ready for kindergarten?

[mommy68]

Has anyone ever had a child that is already signed up for kindergarten and it's getting close to the new year beginning and you just aren't sure you want to send them?

This is where my 5 yr old is at. She turned 5 in May. She learned how to write her "first" name by April of this year, right before her 5th birthday. She doesn't write her last name. She can write no other words. She gets easily frustrated when we sit down to practice writing numbers/letters. She does not read yet but does show some interest. She passed the test in February for entering kindergarten. She is due to start in mid August.

I'm now starting to have second thoughts on sending her. I'm wondering if she needs another year at home? Her birthday is in May which is a good month for a child to have a birthday that is starting this fall but she is so very active and can't sit still for very long periods. She zones out at times and will not stay on task. She is bright and hears things we don't even realize she is listening to and has a wonderful memory. She has her good points. She is definitely ready socially since she has been in preschool at this same school for the last 2 years. She is extremely outgoing. I worry about her academically and wonder if she is ready.

Anyone have any advice or have you been here yourself? Any advice or comments would be appreciated.

[LynnS6]

Honestly, she sounds like every other kindergartener out there. They aren't SUPPOSED to be able to read/write yet. The whole point of kindergarten is to teach them the basics of how to go to school.

Our son has made HUGE strides in the last year. When he started K in the fall, he could write his own name. He wouldn't reliably SAY his last name, let alone write it.

He's now writing whole stories, reading short works by himself, completing projects, etc.

Have you asked the teachers there what they think? Since it's the same school where she's been for 2 years, they should have a very good idea of her level of maturity and readiness for kindergarten.

[MsBirdie]

That is how my DD is, and I think how most 5 year olds are. My suggeston would be to start her and see how it goes, while keeping in close contact with the teacher. You can always wait till next year if she does not do well the first month or two, but I would give her a chance to show what she is made of. I think sometimes we are the ones most worried. BTW, my friend is a kindergarten teacher and says that kids show up not knowing their colors or shapes, so I think your DD will be fine. Good luck.

I know how you feel, some days I jst cry thnking about how empty the house will be without my LO.

[Jessy1019]

My partner's SIL was a kindergarten teacher, and from what she says, they expected very little of the kids just starting kindergarten . . . your daughter sounds on track as far as the things they use as kindergarten readiness measures.

[wombatclay]

All of our local kindergarden classes teach the alphabet and the numbers 1-10...there is no expectation that the child will know their letters or numbers at the beginning of the year. Kindergarden is a chance for a little one to grow socially while preparing to learn in a school setting. It sounds like your little one is perfectly on track!

[mamastotwo]

She sounds ready to me for sure! It seems the biggest question is if she is socially ready. At our school they don't really get serious about the reading until 1st grade. Her fine motor doesn't sound delayed to me either. I would say go for it.

[mommy68]

Originally Posted by LynnS6

Honestly, she sounds like every other kindergartener out there. They aren't SUPPOSED to be able to read/write yet. The whole point of kindergarten is to teach them the basics of how to go to school.

Our son has made HUGE strides in the last year. When he started K in the fall, he could write his own name. He wouldn't reliably SAY his last name, let alone write it.

He's now writing whole stories, reading short works by himself, completing projects, etc.

Have you asked the teachers there what they think? Since it's the same school where she's been for 2 years, they should have a very good idea of her level of maturity and readiness for kindergarten.

I'm not sure if you meant that to be snarky. But I've done all the things you've mentioned. I said it up above in my first post. I have two older kids (one in middle school, one going in 4th) so I know what to ask about.

Basically, like I "already" said in my original post our DD was tested back in February so I know what the school thinks as that testing required her teachers to put in written recommendations, that sort of thing. They said she was ready ofcourse but I know she is nowhere close to writing more than her name or a couple of letters of the alphabet. She shows absolutely no real interest in those things.

And ofcourse there are those kids in most schools who DO in fact know how to read and write their names before they start kindergarten. Almost every child in her preschool class was doing that last year. I feel she is behind compared to those children and I know how teachers can be. If most of the children in class are ready to move on to new things then they will move on, sometimes leaving other children behind. That is my main concern. I don't want her to be one of those children.

I know the teachers in this school because this is a K-12th grade school where my older two children already attend. I volunteer there and already know the kindergarten teachers from two years of getting to know them. Plus, I walked past the kindergarten classes last year and saw things they post on the outside walls. In January of this year they were posting simple addition/subtraction math problems and writing paragraphs. So yes, they do read and write AND do math in kindergarten at her school. It floored me when I saw these things and worries me. I don't want her repeating kindergarten and sometimes wish I would have held her back one more year.

