Skipping Kindergarten... an update

[Towncrier]

We desparately tried to get our school system to allow DD Sarah to skip kindergarten. We even had her tested for admission into a pre-K program at a private school (which she passed with flying colors). We just could not convince the school that Sarah was ready for 1st grade. As a compromise, school administrators let Sarah attend kindergarten in the mornings (half day) and then spend the rest of the day in a 1st grade class. We thought that they might perhaps decide to let her go from K to 2nd grade. No such luck. In 1st grade she went to the 2nd grade classroom for math. This continued all the way up to 4th grade when there was nowhere else for her to go since 5th grade was in another building. Thankfully, Sarah had a lot of wonderful teachers who assigned her extra work to keep her interested in school.

Fast forward to today. Sarah just finished her sopomore year of high school at the top of her class. She is the tallest girl in the class of 2008. Most of her friends are a year older. I know in my heart that she would have done well if the school system had listened to us all those years ago. But I also know that she'll be just fine with the way things turned out. And at least I have another year before I have to start paying for college for her AND her older brother. And she will get to go to WDW with the marching band twice (unlike older brother who only got to make that trip once).

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

I think the right thing to do hinges on how the school is going to handle your son. We never actually skipped grades with our sons, but they have taken classes with older kids throughout elementary and middle school. Our 8th grader had several classes with juniors and seniors last year - they learned quickly that he knew the answers and always wanted him as their partner. Socially he fit in fine - some of the teachers were worried at first and told us so..... we decided to just see how it went. No problems at all! I hate it when "peers" and "agemates" are looked upon as one and the same, because they definitely can be very, very different groups for each individual child.

Bottom line - do what is right for your son in the school he will be attending. Don't let the school hold him back if he needs to move forward... academically, socially, whatever.

Good luck!!

 

[nuke]

My son was reading books before entering Kindergarten. He started writing his name and abc's when he was 3. He could count by 2-3-4-5 and even 6's up to 100 before K. He also has a late birthday so went to Kingergarten at 5 and turned 6 that November. I was sure he would be bored to death but his teacher was wonderful and kept him challenged.
He learned a great deal in Kindergarten and was completely ready for 1st grade. By the end of the year he was reading beyond the step 3 books and onto chapter books like Magic Treehouse. He wrote in a journal everyday...Full sentances with punctuation. He probably could have skipped first to second but we kept him with his class. He is also small for his age and there are only two kids smaller than him in his class. I couldn't see putting him in a class with kids that towered over him.

He just finished 2nd grade and I've never seen a paper brought home with a score less than 98%. I still think we've made the right decision with him and as long as the school keeps challenging him and he likes school I will keep him in his grade.

My point-unless you have a genious that is doing beyond what 1st grade is doing, let him go to Kindgergarten.

 

[Beth76]

Curious for those whose pre-k kids can read......how did they get to that point? Do you work with them? Are you trying to teach them to read? My son (entering K in the fall) could read numbers at age 2-1/2 and could read letters sometime thereafter. He started to be able to write numbers and letters (both cases) this year in pre-k. He can count to 100 and beyond no problem and can also read numbers beyond 100.

He's very interested in putting letters together (ex: he'll see a sign and ask "What does S-H-E-L-L spell?" or "how do you spell xxx") and we tell him. He knows how to spell his and his brother's name. But he's no where near being able to read sentences. And we do read to him every night and sometimes more books during the day.

 

[SRUAlmn]

I guess every district is different. When dd started kindergarten a couple years ago, probably half her class was well beyond that level. A couple kids were reading chapter books at a 3rd grade level, most of the kids knew their upper and lower case letters, and most were pretty proficient at addition, some knew subtraction. Where your son is reading is where they were expected to be by mid-year. OTOH, my sister teaches K in a different state, and until this past year, that was beyond the level that she was expected to teach to. Now, however, she's supposed to have kids there by mid-year. Anyway, to me, that doesn't seem like first grade level work, but that may be a regional thing.

