Guest guest Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 Hi- many of us have discussed the idea of delaying Kindergarten for our kids. I am strongly in favor of this for my son.... (he is currently in his first year of Pre K... so I DO have time to change my mind)... I have a " typical child " who IS in Kindergarten now... and I am surprised with the amount of things that they are expected to learn. Kindergarten has really changed from the " dark ages " when I was a child! I thought I would share with you what is expected of Kindergarten aged kids today... (this is all great for kids with no delays.... but for our kids with Apraxia, some of this may be difficult). By the end of this School Year, my daughter is expected to know 37 " sight words " ....this means that she should recognize these words immediately... " by sight " . These words range from " simple ones " such as I, me, a go.... to more complex ones, such as " come, they, where, this, what " . The kids are taught to sound out words... and to " stretch the sounds of words out like bubble gum " . They are expected to know both upper case and lower case letters... and the sounds that these letters make. WH and TH words are a bit harder for my daughter to identify, and sound out. They are also working on simple math. My daughter is now able to read simple books with minimal help. We just received her first report card.... so it is easy to see what will be expected by the end of the School year. I decided to share all of this with you....the more I think of it, the more I feel that I should repeat another year of Pre K for my Son. Here are some of the criteria on a " typical Kindergarten Report Card " -Recognizes and names upper case letters out of sequence -Recognizes and names lower case letters out of sequence -Associates sounds with corresponding letters -Recognizes rhyming words -Demonstrates ability to blend phenomes -Demonstrates ability to segment phenomes -Recognizes kindergarten high frequency words (sight words mentioned above) -Prints from memory upper case letters out of sequence -communicates ideas verbally -Listens with understanding -Predicts outcomes -Retells independent writing/dictates stories -Making progress in independent writing -Relates a story in proper sequence -Recognizes and names basic geometric shapes -Classifies objects according to size shape and color -Rote counting -counts to 20 by 1st semester and to 31 by 2nd semester -Recognizes numerals to 20 (1st semester).. to 31 (2nd semester) -Demonstrates understanding of calendar activities -Extends a pattern -by end of year... will tell time to the hour, identify coins, solve addition to 9 with manupulatives and subtraction to 9 with manipulatives. WOW.... there is even more in the " approaches to learning " category.... too much to type-- this is getting long! Just thought it would help to let you all know what is expected in Kindergarten! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 - that was a wonderful post, thank you for sharing that! I loved the heads up! What is terrible in my area is that K is HALF day!! so they try to cram all of that into such a short day, so for those who cannot keep up, they get quite behind and even stay behind in decoding skills in 1st and 2nd grade..many teachers just expect every child to understand it all quickly. > > Hi- many of us have discussed the idea of delaying Kindergarten for our kids. I am strongly in favor of this for my son.... (he is currently in his first year of Pre K... so I DO have time to change my mind)... > > I have a " typical child " who IS in Kindergarten now... and I am surprised with the amount of things that they are expected to learn. Kindergarten has really changed from the " dark ages " when I was a child! > > I thought I would share with you what is expected of Kindergarten aged kids today... (this is all great for kids with no delays.... but for our kids with Apraxia, some of this may be difficult). > > By the end of this School Year, my daughter is expected to know 37 " sight words " ....this means that she should recognize these words immediately... " by sight " . These words range from " simple ones " such as I, me, a go.... to more complex ones, such as " come, they, where, this, what " . The kids are taught to sound out words... and to " stretch the sounds of words out like bubble gum " . They are expected to know both upper case and lower case letters... and the sounds that these letters make. WH and TH words are a bit harder for my daughter to identify, and sound out. They are also working on simple math. My daughter is now able to read simple books with minimal help. > > We just received her first report card.... so it is easy to see what will be expected by the end of the School year. I decided to share all of this with you....the more I think of it, the more I feel that I should repeat another year of Pre K for my Son. > > Here are some of the criteria on a " typical Kindergarten Report Card " > -Recognizes and names upper case letters out