My Name Is NOT Broccoli!

[kschafer]

Add me to the list of never heard of Pre-first!

In Iowa, we have half day pre-K in most schools (which will likely go away thanks to our new governor ) Daniel was right on the cutoff and we decided to place him in pre-K the fall he turned 5 and felt he was MUCH more prepared for full day Kindergarten this year. No regrets at all waiting!

 

[stace208]

Great walking around WS this evening! We love Marie at our house too! Looks like the hand holding is working!

I have heard of the Pre-first concept. They called it Transitional 1st. I wish we had it in our school-I know many 2nd graders that would have benefited from a year of that before they headed to first.

Both of my kids were young Kindergartners so I know it's a tough decision. Ben had been 5 about 3 weeks but Ellie only turned 5 a week before school started. I worried so much about both of them and feel so blessed that it turned out to be a non-issue for us.

 

[MeMom]

That is what I needed. My birthday is 8/14 and I started kindergarten that September at 5. However the next year I repeated kindergarten because while the teachers said I was smart enough I wasn't mature enough. So my parents kept me back. We did move at the end of my first year in kindergarten so at least when I repeated all my friends weren't ahead of me.

I think a lot of kids need it, especially when they are continually moving higher level learning expectations down, down, down to the lowers grades. It's just too much pressure for the kids, and it's horrible for the teachers that are trying to teach these concepts to little brains that are just not ready to process it.

It's not too southern, I've never heard of it either So, when she completes pre-first grade she'll go to first grade? I can see where that would be an advantage! There is such a world of difference in the kids that enter Kdg. at barely 5 and the ones who have been 5 for almost a year!

Yes, first grade with a solid foundation. Much more prepared for success and not frustration.

Our K teachers tell us all the time that kids are coming in two years behind. We need to get our kids at about age two, it seems like, so that they don't start out behind. That's our school, of course, which has a large population of ELL (English Language Learners) and nearly all low income.

That's interesting! I had never heard of Pre First. I've heard of pre K, but not that. I think that's a good idea. Around here, our b'day cut off was in Oct, but they recently changed to Aug or Sept (I'm not sure since my DS is older, fortunately his b'day is in Feb and I didn't have to worry about the "what to do" school thing) It is hard to know what to do when your child's b'day falls in those months. They are either the oldest or the youngest in class.

I have talked to many, many parents through the years, both at my kids' school and at my school. I have heard so many say they were glad they held back, and I have heard many say they wish they would have held back. I have never heard one say they regretted it.

I am reading backwards here......but it appears the hand-holding with the characters is working!!!
So, tell me, has Bella climbed any chairs lately?

No, but she's pretty happy about having bunk beds with a ladder.

Ahhh... a walk around World Showcase is just what I needed this snowy evening. Thank you!! Such cute pictures of the girls. They are so adorable. That chair act in France is pretty incredible, isn't it?!

It is fascinating to watch someone do that with such ease.

Stay warm in your snow!

I agree! We don't have pre-first here.....just pre-school, kindy and then 1st gd. So we held Devon back (birthday is 9/26) and the cutoff was Oct 1st. She's now one of the older kids in the class....I am hoping it gives her an advantage in terms of middle school math!

I bet it will.
The curriculum they give us for second-graders is so far above some of them that it's just not fair.

Well I'm from Arkansas and we don't have that system for school either. We have preschool and then it has to be either private or a program called headstart for kids whose parents meet the income guidelines. Then kindy and then first grade. Around here if your child has a summer birthday or late summer birthday some parents opt to hold them back a year. Both of my girls had summer birthdays and I struggled with what to do. I went ahead and sent them. One did fine and even graduated early the other would have done better with the extra time. It really does depend on the child. My son was born in January so I sent him on.

Oh yeah! Our temps got up to 48 today so Ty got to run some energy off outside! They are saying it will be up to the 60's by Saturday.

I saw his video. He was being a typical little boy - stomping around making noise and throwing sticks!

Add me to the list of never heard of Pre-first!

In Iowa, we have half day pre-K in most schools (which will likely go away thanks to our new governor ) Daniel was right on the cutoff and we decided to place him in pre-K the fall he turned 5 and felt he was MUCH more prepared for full day Kindergarten this year. No regrets at all waiting!

You are like everyone else I have ever spoken with - no regrets at all.

 

[MeMom]

Great walking around WS this evening! We love Marie at our house too! Looks like the hand holding is working!

I have heard of the Pre-first concept. They called it Transitional 1st. I wish we had it in our school-I know many 2nd graders that would have benefited from a year of that before they headed to first.

Both of my kids were young Kindergartners so I know it's a tough decision. Ben had been 5 about 3 weeks but Ellie only turned 5 a week before school started. I worried so much about both of them and feel so blessed that it turned out to be a non-issue for us.

Marie is Jill's middle name, as well as Bella's, so we have a bit of partiality toward the cute kitty. The hand holding was still working its magic!

Yes, they did call it T1 in the public schools here. They disbanded it a few years ago, much to the dismay and frustration of the first grade teachers.

