Holding back in kindergarden?

Has anyone done this?
I just got off the phone with B's teacher. She had said that he's doing
great, but long story short, her recommendation is that he stay a second
year in kindergarden come this September.
He's doing good as far as uppercase/lowercase letters go, knows the sounds
that the letters make, he can copy just fine whatever's given to him, but
he's having some issues with word association, as in understanding that
these letters, when put together, form a word. This is something I have
noticed at home. He loves his books. Depending on how good he's been
during the day, he gets anywhere from 1-3 books read before bed. Lately,
I've been pulling out the baby books - like the picture books with a single
line per page that will say something like, "The dog is brown." (has a
picture of a brown dog above letters) "The brown dog eats his food." - you
know, the basic books you'd read to an infant... I dug these out of A's room
for B so that he can try and read to me, but I've noticed that simple words,
like, THE, DOG, IS, BROWN - he just doesn't get the concept of
words/sentences. I even get him to sound out each letter, sound out with
him, and sound it out as it's written to see if he can put the word
together, but he can't. That's pretty much the main concern of the teacher,
but she did say that it's normal and there's many kids who struggle with
something like this and she doesn't think much of it as it is common enough.
He is also an early starter - was only 4 and a half when he started
kindergarden.
Right from the start, I had put him in kidergarden with the thought that I
felt he wouldn't be ready for grade 1 in a year and I had, from the
beginning, decided that I would keep him a second year in kindergarden, so
he'd start first grade when he was 6 and a half. I had talked to my mom
about this, and she had totally agreed, but had also said to see what the
teacher/school recommends towards the end of the year, and I decided that
rather than making a solid decision of a second year in kindergarden, wait
for what the teacher has to say and go with that...If she felt he would be
ready for grade 1, then go with that, if she felt it would benefit him more
for a second year in kindergarden, I would go with that.
So, her recommendation was a second year in kindergarden. I told her
straight up that I was perfectly fine with that, and she almost sounded like
she's had this convo before with other parents who were not agreeing with
her at all, because she had quickly said that it is totally my decision for
kindergarden again or go with grade 1. Again, I told her my feelings and
how I had thought from the start, so has anyone had to experience this?
Am I wrong for wanting (at the very beginning) to keep him a second year in
kindergarden - which turns out to be the teacher's thoughts as well?
She had also told me that he very well could pick up and just fly through
the rest of this year and she could be eating her words and he takes off and
grasps everything perfectly fine. I do also plan to wait until the very end
of the year to see what she has to say, but as of right now, I am perfectly
fine with a second year in kindergarden. It's not that he's stupid, he's
just 5 years old, and at 5 and a half, I surely cannot see him being able to
sit a full day in school in grade 1. He's far from stupid or dumb, and he
definitely has come a long way since September, but the teacher also said
that with a second year in kindergarden, he'd already have a lot of the
concepts under his belt, and for grade 1 the next year, he'd be doing
awesome and be more than ready for first grade.
Does anyone have any suggestions? He really is doing well, and he is at the
level of all the other kids, but there's just some concepts, like this word
association, that he's kind of falling behind with, and even though I've
been told it's normal, does anyone have any first hand experience?

--
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet?

"'Kate" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 14 Mar 2006 20:44:02 GMT, "xkatx"
the following was posted in blue
dry erase marker:

