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| Parents with Kids in Elementary School |
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I would love some feedback on this. My son is 6 (march birthday) and started kindergarten "on time" and is doing well in school. (a lot of parents are now starting their kids late so there are kids that are almost 7 in his class) I just had my spring conference with his teacher and she told me that she would like to retain him in kindergarten. She told me her concerns are not academic but his maturity.
I was a little shocked since this was the first time she ever said anything and I see this woman every school day. My son had never been in trouble at school, so I was a little lost on what she meant. She told me that he can be silly at circle time and that she needed to repeat the directions to him more than once. As far as the circle time, I told her why wasn't he getting in trouble if he is not doing what he's told and she said that it wasn't that disruptive. (so now she has lost me again!) And isn't part of being a teacher (or mom for that matter) to repeat yourself?
She also said that he doesn't have a lot of confidence when he reads or talking in front of the class. He has a speech disorder called apraxia and because of that he didn't talk until he was four. Apraxia is when you have difficulty programming and planning speech movements. I didn't tell his teacher this before the meeting and she didn't even know that he had a problem. (I didn't want him labeled.) He speaks very well now but still is a little shy when he speaks in front of a group because wants to make sure he's saying everything right when he's put on the spot. Unless I told your he had problems with his speech you wouldn't know.
So I really don't know what to do. My husband and I have talked to his pediatrician, his speech therapist, friends and family and everyone thinks we should send him to 1st grade. I talked to the teacher on Friday and she asked me if we had talked to him about it. I told her we had and she said she could tell. I really like her but she is driving me crazy. I told her that is why I wished she would have said something when she first noticed a problem. (we told her at the first conference that we wanted to know if their was ever anything she felt needed our attention. I guess she forgot.)
So really I'm just worried that if I send him on and he can't cope then we have a problem. The things that the kids have to learn in school now is crazy. No more playing with blocks and finger paint. It's learn how to read, tell time and add money. I want to do what's best for my son. Anyone have the teacher want to hold them back for maturity?
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| Posted by on 04/06/2008 11:33 AM
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My son is 6 and doing well for him,in kindergarten. He has delays,so he is behind his peers. I am torn because next year first semrster will all be review. Will he be bored? He us also a triplet,and I worry about the social emotional aspect,especially if his sisters go on to first grade,
I suppose he may be able to handle 1st grade with alot uf support. HELP |
| posted by susan on 04/06/2008 12:01 PM
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Teachers and educators say that the real difference between Kindergarten and 1st grade is maturity. I hold my kids back because we move for a year, but I have to say I am really happy I did it. In my case it worked out because they did actually repeat pre-k and not being in the same school it was different.
As you say the school puts a lot of demand on kids and in 1st grade they do not get anymore playtime, so really Kindergarten today is what 1st grade used to be.
However, maybe you should get to know kids in first grade and see if your son would be struggling or it would be ready for it. At this age is really important to built self-confidence and not to feel the last one of the class!
Vero |
| posted by Vero on 04/06/2008 12:02 PM
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| I think that's another reason I'm so torn. He will be at the same school with the same kids. He has made lots of friends in his class (the whole class came to his birthday plus his other friends outside of school. I had over 50 kids. I know I'm crazy but it shows that he has no problem making friends) and I'm worried that it will hurt his self esteem if he stays another year . And that he will be sitting there bored while the rest of the class learns their ABC's and how to write their name. |
| posted by on 04/06/2008 01:46 PM
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| I would contact your principle, as the teacher had not told you any of these concerns before, when maybe they could have been better addressed. And it is perfectly ok to have an outside source evaluate your child and give a professional opinion. Sometimes the school have agencies tey work with or may even pay for part of the evealuation or possibly it might be done with a team or school psychologist. A second opinion never hurts, and the teacher sounds a little weird. Why was none of ths mentioned before march and yes! kids are not perfect and need things repeated... and repeated... and repeated. |
| posted by jackie on 04/07/2008 10:24 AM
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| Thanks Jackie. I will look into that. (I almost had to laugh when she said the repeating part. I didn't want to be rude but I wanted to say "isn't that part of your job?") |
| posted by on 04/07/2008 11:19 AM
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