Question for All You Teachers

I'm not a teacher...but if she is having trouble with letter sounds, keep the Letter Factory dvd by Leap Frog. It is awesome.

You can always have her repeat Kindergarten...my 4 year old knows all of his letter sounds, letters, number and can write, on his own, several words. I would rather hold her back now...than next year. 1st grade is much harder.

Follow the advice the teachers are giving you. If you don't understand what they are asking, call and make an appointment and meet with them. You are keeping on top of things. I just wondering, with these issues, why she wasn't in speech therapy before now?

As a former elementary teacher, I found that children who had birthdays closer to the cut off date did better by waiting a year, but each child is different. You've already got her in K, don't pull her out. You're going to have to do some extra work according to the teacher. It is much easier on the child socially and pychologically to have them repeat a grade when they are younger. By the time they reach 2nd gr+ they "know" and so do their friends. Just give her the extra love and your personal time and see how the rest of the year goes. If the teacher is still saying she's behind, I'd have her repeat.
Good luck and God Bless!

One more quick idea. Go to the school and sit in the class for a bit to get a feel for what the other kids can do. If your kid doesn't seem to keep up, then you might see why: distracted, not ready, bored, etc.
And ditto on the letter factory dvd, you might be able to rent it.

Just because the teacher is sending notes home to work with her does not mean there is a problem, as parents this day and age we have to constantly work with our kids and help them outside of school, I struggled with the same problem as you my daughter was an October birthday and she started full day every day K when she was still 4, I knew she was ready acedemically but she was immature, she did great in Kindergarten but I worked with her at home with letters and numbers and she is right at the level she should be now in 1st grade, so I wouldnt necessarily worry just yet, just continue to work with her at home

Best advice is to not panic. She is in K now, so work with her as the teacher asked and all will be fine. No need to look back. All children have homework these days and things that they need to work on for school.

Be strong!

S.

Children, even siblings, develop at their own rate. It isn't necessarily a sign she should have been held back, but could be a sign she needs more drilling to learn.

Some need repetition, some get it the first time around. Some need to study, some don't.

I would recommend to never allow anyone to compare her to her sibling. That could cause long term damage. Allow her to learn as she needs to and make sure more then one learning style is being introduced. There are 5 learning styles and if her style isn't being taught, that could also be an issue.

There is nothing wrong with holding a child back, if that is what you feel is best. Parents know their children so much better then anyone else. An extra year to mature never has hurt anyone and may be the key you are looking for. See where she is at at the end of the semester and speak to the teacher. Communication is important.

Once you find what works for her, I am sure she will flourish.

Input from the teacher is great, but you know your child best. I think you need additional information before you can make a decision. How is she doing socially? Is she maintaining friendships or is she more immature than the others? Are there other signs that she is not ready to be in kindergarten? Can she sit through a lesson? The question is why isn't she learning, there may be cause for an evaluation to see if it is just being a young five, or perhaps, there is a problem that needs to be corrected, and without help it own't make a idfference if she is held back a year or not. This is the age/time to get these things figured out, don't wait until she is in 1st grade to see how she does, by then you will be playing a full year of catch-up if she does need help. Be pro-active, talk to the school principal, get a speech and occupational evaluation for her. This is what project find is all about, and you have resources available to you in the public school system to helpyou go through it. Classroom eacher's can only tell you that the student isn't up to par, they can't always tell you why, and aren't trained to diagnose issues, so I wouldn't rely on them to diagnose that the student is'young' as the only reason. Good luck

Go with your gut on this one -- it's okay to leave her where she is, and it's okay to pull her out or have her repeat kindergarten.

Check out Ruth Beechick's book "The Three R's" about how kids learn - it's developmental in nature and it's written for parents.

I began homeschooling a year ago, and am absolutely stunned by the number of products and resources available. One way to look at vendors is to find a homeschooling magazine and look at the advertisers. Another way is to google homeschool conventions and conferences and look over the exhbitors lists. You will find games that you can play with your children that will help them, whether they are public schoolers or home schoolers.