[Terrilein]

Well, I think under those circumstances you know best. It's not a terrible thing to wait a year whether she's ready for K or not. If she truly is ready, then she'll probably do even better if she waits a year. If she gets bored and does develop an interest in letters and numbers, then you can homeschool her in that until she does finally start K. If she's not ready for K, then she has a whole year to work on her frustration thresh hold and improving her concentration levels.
Just my € 0.02

[s_kristina]

The things she is doing sound like she would be ready for the kindergarten classes here. Honestly I would be worried about the school pushing kids too hard period if they were expecting these things of my child. When we took dd to pre-register her for kindergarten we were given this list of things to help her be ready for the fall.

Please practice:

Tying shoes independently
Using the restroom independently
Writing name in upper and lower case (Amy not AMY)
Reciting address (house number, street, city, state)
Reciting phone number (including area code)
Reciting birthday (month &day)
Distinguishing left from right
Scissors and cutting skills
Coloring skills
Book handling skills

Everything else is just extra. They go to kindergarten here to start learning how to act in a classroom setting not to be hounded on writing or math. I would be looking in to the other magnet and charter schools in our area if this school was too hard on academics.

[CarrieMF]

She gets easily frustrated when we sit down to practice writing numbers/letters.

but this with YOU. Kids are completely different & more willing to do things when it is NOT their parent helping & when they see hte other kids doing it.

Just because other kids in her preschool class were doing them it does not mean she'll be left behind. she will not be the only kid not knowing how to do them in K. The other stuff like math that comes in k, later in k not at the beginning.

the teachers who'll be teaching her say she's ready which means she's on par for what she needs to know. She is not going to be left behind. If she wasn't ready they would have said that.

[busybabymom]

I want to also add that some kids sometimes seem to develop skills overnight. It doesn't always work like school that they have to start from the beginning, repeat several times till they get it. And kids do change so much so quickly too.

I would also look into alternative schools because you mentioned her not wanting to sit still. We have a public Montessori school near us and that's what we think will fit our dd better than a sit-down-at-your-desk class because she likes to move around so much.

Good Luck!

[LynnS6]

I wasn't intending to be snarky at all. You didn't put any of that other information in your post about having kids at the school and knowing the teacher. Your concerns were that she seems easily frustrated and that you're not sure she can sit still long enough. Especially since it was February when she was 'tested' (not quite sure what that means), I would ask the kindergarten teachers again with your specific concerns - about her readiness and about the class moving on without her. We had neighbors who did that, and the response they got from the school was 'you know, she'd benefit from being in preschool another year.' This child has an early June birthday, so you never know.

A good teacher ought to be able to accommodate a range of skills in the classroom. Our son definitely was in the lower end of being able to do written work (he's got some fine motor delays that we're working on with an OT). Even with the teachers, he didn't like being pushed out of his comfort zone in terms of trying to read.

Plus, I walked past the kindergarten classes last year and saw things they post on the outside walls. In January of this year they were posting simple addition/subtraction math problems and writing paragraphs. So yes, they do read and write AND do math in kindergarten at her school. It floored me when I saw these things and worries me. I don't want her repeating kindergarten and sometimes wish I would have held her back one more year.

You might be surprised at how quickly she learns. But it does sound like the K at your school is more 'academic' than I would be comfortable with.

[mommy68]

Sorry Lynn. I meant to give more info the first time around.

Originally Posted by busybabymom

I would also look into alternative schools because you mentioned her not wanting to sit still. We have a public Montessori school near us and that's what we think will fit our dd better than a sit-down-at-your-desk class because she likes to move around so much.

Good Luck!

I wish we could but we can't really do that. We pay for this private school for our older two and they've been there going on 2 years now. They love it! We get 10% discount on tuition for each child that attends and I know all the staff and I'm comfortable here. I can't really afford to drive her some place else. The only Montessori type school I even know of is way across town. I already drive 20-30 minutes to this school there and back because it's in the city and we live out in the country. I would have to homeschool if she had to do something different which is also a possibility.

[mommy68]

Thanks for this list!

Tying shoes independently She doesn't do this and usually wears velcro/slip-on
Using the restroom independently Yes
Writing name in upper and lower case (Amy not AMY) Yes first name only.
Reciting address (house number, street, city, state) Not yet but she knows city and street name.
Reciting phone number (including area code) not yet
Reciting birthday (month &day) knows it but has to be reminded.
Distinguishing left from right Yes
Scissors and cutting skills can cut but holds them wrong
Coloring skills yes
Book handling skills yes

My DD also has trouble holding her pencil correctly. She writes while holding a pencil in her fist. I try to show her how to hold it right and then she will write really light and barely touches the paper. She just doesn't understand yet.

