Early and Repeated Kindergarten

[alotofyarn]

I went to the orientation today for the kids' school, and they told me E was going to be in the Kindergarten class, which is where most of the other kids her age will be. So...now I'm freaking out. My plan was for her to do PK4 at the private preschool this year, then for her to do K at the public school next year. They told me that about half the kids in the class would go on to 1st grade next year, and the other half would do K again. I think she's totally ready to do K, especially since it's a smaller private school, but I'm worried about what will happen next year when we tell her that she's doing Kindergarten again, because I just can't see putting her in 1st grade next year, as that would make her likely so much younger than her peers in Middle and High School, then college. And she'd leave me a whole year sooner (I know, I might be begging her to leave then, and some days now I can't wait for her to go away, but still).

[SoonerTexan]

FWIW, this is really common here. Our preschool has a private kindergarten referred to as "the Fives" and they all go to public Kinder after.

If you just call it something other than Kinder, I doubt she will really understand or know the difference. Just consider it preschool in your mind too--that's really what it is. I don't know what it is like in Nashville (but suspect it is really similar to DFW), but public Kinder is basically what 1st grade was for us back in the day. Most kids are reading at some level by the end of the year, doing basic math, and working on scientific concepts way beyond the level I thought they were. Like Biomes--DH and I were like, wtf, already?? It could be a good safe place for her to stretch her academics without having to be "the little one."

ETA: I was talking to some teacher friends about this and we all remembered this pseudo 1st grade option they used to have back in the public schools when we were kids. I cant remember what they called it, but it was basically a bridge class to 1st grade for the Kindergarteners that weren't really ready. Maybe over the years this has just been pushed down to the Pre-K level?

[alotofyarn]

FWIW, this is really common here. Our preschool has a private kindergarten referred to as "the Fives" and they all go to public Kinder after.

If you just call it something other than Kinder, I doubt she will really understand or know the difference. Just consider it preschool in your mind too--that's really what it is. I don't know what it is like in Nashville (but suspect it is really similar to DFW), but public Kinder is basically what 1st grade was for us back in the day. Most kids are reading at some level by the end of the year, doing basic math, and working on scientific concepts way beyond the level I thought they were. Like Biomes--DH and I were like, wtf, already?? It could be a good safe place for her to stretch her academics without having to be "the little one."

ETA: I was talking to some teacher friends about this and we all remembered this pseudo 1st grade option they used to have back in the public schools when we were kids. I cant remember what they called it, but it was basically a bridge class to 1st grade for the Kindergarteners that weren't really ready. Maybe over the years this has just been pushed down to the Pre-K level?

That's good to hear! I don't think this was a thing in Nola - the kids all just do PK4 and then K, mostly all at private schools or advanced studies public schools, because our public schools were generally terrible. They do have T1 (transitional 1st) for kids who do K but aren't quite ready to go to 1st at some schools, but not all. Academically, I think it will be great for her. She started reading this summer and loves it, and she can do some basic math already too. She loves to learn new things. I want her to be challenged, I just don't want her to grow up quite yet.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

We would call it TK for transitional Kindergarten in NC. D will be in a PK4-TK class. It seems that the class is a lot of 4yo girls and red shirted 5yo boys (summer birthdays).

That being said, there is NO way that child is going to 1st grade in 2019. She will be doing Kindy for sure in fall 2019. Sounds like she and E are in the same place academically with reading and math but her maturity is not there. And having just homeschooled Kindy with C (and yes we learned biomes and times tables), there is no way D would be Grade 1 ready next year.

The crazy thing to me is the number of people who’ve already asked me if I’m going to red shirt my giant April baby for Kindy. So he would go to Kindy at almost 6.5 and he would be a giant compared to all the other kids. Yeah no. He will go on time when he’s 5. But in wealthier districts in Mass, I know almost no one who starts Kindy at 5...they all start at 6.


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[OrionGrad]

Early and Repeated Kindergarten

J’s TK class last year had 17 boys and just 4 girls. 😳 Almost all summer birthdays for the boys, which meant the parents (including us!) held them back intentionally. I guess I’m just confirming what others have said, that at least in our neck of the woods, it’s more common for girls to start K at 4/5 and boys to start at 5/6.