In a couple of months, there should be a book fair for homeschoolers in Farmington Hills. It's usually at the Costic Center--costs around ten bucks to get in, and you can go there and LOOK at everything--it's amazing. You would probably find resources to use at home that are cheaper than tutoring.

I'm not a teacher, but I am the parent of a young 5 year old in Kindergarden. I would see if you could set up a meeting for right after school to talk with the teacher. Because your daughter was doing so well in October and suddenly is having some problems I have to wonder if something changed. How is she behaving in class - is she paying attention or is her mind wondering off? Is there a tutor that can help her at school during the school day? Maybe something changed more recently that is causing the problem. I know that because of my daughters age she was automatically referred to a tutor, plus we work at home with her a LOT. Her teacher should be able to answer all of the questions that you have, be able to give you some insight on what may be the problem at school, and give you some ideas on how to work with her. You may also want to consider asking if you can come in and observe the class the day of your meeting. I've been able to do that and it was very helpful to see the many different ways that she uses to teach in one little 3 hour time period.

All I can say is continue to work with her on the things the teacher suggests. My son had the same issues in kindergarden with reading and in 1st grade he did better and his first conference in 2nd grade the teacher had tested him and he was at a level 12 and they want them to be at a 14, but she told me this is normal for them to go back a little after being on summer break, and that she has seen some go back more then him. At his second conference he was where he needed to be. It just seems what he had problems with spelling in kindegarden has improved a lot over the years and now has become too easy for him and wants more challenging words. His best subject is math he has always been good with numbers. I would try at home working with numbers like using money or her toys, make it fun and interesting it helps. Good Luck
M.

I would keep working with her at home and find her grove for learning. If you feel she is not ready to go onto 1st grade, or will be come extremely frustrated in 1st grade, hold her back now. By holding her back early, she hasn't developed the close bonds with other students. If you wait and you end up having to hold her back later, like in 5th grade it will be more difficult for her.

I taught first grade prior to staying home with my kids. I saw so many kids struggle so hard because their parents were afraid of improper socialization by holding them back. The standards kids are expected to meet these days are significantly harder than those we were held to as kids. So my advice, if you were worried about sending her, hold her back. If her teacher is saying its too much for her to complete at school, pull her out. Put her in a young fives for the rest of the year or a montessori and try again next year. When a child is simply not ready all the education and assistance in the world cannot make her do what her little brain and body is not yet capable of. Give her some time to mature and blossom and next year school will be a breeze, maybe even fun! You're in a tough spot and I wish you the best of luck!!

As you know, every one learns differently. Some are visual, some are musical, some are auditory, some kids can not learn while sitting still...
Teachers tend to focus on what THEIR way of learning is while teaching. But in lower grades and elementary they do try to mix the ways of teaching ie bookwork, fieldtrips, songs, reading to the kids, etc...
It could also be that she is more focused on social things at school and not processing what she is learning.

Keep practicing with her at home and she will get it. If she were having real problems her teacher would call you and tell you that she should be held back. I am going thru the same thing with my 2nd grader with math... But when we do go over things at home with them they do show marked improvement in their work... Practice makes perfect. :-)

Just turning 5 in August is really a "young 5" for kindergarten. I would recommend taking her out, putting her in a different pre-school program and starting again next fall. I had one I started...silly me...she was 5 in NOVEMBER. The cut-off was December 31, or no cut off. She was OK til about 6th grade. Then the age difference with her peers really started showing. Give her the benefit of a little more maturity and she will do much better in the long run. I held my other two bac, they were both 6 or almost 6 before they started kindergarten. They didn't have near the issues of my first one. Good luck with your dicision, I know it's a tough one!

