U.S. Elementary education - what parents need to be aware of

So, as a Adult who has gone through the American public school system and have many friends who have also done the same, I have some thoughts on what could help Indian children succeed.

1. focus of cultivating a healthy self-esteem - I find that many Indian children feel 'less' than their peers, for innocuous things like sports, clothes, looks, food, etc. Helping your children excel socially will eventually help them hold leadership positions within their school organizations. This in turn, makes them highly successful in life, since they are able to independently talk to people of authority for help, mentoring, etc.

2. Sports - There is a fortunate and unfortunate importance given to sports in the US. The health and social benefits are great, but of course, it also means spending more money. If your child is interested in sports, please get them involved - especially if its a team sport. Tennis is fine, I played it, but it really did very little to improve my self-esteem, so I don't recommend it.

3. Math and Science - Public schools are notorious for subpar math and science classes. There is nothing wrong with improving them with Kumon or science clubs. Kumon is only useful for the younger grades, when children don't have much homework. Once their school (usually middle school) is providing enough, I think it's best to continue with the activities available through them.

4. Foreign Language - Foreign language is best learned when children hear and try to interact with other people. Giving them an opportunity to watch foreign movies or talk to people, would give them an edge up, that they would not get otherwise. The friends that have had a chance to use their Spanish while volunteering, get the most satisfaction about learning the language.

 

Resources for Elementary School we did at home, hope this will help other parents. This information is more for the older elementary kids in 4th and 5th grade who have standardized tests during the end of the year.

Math
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Go Math : The school in TX follows this cirriculum, so I purchased this book and would let him work on few exercises over the weekend.
BeeStar ( registered for science, math , GT Math and ELA)
Singapore Math
iXL ( used this in 2nd and 3rd grade, but stopped using in 4th and 5th grade)

English Language Arts
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Reading Comprehension
Encourage Writing: Using example prompts such as this one:

Other Enrichment:
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Get books from library (fiction and non-fiction)
Listening to audio books on a regular basis
BrainPop
CNN Student news (highly recommend this website for older kids, clean comprehensive news in 10 minutes).

Extra Cirricular
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Chess
FLL ( I can provide more information if anybody is interested): If kids are interested in legos, robotics, coding, designing and presenting.
Basketball
Solving puzzles

 

The latest and neatest in this regard is the "Maker Movement" that I'm sure many of you in the US have already heard about. It has had a lot of buzz lately, now going mainstream; I'm mentioning it here for the fresh droves of ambitious Indian parents in the hope that it might encourage them to put their baseball bats away, saving a few knees for better things. While Mum's busy with the kitchen and laundry and being VP at Citibank, Dads can bond with their daughters, fooling around with laser cutters and 3D printers at the TechShop - most major cities are beginning to have one. There's one near me, love it! To find one near you, google 'TechShop' or 'MakerSpace'.

I'm posting this here in the elementary school thread because it's never too early to start, and I assume that most parents, even Dads, will exercise due caution before letting their second-grader loose with a rotary saw. Just kidding, they have appropriate age restrictions depending on the tool/class/project.

Additional links for those who need more persuasion:
Maker Movement in Education - Newsweek
James Fallows on the Maker Movement - Atlantic
Maker Movement Plans to Transform the US Economy - Time

 

That 'it's has' in the post above is annoying me.
Editing window protest!

 

Hi priya,
I'm new to system here.My daughter is also born in nov and i was thinking what to do because of the age cutoff.I felt happy after reading ur message.
what is screening test?
what is prek3 and prek4?
And If cleared the screening test no need to pursue these prek3 and 4?

 

Sneha , I am not sure on pre K things . My daughter did kindegarten in a private school and for first grade , she took the screening test in public school and got enrolled in public school for first grade . Not sure if this helps.

 

Hi
V just moved to LA in march 2017.My daughter is going to join her kindergarten in a public school dis year. The school in which she will b enrolled has not that gud reviews.private schools here r very xpensive.is there any means v can shift her to other public school after joining.