ETA: Because J didn’t quite meet the age cutoff for TK (too old), we weren’t sure if he would get into the class until the last minute. If he hadn’t gotten into TK, our plan was to have him do K twice. I think either option would have been fine. 😀

[MrsC]

C is just a few weeks older than E I think. Everyone keeps asking me if he's going into K this year. We're doing 3 full days of PreK, (hard to find here in the land of half day Kindergarten). It's always hard when they're ahead academically and you need to balance that with social skills the same as kids their age. I think doing K this year and repeating it in "big school" sounds like a good plan.
[MENTION=1315]TulipsAndSunscreen[/MENTION] I don't want to jinx anything but I may need to pick your brains about this trend in MA. C is fine but R has a late August birthday.

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[TulipsAndSunscreen]

C is just a few weeks older than E I think. Everyone keeps asking me if he's going into K this year. We're doing 3 full days of PreK, (hard to find here in the land of half day Kindergarten). It's always hard when they're ahead academically and you need to balance that with social skills the same as kids their age. I think doing K this year and repeating it in "big school" sounds like a good plan.
[MENTION=1315]TulipsAndSunscreen[/MENTION] I don't want to jinx anything but I may need to pick your brains about this trend in MA. C is fine but R has a late August birthday.

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Any time...
I have tons of friends in that area with kids this age. Happy to help.


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[MrsC]

Any time...
I have tons of friends in that area with kids this age. Happy to help.


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Thanks, good to know!

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[houseelf]

ALOY-

I have a lot of thoughts on holding/redshirting for kindergarten which you can search on this board, derived through both my teaching profession and personal experience (two summer birthday kids one held/one sent). I'm firmly in the camp that if you think your kid may benefit by holding, you should probably do it. I will now negate this belief with an even stronger one. I'm also firmly in the camp that you know your kids best. Do not be swayed by what other people do, local norms, what random idiots on the internet advise (Hi, that would be me!), what well-intentioned educators say, blah, blah, blah. I start some of my hardest parent-teacher conferences the preamble, "These are my thoughts, but you are the ultimate stakes holders." This is not a clear decision. Don't believe the hype, but trust your instincts.

Now that I'm stepping off my soap box, don't sweat how the 5 year old frames it. Be very matter of fact, "We've decided you're doing a year of pre K then K because we want you to be the rockstar that we know you will by going this route. If you switch your mind later on just tell her, "Mom made a mistake, we were so excited about you experiencing school, we sent you early. Now we see that you are going to be even more of a rockstar if you do a year of kindergarten next year." Simple, direct, nonemotional, matter-of-fact.

With 18 years under my belt, I have evolved dramatically about educational decisions. In years past, I tried so hard to keep schools and experiences consistent for my kids as a guiding principle. Now I'm like, "Yup, this isn't working, let's look into other options. " I'm not even anxious about backing up and trying something different because I think trying to stay the course may not always be the best option.

Anyway, take what you can use from this, leave the rest. Good luck and God speed.

[alotofyarn]

Here's the director's response:

There are several children in the classroom that are going to audit Kindergarten next year. It honestly gives them a jumpstart for their actual Kindergarten year. In my opinion they usually do not get bored when they go to their new school for Kindergarten. It is a whole new learning environment. But if you feel like she will be I can move her in Pre-Kindergarten. You let me know what you would like to do. J

I'm just torn. I do really think she would do so well at Kindergarten this year, and I don't necessarily want to hold her back. She's certainly smart enough, and I think she would love it. I just know that I want her to do Kindergarten at the public school the following year, so I don't know if that's going to be a problem.

[alotofyarn]

ALOY-

I have a lot of thoughts on holding/redshirting for kindergarten which you can search on this board, derived through both my teaching profession and personal experience (two summer birthday kids one held/one sent). I'm firmly in the camp that if you think your kid may benefit by holding, you should probably do it. I will now negate this belief with an even stronger one. I'm also firmly in the camp that you know your kids best. Do not be swayed by what other people do, local norms, what random idiots on the internet advise (Hi, that would be me!), what well-intentioned educators say, blah, blah, blah. I start some of my hardest parent-teacher conferences the preamble, "These are my thoughts, but you are the ultimate stakes holders." This is not a clear decision. Don't believe the hype, but trust your instincts.

