So. . .unsettled

[Chinese Pistache]

Ds started half-day Kinder yesterday. Besides having all those conflicted emotions about seeing my child off on his first day of school, I also began to feel very unsure of it all.

The kids lined up before entering the class. I was blown away by the sheer number of them. There are THIRTY kids with ONE teacher, and she has no aides. She asked that parents not come to volunteer until the end of September when they've gotten used to her rules and routines (which I totally get), but how will she do anything meaningful with *that* many kids until then?

When ds told me about his day, it seemed really pointless. There were 5 tables of 6 kids each, and they took turns at different "stations." Some of those stations included playing with play-dough, playing "grocery store," and making a head band. My ds is normally very social but he came home and told me it was "too crowded" in the classroom (and I definitely hadn't shared with him my thoughts about the class size).

Homeschooling isn't something we can do right now. Private school is an option, but the one we like is very far away (30 minutes, one way). And their kinder program is full-day. In any case, I doubt we could get in until January or possibly next year.

<sigh> I'm rambling. I wish there was a school option that felt "right." Maybe I just need to give it some more time.

[sarahmae1]

Wow, that is a lot of children especially for only one teacher. My ds just started half-day K as well. He has 15 kids in his class, 1 teacher and 1 aide/assitant.
I think your ds day sounded like fun (other than there being too many kids). Many K's are very academic now, with kids having to do "seat work" for much of the time. Anyway, I would just give it some more time and see how it goes and then re-evaulate your options. My ds is having a hard time adjusting to school, and so I'm just trying to give it some time as well.

[Chinese Pistache]

Thanks for your reply. My problem with the little activities was that she seemed to be using them as babysitters for the kids because she wasn't able to interact with them on a more personal level. And secondly, we do those activities at home (for example, play dough) and I really hoped for something different. Not seat work, per se, but a purpose or theme to the activities, so that it wasn't just a classroom management tool, you know?

Anyway, we'll see how it goes in the coming weeks. . .

[USAmma]

Are there any charter schools in your area? I hesitated to sign my child up for public school for several reasons. We were planning to homeschool for awhile but then I decided to go back to school myself. I just found a great charter school that will (in theory anway, she starts Tues to let's see) meet her needs. They have very small classes (average 15 per teacher, and p/t aids too), it's a small school, they are grouped by ability for core subjects, and it's all free of cost. It took me about 2 mos of shopping around to find this school.

[CarrieMF]

The teacher was most likely trying to see what level the kids were at and how each kid would adjust. It is only the first day and most grades don't do anything real that first day.

[mommy68]

Wow, 30 kids!! I think I would consider the private school option if it were me. We drive 20 minutes both ways to get our kids to their private school. My oldest has 13 kids (including him) in his class. I love it!

I do seem to remember that when my oldest was in a public school that the kinder classes had more kids because they only had 3 kinder classes whereas they had 4-5 classes of each of the higher grades. So maybe in the future there won't be as many kids per class at that school since they'll have more rooms to split them in to.

Do you have a zone where you live that includes several schools you could pick from? Maybe you can call the superintendents office and find out if you could move your child to another school with less children in each class.