Has anyone done this?
I just got off the phone with B's teacher. She had said that he's doing
great, but long story short, her recommendation is that he stay a second
year in kindergarden come this September.
He's doing good as far as uppercase/lowercase letters go, knows the sounds
that the letters make, he can copy just fine whatever's given to him, but
he's having some issues with word association, as in understanding that
these letters, when put together, form a word. This is something I have
noticed at home. He loves his books. Depending on how good he's been
during the day, he gets anywhere from 1-3 books read before bed. Lately,
I've been pulling out the baby books - like the picture books with a
single
line per page that will say something like, "The dog is brown." (has a
picture of a brown dog above letters) "The brown dog eats his food." - you
know, the basic books you'd read to an infant... I dug these out of A's
room
for B so that he can try and read to me, but I've noticed that simple
words,
like, THE, DOG, IS, BROWN - he just doesn't get the concept of
words/sentences. I even get him to sound out each letter, sound out with
him, and sound it out as it's written to see if he can put the word
together, but he can't. That's pretty much the main concern of the
teacher,
but she did say that it's normal and there's many kids who struggle with
something like this and she doesn't think much of it as it is common
enough.
He is also an early starter - was only 4 and a half when he started
kindergarden.
Right from the start, I had put him in kidergarden with the thought that I
felt he wouldn't be ready for grade 1 in a year and I had, from the
beginning, decided that I would keep him a second year in kindergarden, so
he'd start first grade when he was 6 and a half. I had talked to my mom
about this, and she had totally agreed, but had also said to see what the
teacher/school recommends towards the end of the year, and I decided that
rather than making a solid decision of a second year in kindergarden, wait
for what the teacher has to say and go with that...If she felt he would be
ready for grade 1, then go with that, if she felt it would benefit him
more
for a second year in kindergarden, I would go with that.
So, her recommendation was a second year in kindergarden. I told her
straight up that I was perfectly fine with that, and she almost sounded
like
she's had this convo before with other parents who were not agreeing with
her at all, because she had quickly said that it is totally my decision
for
kindergarden again or go with grade 1. Again, I told her my feelings and
how I had thought from the start, so has anyone had to experience this?
Am I wrong for wanting (at the very beginning) to keep him a second year
in
kindergarden - which turns out to be the teacher's thoughts as well?
She had also told me that he very well could pick up and just fly through
the rest of this year and she could be eating her words and he takes off
and
grasps everything perfectly fine. I do also plan to wait until the very
end
of the year to see what she has to say, but as of right now, I am
perfectly
fine with a second year in kindergarden. It's not that he's stupid, he's
just 5 years old, and at 5 and a half, I surely cannot see him being able
to
sit a full day in school in grade 1. He's far from stupid or dumb, and he
definitely has come a long way since September, but the teacher also said
that with a second year in kindergarden, he'd already have a lot of the
concepts under his belt, and for grade 1 the next year, he'd be doing
awesome and be more than ready for first grade.
Does anyone have any suggestions? He really is doing well, and he is at
the
level of all the other kids, but there's just some concepts, like this
word
association, that he's kind of falling behind with, and even though I've
been told it's normal, does anyone have any first hand experience?

Kids learn to read by memorizing whole words not by putting letters
together.

I remember sounding out each letter until I recognized the word from
sounding out. And then after sounding out each word, I do remember
recognizing that particular word and moved past the sounding part fairly
quickly.

I remember learning to read - I memorized "Hop on Pop" first, word for
word, then after "reading" it many times, I could use what I'd memorized
to read other books.

My youngest had a book called "Get Lost Becka" that was amazing. When we
got to the "Get Lost Becka" part, we screamed it. After awhile, she knew
when it was coming. It was also important to point to the words as I
read them so that she got the visual cue that the sound of the word was
that word.

With books, he 'reads' them to me, but it's more of him memorizing what has
been read to him over and over. I don't believe he's actually reading the
word... He looks at the pictures and recalls what is normally read on that
page, and most books he can recite back to me with his eyes closed. I do
try and read simple 'baby' books to him and I do point to each word as I
read it, and every now and then I'll stop and ask him what the next word is.
If he is following along with me, chances are he'll say the next word from
memory of sound, not from visualization. I have tossed him a curve ball by
going back a page and finding something for him to read back to me, but that
gets us nowhere.

I think that you could easily, over the summer, get him up to speed if
you find a topic that interests him (dinosaurs, sharks, frogs, cars,
trucks) and find a book with a key phrase that is repeated throughout
the book. Read it every day with him. Ask if he'd like you to read it
again when you're done. "Forget" words that you're pointing at and see
if he remembers what comes next. Have him "read" the key phrase.

That's bascially what we have been doing all along. He quite enjoys his
dinosaur books, and again, he can name dinosaurs based on what they look
like, not what the word is. He does, however, every now and then get
stuck... He'll see one picture (he has these little cards of a whole bunch
of dinosaurs from that Leap Pad game thing) and it will be a Brontosaurus.
He'll look at the Brontosaurus, and he will also look at the Brachiosaurus,
I believe it is, and he sometimes has to ask me which one it is. I ask him
what the letters say, and he then reads out the letters and I ask him what
the letters mean, and it does take him some time, but he is usually able to
figure it out on his own before he gets upset or frustrated and gives up.

I'm not in favor of children repeating a grade. If a child has a
learning disability, repeating a grade will not fix it. It's time for
diagnostic tests. If a child does not have a learning disability, then
summer work will fix the problem of lagging behind.

