[Purple Cat]

Kids enter kindergarten at all different levels. We've worked a lot on what would be considered the Kindergarten skills. If your child knows the K stuff or is working on a level beyond K, what happens to your child in kindergarten?
TIA

 

[Novella]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Purple Cat Kids enter kindergarten at all different levels. We've worked a lot on what would be considered the Kindergarten skills. If your child knows the K stuff or is working on a level beyond K, what happens to your child in kindergarten? TIA

Colouring. . . lots and lots of colouring.

: BTDT, not kidding.

 

[Kristine233]

Kindergarten is about more than academics. It has a lot to do with getting used to schedules and socializing. Kids enter kinder at all different levels.

 

[quaz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kristine233 Kindergarten is about more than academics. It has a lot to do with getting used to schedules and socializing. Kids enter kinder at all different levels.

I truly get that, BUT at the same time, MOST kindergartens these days are focusing far more on academics at the expense of many of the 'fun' items that used to be there, and at the expense of socializing.

In addition more and more kids have at least one year of pre-school, and get schedules. This line isn't completely accurate anymore, because the schools are MAKING it be about the academics.

I have a child going into K this year who regularly reads books that are at a third grade level and can decode at least to a fourth grade level. Her math is at an early 2nd grade level. She's already had a year of preschool, and gets schedule.

Having her sit through five days a week from 8:30-3pm in a K classroom, so that her big she can glean something more about scheduling and socialing is .... so low ball that to 30 hours a week... estimate 4 weeks a month, and let's lowball the months to seven months in school....
That is a conservative estimate of 840 hours to learn about how to sit in a classroom, and be able to play with kids on a playground. Yes, it is important, but for that time investment more needs to be happening for a child that is ready to learn at a 1rst grade, 2nd grade, whatever level.

OP....

If you are lucky, you will have a teacher that will be able to differentiate the work, and group the kids some. I've known teachers that have sent kids up to first grade for reading.

I've also heard of teachers that MAKE kids do the K work, no matter if they already know it. I've heard of teachers refusing to differentiate anything.

Like any professions there are fantastic teachers, mediocre teachers and poor teachers. What happens in K, or any other grade is dependent upon your district, school and teacher.

Give the teacher 3-4 weeks, to adjust and know the kids and then set up a brief conference with her.

Tammy

 

[Momily]

I can only talk about what happens at my school (where I'm an administrator)

First of all, there's a bunch of things that happen in the course of the school day that aren't particularly academic, and sort of naturally accomodate different level learners: Each day our K kids get the following:

45 or 90 minutes of arts instruction -- dance, music, art, Spanish, PE, some of them twice.

an hour of recess

45 minutes of choice time (a mixture of academic choices like reading in the library center which would include some picture books that are sophisticated enough that your daughter would probably enjoy them, and choices like building with blocks).

45 minutes of lunch and snack

15 minutes of morning meeting (greet your friends, review the schedule, read a morning message (which would be written too low for your daughter, but which takes about 3 minutes), play a movement game).

Altogether that's a little more than 1/2 of the day.

Then the kids get the following:

30 minutes writer's workshop -- there's a 5 minute mini lesson which would probably be pretty boring for your daughter, but the rest of it is kids writing on whatever level they're on and the teacher circulating and giving kids coaching on the next steps for them -- so for your daughter it might be character development, while the kid next door gets "you can write the first letter of the names of the people in your picture". Our kids who are far above grade level do pretty well with this.

30 minutes of reading workshop -- again a mini lesson that would be boring but brief, then independent reading -- during the first part of the year the kids are officially working on retelling familiar stories, looking through nonfiction books and learning from the pictures, etc . . . The kid who can read generally just read the books. Books are chosen based on their "retellability" not their reading level so there's a wide range of challenge. Then partner reading where a child sits with a child with similar reading level (although your child would likely have a partner who reads at a lower level since her skills are so high) and take turns telling each other about what they read that day and reading to each other. Later in the year kids are reading books that are "just right" for them, that is books that correspond to the reading level they test at, but the format (read by yourself, then talk with a partner) is the same. They also meet with the teacher 1 to 4 times a week for about 10 minutes to talk about new books and get some coaching -- these are ability grouped and your child would probably meet once by herself.

