Anyone else's child having a hard time w/ full-day kindergarten?

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the article.

Red shirting would not help this kid. My DH's god son was red shirted and is the oldest in his class with a 9/29 birthday (DC cut off is 9/30). He is running around like crazy in his school, even with recess. He runs around at after care, runs around at before care, and is totally exhausted at the end of the day but has a tough time during the day with just the one or two 20-minute recesses, a schedule that sounds way better than OP's school schedule. With a high-powered boy (and there's nothing wrong with this kid; he's just got energy to spare), you can't expect even a six-year-old to sit for so long.

The reality is, this kind of schedule is tough on children. There are gender differences, and there are age differences. There are variations within age and gender. But the schools have to get their sh-- together and do kindergarten differently.

I'm fortunate that my daughter's kindergarten works for her personality. They have two 20-minute recesses and I do something athletic with her after school. Plus she has PE twice per week. She has always been a fairly easy going child, so the transition from tons of play in Pre-K to this hasn't completely flattened her. But I think that this schedule is the outer limit of what you can expect from five-year-olds generally, and I'm not looking forward to first grade, when they drop to ONE recess.

Good luck, OP. Fight for recess.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I did look into Catholic and other private schools last year but as a single mother who doesn't make much money (so doesn't have much money to spare for tuition) I went w/ the local public school (which is where everyone else's kid goes). I knew it was different than when I was in K but I didn't know just how different. I am also afraid (like one of the PPs) that my son will be labeled the "problem kid" or a "behavior issue" since he has a lot of energy (and no outlet for it) and also has sensory issues (that aren't helped by the large class size; 24 kids and very loud cafeteria). I think he may be having a harder adjustment b/c of his sensory issues too. He acts angry and very irritated at the end of the day (as well as dead tired). I have read all about redshirting from other postings and didn't think I even needed to consider it as he turned 5 in April, not at the end of the summer. The informal assessment given to him by the school when I registered him back in March was simple. He said they asked him to write his name, name colors, shapes, letters, etc. He would've passed that test at age 2 so I thought that if that is all it takes to make the school happy for an incoming kindergarten student then he was all set. I wish I had the means to homeschool him but I work FT during the week and have a Sat night job just to make ends meet.

[Anonymous]

Have you thought about waiting an extra year to start him in kindergarten and maybe continuing a pre k for one more year? I know so many parents that wait an extra year especially with boys. I have a girl and I am considering waiting an extra year if she isn't ready next year. Trust your parenting instincts. They are very rigid in the school system here, it can be a lot depending on your child's personality. I am in the same boat, financially I just can't afford private school which may have a more well rounded education. Taking an extra year might give you the ability to better prepare him now that you know how demanding kindergarten is. Just a thought.

[Anonymous]

Op here. I can't take him out and put him back in preschool b/c his preschool usually has a waiting list for all classes. There is no public pre-K option either. I would've definitely held him back a year had I known what he would've gone through this year. The only boys in his class last year that did not go to K were the fall bdays.