Need to send 9y/o to school but I am worried. - Page 2

[beanma]

Originally Posted by Newbie72 

She totally gets place value, up the  thousands at the moment.  We have briefly touched on regrouping and she seemed to get it but we haven't worked on it in depth.  We're using Singapore Math and she likes it a lot, we had started out with MathUSee which gave her a decent foundation but was too dry for us.  That's how she learned place value. 

When I speak with the school and it is determined it might be best to put her in 3rd grade I would probably feel better for that but I'm pretty sure she'd be really butthurt over being held back from the grade she's "supposed" to be in.

I think she will probably be fine then, if she's got place value. It's just a matter of carrying that 1 on over in addition. If you can get her to where she's got an understanding of that, even if she doesn't master it, I think she could probably catch up in 4th grade. It sounds like she's halfway there already. If she were at a place where she didn't understand place value at all and had never heard of regrouping or was having a really hard time with it then I would consider 3rd.

There is a fair amount of redshirting that goes on here in our district, as a PP mentioned also happens in her area. A good friend of my dd's was held back by her parents when she first started K. Our cut-off is August and she had a summer b-day so by the time she started 4th grade she was already 10—a good 7-8 months older than your dd would be if she starts in 4th. She's very bright, too, but red-shirting is fairly common in our area, so not a big deal for her. If there would be a lot of 9 yr olds turning 10 in 3rd grade then I don't think it would be a bad fit necessarily. Is she high on the growth charts? That might factor, too. If she would be very small for 4th grade or very tall for 3rd that might play into it unless she's always been the smallest or tallest. 

Good luck!

Edited by beanma - 8/26/12 at 8:57pm

[One_Girl]

You might find that she picks up what she hasn't learned quickly with little need for support once she starts school. I have always found that my dd learns best academically from other people. They do a lot of review at first so putting her in from the start might make her chance of success better because she will pick up the material or they will identify where her weak spots in math are so they can help her catch up quickly. Since it is her first time in school I think starting at the beginning is important for learning the rules and norms of a school setting, teachers tend to not be as patient with students who don't have the rules down when they transfer in midyear so starting school for the first time midyear seems like a very bad idea to me.


I think tutoring is also a good idea, especially if your current home is affordable on your income alone and you can sacrifice your husband's income foe a few months. My dd attended a charter school with a crappy math program and was two years behind in math in third grade. Tutoring helped her catch up enough to pass third grade math with a c and score as proficient on the state tests within six months and she has continued to make significant improvement over the summer. It is incredibly expensive but worth it to me because she gained a lot of confidence and ability that wasn't there before. Plus the intervention I am paying for is keeping her from getting a label and placement in a pull out class that will kill her self esteem.

[Newbie72]

Originally Posted by beanma 

I think she will probably be fine then, if she's got place value. It's just a matter of carrying that 1 on over in addition. If you can get her to where she's got an understanding of that, even if she doesn't master it, I think she could probably catch up in 4th grade. It sounds like she's halfway there already. If she were at a place where she didn't understand place value at all and had never heard of regrouping or was having a really hard time with it then I would consider 3rd.

There is a fair amount of redshirting that goes on here in our district, as a PP mentioned also happens in her area. A good friend of my dd's was held back by her parents when she first started K. Our cut-off is August and she had a summer b-day so by the time she started 4th grade she was already 10—a good 7-8 months older than your dd would be if she starts in 4th. She's very bright, too, but red-shirting is fairly common in our area, so not a big deal for her. If there would be a lot of 9 yr olds turning 10 in 3rd grade then I don't think it would be a bad fit necessarily. Is she high on the growth charts? That might factor, too. If she would be very small for 4th grade or very tall for 3rd that might play into it unless she's always been the smallest or tallest. 

Good luck!

Someone, before we go further, tell me what red-shirting is I honestly have never heard the term until this thread.

Anyway, I think she is pretty average as far as growth goes.  I have to take her for a physical this week so I'm not sure where she's at on growth charts.

[moominmamma]

Originally Posted by Newbie72 

Someone, before we go further, tell me what red-shirting is I honestly have never heard the term until this thread.

Okay, I'm Canadian, and neither the practice nor the term are at all common here, so I was once as confused as you encountering it on these forums. Here's my understanding:

It's the practice of holding a student back from entering kindergarten for a year, so that when they do enter they'll have the [supposed] advantage of being a year bigger, older and more developmentally mature. The term is derived from a related US college athletics practice: athletes only have four years of eligibility, but sometimes weren't fully muscled out as freshmen, so they could be held out of game play that year, and play for four subsequent years (doing a fifth year at college). They would practice with the team and develop their talents that first year, but not play. Somewhere there was a tradition of having such players wear a red shirt during practice to show that they were not actively participating in games.

