tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post8682880559049231263..comments2023-06-10T09:49:08.539-04:00Comments on midlife mama: Kindergarten readiness?Libbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-17282294400043791322007-06-05T14:09:00.000-04:002007-06-05T14:09:00.000-04:00I think you're right, Jody, that a lot of this has...I think you're right, Jody, that a lot of this has to do with a way-too-academic focus in kindergarten. That's what always appealed to me about both Waldorf and Montessori education.Libbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-28405638172290769482007-06-05T12:08:00.000-04:002007-06-05T12:08:00.000-04:00I'm not sure how I feel about the whole "my child ...I'm not sure how I feel about the whole "my child would be bored with another year of preschool" stuff. I see a lot of parents around me whose kids do learn their letters and numbers early, and have mastered the typical pre-school tasks. But would they be BORED if they spent another year playing dress-up and doing crafts and building with blocks? I'm just not sure. I tend to think it's easier to make a simple task more complicated for a moving-fast child in preschool than to give a leg up to the young kindergartner. And attention span (which I don't think of as connected to learning speed) seems more age-dependent than many other school-related issues.<BR/><BR/>In general, I wish kindergarten would go back to being a last year of preschool, with flexibility for the moving-fast kids to do more with the academic side of it when they start to show signs of boredom. It's telling to me that the elementary school teachers of my acquaintance have, universally, held back their summer-birthday children and started them "late."Jodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18380822736915028078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-59412283189470081392007-06-04T14:38:00.000-04:002007-06-04T14:38:00.000-04:00Susan, I know what you mean--they can be so differ...Susan, I know what you mean--they can be so different at four than at fourteen, for example. We're not seeing problems yet w/Nick, but who knows? Magpie, Mariah would be graduating from high school in a week if she'd been in a school system w/the same cutoff as yours...hmmm.Libbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09406720496767981522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-15525781066343709422007-06-04T12:46:00.001-04:002007-06-04T12:46:00.001-04:00The thing is, when they're four, they can seem rea...The thing is, when they're four, they can seem ready. They're chomping at the bit. But it has implications for when they're 13, 16, 17 and going to college. When our kids were four and five we really had no clue what was best for them, and we jumped.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-4048469358973897132007-06-04T12:46:00.000-04:002007-06-04T12:46:00.000-04:00The thing is, when they're four, they can seem rea...The thing is, when they're four, they can seem ready. They're chomping at the bit. But it has implications for when they're 13, 16, 17 and going to college. When our kids were four and five we really had no clue what was best for them, and we jumped.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-58004624775165701442007-06-04T11:59:00.000-04:002007-06-04T11:59:00.000-04:00I was always the youngest - born 12/29 (for a 12/3...I was always the youngest - born 12/29 (for a 12/31 cutoff). I never remember it being a problem. And I'm not worried about my child - who'll start kindergarten when she's four, and who'll be close to the youngest (mid-November for a 12/31 cutoff). But I was startled when one of the daycare mothers - who happens to be a pediatrician - told me that she was going to keep her son in daycare for an extra year because of his mid-December birthday. I'm looking forward to the Times article...it's in my bag for my commute home.Magpiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15460136246441367993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5552184.post-85952601198451918912007-06-04T11:40:00.000-04:002007-06-04T11:40:00.000-04:00ohhhhh man I wish we had held BOTH of our girls ba...ohhhhh man I wish we had held BOTH of our girls back, for different reasons. Mollie has an October birthday and is one of the youngest in her class. Emma has a JUNE birthday and is ALSO one of the youngest in hers! When they were four and five years old, they seemed so "done" with preschool, and ready to move on, but especially with Emma, I wish we'd waited. She'd be a more than capable sixth grader now, and as it stands she has struggled academically since kindergarten. (and btw, ALL of the other kids in her baby group, born through the summer, are now in 6th grade: the big thing to do here is DOUBLE KINDERGARTEN - have you ever heard of that?) Two years of kindergarten, in two different schools.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com