30 minutes of math workshop -- would be far below her level, whether she'd find it boring really depends. There's a lot of creating with manipulatives, a lot of playing simple strategy games. Many of our gifted kids find it a fun social time, and some kids, even kids who are only slightly behind, may find it boring -- it depends really on how flexible and easy going they are.

20 minutes of phonics/sight words -- there's some effort to differentiate here, but this is probably one of the times most likely to bore a bright/high performing child. Again there's some differentiation -- in our higher grade the highest kids skip this and do research projects, but unfortunately phonics isn't something beginning readers can do independently -- you need someone there to tell you the sounds of the letters, model, etc . . . So the kids who don't need it either end up playing/working along side the others or doing some kind of seat work -- the teacher might let a kid read independently.

20 minutes or read aloud -- often includes content that's new, even for a pretty sophisticated kid. E.g. our kids do a unit on heroes from Black History, so kids might be listening to a picture biography of Bessie Coleman that they've never heard before. Or it could be fun poetry that would make any kid laugh.

20 minutes of "fine motor" -- playing with playdough, making things with materials that require kids to use their finger tips to manipulate, building letters with manipulatives. includes handwriting worksheets a couple of times a week (these are the only worksheets we do)

Science/Social studies -- 45 minutes a couple of times a week, might be planting plants or doing a simple experiment. Again it's probably a mix of things that will be easy (e.g reading rebus directions for an experiment) and things that involve new learning.

The rest is sort of a mishmash -- maybe they're writing thank you notes for the person who led their field trip, or getting their wiggles out with a game.

In my experience the kids at the top have a decent experience in K. About 1/2 the day has nothing to do with academics and they're fine. About another 1/4 is pretty naturally differentiated or new information. How they react to the last quarter really really depends on the kid. Many kids, including bright kids, enjoy playing and manipulating and being with friends and find a lot of these activities fun even if they aren't challenging (e.g. planting seeds -- do all K need to do this? no many are already familiar with it. But then my 60 year old mother knows how it works, but still enjoys working in the garden). There also a minority, not neccessarily any brighter, kids who find any kind of review "boring" and get restless very easily. They struggle. I think it's important to note that this is as much about temperment as it is about intelligence/academic skills. The kids with low skills and similar temperments struggle the second something's confusing. The kids with average skills and similar temperment struggle if they're momentarily behind because they were absent yesterday, or if they mastered it yesterday and it's now "easy" for them.

I'm going to add that there are plenty of schools like PP's posted where kids color all day -- the reality is that all the kids are coloring and doing worksheets all day and that's not appropriate for any child. The gifted or advanced child might find it even harder, but I'd wouldn't wish those schools on anyone's child.

OP: I'm editing this to say that I've confused you with Quaz -- when I write things like "your child would likely be in a group alone" or when I call your child "her" I'm thinking of Quaz's child -- I don't know your child's gender or exact skill levels, obviously.

 

[straighthaircurly]

My son's K class has other specialist subjects for 1 quarter each year (science, music, gym, and community cultures). Kids who are reading and doing math at a different level are given work more appropriate to their level. Sometimes it is working in a separate group for part of the day, sometimes it is enrichment work sent home. That isn't to say that there is not a lot of repetition of skills some kids know already, that is the nature of a group schooling environment. If you don't want that then you should home school.

I m not clear from your post whether you feel there is some other option you are contemplating? Skipping a grade? Homeschooling? Other?

 

[Amylcd]

It does not matter what level they enter at... they will all be doing the same thing, which at my DD's school was starting with learning colors and the alphabet. Every kid in her class knew these things already but the teacher was required to "teach" it anyway.