I'm not in favor of repeating a grade either, actually, but when I think
about it, I'm even less in favor of early starters in kindergarden,
ESPECIALLY since my reasons for putting him in kindergarden as an early
starter were somewhat selfish. I put him in kindergarden to get him out of
the house and out and about with other kids. At 4 and a half, I did not
believe he was ready for kindergarden, but with a newborn at that time, and
after I had pulled him out of daycare 6 months earlier when I had stopped
working, I did think it would do him good to get out and be with kids since
that is what he was used to and I did notice a major behavioural change in
him as he was at home all the time with me.

Most boys don't sit still a full day in first grade. Consider meeting
with a first grade teacher before you make a final decision on this to
see what he/she expects of her students and how the day is structured.
Perhaps you can observe a class.

No matter what, I am switching schools in September. He will be going to
the school that I had wanted him to go to, and, fortunately, it's even a lot
closer to home than his school is now. I put him in a special school
because it had the Ukrainian program, and there's only 4 K-6 schools in the
city - 2 on the south side, 2 on the north side, and there's 1 catholic and
1 public school on each side of the city. He's currently in the public
school, which is a lot bigger of a school and class sizes are a lot bigger,
and the catholic school I wanted him in has only 1 class in each grade,
which makes it a smaller, close-knit school in general and has smaller class
sizes.
When he changes schools, which is something I have already decided and made
my mind fully up about already, if he goes into first grade, that's fine,
but if he's better to stay in kindergarden, I know he will just assume it is
more play time for him. He WON'T be feeling left behind since he will have
a whole new group of friends, new teacher and won't be doing the exact same
material that he has just completed, so I don't think the feeling of failure
will be there in a new school as it would be with the same school.
Kindergarden is a lot easier to stay in, and I had thought that a second
year in kindergarden would be a lot easier, and more beneficial to him, than
struggling through grade 1, or grade 5 or grade 9... Whatever it may be. I
don't have the money for a tutor or for summer school, and really, I have
sat in on a few of his current classes, and really, they do very little as
far as sitting down to learn goes. Most learning seems to be hands on and
done through more fun stuff than sitting at a desk and listening to a
teacher or reading off a black board.

But this is your call. You're the parent, you know him best, and what
you say goes.

good luck hon... that's a tough decision.

In a way I do see it is. The one thing I know for a fact is that the kids
that I went to school with (this is K-6, anyways) the early starting boys
who started kindergarden at 4 and a half did not do so well. They didn't
fail or do horribly, they weren't stupid, but they were never on the honor
roll, whereas the boys that started kindergarden at 5 and a half almost
always were. My expectations for school for my own seem to be the same
expectations my parents had for us. You do your best. All 3 of us were on
the honor roll. My oldest of the younger brothers missed honor roll back in
about grade 3 - possibly 4 it might have been - and my mom noticed he was
struggling in the class and had lost all interest in the Ukrainian program,
so my mom switched him to the school close to home and he was back on the
honor roll without the special Ukrainian program. Honestly, I don't know if
I'm expecting too much, but what parent would not want their child to do
their best and aim for honor roll in school?
We do still have time. This isn't a decision I MUST make right now or even
in the immediate future. I would hate to see him fail or not do very well
in school. If I even had a small idea that it could have been because he
started too early, I definitely would blame myself.

xkatx wrote:
"'Kate" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 14 Mar 2006 20:44:02 GMT, "xkatx"
the following was posted in blue
dry erase marker:

