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  1. #11
    newmomto3kids Guest

    Default RE: kindergarten readiness

    We are in a similar situation. Johnny would be academically (if there is such a thing in Kindergarten) ready to go to K, but I just don't feel he is emotionally or physically ready. He is actually quite well behaved at school but they pointed out he doesn't really talk, is quite passive and doesn't know how to stand up for himself. He plays with the youngest kids, all girls, because he thinks the bigger boys (boys his age) are "mean". I just think he would have a hard time socially at school. I think he will do better if he a year older and more physically and developmentally mature.
    That is what I am thinking now. We will see how I feel in the summer.
    FWIW, I spent time teaching Lily how to read before she started K this year, and they spent the first month teaching them their letters and the sounds they make. I am glad she knows how to read, but I think most kids learn that in Kindergarten anyway.


  2. #12
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    Default RE: kindergarten readiness

    Just from conversations with K teachers in the lounge when I was teaching, what they really want their students to be able to do:

    put a jacket on
    tie shoes or wear velcro
    sit in circle time long enough to listen to a story
    use the restroom without needing help
    write their first name/recognize first name
    recognize at least half of the letters


    As far as curriculum, your school district might have a website with curriculum info or you could call them and see if they can send you a copy. I think it could be reassuring to see what they will be learning throughout the year.




    Lisa
    Emma 11/02
    Adam 2/07
    Their hands may be small but their feelings are just as big as ours.

  3. #13
    SnuggleBuggles is offline Black Diamond level (25,000+ posts)
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    Default RE: kindergarten readiness

    Back to what I learned at the talk. (Sorry to ramble about it, it was just very informative!). She was opposed to holding back a kid who will be old enough for school. She knew about that whole "summer boy" thing and she just didn't agree. She said that the social stuff can just click so suddenly that you could keep your child home for no good reason. She also said that nowadays it's like parents are stacking the deck by holding their kids back. It makes it harder for the teachers since there could be kids 5-7 years old during the course of a single year in the class. It's tough to provide the right learning and social environment for kids that vary so much in age.

    Also, there is the whole size factor. Some kids do get very self concious being the biggest kid in the class and that can impact them in school.

    She said that having them repeat a full year at the same school was a bad idea usually because it can be pretty boring to go backwards. It's also hard emotionally when your friends leave you behind. She really didn't see any reason why your average kid wouldn't be ready for kindergarten and couldn't get it pretty soon and thrive.

    On a personal note she said she kept her fall b-day son out of kindergarten that first year and said that it came back to bite her in the butt his senior year. He was 18 for the whole year and didn't want teachers or anyone to tell him what to do. He was a grown up, right?

    I had thought I would wait and see if ds would be ready for kindergarten next year as he is a summer boy. But I am just going to go with it. I will pick an environment where the teachers understand that he is still possibly working on social development and are willing to work with him. I won't choose a school that doesn't understand your typical young 5 year old.

    Good luck with choices. :)
    Beth

  4. #14
    purpleeyes is offline Platinum level (1000+ posts)
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    Default RE: kindergarten readiness

    I have a summer boy (late august) and we are looking into a preschool that could offer him a 3 years of preschool-just in case he needed it, so this is something I've been thinking about a lot.

    I just wanted to comment on the whole size thing-I would (am) more concerned about a boy being too 'small' rather than too big. I think there would be more of a focus on a boy who is small-I think our boys value size, height, etc., and a smaller boy may have problems because of this.
    I would also be very concerned about emotional maturity down the line-since holding him back isn't just about dealing with kindergarten. a younger boy may be more emotional, more sensitive and have problems socially because of this. Now, being a small, emotional, sensitive boy isn't a problem (we all want our boys to be honest, sensitive men, right?!:) , but it is a problem if all your classmates have moved on to a different developmental stage.

