Skipping Kindergarten... an update

[EthansMom]

Thought I'd post an update, for those folks who like to read updates.

Ethan's continues to do well with his reading, we're working on writing his letters, and he can do simple arithmetic, so I figured I should stop by and ask about having him get an education evaluation so the school knows what his abilities are.

Honestly, at this point, I'm not as concerned about "skipping" Kindergarten and going straight into First Grade. What I really want is to make sure that my son gets a challenging curriculum, whether it's through enrichment programs or being moved up a grade or ????? I would just hate to have him bored out of his mind while the teacher teaches material that he already knows.

I got the third degree from the school receptionist about my motives. She thought I might be trying to get out of the Kindergarten class that was just split, which I'm not at all.

So, the school is supposed to give me a call back and let me know what they think. They may ask me to bring Ethan in soon, wait until the end of the summer, or wait until he's in Kindergarten and see how he's doing there.

Homeschooling (more than we're already doing) isn't an option because Ethan has a personality such that he needs to be around other kids a great deal. He just wouldn't be happy being home more than he already is. And there aren't any affordable private schools in the area that would offer a more challenging curriculum.

Guess we'll see.......

 

[daisyduck123]

I feel for you. I know what a tough situation you are in...lots of decisions to be made.

My DD skipped 1st grade & if I had it to do over again, I would have had her skip Kindergarten instead. The school offered her enrichment in Kindergarten. Kindergarten was 1/2 day & they sent her to 1st grade everyday for Language Arts (which was most of the Kindergarten session).
She loved that!!

Then, in first grade, they decided they couldn't do enrichment for her...that the only thing they could offer was skipping her. If I'd known we were going to end up skipping her, we would have done it in K. She had to make new friends, but everything ended up just great.

She's 11 now & just finished 7th grade on Monday.
Summer is here...hooray!!

 

[phorsenuf]

I skipped kindergarden when I was a kid and I hated it! I was always a year behind in age than everyone. My friends could date, I couldn't. My friends could all drive, I had a year to go. My friends turned teenages, I was still 12.
Doesn't seem like a big deal maybe when you are an adult looking at it, but as a kid it sucked!
Obviously it did have effect on me because even after all these years (35 or so) It still bugs me enough to warn parents to think long and hard. LOL

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I don't remember your other post(s) about your son. How is your son's reading and math skills, especially the reading? What types of books can he read? How about the writing? Can he read a book and then write several sentences about the book? How old is your son?

My son just had his last day of K today, so am real familiar with the skills a well prepared child should have going into 1st grade, so if you have any questions, ask away!.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I skipped Kindergarten--but it was more that I never went. I was "of age" when I entered first grade though. mom was military and there was some hopping around that she just didn't worry about sending me to K and it wasn't state required.

It wasn't a big deal to me and I excelled in school just fine.

I wouldn't necessarily make decisions based on peer ages. I didn't drive until 17--and I lived in a state where 15 year olds could legally drive.

 

[phorsenuf]

I skipped Kindergarten--but it was more that I never went. I was "of age" when I entered first grade though. mom was military and there was some hopping around that she just didn't worry about sending me to K and it wasn't state required.

It wasn't a big deal to me and I excelled in school just fine.

I wouldn't necessarily make decisions based on peer ages. I didn't drive until 17--and I lived in a state where 15 year olds could legally drive.

Well, making the decision to skip a grade will affect this child his whole shcool age life so looking at the big picture isn't a bad thing (I'm not saying that's what you said or implied) but it should be considered.
Did I excel in school because I was a little more advanced at such an early age. Nope, not one bit. Struggled at times actually.
There are lots of things to consider than just how well are they doing right now.
When you are a teen these kind of things can bother you. I know there were many times I wish they hadn't let me advance. But good luck with whatever way you go.

 

[EthansMom]

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.

 

[liamsaunt]

You would be surprised at how skipping can impact socially. I went to a small school, and skipped third grade. It had a HUGE impact on my social life. Kids from my old class thought I abandoned them, and kids in the new class thought I was a teacher's pet. Before I skipped I was doing half days in the higher grades for certain subjects, but for whatever reason that did not cause the social problems the actual skip did.