Has anyone done this?
I just got off the phone with B's teacher. She had said that he's doing
great, but long story short, her recommendation is that he stay a second
year in kindergarden come this September.
He's doing good as far as uppercase/lowercase letters go, knows the sounds
that the letters make, he can copy just fine whatever's given to him, but
he's having some issues with word association, as in understanding that
these letters, when put together, form a word. This is something I have
noticed at home. He loves his books. Depending on how good he's been
during the day, he gets anywhere from 1-3 books read before bed. Lately,
I've been pulling out the baby books - like the picture books with a
single
line per page that will say something like, "The dog is brown." (has a
picture of a brown dog above letters) "The brown dog eats his food." - you
know, the basic books you'd read to an infant... I dug these out of A's
room
for B so that he can try and read to me, but I've noticed that simple
words,
like, THE, DOG, IS, BROWN - he just doesn't get the concept of
words/sentences. I even get him to sound out each letter, sound out with
him, and sound it out as it's written to see if he can put the word
together, but he can't. That's pretty much the main concern of the
teacher,
but she did say that it's normal and there's many kids who struggle with
something like this and she doesn't think much of it as it is common
enough.
He is also an early starter - was only 4 and a half when he started
kindergarden.
Right from the start, I had put him in kidergarden with the thought that I
felt he wouldn't be ready for grade 1 in a year and I had, from the
beginning, decided that I would keep him a second year in kindergarden, so
he'd start first grade when he was 6 and a half. I had talked to my mom
about this, and she had totally agreed, but had also said to see what the
teacher/school recommends towards the end of the year, and I decided that
rather than making a solid decision of a second year in kindergarden, wait
for what the teacher has to say and go with that...If she felt he would be
ready for grade 1, then go with that, if she felt it would benefit him
more
for a second year in kindergarden, I would go with that.
So, her recommendation was a second year in kindergarden. I told her
straight up that I was perfectly fine with that, and she almost sounded
like
she's had this convo before with other parents who were not agreeing with
her at all, because she had quickly said that it is totally my decision
for
kindergarden again or go with grade 1. Again, I told her my feelings and
how I had thought from the start, so has anyone had to experience this?
Am I wrong for wanting (at the very beginning) to keep him a second year
in
kindergarden - which turns out to be the teacher's thoughts as well?
She had also told me that he very well could pick up and just fly through
the rest of this year and she could be eating her words and he takes off
and
grasps everything perfectly fine. I do also plan to wait until the very
end
of the year to see what she has to say, but as of right now, I am
perfectly
fine with a second year in kindergarden. It's not that he's stupid, he's
just 5 years old, and at 5 and a half, I surely cannot see him being able
to
sit a full day in school in grade 1. He's far from stupid or dumb, and he
definitely has come a long way since September, but the teacher also said
that with a second year in kindergarden, he'd already have a lot of the
concepts under his belt, and for grade 1 the next year, he'd be doing
awesome and be more than ready for first grade.
Does anyone have any suggestions? He really is doing well, and he is at
the
level of all the other kids, but there's just some concepts, like this
word
association, that he's kind of falling behind with, and even though I've
been told it's normal, does anyone have any first hand experience?

Kids learn to read by memorizing whole words not by putting letters
together.

I remember sounding out each letter until I recognized the word from
sounding out. And then after sounding out each word, I do remember
recognizing that particular word and moved past the sounding part fairly
quickly.

I remember learning to read - I memorized "Hop on Pop" first, word for
word, then after "reading" it many times, I could use what I'd memorized
to read other books.

My youngest had a book called "Get Lost Becka" that was amazing. When we
got to the "Get Lost Becka" part, we screamed it. After awhile, she knew
when it was coming. It was also important to point to the words as I
read them so that she got the visual cue that the sound of the word was
that word.

With books, he 'reads' them to me, but it's more of him memorizing what has
been read to him over and over. I don't believe he's actually reading the
word... He looks at the pictures and recalls what is normally read on that
page, and most books he can recite back to me with his eyes closed. I do
try and read simple 'baby' books to him and I do point to each word as I
read it, and every now and then I'll stop and ask him what the next word is.
If he is following along with me, chances are he'll say the next word from
memory of sound, not from visualization. I have tossed him a curve ball by
going back a page and finding something for him to read back to me, but that
gets us nowhere.

I think that you could easily, over the summer, get him up to speed if
you find a topic that interests him (dinosaurs, sharks, frogs, cars,
trucks) and find a book with a key phrase that is repeated throughout
the book. Read it every day with him. Ask if he'd like you to read it
again when you're done. "Forget" words that you're pointing at and see
if he remembers what comes next. Have him "read" the key phrase.

That's bascially what we have been doing all along. He quite enjoys his
dinosaur books, and again, he can name dinosaurs based on what they look
like, not what the word is. He does, however, every now and then get
stuck... He'll see one picture (he has these little cards of a whole bunch
of dinosaurs from that Leap Pad game thing) and it will be a Brontosaurus.
He'll look at the Brontosaurus, and he will also look at the Brachiosaurus,
I believe it is, and he sometimes has to ask me which one it is. I ask him
what the letters say, and he then reads out the letters and I ask him what
the letters mean, and it does take him some time, but he is usually able to
figure it out on his own before he gets upset or frustrated and gives up.

I'm not in favor of children repeating a grade. If a child has a
learning disability, repeating a grade will not fix it. It's time for
diagnostic tests. If a child does not have a learning disability, then
summer work will fix the problem of lagging behind.