 

[octobermom]

At my DD school they work at the level they are at. The first few weeks might be a bit on the boring side as yes they are seeing who can do what a lot of "review" for many but it moves along fast. Anyways if a child doesn't know there ABCs they start learning if they are reading independenly they are given books and assignments on that level. There are also other areas other than basic math reading a typical day for us here

reading block (about 90 mintues) set up in rotating centers and at diffrent levels depending on where they are
specials (about an hour) a rotating class schedule between PE character ED liabary and Choir
luch and recess
math block set up like the reading block
recess
rotating science/history blocks
finial story time/snacks and dismisal

Deanna

 

[Miss Information]

One of the lovely things they had the K kids do was write in their journals a few times a week. Now as a first grader, she does more journal work too.

What my daughter was able to do was write and illustrate her own stories. One of the girls brought in a home-made book, and so dd1 loving the idea, brought in a few home made books.

The teacher, being really open minded, loved the idea so much she let the students read their stories to the class and asked them if she could keep the handmade books in their in-class library area, and so all the kids could enjoy the stories. She returned the books to the students at the end of the year.

Because it generated a lot of interest, she also decided to create a writing center, filled with paper and pencils and crayons so the kids could make books in school.

Perhaps that's what you could encourage your child to do that as well and see if your child's teacher likes the idea too. It's is a wonderful opportunity for your child to develop creative writing skills.

***
Oh, for our school, this coming year the option is for 1/2 day or full day K, and I chose the 1/2 day option, one reason being so that I could do more things at home that I know would challenge dd.

 

[CarrieMF]

It depends on your school. You need to contact them & find out.

My middle dd passed k after 16 days & she'd missed 4 days when we were gone for a wedding.

She did NOT spend the year colouring or doing exactly the same work all the other kids did.

When the other kids were being tested on their abs'c & numbers, she was doing letter sounds. When she got the letter sounds they started guided reading early. By the end of K she was reading at a Grade 2 level. They did the same with math.

She NEVER said she was bored. If she had I would have pushed for more.

Now you can have your child tested & placed early, or possibly into Grade 1.

When this dd went into Grade 1 she was placed in the 1/2 split & was doing the Grade 2 work along with the Grade 1 work.

 

[34me]

It definitely is diferrent at every school. My ds entered K as your dd may be. It was a horrible for experience for him as they definitely taught to the kids that did not know, their letters, shapes, and some who couldn't recognize numbers yet. It has taken us until 4th grade and a school change to have him even enjoy being in a class room again.

 

[the_lissa]

At my daughter's school, the teacher teaches and grades for each kid's particular level. They don't all do the same stuff with the kids who already know it bored and the kids who are more behind floundering, and they don't spend time colouring unless that is what they choose to do during the free play times.

 

[ChristaN]

Momily's post was about our experience. There were a few kids who went to a different room for reading and the teacher gave each of the kids books at their reading level for reading, so we didn't find that area to be too difficult even if the child was reading above grade level. Yes, there was some learning of letters, but it was fun even for the kids who knew their letters. For instance, they played music to the songs of the "letter people" and sang about Ms. V the vegetarian, and colored in pictures of Ms. V. Neither of my girls were bothered by that despite knowing the letters and one of my kids is decidedly not mellow.

Math was a little more rote for kids who were ahead in math and there probably wasn't as much differentiation taking place there. Honestly, in our experience, we found first grade to be a lot more difficult in terms of emotional wellbeing for kids who are ahead academically. There seems to be a real attitude of buckle down and make sure everyone can read well, for instance, in first grade and the amount of repetition at that grade was more challenging. For my less mellow child, that was a very tough year. My more mellow one just zoned out and entertained herself by daydreaming, but her academic skills made no progress that year at all and, in the longer term, that was harder on her emotionally b/c she wasn't viewed as the "smart" kid anymore which was unfortunate. It has been a bit of a challenge since then b/c she's not really regained her confidence.