I teach Kindergarten here in SC, and this is just IMO, but around 80-85% of my kids were WAY beyond that point at the end of the year as well. They were reading on levels that were equivalent to the end of first grade or beginning-middle of second grade, they were writing 3 or more complete sentences in response to pictures or books, and they could do single digit addition and subtraction. Please let me know if you want some more detailed information, but just from what you posted, I would say to possibly rethink skipping a grade. (This is just based on our expectations and curriculum here in Charleston.)

 

[RadioNate]

Curious for those whose pre-k kids can read......how did they get to that point? Do you work with them? Are you trying to teach them to read? My son (entering K in the fall) could read numbers at age 2-1/2 and could read letters sometime thereafter. He started to be able to write numbers and letters (both cases) this year in pre-k. He can count to 100 and beyond no problem and can also read numbers beyond 100.

He's very interested in putting letters together (ex: he'll see a sign and ask "What does S-H-E-L-L spell?" or "how do you spell xxx") and we tell him. He knows how to spell his and his brother's name. But he's no where near being able to read sentences. And we do read to him every night and sometimes more books during the day.

I never tried to teach my DS to read. He asked a lot of questions like your DS is. We always answered them and then 1 day it just clicked and he got it.

A lot is word recoginition but that is what reading is.

The only 'pushing' we did was that if he was reading words he recognized and came to one he didn't know we'd ask.
What letter does that word start with?
What sound does that make?
Then we'd tell him to look at the picture and have him guess what the word should be. 9x out of 10 he'd pick the right word. If he picked one that didn't start with the correct letter we'd say. See, it's a B word, what B word do you think it is?
Now he used the context, looking at the photo and sounding it out he usually has no problem figuring it out.

I just think reading is something that clicks. I think you are doing all the right things.

 

[SRUAlmn]

I never tried to teach my DS to read. He asked a lot of questions like your DS is. We always answered them and then 1 day it just clicked and he got it.

A lot is word recoginition but that is what reading is.

The only 'pushing' we did was that if he was reading words he recognized and came to one he didn't know we'd ask.
What letter does that word start with?
What sound does that make?
Then we'd tell him to look at the picture and have him guess what the word should be. 9x out of 10 he'd pick the right word. If he picked one that didn't start with the correct letter we'd say. See, it's a B word, what B word do you think it is?
Now he used the context, looking at the photo and sounding it out he usually has no problem figuring it out.

I just think reading is something that clicks. I think you are doing all the right things.

That is the key right there!! The biggest mistake parents can make is to just tell their child an answer when they ask. If you start them at a young age learning how to figure out the answer themselves, it really jumpstarts their ability to learn. I was the same as RadioNate's child. My mom taught elementary school, so she knew the importance of this, and I was fluently reading and doing math problems when I was 3 and 4 years old. I owe it all to my mother letting me learn and not just telling me things!

 

[EthansMom]

At our grade school, the Kindergarten (half-day) curriculum includes a review of the letters of the alphabet, learning to print capitol and lower case letters, learning phonics, beginning to read, and learning numbers 1-100. The goal is to have every child reading by the end of Kindergarten, but I know that most, but not all of the students are.

My feeling is that DS will probably be at a K-and-a-half level when school starts. I'm pretty certain he'll stay in Kindergarten and be pulled out of the class for enrichment programs. Unless, of course, his teachers feel that he would be better placed in First Grade.

However, our school district doesn't do any testing prior to Kindergarten unless specifically requested by the parents, so asking to have him tested gives us an opportunity to let the K teacher know that DS will need more challenging material in X, Y, Z areas.

 

[Tinijocaro]

Based on what you said here, I would say your son is probably advanced compared to many kids his age, but not tremendously so, not enough to warrant skipping kindergarten. All four of my kids were doing the same things and more before kindergarten, and there were others in the class doing the same things, not many, but my kids weren't the only ones. Without the writing skills, I would seriously reconsider moving him ahead. Also, look ahead to his middle and high school years too- the huge advance he seems to have now, will really even out as he gets older.

I think the teachers keep the kids interested enough, if you get a good teacher, they will provide challenges to your child and the others like him in the class, as you should be and probably are doing at home.

Thanks for the responses. I did get a call back from the school and have an appointment to have an assessment with the Kindergarten teacher on Friday.