I'm not in favor of repeating a grade either, actually, but when I think
about it, I'm even less in favor of early starters in kindergarden,
ESPECIALLY since my reasons for putting him in kindergarden as an early
starter were somewhat selfish. I put him in kindergarden to get him out of
the house and out and about with other kids. At 4 and a half, I did not
believe he was ready for kindergarden, but with a newborn at that time, and
after I had pulled him out of daycare 6 months earlier when I had stopped
working, I did think it would do him good to get out and be with kids since
that is what he was used to and I did notice a major behavioural change in
him as he was at home all the time with me.

Most boys don't sit still a full day in first grade. Consider meeting
with a first grade teacher before you make a final decision on this to
see what he/she expects of her students and how the day is structured.
Perhaps you can observe a class.

No matter what, I am switching schools in September. He will be going to
the school that I had wanted him to go to, and, fortunately, it's even a lot
closer to home than his school is now. I put him in a special school
because it had the Ukrainian program, and there's only 4 K-6 schools in the
city - 2 on the south side, 2 on the north side, and there's 1 catholic and
1 public school on each side of the city. He's currently in the public
school, which is a lot bigger of a school and class sizes are a lot bigger,
and the catholic school I wanted him in has only 1 class in each grade,
which makes it a smaller, close-knit school in general and has smaller class
sizes.
When he changes schools, which is something I have already decided and made
my mind fully up about already, if he goes into first grade, that's fine,
but if he's better to stay in kindergarden, I know he will just assume it is
more play time for him. He WON'T be feeling left behind since he will have
a whole new group of friends, new teacher and won't be doing the exact same
material that he has just completed, so I don't think the feeling of failure
will be there in a new school as it would be with the same school.
Kindergarden is a lot easier to stay in, and I had thought that a second
year in kindergarden would be a lot easier, and more beneficial to him, than
struggling through grade 1, or grade 5 or grade 9... Whatever it may be. I
don't have the money for a tutor or for summer school, and really, I have
sat in on a few of his current classes, and really, they do very little as
far as sitting down to learn goes. Most learning seems to be hands on and
done through more fun stuff than sitting at a desk and listening to a
teacher or reading off a black board.

But this is your call. You're the parent, you know him best, and what
you say goes.

good luck hon... that's a tough decision.

In a way I do see it is. The one thing I know for a fact is that the kids
that I went to school with (this is K-6, anyways) the early starting boys
who started kindergarden at 4 and a half did not do so well. They didn't
fail or do horribly, they weren't stupid, but they were never on the honor
roll, whereas the boys that started kindergarden at 5 and a half almost
always were. My expectations for school for my own seem to be the same
expectations my parents had for us. You do your best. All 3 of us were on
the honor roll. My oldest of the younger brothers missed honor roll back in
about grade 3 - possibly 4 it might have been - and my mom noticed he was
struggling in the class and had lost all interest in the Ukrainian program,
so my mom switched him to the school close to home and he was back on the
honor roll without the special Ukrainian program. Honestly, I don't know if
I'm expecting too much, but what parent would not want their child to do
their best and aim for honor roll in school?
We do still have time. This isn't a decision I MUST make right now or even
in the immediate future. I would hate to see him fail or not do very well
in school. If I even had a small idea that it could have been because he
started too early, I definitely would blame myself.

Kat,

Just want to add my 2 cents.....My oldest started early as well and for
her there were no difficulties. I believe it depends on the child
because they all learn differently and at a different pace. I myself
would not be upset for my own child to be kept back in kindergarten,
all was not lost to start early , kids need to be introduced to the
social benefits as well. It is less of a defeat to a younger child that
may not truly understand the "staying back" concept and by repeating
kindergarten could just help them to succeed better, with less struggle
in the harder grades.
Bev

I put my sons in Kindergarten early, they were 4 1/2 and I ended up holding
them back in Gr. 1 instead. We also moved so it was easier for them
socially to repeat a grade. They're in Gr. 4 now and doing very well. I
just don't see the benefit of holding him back for Kindergarten when you can
make that decision next year, because there are alot more resources
available to helping Gr. 1 students, like reading recovery, no?

Christine

CME wrote:
I put my sons in Kindergarten early, they were 4 1/2 and I ended up holding
them back in Gr. 1 instead. We also moved so it was easier for them
socially to repeat a grade. They're in Gr. 4 now and doing very well. I
just don't see the benefit of holding him back for Kindergarten when you can
make that decision next year, because there are alot more resources
available to helping Gr. 1 students, like reading recovery, no?

