Waiting to start kindergarten?

[FreshTressa]

This all makes me think they should go back to reinstituting a social kindergarten for 4 and a half to 5 and a half year olds, like they used to.

The reason kids need to be older for kindergarten is because kindergarten now is what 1st grade used to be.

Oh so ironic, isn't it??

 

[jacksonsmom]

Originally posted by FreshTressa
This all makes me think they should go back to reinstituting a social kindergarten for 4 and a half to 5 and a half year olds, like they used to.

I 110% agree with you!
But I do believe there will be parents out there who will say it is too much like a "daycare".

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

"Our Kindergarten program is a full day program, 3 days a week. There is not a choice of half days."


Our Kindergarten program in NC is all day, 5 days a week. They go to school the same as 1st-5th. My DD was reading Charlotte's Web and writing 5-10 sentence stories by the end of Kindergarten. If a child starts K without knowing his letters and numbers he is behind before the year gets started.

I have never regretted holding my daughter back. Her birthday is Sept.9 and the cut off was Oct. 16. I do not feel that she is that much older than the other children in her class. There were 5 children with Oct. birthdays.

Lori

 

[RitaZ.]

Originally posted by FreshTressa
This all makes me think they should go back to reinstituting a social kindergarten for 4 and a half to 5 and a half year olds, like they used to.

As ideal as this sounds, I don't see it happening. Many parents as well as educators feel that 6th grade should not be part of middle school. I agree with this, but I don't see this changing either. Many 6th graders have a very difficult time adjusting to the academic and organizational demands of middle school, not to mention the social and emotional aspects of it. Even kids that really had it "together" in elem. school struggle in their first year of middle school. Organizational and study skills are essential in middle school, something that many kids haven't been taught previously.

There is no point in comparing the K that we went to years ago to today's K class. There is absolutely no comparison, volunteer one day in a K class and you'll see for yourself. Even if a child is very bright and academically advanced when they reach K age, his/her social and emotional maturity have to be taken into consideration. If they have difficulty following rules, listening and responding quickly, controlling their behavior and/or not respecting authority, they soon become a "behavior" problem. There is nothing worse than starting K and then having the reputation of being a behavior problem follow you around.

It's not an easy decision to make and for some reason the dads have trouble with it. I know my DH did, but later admitted that it was the right thing to do with DS.
The K program where we live is full time (8:00 am to 2) and 5 days, there is no nap/rest time at all during their day. The teachers put together the reading groups according to reading levels, the kids are tested to determine this. The kids are definitely challenged and they move up as their reading levels progress. Even if the children are well above K reading level, the teachers will provide them with more advanced books. I'm amazed at all the things that DD has learned this year in K, things that her oldest brother wasn't exposed to in K 7 years ago.

It all comes down to what the parents feel is right for their child, but if there are doubts, then explore them. Good luck to all parents making their decision!

 

[nuke]

My son is in kindergarten this year and is 6. Our district cut off is 5 years old by the start of school and his birthday is in November.
Before he started kindergarten he could read, count to well over 100, write his name and all his letters and numbers. Kindergarten has basically been play time for him. He has not learned anything new except how to interact with teachers and other children in a classroom. His teacher has told us that he would have been fine in Kindergarten last year but there is no testing or anything in our district to start kindergarten before you are 5 years old.
I think it all depends on the child.