For a child who is behind his or her peers, these potential positives are real and significant. Do you often have to repeat the instructions for even a simple one-step task? Repeat kindergarten? you say to yourself, after meeting with your childs kindergarten teacher. By the end of the year they know the alphabet and can read and write simple sentences. Being one of the youngest in the class can play a role. Some school districts also offer a "young fives" program. Data showed that the September-born children were 2.1 percent more likely to attend college compared to their August-born classmates. After that a child is reading to learn. What I have experienced is that the homework is the only thing my kids learn from. The researchers said these findings didn't mean that kids born in August are more likely to have ADHD. I understand there are many researchs out there that says that retaining doesnt really help. While this justification has some merit, retention could actually be detrimental. And while its bad, no point crying over spilled milk. My research states that you do not retain if there is a learning disability (dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia sp?). When faced with the decision, the first step is to meet with your child's teacher (and principal and school psychologist, if possible) to find out exactly why the experts think another year would be productive. . . Not sure what to do, you speak to a few experts, do your research, and decide to chance it and send your child on to kindergarten. My husband was 19 and I was nearly 19 when we started college. Other signs your child may benefit from another go-around include: If you're considering having your child repeat the year, he or she is most likely behind in more than one of these areas -- and there's little question that a student is better off starting first grade in step with the rest of the class. Children with personal problems can't focus on school. Talking honestly but sensitively about their behavior is one way to start. They want him to repeat kindergarten. Clearly we weren't alone in our worrying. Specific pieces of knowledge are really only part of the picture, though. There should be 20% of the kids identified. It's hard to hear but if you trust the school, trust the teachers. oh and for the record Ive taught in Florida and Michigan. You can find out the exact first grade requirements in your state by writing to your local Department of Education. The data also suggests that in spite of having all these resources and manpower, kids who repeat kindergarten dont do as well as their first or second grade classmates once they make it into those grades. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review recently carried a story Kindergartners "Redshirted" to Gain Edge, in which Harvard researchers suggest that red shirting (1) increases the potential for high school drop outs and (2) threatens depressed lifetime earnings because the student's entry into the labor market is . Spelling tests in kindergarten? I will do what I need to do. I literally did not care at all as a kid. Im ver sure I could have helped him read the schools books that they test him with that would have helped him with retention of sight words ( we continue to read ours), I am continuing to go over the sight words and he can put them into sentences and makes up stories as well. We asked our children several of the same questions, because my friend thinks my son is smarter than her daughter. Ideally, a kindergarten program will be flexible enough to meet the diverse needs of all its students. We just met with the teacher, her aid, the principal and counselor and were told by the teacher she still couldnt recommend him for first grade because of his poor reading skills and comprehension which surprised me because of how he can tell us all about the stories we read! Ugh. Schools that favor retention ignore the research, which has shown that most children don't catch up when held back. Q. . Some kids just do not progress as quickly that young, but in no time, I have read, take off and catch up the majority of the time. But when a child often acts immaturely compared to other kids the same age, you may wonder whats going on. An estimated 5 percent of kindergarteners spend a second year in the class [source: Mlyniec]. Red, yellow, green, blue with red being the worst. Your child only turned 5 in August. Helped build confidence. It's about whether he or she is ready to make the jump to first grade. He has emotional issues, is not matured, does well with younger kids as is, and just has not yet developed emotionally where he should be for his age. . Because children develop at such different rates and the kindergarten age span can run from 4 to 6, there is a tremendous range in social, physical and cognitive development. Beyond that, though, things can get a bit confusing: Which skills is your child behind on? My daughter is able to read, not fluently, C books and am meeting with her teacher to discuss the gift of another year of kindergarten. As a result, the repeating-kindergarten phenomenon has become relatively commonplace. I feel that not only with his issues but that Covid gave us a perfect chance to mulligan the previous year. Copyright 2014-2023 Understood For All Inc. developmental milestones at different ages, Annoying other kids by talking too much or barging in on their games, Overreacting to what seem like minor things and taking a long time to calm down, Clinging and not wanting to be apart from you, Having to be told the same rule over and over again, like Its not OK to climb