Christine

Christine,

You make a very good point that I hadn't considered. I agree with what
you say.
Great advice!
Bev

"CME" wrote in message
news:_naTf.3730$_Q.1258@edtnps89...
I put my sons in Kindergarten early, they were 4 1/2 and I ended up holding
them back in Gr. 1 instead. We also moved so it was easier for them
socially to repeat a grade. They're in Gr. 4 now and doing very well. I
just don't see the benefit of holding him back for Kindergarten when you
can make that decision next year, because there are alot more resources
available to helping Gr. 1 students, like reading recovery, no?

Christine

I can't keep him at the same school next year that he's in this year. That
school is just too far since we moved. The school he's at was closer to
home before we moved, and the school I wanted him at is the one that is
closer to home anyways now that we moved. It's the difference of about a 7
min drive compared to about a 20 minute drive. He does take the bus, but on
the days that he's sick or I need to go to the school or whatever, it would
make a world of a difference as far as time and gas goes, and it seems that
I am, fairly often, at the school for one reason or another.
This new school he will be going to no questions asked. I've already made
that decision because it's the school I had wanted in the first place, but
this school only has one class per grade.
The thing that I am caught on now, is does he go to grade 1 at this new
school? If he ends up struggling in grade 1 and he stays for a second year
of the first grade, he will definitely feel left behind because all the kids
in his class would go on to the second grade and he would be in the first
again with new friends and classmates, since the others would go ahead. If
he stays a second year in kindergarden, first year at the new school, he
wouldn't even know the difference, and come the next year after, he would go
on to the first grade with the same classmates and friends. At this new
school, they also have an afterschool program for kindergarden, and
kindergarden only, as well, his current school does not. Either with first
grade or kindergarden, he would have a full day, in a way, but less sitting
down and learning, I guess, with the kindergarden program.
I think at this point, I will call the teacher on Monday morning and see if
she is available that we could actually sit down with her. Even see if my
mom would be able to make it or something and get a better idea. I like the
school he's at, but it's just not the school I had wanted him in right from
the start. I had went to the open house for the school I wanted before
registering him anywhere, and that was the school I was set on. We went
with the other for other reasons, like free kindergarden buses and in the
case that he wouldn't be ready for first grade or something. As far as
anything else, I have no idea. I'm definitely completely new to the whole
school system and all that, and I really have no experience at all when it
comes to any of this, obviously!
Most kids in his current class are reading, although it's basic words and
reading, yet he is not yet at that stage. He loves to read books, but he
can't really actually read a book to me unless he knows it by memory from me
reading it with him.
Maybe one on one, sitting down with his teacher would be beneficial at this
point? I don't know anymore, and yes, you do have a good point that I do
also need to consider. Whatever decisions are made, I don't want his
schooling to suffer in the short or long run.

"xkatx" wrote in message
news:7XgTf.3777$_Q.2479@edtnps89...

"CME" wrote in message
news:_naTf.3730$_Q.1258@edtnps89...
I put my sons in Kindergarten early, they were 4 1/2 and I ended up
holding them back in Gr. 1 instead. We also moved so it was easier for
them socially to repeat a grade. They're in Gr. 4 now and doing very
well. I just don't see the benefit of holding him back for Kindergarten
when you can make that decision next year, because there are alot more
resources available to helping Gr. 1 students, like reading recovery, no?

Christine

I can't keep him at the same school next year that he's in this year.
That school is just too far since we moved. The school he's at was closer
to home before we moved, and the school I wanted him at is the one that is
closer to home anyways now that we moved. It's the difference of about a
7 min drive compared to about a 20 minute drive. He does take the bus,
but on the days that he's sick or I need to go to the school or whatever,
it would make a world of a difference as far as time and gas goes, and it
seems that I am, fairly often, at the school for one reason or another.
This new school he will be going to no questions asked. I've already made
that decision because it's the school I had wanted in the first place, but
this school only has one class per grade.
The thing that I am caught on now, is does he go to grade 1 at this new
school? If he ends up struggling in grade 1 and he stays for a second
year of the first grade, he will definitely feel left behind because all
the kids in his class would go on to the second grade and he would be in
the first again with new friends and classmates, since the others would go
ahead. If he stays a second year in kindergarden, first year at the new
school, he wouldn't even know the difference, and come the next year
after, he would go on to the first grade with the same classmates and
friends. At this new school, they also have an afterschool program for
kindergarden, and kindergarden only, as well, his current school does not.
Either with first grade or kindergarden, he would have a full day, in a
way, but less sitting down and learning, I guess, with the kindergarden
program.
I think at this point, I will call the teacher on Monday morning and see
if she is available that we could actually sit down with her. Even see if
my mom would be able to make it or something and get a better idea. I
like the school he's at, but it's just not the school I had wanted him in
right from the start. I had went to the open house for the school I
wanted before registering him anywhere, and that was the school I was set
on. We went with the other for other reasons, like free kindergarden
buses and in the case that he wouldn't be ready for first grade or
something. As far as anything else, I have no idea. I'm definitely
completely new to the whole school system and all that, and I really have
no experience at all when it comes to any of this, obviously!
Most kids in his current class are reading, although it's basic words and
reading, yet he is not yet at that stage. He loves to read books, but he
can't really actually read a book to me unless he knows it by memory from
me reading it with him.
Maybe one on one, sitting down with his teacher would be beneficial at
this point? I don't know anymore, and yes, you do have a good point that
I do also need to consider. Whatever decisions are made, I don't want his
schooling to suffer in the short or long run.