And you have such awesome kids, too. Just being with them for that few minutes, I could tell they were such good and fun kids to be around.

 

[IluvXU]

Hannah is an old first grader, I am so glad I did it, and as a teacher I totally agree I have never had a parent regret waiting. Luke will be the same way. I keep reminding myself with Emily going to K at not quite five and a half it will be different than Hannah at age 6. It also made the decision to send her half day kindergarten versus the full that is now offered too.

 

[Poolrat]

No We were the only district in the entire state of Rhode Island(and Southern Massachusetts) that had school. The roads were horrible. The main roads were okay, but the side roads weren't plowed until late morning/early afternoon. We have a nice neighbor who plows our driveway and most of our street. Of course, the town plows came by later and plowed the snow from the street into our driveway. My mom almost couldn't get out to pick me up. A lot of people couldn't get out so they just stayed home. The school was half empty. A ton of teachers couldn't get to school today and they ran out of substitutes. I didn't get anything done in any of my classes today except for math because teachers had to handle two classes at once because they had no other teachers available. It was a complete waste of time. We definitely shouldn't have had school

That happened to me when I was in High School. We were late getting in so we were herded into the cafeteria or the auditorium. I had enough at that point. I walked home. Oh by the way my house was not close to school either. I can't remember how long it took me but I finally got home.




**************************

Thansk for the walk around World Showcase. I love bella poking out her belly.

I think it is great that Brooklyn will have that extra time. My DD could have used extra time but she was born in March and was not given a choice.

The only great thing is now both my kids are finally doing well and I would rather have that than have teenagers who are in trouble.

 

[micandminforever]

I enjoyed the picture tour around Epcot. Maybe this trip we will take the time to stop and enjoy more of the acts in each country. We usually watch the bands in Canada and England then shop or eat thought the rest of the countries.

When I started school the cut off was Dec. 31, with a Dec. birthday I start 1st grade at age 5 and turned 6 in Dec. There was 3 classes and they grouped us my our birthday. Everyone in my class had a birthday in Sept, Oct., Nov., or Dec.. They changed the start date to before Sept. 1 in Ga. in the 70's.

MeMom have you ever talk to anyone about working for Holt, and bring the kids over?

 

[SoonerGirl]

It just gives another year of preparation to younger kids. Brooklynn will not turn five until a few weeks into school, whereas most kids will be five and some months or even six. They do work more geared to first grade, and it gives them time to mature in many ways. It will be to her advantage during crucial years to not have everyone being older than her.

We have that in our district, called Transitional or T1. It's not at all schools, just some of them, so if it's suggested that your child go into T1 they may have to be transported to a school other than their home school. Justin's K teacher told me I should consider putting him in it, he wasn't behind academically at all, she was just afraid he wasn't ready emotionally. She felt he was too competitive and got too upset when he wasn't first I didn't hold him back and I've never regretted it. He's an honor student, and yes, he is still competitive, another year of school wouldn't have changed that.....

Definitely a Wigd picture


Thanks for another lovely stroll around WS!

 

[brookelizabeth]

A hug to Belle from Bella! She sure is getting brave with those characters! Yay Bella!

The little belly sticking out is sooooo sweet!

Maybe it is a southern thing, then? It just gives another year of preparation to younger kids. Brooklynn will not turn five until a few weeks into school, whereas most kids will be five and some months or even six. They do work more geared to first grade, and it gives them time to mature in many ways. It will be to her advantage during crucial years to not have everyone being older than her.

A lot of parents see it as a 'failure' for their child if a teacher suggests T-1 or Pre-First, but it is really an advantage. Jill even said the woman who interviewed with them said that those classes are usually full of teachers' kids, because they see it as an advantage rather than a failure.

I don't know if it is a southern thing or a private school thing or both. When I went to Kindergarten we had two regular Kindergarten classes and then there was a pre-First class and a kind of Kindergarten/PreK split class. If your birthday fell between September and May you were in one of the two regular Kindergarten classes, if your birthday was a summer birthday or you would turn five before Christmas you were in the split class. The children who were in the split class either went to first grade (if they had turned 6 by September 1st) or they went to Prefirst with the children who weren't old enough to go to first grade yet. Of course that was back in the day when nobody went to Preschool and PreK like most children do now.

My cousin was one of those children who had a summer birthday. She turned 5 in the middle of July and started Kindergarten in August so she was in that K/PreK class. During nap she and anotehr girl who had a July birthday went down to the library and worked with an aide and ended up going to first grade with me (I turned 6 in October of my Kindergarten year). The rest of the class went to Prefirst and graduated the year after us. It has been a very difficult and thought out decision on what to let Brooklynn do. I talked to my cousin about her school experience and she said she didn't know any different so it hadn't bothered her except for she drove after everyone else. However, her son who was born in July jsut a month before Brooklynn is doing PreK next year when he is 5 and then starting Kindergarten at 6. Brooklynn will actually start Kindergarten at 4 years old since we start school the beginning of August in the South. She will do Kindergarten this year and then next year she will go to PreFirst which is more structured than Kindergarten but not quite as structured as First grade. We feel it will give her an extra year to mature since sometimes you would swear she is a grown up and then you blink and she is acting like she is 2. It will also allow her to be one of the older kids during those peer pressure filled teen years which I think will give her the extra confidence she will need at that time. I was slightly concerned taht she would make friends in kindergarten and then they would go to 1st grade and she would be left behind, but i have found out taht some of her good buddies form her current school will be attending Kindergarten there when she is in Pre1st and then they will all go to 1st grade together so that makes me feel better.

