Teachers ~ Home School Moms...

[daisyduck123]

Kindergarten is required here in Maryland. A child may not enter 1st grade unless he/she has completed kindergarten. Maryland is in the process of adjusting its age cut-off date from Dec. 30 to September.

 

[lillygator]

does anyone know if it is required in Florida?
If not required what happens when a child goes to first grade? I mean do they then have to be a certain age by the school year start?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Compulsorary age is 6 in Florida.

Kindergarten is legally NOT required.

HOWEVER....your child--must be 6 by Sep 1st to go into first grade and they must have all the skills that are tought in Kindergarten.

I know that our parochial school will test the child for K-skills and maturity before allowing into 1st grade. Public school is a little more sticky. What they want to avoid is children being unprepared for 1st grade. Compulsorary age is 6, but does not mean auto admission into 1st grade.

We are homeschooling--and doing K--so part of my 1st week of regular school panic attack was proving my child is doing K when I'm not legally obligated to report it. Our parochial school will test--I can somehow coordinate with county if I wish to try to enroll her in public 1st grade.

Probably more information than you needed .

ETA: I never went to Kindergarten--so I don't know what I'm missing . I went to 1st grade when I was 6 in South Carolina.

 

[kdtwiss]

to me I have always looked at K as an introduction of sorts to school in general. I did not/do not worry about specific skills - there will be plenty of time for that. What I want my children to get out of Kindergarten is more social/behavioral/emotional than strict academics. I purposely did not TEACH my ds to read, but tried to instill in him a love OF reading so that when he was ready and asked to do so his desire to read would be his greatest asset. MOre important than learning to read, I want my children to learn how to make friends, how to find their boundaries in a setting out of our home as well as how to follow rules, AND when to question them. I guess it is because I have a child who is autistic, but to me the most important thing about K, and education in general is that is is a little microcosm of the real world, and the most important thing really is not acing their MCAS, but learning how to be a happy, well rounded person. You will have plenty of time to worry about tests and standards, just let your dd enjoy K, w/o too much worry on your part. As long as she tries her best that should be all that matters.

 

[3xthecharm]

My oldest went into kindergarten only able to recognise some of his letters and very little else. He cried if I tried to get him to work at home. I thought, ok no need to save for MIT. By mid-kindergarten he was ahead of his class. His teacher recommended moving him to an accelerated program. Now he is a straight A student in his very advanced private school. Most of his work is one grade level above public school.

Students all bloom at their own rate. Don't push past what the child is interested in doing. He will only become discouraged and frustrated.

Encourage your child to want to learn. Expose him to books, nature, train rides, parks, museums, baseball games, the beach, and travel. A trip up an elevator can even be a learning experience.

 

[estherhead]

. One thing that a lot of teachers prefer is that parents not teach their children to print because often the children then come to school forming the letters incorrectly..and it can be very hard to break them of that habit. There is a right way & wrong way to form the letters. (I also tell 2nd grade parents not to teach their children cursive for the same reason). On BACK-TO-SCHOOL night I distribute a sheet showing the correct strokes to form each letter. Many parents also teach their children to only print in uppercase letters (even their names) & that does not help.

Tell me about this! My DD is SO STUBBORN and she has been printing since she was like 2. She can copy and write almost anything but is pretty much self taught. Now I am homeschooling her and using "Handwriting Without Tears" to teach her to form her letters correctly. The title is such a LIE! We have had plenty of tears. "I know how to make an F, Mommy." "Yes, dear, you make beautiful F's your way, but there is a right way. Don't you want to know the right way?" "NO! I like my way."

Where was this advice 3 years ago? I would have taught her correctly to begin with instead of just saying, "Wow, you're so good with your pencil, good girl!"

Esther

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

DS 7 has been through the "correct" way to write for 2 years and still does not form letters well. Sometimes I can't make out his words without looking very closely. I tried practicing at home back when he was younger, and he stopped trying to write. This past spring he suddenly became inspired to write entire books with serial characters who face obstacles and have funny adventures, and I cringe at his handwriting yet let it go because I don't want him to stop again, especially since he loves his work and it is so creative. He has such a perfectionist streak that he is in therapy, so his enjoying his writing seems more important than the proper way to form the actual letters. I hope I'm not doing him a disservice later, though.

 

[gibmom]

Hi! 14 years ago when I first started HS I read about a study they had done about "successful" geniuses ie.those who had healthy relationships and sucessful careers. The suprising conclusion was that the major difference between these folks and their brilliant but unbalanced peers was that the succeses were not pushed academically as kids. They were given time to be kids- ride bikes, play games, build forts, etc. A suprisingly un-pc conslusion that many people cannot accept. Too much academics is bad for young children. So perhaps a better way of looking at it is, what are the requirements a Kindergarten should meet in order to be good for my child? Some Kindergarten programs do more harm than good!
Just my take on it!
Julie