DS knows his phonics and can read books with consonants, short vowels, and is working on the long vowels and mixed letter sounds (like "th", "ch", "sh", "ph"). He is only just recently interested in sitting down and writing his letters, though, so we're working on practicing his upper and lower case printing.

I'm not convinced that DS is ready for First Grade, but I know he'll be more advanced than the Kindergarten curriculum and want make sure that they can offer him a challenge, where possible.

As far as socially, I don't think skipping would be much of a problem. We have a small school with only one class per grade (except for this fall's K which is split). And DS knows kids who will be in the First Grade class as well as the Kindergarten class.

At least, the school is taking me seriously and his teacher will have a better idea which curriculum DS will need.

 

[SRUAlmn]

At our grade school, the Kindergarten (half-day) curriculum includes a review of the letters of the alphabet, learning to print capitol and lower case letters, learning phonics, beginning to read, and learning numbers 1-100. The goal is to have every child reading by the end of Kindergarten, but I know that most, but not all of the students are.

My feeling is that DS will probably be at a K-and-a-half level when school starts. I'm pretty certain he'll stay in Kindergarten and be pulled out of the class for enrichment programs. Unless, of course, his teachers feel that he would be better placed in First Grade.

However, our school district doesn't do any testing prior to Kindergarten unless specifically requested by the parents, so asking to have him tested gives us an opportunity to let the K teacher know that DS will need more challenging material in X, Y, Z areas.

Do the teachers do assessments in their classrooms during the first few weeks of school? We don't do pre-Kindergarten testing, but we do it once the kids come to determine their prior knowledge. We then adapt the curriculum according to their abilities. I wasn't 'expected' to get my kids reading on those levels, but I let them because they were ready. Kindergarten is tricky because kids come in on such VERY different ability levels depending on what they have been exposed to in their early years of life. If you get a good teacher that is willing to push him as far as he can go ( like me haha) then you're blessed. I know there are teachers out there that will just teach what they are required to teach. It's a shame!

 

[mom2alix]

At our grade school, the Kindergarten (half-day) curriculum includes a review of the letters of the alphabet, learning to print capitol and lower case letters, learning phonics, beginning to read, and learning numbers 1-100. The goal is to have every child reading by the end of Kindergarten, but I know that most, but not all of the students are.

My feeling is that DS will probably be at a K-and-a-half level when school starts. I'm pretty certain he'll stay in Kindergarten and be pulled out of the class for enrichment programs. Unless, of course, his teachers feel that he would be better placed in First Grade.

However, our school district doesn't do any testing prior to Kindergarten unless specifically requested by the parents, so asking to have him tested gives us an opportunity to let the K teacher know that DS will need more challenging material in X, Y, Z areas.

Not to high-jack your thread, but I was curious what kind of materials you use with DS at home? DD4 is supposed to be in pre-K next year, but we may be moving and they don't offer pre-K at the new place so I'm looking for ideas. She was in Montessori school this year and loved it so I'll definitely have to come up with something to keep her going. Any ideas/suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[diznygirl]

Curious for those whose pre-k kids can read......how did they get to that point? Do you work with them? Are you trying to teach them to read? My son (entering K in the fall) could read numbers at age 2-1/2 and could read letters sometime thereafter. He started to be able to write numbers and letters (both cases) this year in pre-k. He can count to 100 and beyond no problem and can also read numbers beyond 100.

He's very interested in putting letters together (ex: he'll see a sign and ask "What does S-H-E-L-L spell?" or "how do you spell xxx") and we tell him. He knows how to spell his and his brother's name. But he's no where near being able to read sentences. And we do read to him every night and sometimes more books during the day.

I always say DS learned to read out of necessity - if he wanted to see one of his shows from TIVO he learned to tell The Wiggles from The West Wing. And if he wanted to play games on the children's web sites, he learned to recognize those on the menu. He started pausing the TV when they advertised the web sites so he could run back and forth and type it into the computer!! And it was HIM that told ME, "It's pbskids.ORG, not pbskids.COM!" And this was all before preschool. He just wanted to, that's all.

DD, almost 3, on the other hand, is just not interested. But she's swimming and DS is not...... every kid does something different.

