Question
I have a question about the importance of grades/struggles in school. The girls are in third grade which I know is a big jump academically from second. They have always both been straight A students and have never struggled. This year is so different. We are already in the process of getting one of my daughters a psycho-ed eval after her ADHD diagnosis so that may explain her struggles but now her sister is also struggling; both with reading comprehension-cold reads. We have parent teacher conferences this week but at what point do I need to get them extra help or be concerned?
Answer
Give them until the end of the quarter to see a difference and follow the teachers lead. Let the school know of the learning differences for your daughter that has them.
The message to send your daughters is that this is the frustrating time of learning to be a third grader. Tell them that the most important thing they can do now is:
1. Work on focusing and listening to the teacher.
2. Asking questions in the classroom or the teacher directly when they feel lost.
3. Calming their feelings and body so their brain can think.
Give them the message that right now it's hard but being willing to get things wrong, to ask for help, feel frustration, and with practice it will get easier some time in November/December.
This is their first experience in putting in "true" effort. It sometimes hits smart kids harder than the ones who have been struggling all along.
Your task is to stay in the emotional lesson not the academic lesson, that is the task of the teacher.