[aprildawn]

Originally Posted by mommy68

Has anyone ever had a child that is already signed up for kindergarten and it's getting close to the new year beginning and you just aren't sure you want to send them?

Yes.

Originally Posted by mommy68

She is so very active and can't sit still for very long periods. She zones out at times and will not stay on task. She is bright and hears things we don't even realize she is listening to and has a wonderful memory. She has her good points. She is definitely ready socially since she has been in preschool at this same school for the last 2 years. She is extremely outgoing. I worry about her academically and wonder if she is ready.

I'm sorry. Did you kidnap my May-born DD while I wasn't looking??

Except my DD hasn't been in preschool. However, she's in dance, a 2-hr very structured preschool Bible study program 1x/week, and is in a Chinese class 1x/week.

I'm keeping DD1 home next year from K. I'm concerned for the same reasons you are about your DD's temperament. Active, outstanding memory, zones out...etc. Sometimes I think she might be mildly ADHD or even SID.

This is what DH and I decided after about a year of consideration:

Private school is also out of our budget. She'll be going to a 1x/week 9am-2pm supplement to homeschool thing. It's a classical model school. I'm doing Teach your Child to Read in 100 Lessons. We're on lesson 3 and she's really enjoying it. Pesters me every morning until we can get started. I'm also going to choose a math curriculum to work on with her. Reading and math are my biggest concerns academically. Not sure what we'll do for 1st grade. This coming year might turn me into a HSer, or it might do quite the opposite!!

Socially we'll continue our Bible study, dance, and Chinese.

We could probably afford a private school if we cut the other things like dance and chinese. But, personally, after looking at the schedule and curriculum for K at the school she'd be in (which is one of the best in the state) I was unimpressed. Seven hours at school, only three spent in instruction. I'd rather she spend time doing things like dance and learning chinese than all the things they'd do in those other four hours at K.

[Heffernhyphen]

Originally Posted by mommy68

She learned how to write her "first" name by April of this year.

Okay, may I share what is probably nothing more than a petty teacher pet peeve? When you teach your child to write his/her name, pleasepleaseplease be sure to model it properly with a capital letter ONLY at the beginning (or wherever they may fall correctly within a name, for instance DeUntae). It is hell to unteach those bad habits.

Thank!
A touchy teacher

[LynnS6]

Originally Posted by mommy68

My DD also has trouble holding her pencil correctly. She writes while holding a pencil in her fist. I try to show her how to hold it right and then she will write really light and barely touches the paper. She just doesn't understand yet.

It sounds like she has weak fine motor skills. If the fingers aren't strong enough (trouble holding pencil, trouble cutting suggest that they might be), then writing IS hard. I wonder if this is a physical problem not so much a 'kindergarten readiness'.

That's how our son held his pencil at the beginning of last summer when we started OT for sensory processing stuff. (Not saying your dd needs OT, not only did his fine motor skills suck, but he was sound defensive, touch defensive, couldn't balance, had issues with motor planning and had poor bilateral coordination.)

This is a pretty good list of things that you can do that will develop these skills:
http://www.shrewsbury-ma.gov/schools...s.html#scissor

In addition, doing stickers (where she has to peel them off), legos, stringing beads and similar activities really help. Our preschool teachers taught us to give ds very short crayons to help with the pincer grip - if it's too short to hold in your fist, you have to hold it with your fingers!

[wombatclay]

Maybe meet with the K teacher(s) to specifically address your concerns? Especially since you already know them they may be more willing to discuss your little one's readiness in a sort of "off the record", open manner?

Although I think repeating K (or waiting for an extra year of pre-K) can be great for a young one, I do think it can cause some problems later on... the "oldest" child in a class can sometimes be a bit out of step with their school peers. For example, they may enter puberty sooner than their classmates with the physical and emotional changes that go with it. (I had the opposite "problem" since I was younger than my classmates and was always behind their growth curve...).

It's not a huge problem, but something to think about...

[tm2840]

It sounds like it might be reasonable to discuss this with her current teachers (if any, sorry if I'm mistaken) and the K teacher(s) she'd have.

I want to also add that some kids sometimes seem to develop skills overnight

They sure do - I could quote chapter and book on this one with my two (especially DS)! But, if your "mommy instinct" tells you to be concerned then certainly talk to those who work with her closely. Either they'll set your mind at ease about moving into school or they'll give you enough reason to feel good at waiting a year.

[hipumpkins]

Can I ask..what are coloring skills?

I am not being snarky. Although we are homeschooling, I am using that list as a guide.