5 Year Old Distracted at School

She's only in preschool! How much "school work" are they giving her there? What kind of preschool is it, anyway? Boot camp preschool? I've gotta wonder about this preschool teacher.

I say, relax, and put her in kindergarten. She's still a baby! Hopefully the kindergarten won't be expecting a 5 year old to "work" so hard.

Sheesh.

Gee whiz! Pre-school is not even manditory. Can it really affect her up coming entry into Kindergarten? Is this a private school system she is in?
Maybe she is having some problem at the school. My son digs his heals and clams up when he's unhappy.
Since I'm not exactly sure of your situation, let me just add these thoghts based on assumption...
* If it is a private school, you may want to reflect on what you're paying for, if they aren't working closely enough with your child to have her make ANY progress in FIVE MONTHS!!!
* If it's not private, it still sounds like the teacher's not so hot! How and WHY would she let your child slip through the cracks since Christmas without lettng you know, if it matters at all.
* Next year, in Kindergarten, there will likely be a kid or two who have only been home with their mom's all of their lives. Your daughter may do just fine. Don't label her with a disorder just yet. :)

Homework in Pre K? Gee wiz.. My son didn't go to preschool, he is now in kindergarten and is doing just fine. I say do no worry. If there was a problem since Christmas, the school should have notified you then if they were that concerned. She is not even in KG yet, they need to relax a bit on the kids.

Is your daughter going to be going to be attending a public school for kindergarten next year? If so, don't worry about it; chances are that there will be kids in her kindergarten class who have never attended preschool and may not know their ABCs and 123s when they first start school.

I am concerned, like you are, about the preschool teacher's decision to wait more than 5-months, and only a few days before summer break, to address her concerns about your daughter's progress and possible attentional issues. To me, this speaks volumes about the teacher and no necessarily in a very positive way. What I would do, if I were you, is enroll your daughter in kindergarten for the next school year, don't tell your daughter's new teacher anything about what her previous teacher has to say, and see what your daughter's new teacher has to say. The preschool teacher's concerns may be a non-issue at your daughter's new school for a variety of reasons. If not, the new teacher will let you know and then you can make an appointment with a developmental pediatrician to have your daughter evaluated and discuss how best to help your daughter in school.

Wishing all the best to you and your daughter.

Well she is only in preschool, and if this has been a problem since Christmas then the teacher certainly should have said something before the very end of the school year. I would try to talk to the director (principal?) of the preschool and get to the bottom of it. I'm sure she will be able to go to kindergarten in the fall, even kids with ADHD can go to school, they might just be evaluated and get extra help through the school system. Did the teacher say anything about her not going to kindergarten? ? Is preschool mandatory where you are?

Just remember, its only the very beginning of her school career and not all kids become perfect students right from the get-go. It takes practice. Its always hard to hear that your kid is having trouble, but just don't stress and try to get more information. She has plenty of time to get help if she needs it.

Preschool is not the beat all end all for how she will do in Kindergarten. Plenty of kids never go to preschool at all. Unless you are noticing things at home about her behavior and you have noticed that daydreaming or districtions at home interfere with her life, you should probably wait and see what happens in Kindergarten.

I would not hold her back based on an failure to make progress in an optional program. Kindergarten teachers expect to find some children who have not learned anything formally yet at all, so don't sweat this just yet. Holding kids back is almost always harmful, even if it feels better at the time, the data shows a much different picture for them a few years down the road.

Keep a close eye out for these behaviros at home: impusivity (beyond a typical 5 year old) seeming to leave a trail of her belongings everywhere she goes. Forgetting what she is doing or saying mid action or thought. Handwriting and fine motor issues-buttons, zippers. Difficulty with mutli step directions. Easily overwhelmed by frustration.

If the issue is real, it should be addresses in the first parent teacher conference you have in Kindergarten. Ask the teacher about her atteintion span if they don't tell you anything, and keep a close eye on her milestones and academic progress. If you see something, request school evaluation, but make an appointment with either a developmental pediatrician (not your regular pediatrician) or a board certified child psychiatrist for a diagnosis.

I am very prone to suggest evaluation when ever there is a concern, because catching these things early is always best, but this just does not sound like a huge issue, because something as global as ADHD is not generally a surprise to parents when a teacher suggests it.

It is possible that she has another issue that is causing her to be inattentive. Have her eyes checked, and I would find a developmental optomitrist who can check her visual processing too (the occupational therapy unit at your nearest childrens hospital can give you a name) They will give you a regular eye exam and do some checking on her processing.

But send her to kindergarten on time, and have a great summer before she goes!

M.