of sequence > -Recognizes and names lower case letters out of sequence > -Associates sounds with corresponding letters > -Recognizes rhyming words > -Demonstrates ability to blend phenomes > -Demonstrates ability to segment phenomes > -Recognizes kindergarten high frequency words (sight words mentioned above) > -Prints from memory upper case letters out of sequence > -communicates ideas verbally > -Listens with understanding > -Predicts outcomes > -Retells independent writing/dictates stories > -Making progress in independent writing > -Relates a story in proper sequence > -Recognizes and names basic geometric shapes > -Classifies objects according to size shape and color > -Rote counting > -counts to 20 by 1st semester and to 31 by 2nd semester > -Recognizes numerals to 20 (1st semester).. to 31 (2nd semester) > -Demonstrates understanding of calendar activities > -Extends a pattern > -by end of year... will tell time to the hour, identify coins, solve addition to 9 with manupulatives and subtraction to 9 with manipulatives. > > WOW.... there is even more in the " approaches to learning " category.... too much to type-- this is getting long! > > Just thought it would help to let you all know what is expected in Kindergarten! > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 Kindergarten is a half day in my area too! Yes- they are learning everything that I mentioned with only a 1/2 day! I personally, feel that all kids should go to K for a 1/2 day.... I think they are too young to go a full day at their age.. I was really surprised to see all that these little ones are expected to learn! [ ] Re: Delaying Kindergarten - that was a wonderful post, thank you for sharing that! I loved the heads up! What is terrible in my area is that K is HALF day!! so they try to cram all of that into such a short day, so for those who cannot keep up, they get quite behind and even stay behind in decoding skills in 1st and 2nd grade..many teachers just expect every child to understand it all quickly. > > Hi- many of us have discussed the idea of delaying Kindergarten for our kids. I am strongly in favor of this for my son.... (he is currently in his first year of Pre K... so I DO have time to change my mind)... > > I have a " typical child " who IS in Kindergarten now... and I am surprised with the amount of things that they are expected to learn. Kindergarten has really changed from the " dark ages " when I was a child! > > I thought I would share with you what is expected of Kindergarten aged kids today... (this is all great for kids with no delays.... but for our kids with Apraxia, some of this may be difficult). > > By the end of this School Year, my daughter is expected to know 37 " sight words " ....this means that she should recognize these words immediately... " by sight " . These words range from " simple ones " such as I, me, a go.... to more complex ones, such as " come, they, where, this, what " . The kids are taught to sound out words... and to " stretch the sounds of words out like bubble gum " . They are expected to know both upper case and lower case letters... and the sounds that these letters make. WH and TH words are a bit harder for my daughter to identify, and sound out. They are also working on simple math. My daughter is now able to read simple books with minimal help. > > We just received her first report card.... so it is easy to see what will be expected by the end of the School year. I decided to share all of this with you....the more I think of it, the more I feel that I should repeat another year of Pre K for my Son. > > Here are some of the criteria on a " typical Kindergarten Report Card " > -Recognizes and names upper case letters out of sequence > -Recognizes and names lower case letters out of sequence > -Associates sounds with corresponding letters > -Recognizes rhyming words > -Demonstrates ability to blend phenomes > -Demonstrates ability to segment phenomes > -Recognizes kindergarten high frequency words (sight words mentioned above) > -Prints from memory upper case letters out of sequence > -communicates ideas verbally > -Listens with understanding > -Predicts outcomes > -Retells independent writing/dictates stories > -Making progress in independent writing > -Relates a story in proper sequence > -Recognizes and names basic geometric shapes > -Classifies objects according to size shape and color > -Rote counting > -counts to 20 by 1st semester and to 31 by 2nd semester > -Recognizes numerals to 20 (1st semester).. to 31 (2nd semester) > -Demonstrates understanding of calendar activities > -Extends a pattern > -by end of year... will tell time to the hour, identify coins, solve addition to 9 with manupulatives and subtraction to 9 with manipulatives. > > WOW.... there is even more in the " approaches to learning " category.... too much to type-- this is getting long! > > Just thought it would help to let you all know what is expected in Kindergarten! > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 Much more at our http://www.apraxia.org