Update:
I visited our neighborhood public school grades K and 1st. Both classes had a lot of time where kids were on their own or working in a small group of peers while other kids were with the teacher for reading etc...Both classes were quiet and kids engaged in something. K has an aid that stays in ONE classroom. The other 2 K classrooms do not get an aid. No aids in 1st at all. Plus, our neighborhood school is the only school in the county with a deaf and hard of hearing program integrated into all classrooms in all grades (started by Galudet). K had 27 kids per class and 1st had 28 per class. I was impressed with what 1st was doing. I spoke to the principal about what K was doing also (already above what DS is doing in his modified K program). Principal told me to bring DS to K roundup and they would speak with him and decide if he belongs in K or 1st.
Now the private: K (the grade DS was accepted into) will be a max of 12 kids and 2 teachers. Kids will range from just turning 5 to turning 7 in K (so far we know my DS and one other student will turn 7). I got to see them doing a cooking segment. The K kids were reading the cooking instructions off the board. They were reading long sentences. They were discussing how/when something is a solid, liquid and gas etc... The class will be predominantly boys also.
A couple of extra things. Public has one 20 minute recess (and I understand that might be on the chopping block for my county). Private has recess before school, morning break, PE 5 days a week, recess after lunch, afternoon break (recess). So 5 times during the day for physical activity (which DS needs to help regulate himself).
Here is another glitch. Since DS is in a Pre-K program doing K work, he isn't doing all the K work in a normal K. So he is missing about 1/2 of what they do in K. Putting him in 1st may be a bad idea (as he would not be caught up). Plus, DH and I have really been observing DS and how he reacts/interacts with others. We realize he truly functions better with kids younger than himself. If we place him with same age peers in 1st there is a big chance that socially it will be a disaster. What I noticed at the public school was that the K kids already seemed more mature that DS.
the more we talk about it, the more we realize that putting DS in private K may be the best thing for him (even though we really would rather do public 1st, I think we realize that we will most likely be back to private in a year anyway). Decision not final yet, but we are leaning heavily towards private K.
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Some of you have seen my posts in the lounge about DS and K. He is 6. His bday is in November. Our cutoff for K is September 1st. DS is in a private Transitional K program this year with all kids who are K ready. It's a school for kids who need extra social and pragmatics support. We are not re-enrolling him in the school next year. One reason is that they do not offer FA and we cannot afford $26,000.00 tuition next year. They say he needs one more year there in K (doing K and 1st work). They will not move him to 1st b/c they say he is not ready. DS got into another private that has things in place to help SN kids (it's similar to the school he is in but more academic and less clinical). They have FA and we should bet getting something (I hope). DS has been diagnosed with ADHD and he is dealing with SPD. He is in OT. He needs speech therapy for articulation of a few letters. He may also need vision therapy (although we are waiting on that). The new private also accepted him for K. I asked for him to be reconsidered for 1st. They decided it was not an option for him there. So, here is my dilemna. Do I just go public and do 1st (b/c he is 6 now and will be 7 in November) with outside OT, speech and a social skills class? Will it be a disaster for a kid who 2 schools have said is not ready yet (even though he is age appropriate)? Do I send him to the private K (as a kid turning 7 in the fall of K--with probably most of the boys at age 6 in K at this school already)? What happens if/when he goes into public after I do this? Will this be a huge deal for him (to be the absolute oldest in a public school classroom--by at least 18 months if not more)?
I'm going to our public K to observe a 1st grade class. I guess I will be able to surmise if my DS will be able to handle it next year.
DH and I are really torn. On the one hand, DS is immature. On the other hand, I have never heard of anyone sending a child to K who will be 7 in the fall of K (even if they are immature). DS is doing the saxon math for K now and is reading (although he will not open a book--he reads trucks, signs, things off the TV etc....). I'm worried about a few things--Can DS make it in 1st in public (or will the large class be to overwhelming for him and will be not be able to do the work)? Will holding him back cause other issues if public vs. private? Public says they will put him in 1st and pull him out for reading, handwriting and to meet with the school counselor with a group of kids (social skills stuff) if there are other kids in the school who also need it.
I'm really lost if you have not already been able to tell.