Sorry about the length - I need some help. My daughter's birthday falls 2 weeks after the Kindergarten cut-off, which is July 31 in our state. We had her tested last summer by the public school system to see if she qualified for early entry - after all, had this been the previous year, there would not have been a question of whether or not to send her. The test revealed that while she's smart and her IQ is on the high-end of the average range, she was not nearly genius level IQ (which was the requirement for early entry). The psychologist said that if it weren't for her birth date, she would be ready for Kindergarten. We, too, felt she was ready, so we visited a private school associated with our church. They accepted her after they performed their own testing and she started Kindergarten one day before her 5th birthday. Yes, she's the youngest in her class - but you'd really never know it. Throughout the year, she kept up well academically, socially, spiritually, and physically, but she had difficulty paying attention and was easily distracted. This resulted in her not always knowing the instructions. To be fair, the poor child inherited her distractedness from her father and her absentmindedness from me (no joke - not making excuses, it's true). Mid-year the teacher did tell us that she thought my daughter was a bit immature, but that we had the remainder of the year to go and many kids mature in these last few months of school, and even over the summer. She had a long stretch of great days of focusing and staying on task because the teacher started moving her to an isolated desk, rather than her regular group table (only for independent work, which is what she had previously had focus issues with). This proved amazing results! We figured she might just be better off without the distractions of others and working on her own - many people work better this way. But the last two weeks have been getting rough again. She might be excited for summer, I'm not sure. The teacher has never mentioned keeping her in Kindergarten another year, but she did send me a message that she'd like to speak to us about what she's observed in the classroom with it being so close to the school year. I'm worried she'll tell us they would like to keep her back. I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, if it's the best for her, then I'm all for it. On the other hand, I don't want her repeating the grade to be a detriment to her continued success in school. She's already learned it all (and again, she has done well academically), and I don't want her to be bored, resulting in her not paying attention again, and it becoming worse. Being bored was the reason we were so determined to start her this year - she was ready (or so we and the professionals thought). What are your thoughts? Anyone been through this? I'd rather her repeat Kinder than 1st or another later grade. If she repeated, we'd attend a different school for a difference experience (and to save her from not seeing her classmates move on without her). I will ultimately do what's best for her, but at this point I'm not sure. I don't want to make a mistake. This was a valuable year, but I don't want to keep her back and have it hurt her. Nor do I want to move her forward and have her repeat at an older age. I do still need to talk to the teacher next week, but I'm almost certain that's how the conversation will go. I've worried about it all year. Your feedback is appreciated. It's our first run at all this, and we're a little confused. Please be kind - we don't feel sending her this was a mistake. We're just hoping not to make any mistakes going forward. :) Thanks, Moms!
if you put her in public school kindergarten, it won't actually be a repeat since they'll be covering the same concepts but in a different way. since the only reason she wasn't there in first place was birthdate, why not just do it now?
it does sound as if another year of K will be good for her, so long as boredom doesn't settle in.
khairete
S.
In first grade they sit at their desks and don't have toys in the cubby area, they don't take naps, they don't have cutesy posters on every inch of the wall. It's real school and most kids will settle down an enormous amount in this first year of school so I would never hold a child back in kindergarten, I'd at least let her try first grade and see if she settled down. She knows the material in kindergarten so if she might be totally bored doing it again and will act even worse.
I don't really have an answer for you, but tell you my story.
My son repeated K twice in 2 different school. The second year which is not done yet, he's been bored at school. He is really bright, but has hard time to focus at achool bc he knows the content. The other point that he works indendently better. My husband and I have decided to register him in Montessori School for next year. He will expose to a higher level of materials/new subject once he is done with his work for the week.
There is one point to remember that every child is different.
Good Luck!
This is the problem with basing readiness for K on academics rather then maturity level. Many young kids can learn the facts and figures they need to pass a test, but that does not mean they are socially mature enough. I would wait and see what the teacher says. IMO if she is not mature enough then it is better to have her repeat and possibly be board in K then to send her to 1st when she is socially not ready.
