him workups in several areas. He needs a developmental optometrist, an auditory processing evaluation, and an occupational therapy eval to find out how his body is processing information in all areas. Usually it turns out to be all 3. Also if your son did not crawl correctly as a baby for 4-6 months, there will be some retained reflexes that keep them from higher order learning. SOme great books are Disconnected Kids and Reflexes, Learning and Behavior.

Talk to his teacher and see what is going on. If he's doing his math at home and you are checking it and it is right then I don't understand how he could be failing. Or do you not check his homework? There are several homework help websites that are great. I found quite a few for my niece and emailed them to her. She is now getting A's and B's and has been on the honor roll the past two years. The homework websites really work and are free. I always read with my girls but what I did is I read a page and they each read a page. You don't say if he is reading or your doing the reading. My youngest daughter always liked to lay on the bed with me and read her Library books to me. Both of my girls have graduated from USF with honors so apparently I did something right.

My son is a 3rd grader w/ASD. The only progress he's making thus far is in gross-motor skills. Ask his teacher for help & suggestions before making any changes with his placement. Best of luck!