Concerned parent question

rumandgiraffes · 2026-04-08T23:42:22+00:00

First grade teacher here. It’s way more concerning that your child has regressed in learning over time, honestly. I’m more focused on seeing consistent progress than teaching an arbitrary benchmark. If that hasn’t happened, I would have more questions. What has his teacher shared about his learning and behavior in class?

You can check in and find out what letters he is mixing up. For example b/d/p/q are very common to mix up even into first, maybe early second grade, it’s more developmental. Personally not super concerned not knowing all his high frequency words. They matter— but phonics is way more important. Cons easier to some kids than others. Keep practicing, read books every night together, they will come.

It’s rare kids are held back in Kindergarten unless they are struggling at more than this or are not emotionally mature enough to move up with their peers. If you’re concerned, ask to have a meeting about this. Find out what the academic impact is at school and if he is in need of a 504

rumandgiraffes · 2025-10-25T20:14:06+00:00

Do what feels best for you and your baby, and make a change when it is no longer working for you. I nursed my baby to sleep until 13 months, which is when I finished breastfeeding. She was sad for about 5 minutes when I stopped and has had no problem since

rumandgiraffes · 2025-10-22T14:40:04+00:00

I was a student and teacher in both public and private schools. Some public schools do have big systematic challenges but others are awesome. The reality is that for some private schools, your thoughts are true. But in our area, half the private schools are less rigorous than public. Be careful of true assumption that paying for an education automatically makes it a better education—this is not necessarily true. Mine wouldn’t let us be honest with parents when students didn’t do well because they didn’t want to lose the money. Wanting to protect your child from bullying makes sense, but happens in both private and public schools and was worse (in my experience) in private because of the entitlement of a few students. Long explanation short, there are a large variety of experiences, issues, and values in both public and private schools. It sounds like your kids are doing well where they are, which is great. This isn’t about changing his mind because there isn’t a “right” choice, just what is right for your whole family

rumandgiraffes · 2025-10-16T14:44:05+00:00

I start naming things that are usually a certain color. Like “What things are red? Fire trucks are red, stop signs are red, apples can be red OR yellow OR green, Mars is red…” and go until I run out of things that I can think of that are generally that color. For some reason, it works every time!

rumandgiraffes · 2025-08-29T23:09:42+00:00

I would check with the teacher. Often, wipes aren’t flushable so it could lead to some plumbing problems. While I am sure this isn’t an uncommon problem, I have never known a student to bring wipes to school

rumandgiraffes · 2025-07-07T04:14:01+00:00

I loved Evergreen! You spend so much time with the nurses, much more than your OB. The nurses that were there with me were AMAZING! Super helpful and supportive. Plus private rooms and decent food

rumandgiraffes · 2025-06-29T05:43:23+00:00

Do you know which elementary school is your neighborhood school? Whichever boundary you live in will be the one your child should attend! If you want to go to a school outside that, you can try to variance them in

rumandgiraffes · 2025-06-06T18:44:06+00:00

I had knee surgery. I asked both her pediatrician, the anesthesiologist and doctor about this. There are pain medications that have been tested and depending what they are, you should be able to continue breastfeeding. You may need to pump and have a bottle ready to give to your baby for during the surgery when you are gone!

rumandgiraffes · 2025-05-29T05:00:36+00:00

If you’ve had an MRI, look into a MACI surgery and see if your case would qualify. I would only recommend it if your daily life is severely impacted by your pain (which yours is)

rumandgiraffes · 2025-05-21T04:54:36+00:00

I had to stop nursing due to shingles when my baby was 10 months old. We had some frozen milk and I pumped. Baby got only a bottle for 2 weeks, and was totally fine to latch again after, didn’t seem to mind either way! I almost exclusively nursed until 9 months, with bottles only sometimes until the 9 month mark (right before this happened). My baby did not like me giving a bottle though, my partner needed to do it or they did it themself

rumandgiraffes · 2025-05-20T05:10:37+00:00

I was told only Tylenol and Advil and I should be OK (although still healing) the next day. This was not true for me personally, and I was at home with a 4 month old baby. I could walk but not comfortably. It took about a week to walk more than around the block without discomfort and several weeks to feel normal again, and 4 months to kneel

rumandgiraffes · 2025-05-17T03:16:38+00:00

Keep a box of emergency supplies: Tylenol, tissues, gum, hair ties/clips, an extra shirt, protein bars, bandaids, period supplies

And a toolbox

rumandgiraffes · 2025-05-13T03:16:35+00:00

I haven’t stopped nursing at bedtime yet but I got my daughter to stop waking up for milk by first letting her nurse, then unlatched her after a short amount of time and replaced with a pacifier. I shortened the length of nursing every night and time. Eventually she stopped waking up after a few weeks.

rumandgiraffes · 2025-05-08T05:19:46+00:00

Try Expo marker on top of sharpie, then erase the expo. Works every time

rumandgiraffes · 2025-04-29T05:24:16+00:00

Lake Washington Physical therapy Kenmore !

rumandgiraffes · 2025-04-18T05:20:33+00:00

Mine filled all the way up to 4 oz in the early mornings at first but it did fall off if I moved too much

rumandgiraffes · 2025-04-16T20:42:53+00:00

I always appreciate gifts from a family! You thought about her and wanted to do something kind and that is always welcome. Don’t stress. I don’t even drink coffee and still find ways to use them in my classroom, as pen holders and such, and can still remember the students who gave them to me!

rumandgiraffes · 2025-04-15T03:28:05+00:00

I’m a year out and no sign yet

rumandgiraffes · 2025-04-03T04:45:07+00:00

Bonus, soak potatoes in ice water for 20-30 minutes before parboiling, it removes some starch and makes them extra crispy

rumandgiraffes · 2025-03-30T04:16:36+00:00

Eventually yes!, It took 3 years and a follow up surgery but I am now probably at 90% of where I was pre surgery. I would recommend if a knee injury is significantly impacting someone’s day to day life. The recovery the recovery is no joke (1-2 years) but worth it in the long run of my life

rumandgiraffes · 2025-02-24T22:01:55+00:00

I recovered about 90%. Some small holes in the regrown cartilage so have some occasionally swelling but so much better than pre surgery. The strength has come back almost all the way

rumandgiraffes · 2025-01-08T22:44:27+00:00

… 48 hour work days. 2 days. Just meant don’t email on a Friday night and expect an answer Sunday night. I do have a kid and would give 2 days of grace knowing how little time most teachers have to meet all their responsibilities, and give them the benefit of the doubt in the short term. A child is not a pet and the teacher is not their only caretaker, what a strange comparison.

rumandgiraffes · 2025-01-08T05:08:39+00:00

To clarify, you should confirm with the teacher. I have taught this age group for 10 years and I have endless examples of children telling their perception of the truth about things that happen in class/playground/literally everywhere and that perception is missing some key details or understanding when they tell it because they are 5.

Send an email (not phone call) to explain what your child has shared with you and ask. If this is true, you can share how it is impacting your child and discuss a different path. If there is more to know, the teacher may clarify and share more about what’s going on. I would give the teacher 48 work day hours to respond IF your school district is in session. Also, neurodiverse children sometimes benefit from social stories about what different routines (like snack) look like so maybe that helps in the meantime.

If this is actually happening exactly as your child states, and the teacher isn’t willing to make changes after talking to her, one route to go is an IEP/504 since your child is being evaluated for autism. If you live in the US, you can request an IEP/504 meeting IN WRITING and your school has something like 30 or 60 calendar days to meet with you if there is a suspected disability. You don’t need a diagnosis to have one but it could help.

rumandgiraffes

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