First, good for you for being an involved and concerned parent! I work in an elementary school as a Speech Pathologist. In our building, we actually have a Young 5's program for kids that are ready to start by age, but maybe aren't quite ready for how intense the curriculum is. Anyway, I recently had a student similar to what sounds like your daughter is experiencing. She is doing a "do over" year; and, it is working for her. I read the literacy specialist response, and she is right, the standards are so much more than they used to be. You have to do what you feel is best for your child. As a parent, I did place my own child in a Young 5's KG classroom prior to full day KG; but,I see the pressure he is under to succeed in 7th grade and it is tremendous . The state considers it a repeat of KG; and, it was the best start I could give him. He still has some "stuff" but now it is boy "stuff". Stay in contact with your child's teacher, too. She can help you with whatever decision that you make.
B.

HI A. I'm not a teacher, but I spend time in my daughters class. And just wanted to say what a huge range of skills sets I see in the class. Some of the kids are struggling with letter recognition, and others are learning to read.
Maybe your daughter would like learning games like "Whats GNU" that make building words fun.
Good luck, A. H

I homeschool my 11 year old and 16 year old and there are so many resources out there it is a bit overwhelming. This website is wonderful since you see the reviews of others:
www.homeschoolreviews.com
This should help you to find something to work with her after school. Here is a great site for purchasing products:
http://rainbowresource.com/index.php
There are many many websites that have free things as well. I will be happy to email you some of my resources if you like, just send me an email.

My mom put me in at age 5-I struggled terribly! I wound up doing a pre first after that-and still struggled! Socially also for a couple years...I wan`t ready. I`d pull her out and do a young 5`s.

Wow...looks like you've gotten a lot of advice. I, too, am a SAHM, but I was a 2nd grade teacher before I decided to have a baby and stay home. It's not a bad thing to have something to work on at home with your child. If I were you I would work on it using everyday situations. Use car rides...look at signs and identify words and numbers...use the store or grocery store to read words and numbers and there are many games available, teacher stores and computer software like "Reader Rabbit" and "Jumpstart Kindergarten" that can help. Also google "phonics games online" or "children's websites" and you can find many websites like starfall.com, learningplanet.com, and enchanted learning.com, and primarygames.com to help...the bonus is that your daughter will also get computer skills. If you're still worried as the year nears an end, consult the teacher and you may want to hold her back for a year. Repeating at her age would just give her confidence as she goes in to the next school year knowing exactly what to expect in class and if she needs it, it's better to do it when she's really young, rather than see her struggle as the years pass. Best of luck to you both!

I am a literacy specialist and work with kindergarten students. I see your situation everyday. You know your child better than anyone else so don't look back at your decision. You are acutally in a good situation because she is only in Kindergarten. I would recommend her doing kindergarten again with another teacher. At this age they are so resiliant and she will be a stronger student in the long run. It is better to hold them back now and not later when they are so struggling. My son turned 5 at the end of Oct. and he is in young 5's. My district was almost not going to run the program and our decision was if they stop it our son would do 2 years of kindergarten. Another teacher I work with did that with her child...two years of kindergarten. The kindergarten curriculum is what we did in first grade not that long ago. Kids are expected to know so much more in kindergarten than in the past.

Hi A., my granddaughter started school at 4. Her b'day is October 24th. She was doing fine, then we started getting "notes" about reading. We worked with her and she met the goals set by the teacher. Then we got, "well, I still don't think she's ready". It's sometimes an attitude held by a teacher that is the problem! They are human too. In this case, we refused to allow the teacher to hold her back when she worked and met all of the goals. She's now in 4th grade and a straight A student! You know your child better than anyone. Work with her and if you don't feel that she is meeting goals (have the teacher set one) then hold her back. If she is, let her continue! My granddaughter and my nephew were born 1 month apart. Both were premature and my nephew (the older) started K at 6, while my granddaughter started K at 4. It just depends on the child. Hope this helps, L.

I wish I would have known I had the option of keeping my daughter back. I would say keep her back. mine is now in 3rd and I'm wishing I did. Good Luck, L.