    That's just my perspective. Personally, I'm thinking about holding DS. I am not a risk-taker-and for me, I see less risk in holding.
    But ask me again after a year of preschool!! ;)

    Beth
    B

    DS
    DD

  5. #15
    MayB Guest

    Default RE: kindergarten readiness

    I wrestled with this same question last spring when deciding what to do about my very late summer (end of August) boy. There's a thread a number of pages back with a lot of good information. I also asked a number of education professors at the university where I work their opinion as well as current elementary school teachers and BTDT parents. The overwhelming majority recommended waiting.

    After much agonizing over the decision, my DH and I decided to wait. Our reasons included wanting our emotional son to have an additional year to mature (like a PP he isn't comfortable with older boys) and to develop his fine motor skills (he gets very frustrated working on writing skills). Also, our district is just beginning full year K this year, and we didn't want to be the test year. Finally, we wanted our children to be close in school (there will be 2 years rather than 3 between them -- we may regret this when it comes time to pay for college).

    Reasons we might have sent him were the fact that academically he's more than ready (counts to 1,000+ and does simple addition and subtraction; beginning to read and spell) and a big boy (95% height/90% weight). There's not a lot of definitive research out there on the topic, but the one thing that is documented is that early starters, especially boys, have trouble in junior high school because of a lack of maturity/emotional development. They tend to be followers rather than leaders and more easily swayed by peer pressure. In the end, the emotional concerns were more pressing than academic ones.

    On a personal note, I'm enjoying having my guy around the house for one more year.


  6. #16
    SnuggleBuggles is offline Black Diamond level (25,000+ posts)
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    Default RE: kindergarten readiness

    I hear what you are saying about long term consequences. But, are all parents holding their boys back? Certainly most of the boys will be his age in class (well, he will always be on the young side) so I think he will be fine with his peers. So, he won't be an early starter- he will be an on time starter.

    At the end of the day I believe that parents hold so much pull in how our kids turn out. I will hope that I will instill confidence and sense of self that will help him be more of a leader (compassionate) than a follower.

    It's really interesting to hear the differing professional opinions on this subject. I should track down some of my college professors (one was the university's preschool/ kindergarten director) for their thoughts.

    I definetly lean towards starting him on time but I have always planned to let his development lead the way. I know lots can change in the next year. :)

    Beth

  7. #17
    suz is offline Silver level (200+ posts)
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    Default RE: kindergarten readiness

    I'm not sure what part of the bay area you're in, but below is the kindergarten readiness list from the San Ramon School district.

    You can also find it on: http://www.srvusd.k12.ca.us/schools/...diness_Skills/

    HTH!


    Kindergarten Readiness Skills
    The following list describes recommended kindergarten readiness skills for entering kindergarten students. The skills are listed under skill areas. Entering students may not demonstrate competency in all skill areas.

    Behavioral Skills
    Child can usually inhibit body movements and keeps hands to himself/herself while in line and during circle time.
    Child usually sits quietly while attending to a short story.
    Child is learning to respect other students.
    Child participates in clean-up activities.
    Child verbalizes or tries to verbalize his/her frustrations and problems rather than physically acting out.
    Child is able to work in small groups.
    Child attempts to complete a teacher assigned task.
    Child chooses a free choice activity and maintains his/her involvement in this activity.

    Self Help Skills
    Child uses appropriate bathroom skills (flush toilet, wash hands, etc.).
    Child can dress self(socks, coat, and attempts tying shoes).
    Child is learning to take responsibility for own belongings (coat, school bag, lunch).

    Language and Listening
    Child can verbalize his/her first and last name.
    Child can complete a two-step simple direction.
    Child can share an idea, experience, or description.
    Child has heard a variety of stories and has participated in follow-up discussions.
    Child practices accepted patterns of speech (irregular verbs, however, are still emerging).
    Child can engage in a socially appropriate conversation.
    Child can participate in informal creative dramatics (play house, puppets, role playing, etc.).

