Kindergarten Readiness

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My daughter is 4.5 and we are leaning towards starting her in kindergarten this fall (turns 5 late July). She knows all letters and numbers 1-10, can write her name and all letters and numbers 1-10, knows a few sight words, knows all letter sounds.

She's very social and has no issue being separated from me (she goes to all day preschool). The only thing she struggles with a bit is her reaction when things don't go her way. Crying is a natural response for her but it is SO MUCH better than 3-6 months ago, so expecting even more improvement. She loves to learn and her teacher says she's very engaged.

Based off of the feedback above I think she's ok... I'd just heard about some kids reading before kindergarten and got kind of worried. Though, if we held her till 6, I have no doubt she'd be reading before she entered kindergarten. But then she may be frustrated if they're working on things like sounding out letters?

Struggling with this decision of sending a young 5 to kindergarten a bit if you can't tell...

She sounds ready. Starting to sound out words and being ready for Bob books is a great place to be at the beginning of K.

+1 My summer baby started K on time and she is doing great (in first grade now).

[Anonymous]

OP - my first grader doesn't know how to read, yours is fine.

[Anonymous]

I would send her on time. My September kid wasn’t allowed to attend K last year because she missed the cutoff by 8 days so she went to K this year and turned 6 a few days later. Your kid actually sounds more ready than my kid was even though she’s younger. My kid couldn’t read sight words until after she started K. She is friends with a few kids in her class that won’t turn 6 until summer and they are all doing great.
There are some kids who cry in her class because she’ll tell me things like , “X was crying because we rearranged seats and she didn’t like her seat.” , but sometimes it’s not the younger ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't want to derail this conversation, but what happens on the other end of the spectrum. My daughter starts kindergarten in the fall. She has been reading Bob books for months now, and gradually moving onto harder books. She can also do basic addition pretty consistently (subtraction less consistently.) I'm sure she could happily sit quiet and learn letter sounds, but do most schools also pull out some kids that are further along?

My DD is the same age and sounds similar-ish; maybe not quite as far along reading-wise (reads the BOB books well, but we haven’t gone beyond that yet except to read the occasional sentence or two in another book), but slightly farther ahead math wise (subtracting in the single digits is solid). In her current (barely) T1 PK4, there are a few comparable readers in her class and a few kids comparable at math (with one clearly ahead); one other kid is comparable in both. Yes, she’s at the upper end of the class, but she’s definitely not alone, doesn’t need pullouts and is learning loads... and this is a T1. I assume the cohort would be even bigger at an exclusively UMC school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My daughter is 4.5 and we are leaning towards starting her in kindergarten this fall (turns 5 late July). She knows all letters and numbers 1-10, can write her name and all letters and numbers 1-10, knows a few sight words, knows all letter sounds.

She's very social and has no issue being separated from me (she goes to all day preschool). The only thing she struggles with a bit is her reaction when things don't go her way. Crying is a natural response for her but it is SO MUCH better than 3-6 months ago, so expecting even more improvement. She loves to learn and her teacher says she's very engaged.

Based off of the feedback above I think she's ok... I'd just heard about some kids reading before kindergarten and got kind of worried. Though, if we held her till 6, I have no doubt she'd be reading before she entered kindergarten. But then she may be frustrated if they're working on things like sounding out letters?

Struggling with this decision of sending a young 5 to kindergarten a bit if you can't tell...

I’m the PP with the August boy and could have written your post word for word!

You sent him and he's doing well?

We’re still deciding what to do!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't want to derail this conversation, but what happens on the other end of the spectrum. My daughter starts kindergarten in the fall. She has been reading Bob books for months now, and gradually moving onto harder books. She can also do basic addition pretty consistently (subtraction less consistently.) I'm sure she could happily sit quiet and learn letter sounds, but do most schools also pull out some kids that are further along?

My DD is the same age and sounds similar-ish; maybe not quite as far along reading-wise (reads the BOB books well, but we haven’t gone beyond that yet except to read the occasional sentence or two in another book), but slightly farther ahead math wise (subtracting in the single digits is solid). In her current (barely) T1 PK4, there are a few comparable readers in her class and a few kids comparable at math (with one clearly ahead); one other kid is comparable in both. Yes, she’s at the upper end of the class, but she’s definitely not alone, doesn’t need pullouts and is learning loads... and this is a T1. I assume the cohort would be even bigger at an exclusively UMC school.

My daughter was similar when she entered kindergarten last year. She still learned a ton in K. At the assessment at the beginning of 1st grade in September she passed the third grade reading standard (they start with the k standard and keep testing until the kid misses enough questions). She also is now able to tell time, make change (e.g., If this costs $0.63 and I give you $1 dollar, what coins do you need to give me back?), and do basic multiplication. The teachers have been great at differentiating and keeping her brain busy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - my first grader doesn't know how to read, yours is fine.

OP here... thanks for this. Our DD is our only and I don’t have experience with kids of this age so I never quite know what’s the true expectations for kids this age. Not a humble brag, but I was reading at 4, so I know it’s possible (not expected for kinder back in the 80s) but was hoping it wasn’t typical to read before kindergarten now.

Her Pre-K teacher (and director) has said to send her and that she doesn’t think another year of pre-K would be a benefit. I told her to be bluntly honest and she was and I trust her implicitly. But so many people I know automatically redshirt so it just gives me pause. Not only will she be the youngest by the state cutoff but people abuse the redshirting so that she might be 18 months younger than another kid ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS is a late August birthday (turns 5 the day before school starts!) and we are also struggling with this decision. He knows all his letters and numbers beyond 20, but struggles to come close to writing his name, sit still, pay attention, follow directions, etc. Academically I think he would do ok, but socially and maturity-speaking, it could be a disaster

We are really torn b/c I'm against the idea of redshirting in general, yet I don't think my child is ready.

