My dd wants to go to school :-(

[faerierose]

She will be kindi age next fall and she wants to go... I don't know what to do, I homeschool her older brother (7) and I also have ds#2 who will be 2 next month and has developmental delays as well as ds#3 who is just 3 months old. I'm not getting out as much as I'd like because of the little ones, it's hard to find activities that we can all do. My dd is very social and she wants the interaction with other kids at school but I don't want her to go. I honestly don't think she would do well there, she is very hyperactive, I mean she is constantly moving, if I try to have her sit at the table she literally can't sit still, she will squirm until she falls out of her chair: Her father has ADHD and did horribly in public school. But she is insistent, she wants to go to school. How do I handle this? Have any of you btdt? Did you let your dc try it out, tell them no, or try and redirect their attention???

[chfriend]

This may be no help at all, but for a 5 year old, a lot can change before next Fall. My 5 year old wanted to go to school this time last year. We talked about why I thought we could have more fun at home. I asked her what appealed to her about school. I told her that bathroom time and food/water were regulated at school.

Honestly, she had friends that were in kindergarten and love it for the first semester. Here, the first semester of kindergarten is easy and fun. When they return from Winter Break, they turn up the heat to "get ready for 1st grade."

That did the trick. Her friends were seriously stressed out from school. She decided she liked our way better.

[Aurie]

Can you call Sunday school (if you attend), church school? Or perhaps join a co-op for one class and call that school?

[faerierose]

Originally Posted by Aurie

Can you call Sunday school (if you attend), church school? Or perhaps join a co-op for one class and call that school?

Unfortunately I can't, we live across the street from an elementary school and she knows that's where kindergarten is :-( Hopefully we can do more over the summer and she won't feel the need. Her brother keeps warning her about ps (he went last year and hated it) it's so funny to listen to him tell her "They make you sit still and do worksheets and you have to ask to pee IN FRONT OF EVERYONE" of course his tone suggests all of this is torture and he can't understand why she would want that.

[LdyBluNH@aol]

could you find out what part of it is so enticing?

the time with friends is very regimented except for lunch and recess and you do not get to pick who you sit with. last year dd lost part of her recess because she held hands with one of her friends

[faerierose]

She thinks because so many kids are there that they will play all day. I tried to tell her that's not how it works but she doesn't believe me I guess. The only experience she has with 'school' is a few months of pre-school/daycare while I went to school, and they played all day.

[faerierose]

Originally Posted by LdyBluNH@aol

could you find out what part of it is so enticing?

the time with friends is very regimented except for lunch and recess and you do not get to pick who you sit with. last year dd lost part of her recess because she held hands with one of her friends

I can't even imagine what they would do w/ my dd, she hugs everyone and hangs all over people, she has no concept of personal space

[Aurie]

My DD is the same way. She also kisses all her 'best friends'. This wasn't a problem when we were in Ohio and she was in a special needs preschool. We moved to LA and they put her in a regular preK class and she was in trouble daily. When I had to physically put her on the bus that was the last day she went to PS here. I took the boys out a week later...

Anyway, yeah the schools don't have much play time.

[Ruthla]

Have you talked to her about what really goes on in school all day? If it doesn't sink in, maybe sign her up but be ready to take her out after a few days if she realizes Mama was right?

[alima]

Can you arrange to spend a few days "visiting" a kindergarden classroom so she can see what a day is really like. I don't know if the school in your area will let you do this, where we live it is an option in most schools and I know kids who've spent up to a week attending a class they might join next year. This might give her a much clearer idea of how much play time she'll really get, and just how overwhelming all those rules can be.

Ali

[mattemma04]

I think it is good for a child to *see* what it is like in school.Grade one is a better time to enroll since K might be only half a day or still far to easy/fun. In a way going for K would be fine,but the child might have a hard time leaving his/her friends(not the actual work required,lol) when the next year rolls around. We can hear the kids outside from our local school,but it is not enough for dd to want to go back.

You could tell your dd that she could try K out next year when she is
6.In another year she may just be fine not going,and in that time you could get busy with other activities outside of the ps arena.

[Stayseeliz]

Personally, I wouldn't let a 5yo decide whether or not they want to attend school. They don't understand everything that goes into the decision. Kids that age don't understand the reason for homeschooling. Like for instance my son doesn't understand we live in one of the worst states education-wise in the country, etc etc.

DS (5.5) has made comments about wanting to ride the bus and going to school. I've found that if I make him feel like we're doing school (fun workbooks, a backpack, pencil case, little table, etc) he's satisfied with that. We're not a strict schedule but doing little things like that helps a lot!

We're also going to do a little co-op next year for an elective. I think it will be fun for him and help us get out of the house a bit!

[napua]

I went through this with my DD. She wanted to go to Kindergarden so she could ride the bus and play with other kids. I ended up letting her go to PS for the first 6 weeks but she never rode the bus. I just wasn't comfortable with that. Well the entire 6 weeks I felt horrible. They had her there for 6.5 hours a day, treated the kids like little prisoners and then sent them home with homework. We just could deal with it so we pulled her out and have been HS'ing since. She LOVES it!

At first she was sad to leave her teacher but that was quickly forgotten. I have her in ballet, swim and choir and also religious ed on Sundays. We go to the park or storytime and plan fun field trips.

I know you are busy with the other kids but perhaps if you write out a loose schedule for the month with a fun activity planned every week or two it would help you to make sure to fit that into your schedule. Good luck to you!