    Math Skills
    Child can count 1 to 6.
    Child can demonstrate 1 to 1 correspondence with concrete objects up to his/her age.
    Child has had experience with identifying two objects in terms of large/small, tall/short, long/short, more/less.
    Child can recognize similarities such as color, size, and shape.

    Large Muscle Skills
    Child can identify general body parts (back, stomach, head, legs, etc.).
    Child has had experience with log rolls, jumping, standing on one foot, galloping, skipping, hopping, and swinging.
    Child has had experience throwing and catching balls.
    Child has had experience in block building.
    Child has had experience in painting at an easel.

    Small Muscle Skills
    Child has been encouraged and tries to grip crayon correctly.
    Child has had frequent experience cutting with scissors and holding scissors correctly with scissor thumb oriented up.
    Child has had experience playing with clay.
    Child has had experience playing with puzzles.

    Writing and Spelling
    Child recognizes his/her first name.
    Child tries to write his/her first name using lower case letters with a capital at the beginning.
    Child can copy, draw, and reasonably trace a line and a circle.

    Other
    Child can identify and name the eight basic colors.
    Child has had tactile experiences with water, sand, clay, rice, finger painting, etc.
    Child has had experience singing the alphabet song.

  8. #18
    MayB Guest

    Default RE: kindergarten readiness

    I know what you are saying as well. I first read about the phenomenon when I lived in the DC area ten years ago. The Post ran an article about "redshirting" in kindergarten. I thought it was the most outrageous thing I had ever heard of and swore I would never do it. Fast forward to now. I didn't do it because everyone is doing it - we live in a fairly rural area, but I think it's more prevalent in more affluent suburban districts. A friend of mine told me her daughter who was born in May is one of the youngest children in her class. I don't know how many times I said, "if he was born five days later, I wouldn't be having this discussion". DS was so close to the cutoff, it made sense to me. Another factor for me is how fast kids grow up these days. Boys who are almost a year older than him but who were in his preschool class loved things I don't want him exposed to yet (ie. power rangers, pokemon, etc.) I'm not comfortable with that level of violence. He still likes Noggin and Sesame Street. Bottom line for me was kind of like Pascal's Wager -- there seemed to be more potential downside to sending him than waiting, although in all likelihood, I don't think it will make a huge difference one way or the other fifteen years from now.

  9. #19
    SnuggleBuggles is offline Black Diamond level (25,000+ posts)
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    Default RE: kindergarten readiness

    Yes, "redshirting" was the term she used. I wish the decision weren't so complicated. I wish I were like other parents that just walked down to the local public school and signed their kids up for school on their 5th b-day. Simple. I instead have gone to 3 talks/ open houses (so far) and basically researched it a ton and still haven't decided what is best for my ds. Why does it have to be so complicated? :)

    I'm just trying to find a school where the other parents share my values wrt violence and other behavior (name calling...). Right now I am quite spoiled at our private preschool- lots of involved parents with very similair views on hot button issues. I worry what the giant public school will be like for ds (and me) since there will be a big spread of opinion on what others deem acceptable.

    Lots of his peers have older kids so Power Rangers play has become common. I just do my best to make sure it just stays within ok limits for my tolerance. We lost our happy little bubble already with respect to certain things already and it was bound to happen. So long as his dad and I are his anchors in the world I'm not too worried. :)

    Enjoy this year!

    Beth

  10. #20
    redhookmom is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
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    Default RE: kindergarten readiness

    Our local public school does a screening. Depending on the results of the screening your child is either placed in "kindergarten A" (preK) or "kindergarten B" (regular kindergarten). Some of the items on the screening:
    list as many animals as you can
    draw stated shapes (they look for completion of shapes, arrangement on paper)
    vocabulary words
    count to 20
    Write their name
    skipping
    jumping
    letter recognition
    That is all I can remember right now.

    Parents can opt out of the PreK option if they want. After K their are also 2 prefirst classes. So, about half of the kids going into first grade are a year older...

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