Started School today

[Guest guest]

I would be concerned on how mature you think he he. Some do fine with being

moved up, but only if they are ready academically for the work and if they

really are mature for their age. Also what kind of kindergarten program they

have. Is it a developmentally appropriate program? Or would he be expected

to sit and stay in his seat most of the day. Is it a half day program or a

full day one? When does he turn five?

Deb Cawley

debcawley@...

aislinnpapillons@...

http://www.geocities.com/aislinnpaps/

PCA Rescue Committee

Started school today

> Hi - my first concern when you mentioned your son is in

kindergarten at 4

> was social. My older son, Tommy, is very, very bright but because of his

> late-diagnosed hearing loss and also the fact that our family seems to

have many

> " late bloomers " we ended up holding him back and repeating first grade.

So the

> fact they are accelerating your son (especially without your knowledge!)

would

> concern me too. Others on the list are more up on the legalities, etc.

but just

> from a social standpoint, I'd be concerned.

>

> Good luck - keep us posted!

>

> Barbara

>

> --- wrote:

> I am worried what impact socially this will have on him with him being

> with older kids, and legally how are they able to put a 4 yr old into

> Kindergarten? And also, why didn't they tell me this before school ended

> last year that he would be moving up? How is he going to learn how to read

> and write and do math and science and social studies????? There are some

> kids in his 4 yr old class that moved along with him. But, how can I hold

> him back next year if he has all these buddies?

> --- end of quote ---

>

> All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post

is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to

copyright restrictions.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks Barbara for the input. I personally have had many issues with

behavior and do not think he is ready for this. But then again, it

might bump him up into realizing he is a big boy now! He has always,

in my opinion, been socially behind his peers. My friends always said

at two he acted like he was still a baby and at 4 acts like he is

two. And I attribute that to him not hearing anything until age two.

Two years behind in everything, except now at 4, his language and

speech are excellent.

He had a great first day and even said this morning excitedly " no nap

today!! " Did Tommy have a hard time being held back in first grade?

How is he doing now?

I am thinking of visiting in a few weeks to see for myself how he is

doing and how the other kids are progressing. I want to see how he

interacts with all of them, since I am not sure who all the kids are,

and not sure how old they are either.

Enough of my babbling!

> I am worried what impact socially this will have on him with him

being

> with older kids

[Guest guest]

Hi - You know, for all my worries, Tommy didn't have problems repeating

first grade nor did it seem to bother him. Like you, I've been really pleased

with the boys' school - it excels in meeting kids where they need to be met.

Socially, Tommy needed to be with the group he's now with, academically in most

subjects he's way ahead (he reads at a 7th grade level). He at first was

curious when we talked about it initially as to why. I just told him the truth

- that he was on the young side of his first grade classmates (he's a July kid)

and since we didn't know about his hearing loss until he was 3, that made a big

difference for him. I told him (which is true) that he was so smart that he

fooled everyone about his hearing loss - including his pediatrician (he LOVED

that).

When he was in his first first grade (not a typo), he was so young and not

really looked on as being particularly bright I think and at times frustrated

his teacher. He was diagnosed at the end of that first grade year with ADD

(inattentive) which made a lot of things make sense, and then we took him to

e for the CEE (comprehensive education evaluation). The CEE literally

changed his life. The people who gave the testing were so good and they loved

Tommy (I heard things about him I'd never heard before - charming, bright -

wow!) - you could tell that HE could tell he was doing well there and the folks

liked him. It was so good from our point of view to know that he has the

intelligence to handle what we thought he could handle. After that summer, he

repeated first grade and was from that point on looked on as one of the smart

kids in class. He had a different teacher - we're so fortunate in that she had

taught special ed in Rochester before coming to Hanover so was comfortable with

deaf/hoh kids and their " gear " . So - when I say having him repeat first was the

best thing we could have done for him at that point is not an exaggeration. I'm

so grateful we did that! Of course, what worked for Tom might not work for your

child but giving Tom an extra year was just the thing for him. I have to laugh

since how often can you say that in your life?!

Tommy had a tremendous second grade year - he loved second grade, his teacher,

etc. - we're looking forward to third this year. In second grade, he was cast

as the " male lead " in a play - given that he and his brother are the only kids

with hearing loss in their entire school, I was pretty proud!

I'm sorry I'm babbling!

My younger son, Sam, was diagnosed much earlier than Tommy (at 15 months), had

1-1/2 years of early intervention and entered school as one of the older kids -

it made such a HUGE difference! Sam is definitely ready to be where he is. And

it's interesting to me since Sam has the profound loss, whereas Tommy's is

severe.

If you have questions, let me know!

Take care

Barbara

--- You wrote:

He had a great first day and even said this morning excitedly " no nap

today!! " Did Tommy have a hard time being held back in first grade?

How is he doing now?

--- end of quote ---