Well I know convenience is an issue, but that really shouldn't be taken into
account, because it's not about what's best for you, but for him.

Christine

"CME" wrote in message
news:P4mTf.3859$_Q.1558@edtnps89...

"xkatx" wrote in message
news:7XgTf.3777$_Q.2479@edtnps89...

"CME" wrote in message
news:_naTf.3730$_Q.1258@edtnps89...
I put my sons in Kindergarten early, they were 4 1/2 and I ended up
holding them back in Gr. 1 instead. We also moved so it was easier for
them socially to repeat a grade. They're in Gr. 4 now and doing very
well. I just don't see the benefit of holding him back for Kindergarten
when you can make that decision next year, because there are alot more
resources available to helping Gr. 1 students, like reading recovery, no?

Christine

I can't keep him at the same school next year that he's in this year.
That school is just too far since we moved. The school he's at was
closer to home before we moved, and the school I wanted him at is the one
that is closer to home anyways now that we moved. It's the difference of
about a 7 min drive compared to about a 20 minute drive. He does take
the bus, but on the days that he's sick or I need to go to the school or
whatever, it would make a world of a difference as far as time and gas
goes, and it seems that I am, fairly often, at the school for one reason
or another.
This new school he will be going to no questions asked. I've already
made that decision because it's the school I had wanted in the first
place, but this school only has one class per grade.
The thing that I am caught on now, is does he go to grade 1 at this new
school? If he ends up struggling in grade 1 and he stays for a second
year of the first grade, he will definitely feel left behind because all
the kids in his class would go on to the second grade and he would be in
the first again with new friends and classmates, since the others would
go ahead. If he stays a second year in kindergarden, first year at the
new school, he wouldn't even know the difference, and come the next year
after, he would go on to the first grade with the same classmates and
friends. At this new school, they also have an afterschool program for
kindergarden, and kindergarden only, as well, his current school does
not. Either with first grade or kindergarden, he would have a full day,
in a way, but less sitting down and learning, I guess, with the
kindergarden program.
I think at this point, I will call the teacher on Monday morning and see
if she is available that we could actually sit down with her. Even see
if my mom would be able to make it or something and get a better idea. I
like the school he's at, but it's just not the school I had wanted him in
right from the start. I had went to the open house for the school I
wanted before registering him anywhere, and that was the school I was set
on. We went with the other for other reasons, like free kindergarden
buses and in the case that he wouldn't be ready for first grade or
something. As far as anything else, I have no idea. I'm definitely
completely new to the whole school system and all that, and I really have
no experience at all when it comes to any of this, obviously!
Most kids in his current class are reading, although it's basic words and
reading, yet he is not yet at that stage. He loves to read books, but he
can't really actually read a book to me unless he knows it by memory from
me reading it with him.
Maybe one on one, sitting down with his teacher would be beneficial at
this point? I don't know anymore, and yes, you do have a good point that
I do also need to consider. Whatever decisions are made, I don't want
his schooling to suffer in the short or long run.

Well I know convenience is an issue, but that really shouldn't be taken
into account, because it's not about what's best for you, but for him.