Miranda

[beanma]

Moominmamma got it right on the money. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redshirt_(college_sports)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redshirting_(academic)

Just do a quick google and you'll get lots of hits on the subject, mostly referring to academic redshirting.

[Newbie72]

Ok thanks for clarifying!

Anyway, her physical is all set for Friday so she'll start next Tuesday.  I talked to her about school a few minutes ago and I told her that it was a possibility that she could be in 3rd grade and she was relieved.  I wasn't expecting that.  She said she'd rather be in third because she heard about the stuff her formerly 4th grade friend was working on and she, "doesn't want to go into 4th grade not knowing what she's doing"

She is really excited about starting school regardless of where in the school she ends up, and I'm excited for her.  Such huge changes for our little family, all in one week!
 

[beanma]

As far as my comment about physical stature I just meant that if she's really tall for her age she might feel funny to be in third grade and be taller than everyone else and likewise if she were really short that might just make 4th grade feel that much more overwhelming if everyone else is taller than she is. If she's in the middle, which is most likely, it wouldn't have much bearing on where you placed her. I wouldn't place her solely on her height, but if she's sized more like a third grader and is doing third grade work then it might be a good fit for two reasons and not just academics.

[Newbie72]

Originally Posted by beanma 

As far as my comment about physical stature I just meant that if she's really tall for her age she might feel funny to be in third grade and be taller than everyone else and likewise if she were really short that might just make 4th grade feel that much more overwhelming if everyone else is taller than she is. If she's in the middle, which is most likely, it wouldn't have much bearing on where you placed her. I wouldn't place her solely on her height, but if she's sized more like a third grader and is doing third grade work then it might be a good fit for two reasons and not just academics.

I know, I got that :)

[geemom]

I think that you accidentally figured out the way to beat the public school system.  One of the biggest problems with the PS system is how they push push push in the younger years and don't let the kids be kids and learn naturally.  It robs them of the JOY of learning IMO.  I believe in red shirting, because then the child feels confident and has an easier time conforming to the insane state standards.  So you enroll in 3rd... you got to delay the acedemics, your child loves reading (PS turns it into a chore) and your child will successful.  

[Newbie72]

Originally Posted by geemom 

I think that you accidentally figured out the way to beat the public school system.  One of the biggest problems with the PS system is how they push push push in the younger years and don't let the kids be kids and learn naturally.  It robs them of the JOY of learning IMO.  I believe in red shirting, because then the child feels confident and has an easier time conforming to the insane state standards.  So you enroll in 3rd... you got to delay the acedemics, your child loves reading (PS turns it into a chore) and your child will successful.  

That is a good point, actually.  Everything we have done we did on her time table and no one else's...I can feel good about that.

We just got back from enrolling her.  It is a done deal, she starts on Tuesday.  I feel like a tremendous weight has been lifted off my shoulders.  Her education has been weighing heavily on my mind and it has been stressing me out so much that I haven't been able to provide what I felt was an adequate amount of learning time since so much has changed.  It is a good school, the class sizes are small (no more than 17 kids), and everyone was so kind.  She is super excited.

[beanma]

So was it 3rd grade or 4th, Newbie? I'm sure it will go well. She sounds very eager for school and ready to learn.

[Newbie72]

3rd!  I think everything is going to be just fine   She is pretty psyched.
 

Thank you everyone for all your insight, you really have helped me sort this out.

[meemee]

Originally Posted by Newbie72 

Another thing:  because of dh's new job, we may have to move...again.  i don't want to put this kid in school next week only to pull her out again.  It will be a huge adjustment for her as it is, I don't want to uproot her as soon as she is figuring out how to navigate this school thing.  Like I said, I don't think the adjustment will be as big a deal for her little sister, dd2 is just one of those unflappable people.  dd1...not so much.

since its just a couple of months, i dont see why you should put her in school right now. i agree with you. that sounds pointless. 

instead i'd have her go online and work on her stuff like khan academy apart from all else she is doing. 

[purplerose]

my youngest started PS in 3rd grade after unschooling and she did wonderfully!

[ebethmom]

How is school going for your daughter?

We've had some big changes recently and my kids just transitioned from homeschooling to public school.  So far it's going really well!

My daughter (2nd grade) was behind in her spelling and writing.  Her teacher told us about that early in the school year.  We've worked on extra writing at home and now she is all caught up. 

I am still very glad that we homeschooled in those early years.  I feel that my daughter is approaching school with the excitement of a kindergartner and the more advanced maturity of an 8 year old.  Win win, right?

I hope your daughter is adjusting well!  My daughter could have gone into 2nd or 3rd grade with her summer birthday.  I think she's in the right place on the older side of her grade.  She feels otherwise!  She told me (again) last night that she would rather be homeschooled so that she could do 3rd grade work.