Being younger than everyone else in the class has other disadvantages--you are smaller, so perhaps not as good at sports. When you get older, perhaps you have restrictions on what you can do socially that other, older, classmates do not have. Addtionally, you have to consider emotional maturity as well as academic ability.

I am just grateful that my parents decided not to skip me up two grades, which is what the school recommended! The best thing my parents did post-skipping was move me out to a different school in a different town a few years later. When I arrived at that school, I lied about my age and never told anyone I skipped.
Just another perspective...

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Do they have a transitional K-1 grade.

We have those here. They place the children that are not quite ready for first grade but completed K and children who are not old enough for 1st--but are able to tackle more accelerated work than K offers.

 

[nicolemomof4cuties]

My son is going into the 2nd grade but we had similar problems when it was time for him to go to Kindergarten. We asked to have him tested for early entry when he was 4 but they said that they only allow girls to enter early because boys are too rambunctious!! I thought that that was ridiculous as he is one of the least rambunctious children that I know (and I do home daycare). Soooo, he went to regular Kindergarten and HATED it for 3 weeks and the school tested him and put him into the gifted program, which is full day here. He still gets bored but is in a class with children that are more his speed and understand him. Gifted children can be very lonely for a friend their age that understands them so I think that this class is good for him. Maybe they have gifted classrooms in your school district. In our district all of the gifted children are bussed from all over the area to one school. Before Kindergarten he was reading with comprehension at the middle of 1st grade level and doing early 1st grade math. At the end of 1st grade they tested him at a 5th grade reading with comprehension level and at early 3rd grade math. I think that it is an awesome program that is very encouraging to the children. My oldest daughter is starting Kindergarten in August :0 and the Kindergarten teacher said that she thought that she would also be going to the gifted school as she is advanced also. Sounds nice but it isn't- it is nerve-racking. Best of luck to you and tell your son Congragulations on Going to school! Because SCHOOL IS FUN!

Nicole
Happy Wife to Reuben
Proud Mom to
Keitaaron 7
Xeyana 5
Chloe 4
Colin 2

 

[daisyduck123]

Being younger than everyone else in the class has other disadvantages--you are smaller, so perhaps not as good at sports.

Not always true though...my DD11 skipped 1st and was actually the tallest girl in her class every year, & still is at 5'5". Also got her period at 10, where as her 12 year old friends still hadn't.

Socially, it worked out perfectly for her. But we always say she was born "older" because she has always been very mature, physically & emotionally, for her age.

 

[EthansMom]

Do they have a transitional K-1 grade.

We have those here. They place the children that are not quite ready for first grade but completed K and children who are not old enough for 1st--but are able to tackle more accelerated work than K offers.

Nope, I wish we had a transitional K-1 because then I would know what to do.

 

[clutter]

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 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.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

If he is not strong in his writing skills I would not skip Kindergarten. Many kids are reading going into K or at least half way through, but the problem is that the writing very often isn't up to par with the reading (very common). And I don't mean just the gross motor skills, but the thoughts, the punctuation, using details, etc. I wouldn't worry if words are spelled correctly, but if he's doesn't have a lot of words that he's using in his writing that would concern me.

It doesn't hurt to have him evaluated, but I would really think long and hard before having him skip the grade unless he is really strong in every area. You don't want him to be behind in the writing. Of course you don't want him bored, either. Never an easy decision. With my son, his K teacher told me that Jake has met all his first grade requirements for math, so when school starts this fall, assuming that he still tests high in math, he will go to 2nd grade for math. I would be surprised if he doesn't improve over the summer since he loves to be quized on math and is working on multiplication. He didn't get it from me!

 

[anewvance]

I never really though of my daughter as truly advanced but reading this post makes me wonder if she could also benefit from skipping Kindergarden this year. She is reading VERY well... she's reading books that are easily made for K-1st grade, she does math better then her sister going into 2nd grade, she can write every letter of the alphabet and has very neat handwriting, she can write sentances although needs help with spelling. She's known how to count to 100 since she was 3 and the first month of school she brought home a certificate saying she was the first in the class to be able to count to 100.

Her sister is the youngest in her class by 6 months and has never had a problem (she was right at the cut off when she turned 4 to go to pre-k). My 5 year old has a bday more in the middle of the school year so she wouldn't be TOO much younger then most of them.

