Starting kindergarten on time vs. One more year of preschool

[Guest guest]

My son is 4 1/2 and will be 5 April 3rd. He was diagnosed with

speech apraxia about 1 1/2 years ago and has been seeing a speech

therapist through the school system 4 days a week for 1/2 hour

sessions. My question is - what is your experience holding a child back

out of kindergarten for one more year in a " transitional kindergarten "

program. has been attending preschool at our church since he

was a one year old and they offer this type of " transitional

kindergarten " program to give kids who need that extra year. He seems

to have the behavioral/social/emotional readiness for kindergarten but

still is working on his clarity of speech. I am also wondering if down

the road learning disabilities might also arise. The current

kindergarten " cut-off " date is August 31 in North Carolina so he will

definitely make that age wise - I'm just wondering if anyone has

feedback sending on time vs. holding back a year. Thanks!

[Guest guest]

We are dealing with the same situation with my daughter turning 5 in 2 months.

The Special Ed teacher said children can't repeat pre-school in the public

school system, and some parents choose to have their kids repeat kindergarten,

if necessary. What is your opinion of repeating kindergarten vs. repeating

pre-school?? My daughter has the kindergarten readiness academically, but very

much lacking in her social skills. She has about 10-15 not very intelligible

spoken words, using total communication (signs/words/AAC). Appreciate any

input from you. Thanks.

[Guest guest]

My oldest son is a late birthday and he also seems to have learning issues....in

kindergarten it is fine but as the years go on , you may see that your child

will have trouble keeping up and the gap can get wider and wider. Now that I

look back, extra time to learn for my son wouldve been beneficial ....as he gets

older he is not up to the level as children with earlier birthdays and kids that

do not have learning issues and it affects him . Last year. it was recommended

he repeat fourth grade and as a fourth grader , he wanted to move up (which we

did have him move up) In other words, it is easier to hold them back now and

give them the advantage of being a little older. He knew that his teacher wanted

him to be retained and it really hurt his self esteem.

From: amelia hong <ayhong@...>

Subject: [ ] Re:Starting kindergarten on time vs. One more

year of preschool

Date: Friday, January 23, 2009, 8:38 PM

We are dealing with the same situation with my daughter turning 5 in 2 months.

The Special Ed teacher said children can't repeat pre-school in the public

school system, and some parents choose to have their kids repeat kindergarten,

if necessary. What is your opinion of repeating kindergarten vs. repeating

pre-school?? My daughter has the kindergarten readiness academically, but very

much lacking in her social skills. She has about 10-15 not very intelligible

spoken words, using total communication (signs/words/ AAC). Appreciate any input

from you. Thanks.

[Guest guest]

From: hanagan_8@...: RE: [ ] Re:Starting

kindergarten on time vs. One more year of preschoolDate: Fri, 23 Jan 2009

21:14:03 -0800

I would encourage you to consider placing your child for an additional year in

preschool rather than retaining in kindergarten. Although your child may be

academically ready to advance, the social issues are paramount in a kindergarten

setting. WIth an oral vocabulary of 10-15 words, it will be incredibly

difficult for her to maintain social connections with peers, and her self esteem

would be incredibly influenced by this. It is so much more worthwhile to find a

placement that fits her needs and abilities, rather than move her into a

mainstream kindergarten, with the consideration of retention at the end of the

year. With the appropraite interventions, a lot can happen in one year.....

@...: sweetysource@...: Fri, 23

Jan 2009 18:20:26 -0800Subject: Re: [ ] Re:Starting

kindergarten on time vs. One more year of preschool

My oldest son is a late birthday and he also seems to have learning issues....in

kindergarten it is fine but as the years go on , you may see that your child

will have trouble keeping up and the gap can get wider and wider. Now that I

look back, extra time to learn for my son wouldve been beneficial ....as he gets

older he is not up to the level as children with earlier birthdays and kids that

do not have learning issues and it affects him . Last year. it was recommended

he repeat fourth grade and as a fourth grader , he wanted to move up (which we

did have him move up) In other words, it is easier to hold them back now and

give them the advantage of being a little older. He knew that his teacher wanted

him to be retained and it really hurt his self esteem. From: amelia hong

<ayhong@...>Subject: [ ] Re:Starting kindergarten on

time vs. One more year of preschool @...:

Friday, January 23, 2009, 8:38 PMWe are dealing with the same situation with my

daughter turning 5 in 2 months. The Special Ed teacher said children can't

repeat pre-school in the public school system, and some parents choose to have

their kids repeat kindergarten, if necessary. What is your opinion of repeating

kindergarten vs. repeating pre-school?? My daughter has the kindergarten

readiness academically, but very much lacking in her social skills. She has

about 10-15 not very intelligible spoken words, using total communication

(signs/words/ AAC). Appreciate any input from you. Thanks. [Non-text portions of

this message have been removed]

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[Guest guest]

You did not mention the age of the child or it is in another email.. But

here is my personal opinion from experience with not just our special

children, but from my oldest child who does not have the issues or any other

ones ether...

Her birthday was in November... The 28th to be exact.. We started her in

Kindergarten at 4 as she made the cut off date... What I did not know I was

doing then, I put her through the toughest years of her life... She

struggled all the way through school as her peers minds were more ready to

store the information needed not to struggle in the classroom..

Now mind you, my daughter received really great grades. Mostly a's and b's,

but she struggled very hard to keep them there.. Even in high school..

So my suggestion is if you are questioning holding back now, then you should

hold back.. Holding back in kindergarten is really not the tag kids like to

carry with them as they go through school... And your child will be better

prepared completely when he does go to school and he wont struggle as much.

Trish

[Guest guest]

Hi Amelia,

What state do you live in?? I am assuming that since you mentioned the Spec Ed

teacher that your daughter is classified and has an IEP.? Basically, with the

IEP you can make a program for your daughter...your daughter does not have to

fit into their program.? I live in NJ and our pre-school handicapped kids that

are age ready to come to me (kindergarten) and are not ready academically or?

any other reason for that matter have the option to stay in preschool hand. for

another year.? Since I teach in a school where we have full day Kindergarten we

have also had kids go to preschool in the AM for the academics and then come to

me in the PM for socialization (if ready) and then they also participate in

classes like gym, art, music, etc etc....that also gives more time to fit in

speech or OT or PT....

Kathy NJ

http://www.shoptobeheard.com