Anonymous wrote:The academic pendulum has swung all the way over now, hasn't it. You do know that there is a pattern and that eventually the pendulum will swing back and academics in K will take a back seat to social and emotional and holistic development. That's just the way it goes.

Personally, the rigorous academics in the 'mini-first grade' that kindergarten has become is the primary reason that I chose to send my child to private school. I want him learning skills and content that are appropriate for a 5 year old in kindergarten, not a 6 year old in first grade, thank you very much. I do not think it matters one iota whether my child learns to read sentences much less chapter books in kindergarten or first grade. I believe that you can only push the academic skills down so far before you are making unacceptable trade offs and/or are pushing too many children past the limits of appropriate expectations for their age and developmental level. And it has nothing to do with whether or not they are having fun in this case. B/c I'm sure that the teachers are killing themselves trying to ensure that those little guys are having fun, regardless of how inappropriate what they are asking them to do is.

Can we please just have a normal kindergarten with story time, picture journals, songs, fingerplays, a kitchen/house area, blocks, puzzles, easels and crafts, cooking, guinea pigs and raising chicks, sink and float and magnet experiments, and some cute plays like a Kindergarten Circus?

Anonymous wrote:I think people need to accept that a class goes at the rate of the average student -- not at the rate of the top 10% or the bottom 10%. Just as it would not be fair to go at the rate of the bottom 10%, leaving 90% bored, it would not be fair to go at the rate of the top 10%, leaving 90% struggling.

Also, I don't think you should be too concerned that your child is a head of peers in K because he had the advantage of pre-K education. Things even out by third grade.

Anonymous wrote:I think people need to accept that a class goes at the rate of the average student -- not at the rate of the top 10% or the bottom 10%. Just as it would not be fair to go at the rate of the bottom 10%, leaving 90% bored, it would not be fair to go at the rate of the top 10%, leaving 90% struggling.

Also, I don't think you should be too concerned that your child is a head of peers in K because he had the advantage of pre-K education. Things even out by third grade.

Anonymous wrote:There are many posts that indicate that their child reads chapter books in K. Just curious, do you mean reads chapter books on their own for fun (like the Magic Treehouse serious or similar level) or can they read with assistance?

I have seen a wide range in my child's class but no chapter book readers.

Anonymous wrote:21:58 - do you feel like in 1st it was less frustrating once there was more of an equal level and your DC was learning more?

Seriously, when I was in Kindergarten, all I remember is listening to stories and doing crafts. Ease up on the academics folks! They'll get there eventually, and it has no bearing on whether tehy're Ivy League material.

Seriously, when I was in Kindergarten, all I remember is listening to stories and doing crafts. Ease up on the academics folks! They'll get there eventually, and it has no bearing on whether tehy're Ivy League material.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Um, where did I say I was horrified? I think it's totally normal for a kid in K to be learning basic words. My point was that this can't be the first year they've had a range of experiences and I'm surprised they aren't more adept at dealing with it.

From my experience this is how they deal with it. They are waiting for the other kids to catch up and then in first grade she will start learning again. Sad, but that's how it was for us.

"Waiting" for other kids to catch up is not acceptable. The first 6 years are some of the most critical years with respect to brain development and learning. That's not to say others aren't as important, but you get the most bang for your buck (ie. your effort) during this time frame. Putting your child into a holding pattern because a small sub-set of the parents of children in your kid's class didn't recognize this is simply not acceptable. Like the other poster said, you guys are getting soft.