Christine

And what is best for him is the school I had originally wanted him to
attend, and the school he will attend this coming school year. The
difference is class sizes, small school in general, and it's the full
Ukrainian school with the Catholic school board, whereas where he's at now,
it's the public Ukrainian school, and both Ukrainian and Catholic are 2
things that he probably doesn't really care about, but are important to me.
Just a personal preference. I am also not at all able to drive him to and
from school every day - especailly with the baby and everything else. His
current school is far away and he spends an hour on the school bus every day
to and from school. That's 2 hours total on the bus, but the bus time would
be cut down to about half an hour each way - or so I was told - to the new
school.
Yes, I did put him in kindergarden early mainly because he was out of
daycare - which is something he had been used to since he was an infant -
and with him at home all day AND a newborn (as A was 3 weeks old when school
started) it was just easier and I figured it wouldn't hurt to get a start on
school since he was definitely at the age where he could start school.
As far as what's best for him, honestly, at this point, I really don't know,
which is why I believe actually sitting down with the teacher might help me
have a better idea as to what really would be better for him immediately, as
well as in the long run. At his age at this point, I really don't think he
cares. He doesn't really know any different, and I don't believe he's at
the age where he would be able to express himself and say exactly what he
wants. He has enough trouble deciding what he wants for lunch - soup and
sandwiches or Spaghetti-o's is enough of a decision for him!

"xkatx" wrote in message news:knnTf.3076$J43.1414@edtnps90...

"CME" wrote in message news:P4mTf.3859$_Q.1558@edtnps89...

"xkatx" wrote in message news:7XgTf.3777$_Q.2479@edtnps89...

"CME" wrote in message news:_naTf.3730$_Q.1258@edtnps89...
I put my sons in Kindergarten early, they were 4 1/2 and I ended up


great big snip


Yes, I did put him in kindergarden early mainly because he was out of daycare - which is something he had been used to
since he was an infant - and with him at home all day AND a newborn (as A was 3 weeks old when school started) it was
just easier and I figured it wouldn't hurt to get a start on school since he was definitely at the age where he could
start school.

You put him into kindergarten early because it made things easier (and cheaper) for you. He wasn't ready.

Please don't hamper his education process by forcimg him ahead a grade when he clearly still isn't ready.

"Moon Shyne" wrote in message
news

"xkatx" wrote in message
news:knnTf.3076$J43.1414@edtnps90...

"CME" wrote in message
news:P4mTf.3859$_Q.1558@edtnps89...

"xkatx" wrote in message
news:7XgTf.3777$_Q.2479@edtnps89...

"CME" wrote in message
news:_naTf.3730$_Q.1258@edtnps89...
I put my sons in Kindergarten early, they were 4 1/2 and I ended up


great big snip


Yes, I did put him in kindergarden early mainly because he was out of
daycare - which is something he had been used to since he was an infant -
and with him at home all day AND a newborn (as A was 3 weeks old when
school started) it was just easier and I figured it wouldn't hurt to get
a start on school since he was definitely at the age where he could start
school.

You put him into kindergarten early because it made things easier (and
cheaper) for you. He wasn't ready.

Please don't hamper his education process by forcimg him ahead a grade
when he clearly still isn't ready.

I was never once forcing him ahead a grade. I had actually put him in
kindergarden KNOWING - as a mother, and I do feel that I know him best all
around - that he wasn't going to be ready for grade 1 this coming September.
I knew this all along, BUT... he was old enough to start school based on his
date of birth, and I didn't see any harm in him starting kindergarden at 4
and a half, as an early starter, BECAUSE, come this next September, he could
go to first grade if he was ready, BUT, we still had the option for a second
year of kindergarden instead.
I'm taking him to the school today, and I'm going to see if I can meet with
the teacher later, after the class is out. I never once was for putting him
into grade 1. I can't remember who said it, but it was said somewhere that
there's something about reading programs over the summer... It's not the
actual reading he has troubles with. It's before the reading part with the
word association. He does need to get word association down first, and then
reading follows, or am I wrong about that?
When the teacher called the other day about this, I wasn't at all, in the
least, offended or upset. I was quite calm and understanding and I fully
agreed with her. As far as first hand with school, she definitely would
know best. I'm sure she has had parents who had a big fit over such a
conversation, yet I see nothing wrong with it. I do have my own doubts that
he's ready for first grade, and when the teacher suggested more
kindergarden, that kind of made me more comfortable with what I had thought
originally. In the end, it is my choice, but obviously my choice will be
what I do believe is best for him.
And as far as being cheaper, it's not at all cheaper, really. Before, he
was staying at home with me. If he wasn't in school, he would still be at
home with me. The school offers free kindergarden buses, but I guess if you
get technical, school is more expensive when I am driving him to school or
paying for fundraisers, like the sausage fundraiser we just had.