 

[SunshineJ]

They sit there bored and unchallenged most the year.

Depending on where you are, you may or may not be able to get your child advanced a grade. Unfortunately that wasn't an option in our district, and the cut off date is strictly adhered to - even if your kid was born 3 weeks late and missed the
cutoff by 35 hours.

There's been a lot of busywork this year. The first half of the year they had the kids learning how to count to 100. For the ones that were advanced, they paired them up and had them play "math games". Sounded deadly dull to me (each kid gets 4 cards, see if you can put them in order from low to high, stuff like that), but they claim the kids love it. Eh. They did split two of the classes and one half went to beginning letters, etc. while the other went on to sight words and such. Now that we're in the 2nd semester, some of the students are being given first grade work - which to me begs the question of what they'll do in first grade then!

I've not been too impressed with it to be honest. Oh and if DS had been reading at a 3rd grade level and I'd told them this, I wouldn't have been believed even if he proved it. Go figure.

 

[ChristaN]

I'm truly not trying to be the party pooper here!

I was a lot more upset about schooling in general a few years back and have adjusted my expectations over the years to this: if my kids are happy, it is good enough. If it is damaging their emotional wellbeing, it is not good enough. I no longer expect school to be perfect or to teach them as much as I might ideally like them to be taught. To that end, I am much less happy with dd#2's schooling experience this year even though she is my less high achieving kiddo. Technically, she probably isn't terribly bored, but she is terribly unhappy and that is a problem.

Looking at it from a teacher's perspective, I also understand skepticism. Realistically, we don't all have gifted children. Gifted is 2% of the population. A lot more parents than that think that their kids are brilliant which is great -- all of our kids should be wonderful and brilliant in our eyes. However, there are a lot more hothoused kids or kids who are academically advanced due to enriching environments than there are gifted kids.

We have had years where the work has been terribly inappropriate for our kiddos. My oldest, last year, for instance, didn't learn much. However, her teacher was a sweetheart and she was not unhappy b/c they didn't make her do a lot of repetition. She just served as somewhat of a teacher's helper and got to do fun stuff like sudoko puzzles. Is that what she's supposed to be doing in school? No, but she wasn't miserable. Granted, we did make some adjustments this year to her placement that are working much better academically.

I don't know entirely how to tie this up. Basically, what I am getting at is that all children process and deal with boredom differently and for some of them it is more of a problem. If you have a gifted child, not just a kid who is a high achiever, I would personally expect first grade to be a harder row to hoe than kindergarten. Grade skips can work well for gifted kids who are also motivated and high achieving. They are not a panacea that solves all problems, though. I also think that it is not uncommon for a good chunk of kids in K classes to come in ahead academically and I would expect my kids' school to have a plan for how they help those kids continue to make progress. That is the biggest issue. Check with the individual school, see what they have to offer, and don't walk in the door spouting about your kid being bored or so far ahead of everyone else or you will get pegged as one of "those" parents whether it is accurate or not.

 

[meemee]

if you have the choice between full day and half day K, take the half day.

if you have the choice between morning and afternoon look at which would suit your family better. we went for a afternoon K and that worked out REAAAAAALy well for us.

- if you can afford it, send your child to a private preK or a dc preK and skip K.

- if your child is in ps many expect k to be like ps. lots of fun art, running around and exploratory time. well you dont get that in most public K. the focus of most kids in K is 'fun'. my dd knew a lot and what she didnt she picked up really fast. seh loved it when they did what she defined fun. she didnt want to be academically challenged. at first she does. but not at k.

-aaargh homework. choose a school that does no homework or maybe v. little homework.

- ultimately the teacher of course. when i sat and explained what was going on dd's teacher started putting her in leadership roles. helping the teacher. being responsible for some things. my dd lapped this up and to this day she feels her teacher could not have taught K without my dd's help. some of which her teacher actually agrees with. dd goes to another school these days. but we are still friends with her k teacher and hang out when we can.