It's only January. It sounds like he is on the right track to be ready, and he's got months to get more mature. If he's in preschool now, he will be practicing all these things. It's amazing the difference 6 months can make with little kids!

[Anonymous]

All that you rec’d is important and a lot of it depends on the child, the teacher and the other kids in the class but I personally believe that attitude is also very important.
Let your child know they are beginning a GREAT ADVENTURE. They will learn and you and their Dad will be there to support them as they learn. You will cheer, answer questions and try to help when and if the going gets rough. There will be new things in their lives, new people and new teachers. If they don’t feel comfortable you will help them to work thru it. READY TO LEARN and READY TO BE A GOOD CITIZEN are very important attributes for success.
Make sure they know they have a support group standing behind them and cheering them on. Respect for others is very important and so is self respect. I am praying for blessings as you and your child enter this new adventure. Enjoy and have fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - my first grader doesn't know how to read, yours is fine.

OP here... thanks for this. Our DD is our only and I don’t have experience with kids of this age so I never quite know what’s the true expectations for kids this age. Not a humble brag, but I was reading at 4, so I know it’s possible (not expected for kinder back in the 80s) but was hoping it wasn’t typical to read before kindergarten now.

Her Pre-K teacher (and director) has said to send her and that she doesn’t think another year of pre-K would be a benefit. I told her to be bluntly honest and she was and I trust her implicitly. But so many people I know automatically redshirt so it just gives me pause. Not only will she be the youngest by the state cutoff but people abuse the redshirting so that she might be 18 months younger than another kid ...

I really doubt she’ll be 18 months younger than anyone in her class. She was born July 2015? So you think someone in her class could have been born January 2014 and will be starting kindergarten in fall 2020 at age 6 years and 8 months? No way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - my first grader doesn't know how to read, yours is fine.

OP here... thanks for this. Our DD is our only and I don’t have experience with kids of this age so I never quite know what’s the true expectations for kids this age. Not a humble brag, but I was reading at 4, so I know it’s possible (not expected for kinder back in the 80s) but was hoping it wasn’t typical to read before kindergarten now.

Her Pre-K teacher (and director) has said to send her and that she doesn’t think another year of pre-K would be a benefit. I told her to be bluntly honest and she was and I trust her implicitly. But so many people I know automatically redshirt so it just gives me pause. Not only will she be the youngest by the state cutoff but people abuse the redshirting so that she might be 18 months younger than another kid ...

I really doubt she’ll be 18 months younger than anyone in her class. She was born July 2015? So you think someone in her class could have been born January 2014 and will be starting kindergarten in fall 2020 at age 6 years and 8 months? No way.

Yeah no ones going to be that much older unless they have some pretty serious disabilities. I know redshirting is extreme in some areas but extreme would be holding back a May birthday kid, not a January bday kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - my first grader doesn't know how to read, yours is fine.

OP here... thanks for this. Our DD is our only and I don’t have experience with kids of this age so I never quite know what’s the true expectations for kids this age. Not a humble brag, but I was reading at 4, so I know it’s possible (not expected for kinder back in the 80s) but was hoping it wasn’t typical to read before kindergarten now.

Her Pre-K teacher (and director) has said to send her and that she doesn’t think another year of pre-K would be a benefit. I told her to be bluntly honest and she was and I trust her implicitly. But so many people I know automatically redshirt so it just gives me pause. Not only will she be the youngest by the state cutoff but people abuse the redshirting so that she might be 18 months younger than another kid ...

I really doubt she’ll be 18 months younger than anyone in her class. She was born July 2015? So you think someone in her class could have been born January 2014 and will be starting kindergarten in fall 2020 at age 6 years and 8 months? No way.

Op here... sorry, you are correct. Meant more like 15 months. I know of people holding April babies!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All that you rec’d is important and a lot of it depends on the child, the teacher and the other kids in the class but I personally believe that attitude is also very important.
Let your child know they are beginning a GREAT ADVENTURE. They will learn and you and their Dad will be there to support them as they learn. You will cheer, answer questions and try to help when and if the going gets rough. There will be new things in their lives, new people and new teachers. If they don’t feel comfortable you will help them to work thru it. READY TO LEARN and READY TO BE A GOOD CITIZEN are very important attributes for success.
Make sure they know they have a support group standing behind them and cheering them on. Respect for others is very important and so is self respect. I am praying for blessings as you and your child enter this new adventure. Enjoy and have fun.

Thank you for your kind response. She’s excited to go to kindergarten! I do not worry about her wanting to go and learn. Just want to make sure she’s as ready as we can help her be, academically and socially/emotionally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - my first grader doesn't know how to read, yours is fine.

OP here... thanks for this. Our DD is our only and I don’t have experience with kids of this age so I never quite know what’s the true expectations for kids this age. Not a humble brag, but I was reading at 4, so I know it’s possible (not expected for kinder back in the 80s) but was hoping it wasn’t typical to read before kindergarten now.

Her Pre-K teacher (and director) has said to send her and that she doesn’t think another year of pre-K would be a benefit. I told her to be bluntly honest and she was and I trust her implicitly. But so many people I know automatically redshirt so it just gives me pause. Not only will she be the youngest by the state cutoff but people abuse the redshirting so that she might be 18 months younger than another kid ...

Send her. Her preK teacher would know. I was always one of the youngest kids in my class with a Sept birthday. School was easy, and I would have been bored to death if I was held back.

Ironically DS just made the cutoff. No question we sent him. He is usually the youngest or 2nd youngest in the class. We don’t believe in redshirting. DS did great academically and no issues. As an only child, it helped him much in the socio-emotional aspect in interacting with other kids, sharing, waiting his turn, etc...