She could be bored silly, ADD, dyslexic, or have any number of other learning problems. However, the only way to really know if a child knows the alphabet is w/o singing it. Get some plastic, block, capital letters. Sit your daughter down at the table, mix the letters up, and have her put the letters in order and say them as she points to them. If she cannot do this, she does not actually know her alphabet. Children with and w/o learning problems can struggle with handwriting. First of all, it's very important that your daughter learn the proper pencil grip. You can probably google that or find a book at your local bookstore. In Alphabetic Phonics, cursive handwriting is taught as early as possible, instead of printing. Printing requires that the pencil be lifted off the paper many, many times. With cursive, that is not the case, which leads to faster note-taking (as the child advances in school). Also, there are several manuscript letters, b and d and p and q, that are mirror-image letters and easily reversed by either very young or dyslexic children. Cursive lowercase b's and d's and p's and q's cannot be reversed, because they are not mirror-image letters.

I agree that the teacher should have told you of her concerns earlier.

Hi L.:

I will try to keep this short. My son is about to enter Kindergarten and is for the most part well adjusted, knows his alphabet (letters and sounds), counting, sounding words, huge general knowledge also,etc. By the way , he is 5. He is a sharp kid and loves to learn however he is just not interested in writing letters or words most times (even though he can write). I just discovered however that he loves working on numbers and that will keep him focused longer.

However most of all what I discovered is that he is only 5 and needs time to build his maturity that will help him focus. Also some teachers are not able to reach some kids. They just can't figure out what gets that child going.

In the right environment and maturity level your child will thrive. This time might just be in the fall when she starts Kindergarten. As you work with her during the summer please also spend the time to focus on how she learns, that way you will know your child well and can better work with the teachers when she starts school. Remember kids can't stay focused as long as adults at least not my kid.

Hi L.,

Take it easy, and relax ....
First of all, the beginning of school life (including preschool) means lots of changes for every kid. A little one who distracts "easily" or do not focus doesn't mean he/she has adhd or something alike, it means your daughter is getting use to many different NEW things, and those are not easy for little ones to deal with them. There are many children who adapt easily to a new environment of school (and preschool) and many children who don't. It does NOT mean they would not thrive or be able to be in preschool or kindergarten later.
One part of the answer is in your own question: "I have not been that impressed with the school teacher....", and ..."I don't really see the problem". SO, probably you just first jumped into a conclusion or assumption because of what the teacher you are not impressed or satisfied with told you or noticed about your daughter.
In my opinion you have several choices H.:
First, work 15 minutes (meaning "teaching her by playing " or teaching her at her play time) at home more than the abc's or letters or shapes. Have her to seat down with you at a table and do something fun like painting, drawing or something instructive that keep her focused on something specific. Do this very often about twice a day . Instruct her clearly and nicely that you would be happy if she stay there for just minutes and let you know when she wants to stand up or going anywhere.
Second, read a lot with her because this will help her to keep concentrated, but do not exceed 10 or15 minutes.
Third, get a balloon and have her to play with it by kicking the balloon up without letting the balloon touch the ground, that will helps her to keep focus on something. It is fun and very helpful!!

On another hand, preschool is not mandatory, so you don't have to send her. Anyway is almost D. and think that she still LEARNED something.

Any problem she may have like writing or something else, she will learn at school, that is what schools are for. Don't feel that you have to send your daughter knowing everything because your neighbors' daughter knows everything. Just play with her, teach the most she can grab at the moment but do not push her into be the smartest or the more capable of. Every kid is smart and very clever, it is just a matter of time and stimulation not pushing! Play with her a lot, read to her, talk to her and keep her on a simple little routine in doing something that make her to focus for 10 minutes (tracing letters or numbers, painting shapes, cutting papers with hands or with safety scissors. etc.
Good luck !

you will be amazed at how much she will pick up during the summer break. Keep encouraging her to write and do the things she hasn't learned yet and she will do fine, plus in Kindergarten they tend to pick up things very quickly and want to keep up with everyone else. My daughter didn't get the opportunity to go to preschool as we lived in a very small town and it wasn't an option. She didn't want to learn how to write her letters and when she started Kindergarten I was concerned that she would be far behind the other kids. She knew the letters and numbers, how to count but didn't want to do any of the writing work I tried to teach her. She knew how to write her name and that was about it. Anyway her teacher told me she seemed smart and would catch up very quickly, not to worry as they would review a lot the first month and she would catch up because she will want to do what all the other kids are doing. Well the teacher was right and within 2 weeks she was caught up with the rest of the students that knew all that stuff before Kindergarten and is a 9th grader now and does well in school. Preschool is basically for social skills and would not worry if she is a little behind in the bookwork as she will catch up soon.