Lessons of an Atenista Mom: Grade 2 March 7, 2014

Last year my son was in Prep. This year he was in Grade 2. Yes, he skipped a grade not because Ateneo Gradeschool accelerates their boys (i have not heard of anyone getting accelerated), but because of the K-12 system. However, since my son was at the lower limit of the age bracket when he entered Prep, he is now underage for 2nd grade. Be that the case, he still survived — Thank God Almighty.

Lessons learned this year:

• You still need to label all his things. This year, I labeled each of his 16 crayons in the hope that it will last him more than a week. It did. But not more than 2.5 weeks.
• Studying everyday is important – not that it wasn’t last year, but it is more important than ever because the topics are getting more complicated. It is important to review those that are noted for review and check for understanding through several question and answer. I am actually reading this book, “Helping our children do well in school” by Quenna N. Lee-Chua, Ph.D. and Ma. Isabel Sison-Dionisio, M.A. which has inspired me to help develop good study habits in my boy.
• Practice makes perfect is the idea. Your boy will need to master addition and subtraction until 100. This will be tackled gradually in increasing complexity (i.e. addition and subtraction up to 20, up to 50, up to 100) so don’t worry. You only need to practice what is being given to your boy. You will need this when they learn about money in the 4th Quarter.
• 3rd Quarter was and is always the shortest so be ready. 🙂
• Ateneo Grade School teachers are dedicated, compassionate and loving. I’ve heard of horror stories of terrible teachers (in other schools) but not here in the Ateneo. Especially with my boy who is gifted with an extra dose of energy and curiosity everyday, no teacher has given up on him. I admire and salute his past and current adviser for always keeping me abreast of what he is doing in school and continuously and consistently coming up with different strategies to keep him in his seat.

The school year is coming to a close and I am a bit lonely to close another chapter in my boy’s life.  He will never be 2nd grade again. My boy is growing fast.