But now this post has me asking questions, but I don't think their school even allows it and i'm thinking they probably wouldn't have said something at the end of the year if they thought she was too advance for kindergarden. So I guess we'll wait and go into K and see how she does.

 

[golfgal]

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.

I would REALLY consider this because especially with boys, you might run into problems down the road come 4th, 5th, 6th grade and beyond. Personally, while your son is somewhat advanced, most 1st graders know a LOT more then this when they go into first grade. My twins were reading chapter books the summer before first grade and while they are good students, there were others that were farther ahead then they were and obviously some farther behind. A lot of kids read before kindergarten, I was one of them. It isn't all that unusual. Now, if he was reading Harry Potter before kindergarten, that would be something. He should know all his letter sounds and blended consonant sounds for 1st grade, not just some of them.

He will also be expected to know and write over 100 sight words for first grade and you are still working on writing letters, which is normal kindergarten development things, but by first grade, they should be past needing help forming their letters.

I just think you are setting him up for failure later on in life because while he is ahead of the game for STARTING kindergarten, he is no where near ready for 1st grade based on the examples you have given.

 

[mickeyboat]

My DD's just finished K (tomorrow), and it is only a half-day program, so they don't teach reading until first grade in our district. However, they spent almost the entire year writing. They are expected to be able to write all the upper and lower case letters well by the end of the year. They are learning letter sounds through writing words, even if they are not spelled correctly, they show their understanding of the sounds and letters by writing them.

I skipped into first grade half way through K. I didn't have any issues being younger while I was growing up. There was another child, a boy, that they were considering skipping with me. They decided not to because they said that boys are not as mature as girls, and don't deal with that kind of change as well as girls.

Has your son attended pre-school? Has he worked in a classroom setting before? The first few weeks of K is spent learning all about what it is like being in a classroom, lining up, raising hands, sitting still while listening to a story, following directions. I think all of that will be expected of your son on day 1 of first grade, and it might be a hard transition just because of that.

To be perfectly honest with you, neither one of my children has had trouble with the K program. Learning reading and writing and math is only a small part of what they learned this year. They were enthralled with the life cycle of the caterpillar, they learned all about dinosaurs and the creatures that live in the ocean. They grew bean plants and made clay art. They learned all of their classmates names and a lot about them. They learned how to count by twos fives and tens, and how to identify coins. They learned how to ride the bus and make the morning announcements. They perfected many of the skills that they knew when they entered K, and learned many more. All of this kept them plenty entertained and challenged, even though they might have already known what sound was made by the letter of the week.

I think your K teacher will give you lots of insight into the program, and guidance on what you should do. Good luck.

Denae

 

[diznygirl]

Not a brag - but my son was more advanced than yours and he was not allowed to skip K. Just an FYI. I was also told that they do much more writing in 1st grade than in K, so they should have that solid base before starting 1st.

The K teacher recognized my son's skills and gave him more challenging work - I didn't have to even ask.

I wondered about having him skip K, but it turns out I had nothing to worry about.

 

[Makdyn]

My dd who will be finishing K was very advance for her class. In sept 04 she was still 4 and her preschool said that she was ready for K. In oct. 05 I had a meeting with the teacher and she said that what the kids will be learning at the end of the year dd already knows. dd is now reading Junie B Jones books. They are about 7-9 chapters long. She does still need help on some words. I was thinking about skipping her to 1st grade but decide against it, because I don't think she is mature enough. My family babies her alot. About a month ago I had to drag into school kicking and screaming cause she did not want to go and that she was bored. so of course that day I was thinking that I made the wrong choice about skipping her. And still this day I am not sure if I should have skipped her or not. We will see come next year in 1st grade. I will talk to her teacher to see.

 

[RadioNate]

I guess I'm kinda confused and I don't want you to get insulted at all but what makes you think that your DS is acedemically advanced enough to skip kindergarten?

I look at my DS, who will be entering K in the fall, and he can read short books. My mom was a 1st grade teacher and we have all her old books and he can read all the level 1 books. He know phonics and how to use context clues to figure out words he doesn't know. He can do basic addition and subtraction, count to 200 easily. He can write all his upper and lower case letters and can do sentences if I help with spelling.

I was actually concerned about him going into K, and considered holding back a year.