Let her repeat K. Listen to the teacher who has seen a lot of kids and has everyday experience with your child. There is so much more than accademics to success in school.
Oh my,how we just agonized over this last year! Our son has an August birthday and his preschool did a test and found him ready for kindergarten based on maturity, social ability and academics. He started last school year and was 4 but turned 5 after a week.
I was a parent volunteer in the classroom so got to see him first hand. His issue was keeping up academically because they do so so much more work in kinder than they used to. He had trouble with fine motor skills like holding his pencil and writing well.
I spoke to his teacher about it and she said to wait until spring. I felt he was not ready to move on and by spring, she concurred. We had him repeat kinder and now he is one one the older kids. He is doing great and I have no regrets. I would have regretted putting him through to first grade and watching him struggle another year.
It is hard to know what to do but trust your instinct and listen to the teacher's input. Good luck!
I would repeat kinder. I doubt she will be bored - especially if she had some immaturity issues and such there are things she will already fully understand and things she totally missed. Teachers tend to take those students (that already have certain concepts) and give them side opportunities or make them class leaders/role models. I do think that a second go at kinder is a good idea.
I guess I'm in the minority, because I would not have her repeat Kindergarten. My daughter started kindergarten about 2 weeks after turning 5. Did she have trouble staying on task? Sure. What 5 year old doesn't!? Every child in her class has had issues with staying focused - that's what happens when kids aren't used to the structure of school (which none are in K).
Unless her teacher is *adamant* about your daughter repeating - which, based on what you've said, seems unlikely - I'd let her move on to first grade.
They mature in such leaps and bounds at this age that it's hard to predict where she'll be in a few months to start first grade.
Our daughter has a very good friend that sounds a lot like your child.. Her mother and grandmother are teachers, but they knew that she needed to be in kinder, she also is extremely bright.. , but towards the end of kinder, this child still had some immaturity problems..
The not paying attention, the disorganization.. etc.. And so they moved her to her neighborhood school.. We had no idea at the time this was the child's second year of kinder. This was a good way for her to gain some maturity and to reinforce expectations.
The good news is at this elementary, the students are very bright and so many of them read on higher grade levels. So even though she had experience of kinder, this was a different group of students, different teachers, slightly different curriculum.. This child flourished.
She graduated from college in Dec. . She is still t immature about some things, but she is successful.
I took a deep breath when I read the subject heading because i've thought about that before for one of our kids.
So, here are my thoughts. Meet with the teacher and see what she says. If she suggests having her repeat Kinder, I would definitely take that advice and really consider it. Now is the time for her to repeat because the emotional impact is a lot less, vs. junior high or high school. Help her now by addressing the issues. I think the impact is a lot harder if the issues continue to arise and you have to hold her back down the road. Perhaps she can have a different teacher if she repeats? If you make it a big deal, she will think it's a big deal. If you are doing what's best for her and not making it a bad thing, she will learn from you.
I don't remember - have I PMed you about this before? If so, I apologize for not remembering, and if not, then here we go :-)
I think some of the behavioral/attention issues could be your daughter's age and the fact that she is so young. (I used to teach kinder and those summer birthdays, especially the august/late august - our cutoff is Sept 1).
I would wait and see what the teacher says. Has the teacher ever mentioned holding her back another year? If not, you could just be psyching yourself out.
I completely understand where you are coming from though - that you don't want to push her on to 1st if she is not ready, but don't want her to be bored with another year of kinder. It's a tough call. Wait and see what the teacher says and go from there...
I'll share my own experience with this. I am a September baby, so I would be 4 entering K, only to have my b-day a few weeks into the school year and only just be begining 5.
My parents had me enrolled in a pre-school which had a blended 2/3 year old class, a nursery and a kindergarden. Finances changed, circumstances changed and they enrolled me in the local public school.