on that furniture, Struggling with bathroom issues, like bedwettingor being afraid to poop, Being overly sensitive to things like loud noises or the way clothes feel, Using baby talk or speaking in ways that are hard to understand, Having trouble with things like putting on a coat or gripping a pencil. Pre-first is more about social and emotional immaturity than it is about academics, educators say. Kids who are already the oldest in their grade will be almost two years older than the rest of the class. The child is not repeating kindergarten. These teachers, trying to put all kids in a peg as either Got it or Did not get it, are unconscionable ! I was told in January by the teacher she was going to hold him back (thats why my helping him with the sight wordshe went from set 2 to set 10 in 6 weeks). This makes it difficult to get a sample group of very young students with diagnosed learning disabilities we can study. She has been a regular education classroom teacher, a consultant teacher/resource teacher, an educational evaluator/diagnostician, and has also taught graduate students at the university level. "Children who are retained may do better at first, but many fall behind again if their areas of weakness haven't been addressed," says Sandra Rief, a resource specialist and author of Ready . I did not know HALF of what my grandson at 5 now knows when I was his age, but I went on to get 3 college degrees and was asked to work with the state educational committees for years on curriculum. He will be turning 6 in a week here. In your parents' day, kindergarten was a pretty laid-back affair. Lets follow Finlands example. Find out what they notice, and work on ways to help kids develop skills like self-control. You knew that your child was close to the cut-off date for kindergarten. . Hes able to do work great at home with no issues or complications but we have been reading and going over his words to say rite and hes mastering all academics in school other then speech issues and the reading(which is the latest work for children to learn in one month that hes having issues with) As a parent and knowing my son can pass work that his teacher sends home ,wonderfully and has great reports and test and work through the entire year, i feel that his teacher should have caught issues at beginning of school and in feb when we spoke and i asked from his teacher for him to be in speech and reading classes it should have been donealso for her waiting for the last month .Of school (and more confussin of hes doin wonderful to switch he needs to be in same grade again) In my eyes and heart my sons teacher failed in teaching and catching early what he needs help with, she failed him as his teacher and failed to help him further in class and with his school issues..She failed to listen to what i would like and want for him to keep and help him stay on top He shouldnt be kept behind for his speech and very little reading issues he has its not rite and wrong !!!! Rather, it's about an overall picture of a child who may be too "young" -- physically, cognitively, socially or some combination thereof -- to thrive in first grade. If your child is unable to follow simple multi-step instructions, follow a task through to completion without getting overly frustrated or distracted, work as part of a group, listen to a story without interrupting, or sit still for the duration of a short lesson, he or she may not be quite ready for the relative rigors of first grade. Hes also on an IEP since the beginning of the year. I am also currently looking into private tutor for my Some children would benefit from repeating kindergarten. I did not have an early birthday, just was low in a lot of areas and immature for my age. Was he uninterested or just bored? Although this article is well written and touches on plenty of other skills students need to go into first grade, it fails to mention they need to be reading, fluently adding and subtracting, and do more than just hold their pencil correctly. Think about it this way: if the teacher was asking out of malice for your child, she certainly wouldnt want to have him as her student again. The lead author of this study, Dr. Mu-Hong Chen said, "Our findings . As a teacher, I have seen many students struggle as they are younger and immature compared to their cohort. Hes on the low end of the spectrum. I know thats tough to implement, but grade retention isnt the answer. The teacher cant get him past level B, but Ive helped him with level C and D books before. Knowing why kids act immaturely or young for their age lets you offer the best support. There's no right answer, and it's important to keep in mind that we're talking about 5 and 6 year olds here. It doesnt sound right to me. Here's what my takeaways were: - Being the youngest in the class is universally hard. "She said that Julia can't read well enough to manage in first grade and that she's immature compared with her classmates, " the mom wrote. (June 7, 2012) http://www.change.org/petitions/help-children-succeed-make-kindergarten-mandatory-in-all-50-states, Mlyniec, Vicky. Get in touch! As a mother it makes me sad she wants to do this. Backing up . Teachers often have good instincts, but not every teacher is great. The recommendation to repeat the year is not a comment on your child's intelligence; it's a comment on your child's maturity. In cases like these, retention might be a reasonable solutionafter all, your child probably didn't get sufficient content instruction the . Can he grip a pencil and cut paper with a scissors? 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