 

[Sleeping~Beauty]

I never really though o

f my daughter as truly advanced but reading this post makes me wonder if she could also benefit from skipping Kindergarden this year.

I know what you mean. I see that my son is very advanced, reading this thread helps me see how much. He's only three and doing all these things. But I would never dream of skipping kindergarten. I find that it provides chances to learn social, emotional, problem-solving, and many other skills.

Curious for those whose pre-k kids can read......how did they get to that point?

I was a Pre-k/K teacher, and have my degree in education. I always set up a positive, nurturing, exploratory envt in my house. I set up opportunities for my children to explore art, music, and all sorts of creative outlets. I read to them everyday. We explore textures, colors, sounds, rhythms. We have a lot of fun, and the learning happens throughout our experiences.

My son really loves all this. And he is so inquisitive about letters and numbers. He really picked up so much just from our play and exploring. He has an incredible memory and just started to connect the letters, to sounds, to words.

I don't force anything, and it's not about flashcards. It was following his lead, and facilitating learning opportunities.

Having my background in education has been really a blessing, even now that I'm a mom. It's one of those handy things.

 

[golfgal]

One misconception is that you actually "teach" someone to read at this age. Yes, you can assist the process but unless their brain is ready developmentally to read, it isn't going to happen. It is almost like a little switch is thrown and they are ready to read and for most kids it does happen that fast.

 

[liamandcaili]

At our grade school, the Kindergarten (half-day) curriculum includes a review of the letters of the alphabet, learning to print capitol and lower case letters, learning phonics, beginning to read, and learning numbers 1-100. The goal is to have every child reading by the end of Kindergarten, but I know that most, but not all of the students are.

My feeling is that DS will probably be at a K-and-a-half level when school starts. I'm pretty certain he'll stay in Kindergarten and be pulled out of the class for enrichment programs. Unless, of course, his teachers feel that he would be better placed in First Grade.

However, our school district doesn't do any testing prior to Kindergarten unless specifically requested by the parents, so asking to have him tested gives us an opportunity to let the K teacher know that DS will need more challenging material in X, Y, Z areas.

My DD4 can do all the things you have said your child can do. She can read stories (www.starfall.com is a great site. She is on the third reading level there), count to 100, do simple addition and subtraction. She is not even going to Kindergarten in the fall because she misses the cut-off date. She will go in 2007. However, I would not even consider skipping her. It is easier to enrich.

In our area, your child would be very far behind in first grade. DS7 was able to read chapter books by the end of Kindergarten, write all his letters capital and lower case, add and subtract any sum under 100, plus knew all the planets, how butterflies formed, how chicks hatched, etc. I think it is better for the child to be on top of the class rather than always trying to catch up.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

My DS learned to read at three and when they tested him at the beginning of K, he got 95% at a sixth grade level. The school looked at skipping him--put him in a multi-age grades 1/2 class. It was a disaster! He was on to them (well, duh! He's smart!) and wanted no part of it. We kept him where he was and he's thriving, even though I know he could do more. he's a child for only a limited time--why push him if he's not interested?

I must say OP, your son sounds bright, but it may have more to do with a rich home enviroment rather than a genius IQ. I'm a little surprised they don't test all kids at the beginning of K at your school. Personally, i wouldn't rush into skipping him. From personal experience, I can tell you that skipping isn't all it's cracked up to be.

As far as teaching a 3yo to read, we did it by accident. we were told DS was ******** (he's DIFFERENT!) and would have difficulty learning to read. So, I read to him constantly. We talked about letter sounds and next thing you know--boom! Once they get "the big idea", they progress rapidly.

BTW, his older sister learned to read at 4. She's in the gifted programs at school, but no acceleration. His younger sister learned to read at 2 years, 4 months. I would possibly consider acceleration for her, based on my knowledge of her, personally. The youngest isn't reading yet, but he's only 3 months old, so I have a little time!

 

[EthansMom]

Not to high-jack your thread, but I was curious what kind of materials you use with DS at home? DD4 is supposed to be in pre-K next year, but we may be moving and they don't offer pre-K at the new place so I'm looking for ideas. She was in Montessori school this year and loved it so I'll definitely have to come up with something to keep her going. Any ideas/suggestions would be appreciated!

