Tonight we had Caleb's preschool parent-teacher conference. I have been looking forward to this for a while in hopes that his teacher would be able to shed light on the kindergarten issue. And my hopes were not in vain! Caleb has a September birthday and we didn't know if we should send him to kindergarten in the fall or wait another year. Almost everyone we talked to said, just hold him back. But, he is already huge for his age and academically on track. Anyways, his teacher said she would recommend sending him to kindergarten. I was so thankful to hear her confidence in his readiness!
So now we have to decide where to send him for kindergarten and whether to do full or half day kindergarten. So what are the pros and cons of full vs half day kindergarten?
6 comments:
My caution would be to look at his maturity to be your determinant. If he's too emotionally or behaviorally immature in colors his ability to function in a classroom. It makes everything harder if they are sad to be there or if they are too hyper to pay attention.
Here in St. Louis most parents are waiting to put their child in. It's always best to be the oldest in a classroom than the youngest. . .despite size.
I had a little one, precious as can be, who was in my classroom who was a good 6 inches taller than the others. The parents decided to put him in early because of his size. It took until Dec. until he was emotionally ready to be in 1st grade. that first 1/2 of the year was a real struggle for him. On the other hand, I had a kid who was 5 months younger than the other kids and he was more mature than all of them and was very ready to be in 1st grade. . .
So my caution is to look at his emotional readiness and his behavioral readiness as equally as you look at his size and his academics :) If he's ready. . .OH MY WORD, YOU'LL HAVE A KINDERGARTNER!!!!!! :)EXCITING!!!
Ask Uncle Tim for his insights...... we thought Caleb did great at his first pre-school program and he is certainly intelligent to the max! He still has almost 9 months to gain more emotional maturity before he starts kindergarden too. Having said all of that, I'm glad I don't have to make the decision!
Whole day kindergarten = more coloring. I think that's an easy decision ;) Ok, no more insensitive jokes from people who don't have their own kids....I'm sure either way will be an adjustment for the fam but will end up a fun new phase as well.
Whole day kindergarten gives more enrichment time for art, music, gym,etc. Depends whether he needs more time at home with you (or you need more time with him). I agree that a child needs to be emotionally ready for school.I never was sure whether we did the right thing having Nate skip first grade. At least he was never bored in school after hating kindergarten. :)
Is the full day everyday? I went to full day kindergarten but it was just every other day. I don't have any wisdom to give you. We'll probably have to make that decision too. And the where to go. Aye! Not ready to think about that!
I teach a full day Kindergarten in the public school. There is a lot to teach in a day. But I sometimes think we are pushing them too hard. The children do not have time to just be kids before you start pushing them to read and sit still and write. The children I see are mostly from working parents, so if the children are not in school, they do not get a lot of nurturing. I'm in favor of a full day program, but I don't think it's for everyone. It is a long day for them. By the middle of the afternoon, we don't do a whole lot besides centers.
Most of the boys I've seen with Aug/Sept birthdays are more immature. You might want to try a half day program. They are going to be in school all day from 1st grade on. I don't know Caleb at all, but if in doubt, I'd start slow.
Aunt Cheryl
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