boy:girl ratio in kindergarten

[because]

We got DD's class list today for kindergarten. There are 16 kids in the class and it's twice as many boys as girls. I've heard that there tend to be more boys than girls at the school (a public open school), but oh my. That means that there are 5 girls in her whole class. She's is SUCH a girl's girl (into baby dolls, etc.).

What will this mean for her? Will she get totally run over (she's a first class sitting-still, hand-raising rules follower)?

TIA!

[Alyantavid]

My son has 11 kids in his class. 2 are girls. They are very strong little girls who don't let those boys get away with anything.

[because]

But what if DD's not that way?

[lisac77]

I think it varies. In my son's class there are 11 girls and 7 boys.

[mommyoftwo]

My dd who is now in 2nd grade has been in classes that had a lot more boys in them. We were worried about it at first but it has been really good for her. She doesn't seem to mind one bit.

She is also a stereotypical girly girl. Loves doll and princesses-you get the picture.

[because]

Originally Posted by lisac77

I think it varies. In my son's class there are 11 girls and 7 boys.

Of course. But in THIS school there are alot more boys.

Originally Posted by mommyoftwo

My dd who is now in 2nd grade has been in classes that had a lot more boys in them. We were worried about it at first but it has been really good for her. She doesn't seem to mind one bit.

She is also a stereotypical girly girl. Loves doll and princesses-you get the picture.

Whew! OK, so does your DD just stick with the few girls in the class or does she associate with everyone? Do the teachers tend to recognize this and mix it up with neutral activities? How does it all work out?

[Amylcd]

My DD is in first grade.. there are 16 students and only 4 are girls! (including DD)

[bobandjess99]

Wow...here they are not allowed to do that. they have to match students by race and age and gender. Dd's class is approx half girls, half boys, half white and half non-white (black and hispanic are the predominant minorities) and they are evenly split by age as well, aaprox equal numbers of 3's, 4's and 5's (its a multiage class.)

[CarrieMF]

Wow...here they are not allowed to do that. they have to match students by race and age and gender.

Doesn't work if there are an uneven number of kids. In my kids entire school there are way more girls than boys. In the entire city for kids born in 1998
there are way more girls than boys.

OP - your dd will be fine. She will adjust just as the boys who are in classes with more girls adjust. The schools here don't have gender specific activities except for boys soccer & girls floor hockey which are both city wide leagues. Track & Field is split girls & boys except for Grade 3 as they're in a practice year, that is city wide though too.

[Keeping up]

I wouldn't worry about it all ... and you never know, it might be predominantly not-so-boy boys.

I have a JK boy (so 4.5 years) starting school next week and he is a very quiet, very studious (loves phonics, loves to sit down to read books). He does love cars, and blocks and water play. You won't find him in the doll section - but neither would my girlie-girl be in the doll section - she liked drawing more.

To think about it - it might be a HUGE advantage. Not that I should stereotype, but even kindie girls can be truly nasty, bullies and exclusionary (I was blown away by the mean/pettiness of the girls in my dd's SK class year) - I don't think the boys have the same issue.

[bobandjess99]

Originally Posted by CarrieMF

Doesn't work if there are an uneven number of kids. In my kids entire school there are way more girls than boys. In the entire city for kids born in 1998
there are way more girls than boys.

.

Ok, i see what you are saying, I see how this could be true in a small town/rural area or something. Our school district has 21,000 students in 35 schools, so they are able to more or less equate things by bussing kids around and stuff.
OP..I dont see how a polite phone call could hurt...call and ask if all the rooms are that way (probably are, i cant see them doing that if they had another choice) and politely mention you are concerned about the ratio due to the differences in how boys/girls learn and how boys and girls tend to act/assert themselves in a classroom setting, etc. I'm sure the teacher can assuage your fears.

[because]

Originally Posted by bobandjess99

OP..I dont see how a polite phone call could hurt...call and ask if all the rooms are that way (probably are, i cant see them doing that if they had another choice) and politely mention you are concerned about the ratio due to the differences in how boys/girls learn and how boys and girls tend to act/assert themselves in a classroom setting, etc. I'm sure the teacher can assuage your fears.

We have a classroom visit today. I think I will ask the teacher what techniques she uses with big gender ratios (it happens most years, I think).

Thanks, everyone!

[NikonMama]

When I was in elementary school, the grade below us had 20 boys and 2 girls. The girls were just fine. They ended up playing with and befriending girls in other grades, and the girls in our grade and the two of them all became really good friends. I think she'll be okay.

[annethcz]

I think it depends so much on the teacher. My DD's K class last year had 14 boys and 4 girls, and DD had a great time. Although the teacher rotated class seats throughout the years, I had the feeling that the girls tended to stick together. Although the girls did socialize with the boys, I saw the 4 girls spending a lot of time together and DD always came home talking about the fun things she did with the other girls in her class.

I talked to the teacher about the boy:girl ratio and she admitted that it was unusual and that the class was very "high-energy." But she was a very experienced teacher and it always seemed like she had the class under control when I popped into the classroom. I never had the feeling that my DD was being neglected.

[mommyoftwo]

With our school all of the teachers joke around about something being in the water the year dd was born. There are just a lot more boys so the girls are evenly divided up between three classes.

My dd just plays with both the boys and the girls even though she naturally used to just play more with girls-that is why it was good for her. All three grades have their recesses and lunch at the same time so she has a lot a girls to play with during those times.

Actually the teachers have the stereotypical attitude that boys need to be more active and need more hands on learning (which is great for all kids not just boys) so I think they plan more into the day.

[Porcelain Interior]

My DD's kindergarten class last year had more boys than girls, and quite a few of the boys ended up being her very good friends. They were more willing to share, be gentle, and soothe hurt feelings than the girls were. My DD is very sensitive and came home crying several times and it was never because of a boy- always something one of the girls had done.

So I truly wouldn't worry about it.

[mags]

Does it really matter? IRL when kids aren't in school, they can be in all sorts of situations. It will never be 50/50 males and females. For all you know, your dd could end up in a male dominated field when she grows up, or she may end up in a female dominated field when she grows up. From my exp in a female dominated profession (nursing), being around a lot of females is not my cup of tea, a lot of cattiness, cliquey kind of behavior, etc.. So, maybe it'll be a good thing that she's in a class with a lot of boys and she won't have to go through that as early on. Girls seem to learn to be cliquey and catty very early on (I remember this type of behavior as early as 1st grade) and I have seen my friends' 4 yr old girls who attend preschool act this way too. It might be a good exp for your dd to learn how to interact with the boys and as others said, they can also make friends with girls in other classes. I think that she will also learn early on to be comfortable making friends with both boys and girls.

[Malva]

In my dd's grade, they have 3 girls for every boy. It's been like that ever since she started JK (she's now in gr4). Funny thing is the grade right under her has more boys than girls (approx a 2:1 ratio).

[neptunemama]

The incoming K class at my girls school has 17 boys, 5 girls. It's a private school, and although many families of girls looked at the school for K, and the school does try very hard to balance admissions wrt boys and girls, this year for some reason, many more families with boys accepted than with girls. We've never had this happen in either direction as long as I've been there. I don't know how it will play out, but sometimes it's out of a school's hands.

[marieangela]

I havne't gotten the official class list for my ds's kindergarten class, but going by his snack schedule for next month there seem to only be 7 or 8 girls out of 23 students in his class. I'm hoping that works favorably for my son and the teacher is appreciative of the boyness that doesn't always jive with schooling methods.