Despite testing well, and being placed in the "fast tracked" classroom, the talented and gifted program, and in classroom settings where I, and others who completed their work quickly, could get out of our seats and do supplemental self study, I was often bored and frankly disruptive. I didn't have to study or apply myself to anything until I got to lawschool. Even then it was just a question of managing the volume.
My point being, notwithstanding what you decide re: whether or not to repeat K, be sure to look into the curriculum and expectations of the new school you are considering transitioning her to. It was very frustrating for me to be in a firstgrade classroom where the teacher was still introducing letters, and I would entertain myself by reading the names of the presidents displayed along the chalkboard.
Good luck to you and yours,
F. B.
Kindergarten kids are YOUNG...and immature. Whether they just turned five or are about to turn six. I think the teacher needs to realize this. My daughter turned 5 the day before school started. She has done just fine all year and since you said she has done well academically, I would move her to 1st grade. She has established frienships and learns what she needed to in Kindergarten. I think she would become bored if she repeated.
I think that right after you talk to the current teacher, you need to talk with the school you would move to. They might have a very different curriculum, which would mean that your child won't be learning the same things next year in K in a different school than she learned in K in the current school. You also might talk to them to find out what kind of in-class enrichment is possible for a child repeating K, to make sure the child doesn't get bored academically while she gains some maturity.
I know I went into my first meeting with the teacher and principal expecting to have to fight to get my child what he needs to succeed - and I've been pleasantly surprised at every meeting that the school has had great suggestions on how to handle my concerns and my son's abilities, offering all kinds of enrichment to keep him challenged. Talk to the school - old and new - before you get really worried.
Our son repeated kinder. Best decision we ever made.
You just explained our daughter and situation almost exactly. We sent our daughter through a private school for kindergarten. She did great, except that she wanted to have the teachers contant attention, she wanted to be the one chosen to answer questions and tell stories. Due to that, and the advice of her private school teacher and some teachers we know from church, we sent her to public kindergarten the next year. So, she did really get two years of kindergarten but at different schools. She was the class leader in public school and all the kids looked up to her. Academically she did great but wasn't bored because the teaching methods were quite different. She is now in 2nd grade and I have no regrets.
Hi there!
First of all, you have to write down your thoughts and concerns, and meet with your child's teacher, and discuss what the possibilities are to help her to succeed in school.
Second, there is NOTHING wrong with having your kid repeat K, but it is important IF you do that to switch schools or at least classrooms, to expose your kid to a different experience, and a different environment. It is vital that you adopt a very POSITIVE attitude and explain to your child shortly and clearly what is going to happen because your attitude WILL AFFECT your daughter's attitude and progress.
Keep in mind that every kid is totally different and mature at different ages. Success in K depends on more than intellectual abilities; there is an important factor of maturity, motor skills and more and if the child is not "there" yet, he/she will have some difficulties that are better to address earlier than later. Please it doesn't mean that the child is limited or something , it IS JUST part of his/her development. Period.
IF you feel you decide that she will not repeat K (it is more your decision than the teachers's, but this decision needs to be made with COMPLETE and REALISTIC INFORMATION given by the teacher), you will need to work closely with the teacher and school to find solutions led by encouragement, common sense, practical approaches and lots of guide for your little one.
Any decision you make, needs to be D. with objectivity without labeling and lots of encouragement.Your kid will be fine...she is just a little one and has all the time ahead to mature, learn....You want her to LOVE learning and LOVE knowledge, do not spoil that at this age.
Good Luck!
Well, since the teacher hasn't even recommended it, I think you're jumping the gun. If she does recommend it, at least find out the reasons why. Personally, I think maturity and the ability to focus and sit still is extremely important. And it's a lot harder to repeat a year in 3rd or 4th grade than it is in kindergarten. I'm all for letting kids wait to start school where maturity comes in -- my son has a summer birthday and we waited. It was a very good decision. My daughter was reading several years above grade level and has a march birthday, so we couldn't really justify it, but she could have benefitted from an extra year.