Now that I'm stepping off my soap box, don't sweat how the 5 year old frames it. Be very matter of fact, "We've decided you're doing a year of pre K then K because we want you to be the rockstar that we know you will by going this route. If you switch your mind later on just tell her, "Mom made a mistake, we were so excited about you experiencing school, we sent you early. Now we see that you are going to be even more of a rockstar if you do a year of kindergarten next year." Simple, direct, nonemotional, matter-of-fact.

With 18 years under my belt, I have evolved dramatically about educational decisions. In years past, I tried so hard to keep schools and experiences consistent for my kids as a guiding principle. Now I'm like, "Yup, this isn't working, let's look into other options. " I'm not even anxious about backing up and trying something different because I think trying to stay the course may not always be the best option.

Anyway, take what you can use from this, leave the rest. Good luck and God speed.

Thanks! I think I would feel differently if she was a summer birthday. She won't be 5 until November, so this isn't even redshirting, it would be skipping a year if we did K this year and then 1st the next. The cutoff here is August 15, so she's 3 months past that.

[alotofyarn]

We would call it TK for transitional Kindergarten in NC. D will be in a PK4-TK class. It seems that the class is a lot of 4yo girls and red shirted 5yo boys (summer birthdays).

That being said, there is NO way that child is going to 1st grade in 2019. She will be doing Kindy for sure in fall 2019. Sounds like she and E are in the same place academically with reading and math but her maturity is not there. And having just homeschooled Kindy with C (and yes we learned biomes and times tables), there is no way D would be Grade 1 ready next year.

The crazy thing to me is the number of people who’ve already asked me if I’m going to red shirt my giant April baby for Kindy. So he would go to Kindy at almost 6.5 and he would be a giant compared to all the other kids. Yeah no. He will go on time when he’s 5. But in wealthier districts in Mass, I know almost no one who starts Kindy at 5...they all start at 6.


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So did you do Kinder homeschool with C last year and she's going to repeat Kinder this year?

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

No, C will be in first grade this year (homeschooled).

D will be doing Pre-K/TK at preschool and then will do Kindy in 2019 (maybe homeschooled maybe not). Some of the kids in her class will go on to 1st grade (mostly the red shirted boys whose parents wanted them in a smaller Kindy environment) but she will absolutely do Kindy in 2019. I skipped 1st grade and I do not recommend it to anyone, no matter how bright the child, unless the needs absolutely cannot be met and the child is truly gifted. My children are bright but I would not think any of them are truly truly gifted.

Gifted comes with its own set of baggage. Kids that are truly gifted often struggle socially. I’ve noticed there’s a tendency to call bright academically advanced kids “gifted” because that’s what they call the advanced kids in public school. But truly gifted children (many standard deviations above the mean) are much rarer I think.


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[rufflesanddots]

No, C will be in first grade this year (homeschooled).

D will be doing Pre-K/TK at preschool and then will do Kindy in 2019 (maybe homeschooled maybe not). Some of the kids in her class will go on to 1st grade (mostly the red shirted boys whose parents wanted them in a smaller Kindy environment) but she will absolutely do Kindy in 2019. I skipped 1st grade and I do not recommend it to anyone, no matter how bright the child, unless the needs absolutely cannot be met and the child is truly gifted. My children are bright but I would not think any of them are truly truly gifted.

Gifted comes with its own set of baggage. Kids that are truly gifted often struggle socially. I’ve noticed there’s a tendency to call bright academically advanced kids “gifted” because that’s what they call the advanced kids in public school. But truly gifted children (many standard deviations above the mean) are much rarer I think.


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In public schools I went to they had the gifted program for advanced kids and then something called "seminar" for the reeeeallly advanced kids like you describe.

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[MrsC]

What would the age range be for K this year? If she's going to be the youngest it may be worth doing PreK. They change so much at this age and I think it's hard socially for those who are much older or younger.

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