He has successfully completeded the entire Explode the Code book 1. He has done GREAT and is doing so well with reading all that he learned in that book and more! We sat down to do the book Posttest and he's sitting here acting clueless. He suddenly doesn't have a clue how to spell the word "in"? He just spelled the it "en" and asked me over and over how to spell it when he can read it perfectly and he has spelled it time and time again on other days and has never had a problem. What gives? This seems to happen periodically where he just acts like he knows nothing. Yet he just completed some of the other sentences 100% correct. Please tell me I'm not the only one who has a 5 yr old who occassionally acts oblivious?!!
No he definitely isn't! My son is 5.5yrs old and we go through the SAME thing. It usually happens when he is distracted by something and wants to do something else. Depending on what we have accomplished for the day, I either remind him that once he is done with x,y,and z he is able to do what he wants. If he is very distracted then I just give him a break and we pick up where we left off later or the following day.
I've read several posts about kids taking a brain vacation. Some days for us are just better than others, so frustrating it's like a roller coaster you just can't get off of. But funny story about a similar experience with my first real job. My boss called me in for my 90 day review early. I just knew she was going to fire me. Why am I getting reviewed early? She said she reviewed everyone before they hit the wall. She said everyone she ever hired would, at 3 months, forget everything for a week or two then everything would come right back. I thought she was crazy until... I hit the wall and she would just giggle and tell me what to do & then one day, overnight, I remembered everything again. Yep, brain vacation. So I think it must be the same for adults too. Debbie
I do not think your son is acting as much as he honestly doesn't remember. Unless he is either acting like a stinker or bored, I am going to say he is still young and the brain of a 5 year old is still growing and learning how to retain information. Our children cover Language Arts all through their school years because it takes that long to learn and relearn some information. Then when they get to college and take the placement test, some have to go back to the basics because they still need additional help. Even as adults, there are many things we do not remember from our school days. I was a decent speller in school. Today, a person wouldn't know that! I still need to review words from time to time to refresh my brain. It is the consistency that helps it stick and your kiddo has many school years to do so. At 5 years of age, if he is able to get 100% on his sentences, then he is doing great and so is his teacher. My Ems is working on 14 and she still forgets the simplest words from time to time. ...and I agree with the brain vacation. We all take them and when we return from our trip, we remember again. :lol:
Depends on the kid. He could be totally playing you! Or, he truly could have forgotten. Sons are different, that's for sure!!!! When my son gets this way (yeah, 5th grade and it's still happening! LOL ) I have him get up and do jumping jacks, karate moves or something to get him moving. Then we talk about the subject while his body is moving. Then he sits down and does fine. Just a thought.
Then again, it could be that fact that it is a (dramatic music...) TEST! dum dum dah!!! I personally will completely bomb a test even if I know the material frontwards and backwards. Not just school stuff either. In theory, I know how to change a tire. on the side of the road at night with a flat and an almost dead cell phone? Not a clue. Not one single clue! Test anxiety is pretty common. DD does it with spelling tests, so I quit giving them. I can see how she spells when she does regular, everyday writing.
I suggest that you try your best NOT to be frustrated. He is young and maybe already feeling the pressure to perform. Or, he may honestly have a hard time remembering. My son went to a private school for pre-k, k, and 1st. His pre-k teacher started teaching them how to read. My son could painstakingly sound out some words, but wouldn't remember them a few minutes later. He was almost 5 in pre-k. He really didn't catch on until about 2 years later. Anyway, I think it is a lot for young people to handle. I would also suggest that you don't test him. If he is doing well otherwise, let it be and move on. Please don't move too fast or too slow- go at his pace. Some people don't do well on tests, some people excel at tests. I think tests are way overrated and pushed on kids when they are too young.
Just another voice in the chorus here My dd does that from time to time as well. I think it's a bit of brain-fry. If you imagine information stacked on top of each other like a messy desk in their brain, sometimes they just can't find the exact document they need in the clutter. It takes time for them to learn it solid enough to .. (twisting the metaphor further) file it in compartments so they can easily find it again when they need it. When that happens, stepping back and reviewing is a huge help. I've also found, especially with learning to read, that my dd is very use-it-or-lose-it with digraphs and dipthongs. Right now I think she has forgotten oo even though she had those solid last year. And the sight word 'look' that she knew cold coming out of ps (and wrote on every paper she had) is no longer a sight word at all, and she has to sound it out each time. There are SO many pieces of information to keep straight when learning to read, that I am honestly shocked anyone is ever able to keep it all straight. Obviously we do but reading is still hard work at first.
Don't expect a smooth progression with kids. It's more like a roller coaster ride in terms of learning. I will mention one thing. My son did ETC, 100 EZ Lessons, BOB books, and one or two other programs. He was ALWAYS showing some progress with those but it never translated to reading outside those programs and it was often lost. We switched to a program from the UK for dyslexic kids (Dancing Bears) and his progress has been remarkable. I'm now in the process of having him assessed for CAPD and maybe some other LD's. I don't think he's dyslexic but the Dancing Bears approach has certainly helped him where other programs just created the illusion that he was reading for a time. Might be something to keep in mind.
Thanks everyone! I ended up just helping him, I don't believe he was truly intending to frustrate me at all. He does this about other things though, outside of school work. He's doing GREAT reading and has taken his learning beyond the Explode the Code book so I know he's remembering it! I'm not sure that this was test anxiety because the test was doing a summery of things from the book, he did fine with most of it, like circling the correct words I said, and he *almost* got all the sentences correct that he was supposed to write. With that said I guess maybe it was an off day for him...
My daughter does the same thing. I was getting really frustrated about it too. I can even tell her the answer and she'll say she doesn't know when I ask her again. I really hated that I was getting upset with her...so I started really paying attention to when she acts that way. I realized she does it when she is bored. So when that happens, I switch to a more active activity and we go back to that one later. Its worked out well so far!