My daughter is about to finish 5th grade. The kids who sat at separate desks in kindergarten were the same kids who needed to sit at those desks in 1st, 2nd, and so on. They continued to have trouble all the way through. Only one boy that I know of, who was the youngest in his class and was separated a lot, went on to fit succeed more - he started excelling at piano (strong outside interest) and his parents included him in a special abacus math class that his sister was taking and he knew all his times tables by the end of first grade (special academic skill that bolstered confidence). His parents did everything right.
If she recommends keeping her back, listen carefully. In my opinion, if it needs to happen, holding back younger is better.
I would not repeat kindergarten. Since when are kindergartener supposed to be able to sit all day and focus, Kindergarten is where they learn to rules of life. So if she really has your genes n your husbands, keeping her back will not help. Just do things with her over the summer. Send her on.
I would not repeat. I would expose her to lots of other kids to help with maturity during the summer. I'd read with her and persevere!
My sister started kindergarten when she was 4 (early Oct birthday), so she turned 5 a few months into it.
Academically she did alright but she suffered maturity problems all the way through school.
It might just have been her - maturity has never been her strong point (and it never will be no matter how old she gets).
Boredom in the classroom is not going to go away whether you hold her back or not.
The class travels at the pace of the slowest student and many a bright kid will be out of their minds bored right up through elementary and middle school.
No Child Left Behind has been a disaster for gifted kids.
Some gifted programs are better than others, but many of their budgets have been cut to ribbons.
With our son, we've stressed getting through the boring stuff as quickly as he can and when the work's done, then we can go learn something fun.
We try to not let the school limit what he learns.
(His birthday is end of Oct and the schools here say you must be 5 on or before Sept 30 to start kindergarten - so he turned 6 while in kindergarten.)
Anything that interests him we'll get a book on it, see a museum/zoo/aquarium or build/launch rockets in the back yard.
Straight A's so far have been easy for him and he's been accepted into our district's STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Marketing) program for high school starting next year.
Some kids really need that extra year of maturity to do well in school and others don't.
See what her teacher says.
She seems like she is doing fine, keep moving her forward. Lots of kids are easily distracted at that age and miss directions. And if her distraction level is so bad that she doesn't do well going forward, then have her evaluated for attention issues and get the help she needs to deal with that. It would be unfair to hold her back just because of attention issues given how well she handles the academics. And holding back a year would be NO guarantee that the attention issues would magically go away just because she is a year older in K.
I don't think u would ever regret letting her repeat - just to gain the social maturity and boost her confidence. Our very bright son has a June birthday and my husband and I have already decided we want him to be old for his class, due to increased maturity which will continue to benefit him even through the college years...
Talk to the teacher and see what she says and express your concerns. You don't want her getting bored if she repeats K but I agree I'd rather have my child repeat K than have trouble down the road....with that said, she's 5...kids that age are still working on focusing on things they don't really want to do...I've been a lunch/recess monitor for 5 years at an elemantary school and the kids start getting antsy about this time of year...And my son has an August birthday 3 weeks before our cut off (our district does a Kinder screening in the spring)...And he was fine...no more absentminded than than the next...he's in 6th now and making honor roll....Anyways, one of the moms in our preschool was keeping her summer baby in preschool another year and was trying to get us to do the same...May have the best for her little one but mine would would have been bored out his mind....I hope this helps...Talk to the teacher and see what she recommends...if there were major issues, you probably would have heard by now....Good luck
Although there is a lot of material to cover in kinder.. there is a lot of play too.. kinder is about behaving following directions.. social skills.. as well as abc and 123..
if your daughter can read... at an appropriate level. I would start first grade. first grade is all about reading. kids sit at desks most of the day. it is a serious business environment. if she does not do well in first grade I would repeat first grade... there is a ton of new material in first grade...
