Who has a child starting Kindergarten this year?

[GlennandAnn]

Our son Cameron will start kindergarten on the 25th. He's going for half days in the PM (which will really mess up my schedule, of course!!). This is going to be a really new experience for all of us. He will be going to public school and taking the bus
DH and I went to Catholic school and walked every day. When he goes to first grade, he'll have the option to eat the cafeteria food, DH and I had to bring our lunches from home every day. No uniforms, no nuns or priests, it's going to be different for us. I am excited for him, because he is such a bright boy and an eager learner- I know he is going to love school. On the other hand, I am sad in a way because he is getting so big!


Ann

 

[Pinnie]

Originally posted by Barb D
DD had her evaluation this morning, and the K teacher agreed with her preschool teacher that she should wait another year before starting K. This is what we thought, too, but it's good to have it confirmed all the way around.

The evaluation consisted of letter recognition (upper and lower case), and letter sounds. DD knew about 2/3 of her letters and a few of the sounds. Then the teacher asked her to put number cards from 1-20 in order. She did fine with 1-10, but needed lots of help from then on.

The teacher said DD would do OK in K, but since we have another option (the private school Transitional K class for kids who aren't quite ready for K) it would benefit her to wait.

DD tends to "glaze over" when we try to do academic stuff, and the public schools in our area are very academic for K. so I'm sure this is the right decision.

Good luck to ALL the kindergarteners and the parents out there I am sure everyone is going to have a successful year with so many supportive parents!

Barb, I am a teacher in our district's "Young 5s" alternative kindergarten program and I have been teaching for 29 years. I really do believe you are doing the right thing by giving her another year to grow and develop. I have been teaching Special Ed and then kindergarten for the past 29 years and the curriculum now in place with the new NCLB standards are TOUGH! Kindergateners are expected to take a 10 sentence dictation by January. YIKES!!!

Best wishes to you and everyone on this board, and if you need a K teacher's help, just "give a little whistle!"

pinnie

 

[Missy1961]

I don't have any kids, but 1 nephew and 1 niece are starting kindergarten this year.

My nephew will be going to school in VA. I don't know much about his school.

My niece, who I spend a lot of time with (we live in the same state), will be going to a private, all day kindergarten. I do know she's taking the bus, but I'm not sure about the lunch. In fact, I want to know because I want to buy her a Disney lunch box!

I feel old because I've got nephews & nieces ranging in age from 13 to 5 months old!

 

[mickeyboat]

My DD's are starting Pre-K this year. I know it's not K but I have been dying to respond to this thread beacuse I am so excited about them going.

DD4's birthday is September 2, DD3's birthday is August 27th. The kindergarten cut-off day to turn 5 is August 31st. So... my kids who are a year apart will actually be in the same grade in school.

I really debated whether to force the issue and try to get DD4 placed in K this year. DH's cousin did this with her son born about 10 days after the cut-off. I chose not to because I don't think she is ready for K. She is very bright but has some social issues. Being the youngest kid in the class won't help that. The K grade this year in our school disctrict is larger than usual. I felt she wouldn't get the special attention she will need.

So, now I have a very unique situation. I talked to the principals and Pre-K teachers who said it didn't matter at this age whether they are in the same classroom or not. I chose to put them in separate classrooms which have quite a bit of interaction. We have the option to put them in the same classroom later if we feel the need to do so. They have never been separated and count on one another quite a bit so I don't know how they will do apart. But they have very diverse personalities and I want them to make their own way in school, so I had them put in separate rooms.

They are going to a public pre-K, 4 days a week from 8:30 to 12:30. The class is an integrated one, with 1/2 of the class defined as "special needs" and half the class not. Special needs is defined broadly in this case, and I think the diversity will be a good thing for my kids to experience.

Open house is August 26th and the first day of school is August 31st.

I am struggling with transportation issues. I have to be at work at 8:00. DH is a carpenter and often starts work before 7:00. I have an hour for lunch so I can pick them up and bring them to their home day care but I am not sure what I will do to get them there. Car pooling is an option but it is tougher to find a spot when you are trying to place two kids. They don't offer bus service at this age because the kids are so young and there is no funding for bus service at this level. We will figure it out, I guess.

Kids will have linch at day care when they get there in the afternoon. They provide a snack in the morning.

Sorry for stealing your thread. Thanks for listening.

Denae

 

[alnickandme]

I just had to jump in here - I have a K'er too!

When is his/her first day? Her first day is Aug 25th

Private or public?
Public

Full or 1/2 day?
1/2 day - mornings

Do you have your class assignment yet? Any friends of your child's in his/her class?
One little boy from preschool, I'm not worried though - she will talk anyone's ear off

Are you using any after/before school care? No, she'll come home to spend the afternoon with me and her little brother

Bus, walk, Mom/Dad driving?
Bus, reluctantly - she insists on it, I am nervous

I get teary whenever I think about it - I like having her all to myself! But I am so happy for her - she is so excited and will have a great time.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

Wow! Lots of us have kindergarteners. Brandon is going to start school Aug 26th. He will go full day and he will go to the Catholic school. He will start out packing lunch but there is a cafeteria so he may buy some of the time. One boy in his class was on his baseball team last spring and the coach's wife is going to teach the afternoon session. He will get bussed for now, but we'll see how it goes though.

 

[slo]

My DD is starting private school on August 25th and I am driving her due to private school sharing the bus with middle school kids.

She will be going all day, but will be used to it due to the fact she currently goes to daycare all day.

I'm letting her decide on a daily basis what she wants to do for lunch, but I can see her just eating their food everyday.

She is very excited and so am I. I just can't believe my baby is growing up.

 

[laurie31]

My younger daughter is also starting kindergarten this year. She is almost 6 (she misses the cut-off by 5 weeks) so I opted for a full-day program for her, even though I chose half-day for her older sister, who was barely five when she started. She is ready for a full day program. It's weird not having her come home at noon, though.

She goes to a private school, which is very small (about 80 kids in 3k-2nd grade). There are 6 kids in her class. There is no cafeteria, so I have to send snack and lunch each day.

They started Monday (Aug 9th) This is waaaay to early!

They will get out May 13th. I would gladly trade a week of May for a week of August. Oh well...

I haven't had a chance to be all sad about my baby going to kindergarten though, as I'm more freaked out by my older daughter transfering to public school. The private school she formerally attended (where dd5 is now) only goes through 2nd grade. The public elementary school here is very good, though, so I don't worry about the quality of her education, but she was in a class of 6 last year and now is in a class of 21, is a school of 500. She eats in the cafeteria about half the time - they send the menus home for the month so she takes a sack lunch if they're not serving something she likes. She is also riding the bus. I never rode the bus so this one is really hard for me. I feel like I should drive her. So far, she LOVES school and loves riding the bus. Yay! Her two best friends from last year are in her class - amazing, considering there are five 3rd grade classes.

I wonder if the novelty of the bus will wear off when it's cold this winter and she figures out she could sleep 30 minutes longer if I take her I have to take Catherine anyway and it's only about 3 minutes further to Elizabeth's school, so it's not a big deal. I guess I'll see what happens

Laurie

 

[wdwnutze]

My youngest will start on September 8(I think). Public school. We have met her teacher. She has a couple of friends from pre-k that will be in her class. She will go a 1/2 day. Don't know if she starts mornings or afternoons first. She will be taking the bus to and from school.

 

[Kimberle]

Denae,

Good luck with Pre-K! Believe me, the year is going to go by FAST!!!



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Morning, to all other Kindergarten Moms & Dads!!