- lastly if you can volunteer. that is what saved my dd from going out of her mind. it also established a good relationship with her teacher and her teacher was willing to work things out more than usual.

 

[Drummer's Wife]

I agree that it really depends on the school. My Kindergartener goes all day, and it consists of the extras such as computer lab, art, PE, music, counseling (it's really neat, actually), lunch and 3 recesses. Then of course, the important

academic stuff in the morning.

His teacher has a full-time assistant plus almost every day there is a parent volunteer. There are 17 other children in his class. They are separated at times, depending on the subject, and my DS is always in the highest group. What it means is that he is not sitting around bored or coloring while other kids are grasping concepts he mastered a long time ago. He may be building with blocks or listening to a book on CD in the literacy corner, or working with the assistant on 1st grade level work, but he's not being 'dumbed' down or getting into trouble because he's not being challenged.

This kid reads well, can add and subtract double digits and is just an overall quick learner... but I don't worry about him getting bored during the morning session in Kindergarten. And really, what he loves the most is the rest of the day where he gets to play outside and pound on the drums in music class, or bowl in PE.

I would not be happy nor would I keep him enrolled in a school that didn't meet his individual needs. If he came home saying he knew everything they were working on and wasn't enjoying kindergarten, I'd find him a more fitting program or I'd homeschool him.

 

[meetoo]

I think it really depends by what you mean by already done kindy work. If you mean she can write letters, do some simple math and read a little. Then in our school that would be fine. If you mean she is reading and doing math at a 5th grade level then maybe not so much

.

 

[BCFD]

DD is currently in a private Montessori pre-school (this is her 2nd year) and will start kindy at a Montessori charter school in mid-August. There are no desks or time schedules during the academic period (job time) in Montessori school, but there is a schedule i.e. circle time, job time, recess, lunch, job time, dismissal. During their job/work period they are free to choose anything from the prepared environment, so if my dd is currently reading at a 2nd grade level, then she may work with the moveable alphabet an do her "job" according to her level. She can do an art project, math work, or music. They don't split the class up since each child works at their own pace and to their individual levels. They may work together one on one or work in groups if they wish.

It's one of the many reasons we went the Montessori route.

 

[Mizelenius]

At my DD's school (when she was in school) the morning was for "academics" and the afternoon was for lunch and specials like art and music for the most part. P.E. was daily.

To accommodate DD, they did send her out of the room for reading, and by the end of the year, math, too. She enjoyed the specials for the most part, though art generally consisted of simply copying what the teacher displayed.

Music was great.

But, this might not be enough for your child. I think it REALLY depends on your child's personality. My DD skipped the following year to 2nd grade. She complained of being bored even with the skip but did not want to do a radical grade acceleration (which frankly, I don't know if I would have wanted either.) I ended up pulling her out in Nov., when she was in 2nd grade.

What I've found with HSing is that her personality simply would not thrive in a traditional school setting, probably even one that was catered to her level. She just does not LIKE to spend all day doing what someone else tells her to do.

Now, that may sound silly, because who does??? but I think some children "handle" it more than others do. My DD DID generally do what was asked, but it was affecting her in a very, very bad way. All of that went away once she was out of school. It isn't like her behavior is perfect (whose is?) but her sense of self is back to what it used to be.

My point is-- it isn't just about the right level, if it's school (or the kind of school-- something like Monterssori would be different, but even that, not right for my DD) is even the right fit for your child.

ETA: Oh, yeah . . .and usually 1st grade is all about reading, and if your child is reading way above grade level, then it just won't fly, and you might consider skipping. I was glad we did wait through KG to let her skip, however, because while she was several grades ahead in reading, she would still get lost going to other rooms . . .so that year was good just to get used to school, had she stayed.