Talkative Kindergartener?

[sconnell]

Ok, My DD started Kindergarten at a private school yesterday. She attended PreK here last year and it's at our church where my DH & I work every day. She's very comfortable here and is a very talkative little girl. BUT, I can already tell it's going to be a problem this year.
Does anyone have some tips to share to help?

 

[ENSOCK]

my ds is the same way. His wonderful teacher last year said his problem is that he is bored in class. Ask his teacher if she could give her extra work, she might have some other ideas.

 

[Sazuburns]

My son was very talkative and very articulate. In his Reception year (when he had just turned 5) my teacher was fantastic, and used to get him to explain things to the other children so that his talking became a positive.

Sarah x

 

[MSSANDRA]

Well, she is really too cute to get into trouble !!

Here is what i think. Kindergarten has become very unfriendly to young children. What used to be a fun social setting is much more structured and demanding . Most often young boys have the most trouble but friendly outgoing little girls sometimes also have trouble adjusting. Hopefully the teacher will give her lots of wonderful experences that will allow her to express herself. She might get in trouble for talking in class but I would not take it too seriously. Tell her you expect her to follow the class rules and if not she will have to deal with the consequence in class but I would not discipline her her home for it. I often tell parents that I never worry about the child that talks too much or is silly in class or even a little bit naughty. They, with time will ,accomidate themselves and become fine students.

 

[lunalibre]

Oh, I've been in your shoes! My DS10 is THE most talkative child imaginable. I swear, he uses more words in 2 hours than the rest of the family put together uses all day! It was definitely a problem in KG for him. He was in a half-day program and was completely bored. With only three hours of class time, the teacher was unable to give him independent or more interesting assignments. Ugh. Is your child going to be in a full-day program? It will help if that's the case. The teacher will have more time to come up with learning activities that will occupy your child. Once he moved to first grade (i.e., full-day classes), DS's talking was still "challenging" for his teachers, but they all understood that it was a personality trait and he wasn't doing it intentionally to be disruptive.

Can you meet with the teacher early on in the school year and explain your concerns? I tried that with DS's KG teacher, but it didn't help because she simply didn't have time to deal with any learning differences of any kind (yes, I essentially homeschooled DS to keep him interested in learning). With DS's other teachers, they've all found constructive outlets for his amazing capacity for speech.

Good luck!

 

[WantToGoNow]

I was in your shoes last year - and first grade probably won't be much different. My son has never met a stranger and will tell our life story to anyone that will listen - including things he probably shouldn't share. He was in trouble a lot last year because he just could not not talk - and his teacher didn't even try to find imaginative ways to quite him. His teacher posted a list of all the children on the board - with those that behave on the top and him on the bottom. He was very saddened by this -- 26 names and he was always on the bottom. But his goal was to work his way up and before the end of the year, he actually made it to the top a few times.

 

[Minnie_me]

I'm a Kindie teacher, and I get plenty of chatty kids each year. If you want to make Kindie a positive experience for your DD, help her realize what to expect.

Explain to your DD that when she goes to Kindergarten, there is a time to talk, and a time to listen.

Make sure that she understands that it is the teacher's job to do a lot of the talking so that she can help the children learn.

Work with her on not interrupting, not talking when others are talking, and waiting for her turn to talk (you may even make a game of it at dinner by raising your hands to talk!).

Talk with her about staying on topic. If the teacher is talking about the seasons, it's not time for her to talk about her new puppy.

That said, kids learn from each other by talking about what they're doing. There will be plenty of opportunities for her to talk to her classmates and her teacher. When you enter my classroom during center time, there's a happy "buzz" --- it is anything but silent!

Good luck! HTH!

 

[sconnell]

Thanks for the replies everyone. The first two days, (Thurs & Fri) were "practice days". (Per the teacher, I popped in after DD had gone to after-care)
Monday will start the "Cat Sheet." (Her class is called the "Cool Cats" & this is the sheet we have to sign and send back everyday. Kind of a behavior sheet & some info. A communication sheet.) So, we'll see. We are planning a reward system at home for getting work done and having good days. That will start Monday, too.
I guess I just have to wait.
Minnie_me, good suggestions. Talking is just a huge part of our family. I think we need to work on "quiet time" at home. Activities that she needs to do quietly. Probably homework time now will help.

 

[disneyjunkie]

I'm a Kindie teacher, and I get plenty of chatty kids each year. If you want to make Kindie a positive experience for your DD, help her realize what to expect.

Explain to your DD that when she goes to Kindergarten, there is a time to talk, and a time to listen.

Make sure that she understands that it is the teacher's job to do a lot of the talking so that she can help the children learn.

Work with her on not interrupting, not talking when others are talking, and waiting for her turn to talk (you may even make a game of it at dinner by raising your hands to talk!).

Talk with her about staying on topic. If the teacher is talking about the seasons, it's not time for her to talk about her new puppy.

That said, kids learn from each other by talking about what they're doing. There will be plenty of opportunities for her to talk to her classmates and her teacher. When you enter my classroom during center time, there's a happy "buzz" --- it is anything but silent!

Good luck! HTH!

I'm also a kindergarten teacher.

 

[Microcell]

I was concerned about other things with my DS and talked to the teachers at our school about what they thought, and the teacher he got (who is EXCELLENT BTW) told me something that made me feel better. She said they have "techniques" for dealing with many of the issues Kindy kids have. Mine happens to be shy, so she said she would enforce participation with him to get him the right start for school. He is the kid that is scared and refuses to do things. She won't let that slide.

His preschool teachers were not equipped for that so they didn't make participating a requirement, so we have had struggles at home and his new teacher will have a hill to climb for sure, but it will work out for us as I am sure it will for your DD too.

 

[ilovejack02]

We work on quiet time here at home and in the car. I explain that we are practicing for kindergarten. It seems to be working.