In his case, DS picked up phonics from the "Talking Letters Factory" and "Talking Words Factory" vidoes for his Leapster. When we realized he knew his basic phonics, I bought him some phonics readers. I like the "Now I'm Reading" series by Nora Gaydos the best, although I don't like the smaller book size (they changed from a larger book size to a smaller book size with smaller print) as much.

We also have gotten workbooks from Schoolzone and McGraw-Hill for letters and numbers, but usually just use a Primary Writing Tablet to practice writing.

DS also likes the Maze books put out by Schoolzone and the like and also has fun playing educational computer games like I Spy, and the learning games put out by Scholastic, etc.

DS has been going to a preschool, but it doesn't teach much in the way of academics. I work with him on writing letters and numbers for about 15 minutes 3 times a week or so and we read for 15-20 most nights just before bed.

 

[liamandcaili]

Curious for those whose pre-k kids can read......how did they get to that point? Do you work with them? Are you trying to teach them to read? My son (entering K in the fall) could read numbers at age 2-1/2 and could read letters sometime thereafter. He started to be able to write numbers and letters (both cases) this year in pre-k. He can count to 100 and beyond no problem and can also read numbers beyond 100.

He's very interested in putting letters together (ex: he'll see a sign and ask "What does S-H-E-L-L spell?" or "how do you spell xxx") and we tell him. He knows how to spell his and his brother's name. But he's no where near being able to read sentences. And we do read to him every night and sometimes more books during the day.

I never taught DD to read either. We just bought a lot of great toys...magnet board with letters, Leappads (both toddler and full-size), a Leapster when she was 3.5, loads upon loads of books, many trips to the library, a tape recorder and a CD player for books on tape, more recently an erasable book to practice writing...basically, she taught herself. She also has an older brother who teaches her everything he learns in first grade. She knew how to spell tea this morning.

 

[Kimberle]

Why don't you think your child will be "challanged" in Kindergarten? Kindergarten is so much more than learning letters and numbers. Have you met with the K teacher and gone over her circulum? My dd is just finishing 1st grade. She new a lot of what you stated you child did when she started K. Some of her classmates had never been to pre-school and didn't know letters & numbers. Yet the teacher was able to challange/teach them at their own level.

About 3/4th of the way through our K year. The Literacy teacher held a few workshops for parents of K-2. She showed us exactly what "reading" means. It is so much more than just reading the words on the page. It is understanding, comprehention, and being able to retell the story/poem back in the correct order. The children are taught how to use "cues" to both figure out how to read a new word, and how to understand the word.

Before you make a decision, I'd highly recommend talking with the school's teacher(s) and having them evaluate your child. You don't want him to be bored, yet you also don't want him to always be the "last" one done with his paper.

 

[mom2alix]

In his case, DS picked up phonics from the "Talking Letters Factory" and "Talking Words Factory" vidoes for his Leapster. When we realized he knew his basic phonics, I bought him some phonics readers. I like the "Now I'm Reading" series by Nora Gaydos the best, although I don't like the smaller book size (they changed from a larger book size to a smaller book size with smaller print) as much.

We also have gotten workbooks from Schoolzone and McGraw-Hill for letters and numbers, but usually just use a Primary Writing Tablet to practice writing.

DS also likes the Maze books put out by Schoolzone and the like and also has fun playing educational computer games like I Spy, and the learning games put out by Scholastic, etc.

DS has been going to a preschool, but it doesn't teach much in the way of academics. I work with him on writing letters and numbers for about 15 minutes 3 times a week or so and we read for 15-20 most nights just before bed.

Thank you! There's a lot of stuff on the market, but it's sometimes hard to know if it's any good before you buy it. I had been looking at the Letter Factory video, but wasn't sure. I think I'll get it now. I'll have to look for those workbooks too.

DD likes the idea of the computer, but she hasn't mastered the mouse. Actually, it looks like she is left-handed, so it may be more that I need to fix the mouse for her to use with that hand. Actually, if anyone has any ideas for helping a lefty with writing, I could use help there too!