So in a nutshell Prefirst allows younger 5 year olds to mature befor going on to elementary school so that they can have a successful school career and not constantly be playing catch-up socially and emotionally, as well as, educationally.

So interesting! Here the cut-off is December 31. Henry has a September 1 birthday, so he'll be one of the younger kids, but there will be others that are younger. He'll do PreK as a barely 4 year old, then K as a barely 5 year old, etc. They don't give an option to hold back your child here, but you CAN get it if you directly speak to the teacher-it's not common at all. That was very surprising to me, because it is in Minnesota. In New York City it's all rush, rush, rush.

We'll see how it goes. We are hoping to place him in a private school, so they will probably be more flexible should we need a "pre-first" after Kindergarten.

I wonder if they group the classes in PreK and K by months the kids are born? That is a great idea! I know they do take the month the child was born for the gifted & talented program, so hopefully they do the same in the classroom.

Anyway - sounds like you made an excellent decision Jill! I know how tough, and confusing, all that stuff can be.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Aw, love the picture of the girls with Belle hugging them!

I laughed out loud over the "Tale as old as time and green as grass."

 

[BrooklynnsMommy]

A video of Bella at Epcot to start your morning.

 

[kschafer]

Here the cut-off is December 31.

They don't give an option to hold back your child here, but you CAN get it if you directly speak to the teacher-it's not common at all.

This is just shocking to me!! So a child would start kindergarten and not be turning 5 for another 4 months! Like MeMom said, with all the pressure of kids learning things earlier and earlier, I would think they would want the advantage of age. If they want the benefits of education at a younger age, they need to add publicly funded pre-schools.

Our system leaves the decision to the parent to wait a year if they see that as best for their child. (although there is a district nearby who has a strong football reputation and it's rumored that parents with bigger boys are encouraged to wait simply so the boys will be a bit older and bigger than their classmates when they get to be football playing age!)

 

[2xcited2sleep]

How cute is Bella, holding her little autograph book and clapping away! Thanks for letting me start my day in Epcot!

 

[oOJulieOo]

Oh, the photos of the girls with Belle are wonderful. The hug picture is my favorite!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Adorable video Jill! I love how she's holding her autograph book under her arm - so cute!

This is just shocking to me!! So a child would start kindergarten and not be turning 5 for another 4 months! Like MeMom said, with all the pressure of kids learning things earlier and earlier, I would think they would want the advantage of age. If they want the benefits of education at a younger age, they need to add publicly funded pre-schools.

Our system leaves the decision to the parent to wait a year if they see that as best for their child. (although there is a district nearby who has a strong football reputation and it's rumored that parents with bigger boys are encouraged to wait simply so the boys will be a bit older and bigger than their classmates when they get to be football playing age!)

I forgot to mention just that - Universal Pre-K is free to any child who is 4 years old (or will turn 4 years old) in the said school year. And it's available EVERYWHERE, even in daycare centers. And you also have the option of starting a pre-school-like program if your child is in a daycare program (that offers it) starting at age 2 years, 9 months.

But in general, yes you are right. Henry's friend doesn't have a birthday until December 10, so he will be one of the youngest in their class. I am not certain how high pressure the schools are here, I know there has been a big kick lately to get test scores up because city-wide, they were quite low. The neighborhood we live in has some of the best public schools in the city, but even so, I know kindergartners are getting quite a hefty amount of homework! I don't remember having ANY homework when I was that young! And I know by the end of Pre-K they are having children read. Henry is almost reading already, so I'm not too concerned, but I know that's not always the norm.

That is funny about the boys and football!

 

[Ty's Nonnie]

A video of Bella at Epcot to start your morning.

Oh my Goodness! She is so cute. Clapping her hands while she had the book tucked under her arm......she is getting to be a big girl. I showed the video to Ty and he just laughed and ponited at her. I told him that her name is Bella isn't she cute and in true boy fashion he took off running.

 

[micandminforever]

Clapping along with Bella was a wonderful way to start the morning.

 

[jillyb]

So in a nutshell Prefirst allows younger 5 year olds to mature before going on to elementary school so that they can have a successful school career and not constantly be playing catch-up socially and emotionally, as well as, educationally.

That's a really good idea.

 

[DWGal210]

What a sweet Bella video!! That made my day!

 

[oOJulieOo]

Love the video of Bella! So CUTE!!!