site in the discussion area or here in the archives Research: Reason to delay kindergarten http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=115029735601 & topic=8863 If you check the archives I used to say " as a parent you'll know what's best " and now I just say " if there is still a delay in any area including maturity you are best off starting kindergarten at 6. " In other words I totally agree with Dr. Holloway's research based on personal experience and what I've heard through this group in the past decade. A child will have no stigma from being advanced a grade -but the other way around even if held back in kindergarten in the research and the archives is what you want to avoid. Plus I shared about my brilliant older son Dakota who as not mature enough when I sent him at 5 and he was yelled as I wrote to the point of it being abusive with the teacher putting him out in the hallway by himself after whipping his desk across the room with him in it. As a parent I and my husband thought it best to start him because he was so eager to learn, loved other kids and was so bright...but in hindsight I so wish I knew then what I did now -I would have left him in preschool another year. Full day kindergarten is good not only for more time to learn, but it's also getting the child used to being in the mainstream which is a full day and sometimes with after school activities. Even if your area only has a 1/2 a day -the question still remains after school's out for the summer and after the 2 months of summer... is your child ready in all respects for a full day of first grade five days a week? There is research funded by our US Dept of Ed on the reasons to delay kindergarten. Putting them in a half day program based on the past experiences of this group is not the answer. For most it seems delaying kindergarten to provide that extra year of time for therapy and even developmental time even though the impairments aren't developmental is the key. Apraxia and like conditions can create developmental lags. Also if you start your child in a half day and then you repeat that the next year (which is the typical suggestion of the school if the child isn't ready) statistically that's what you want to avoid. Again you are better off keeping your child in a multisensory enriched preschool receiving appropriate therapies rather than sending them on to kindergarten. And honestly once they start kindergarten I believe they should get used to that full day...they are going to have to do way more than just stay awake once first grade rolls around...and it comes faster than most think. Think beyond kindergarten. - you can read the one research study below on why starting your child at 6 statistically is best: Research Link / When Children Aren't Ready for Kindergarten H. Holloway How can schools promote the achievement of children who are old enough to enroll in kindergarten but who are not developmentally ready to succeed? Two approaches that parents and schools commonly use are delaying the child's entry into kindergarten and retaining the child in kindergarten for an extra year. Giving children an extra year, whether through delayed entry or kindergarten retention, makes sense in view of the ample research suggesting that the youngest children tend to lag behind their classmates. West, Denton, and Reaney (2000) found that in the spring of their kindergarten year, younger children had lower reading and mathematics knowledge and skills on average than did their older counterparts. These researchers also found that older kindergartners were more likely to persist at tasks, more eager to learn, and better able to pay attention. Delayed Entry Versus Kindergarten Retention To avoid the disadvantage suffered by younger students, some parents choose to delay the entry of their children into kindergarten. Zill, Loomis, and West (1997) found that children whose kindergarten entry was delayed so that they started kindergarten when they were older performed better than their younger classmates in grades 1 and 2. These researchers concluded that the extra year before starting kindergarten does not harm the children who are held out and may help most of them. In contrast, the researchers discovered that children who repeated kindergarten were doing worse than their younger classmates on most school performance indicators by 1st or 2nd grade. For instance, two- thirds of the retained students had received some negative feedback from teachers compared with less than half of the nonretained students. The retained students were also much more likely to have problems concentrating, to perform below their capabilities, and to act up and disrupt the class. Zill, Loomis, and West concluded that repeating kindergarten had not helped those children and may have actually made matters worse. Reasons for the Differences What explains the difference between the school performance of delayed-entry children and those who repeat kindergarten? Both groups of students are older than most of their classmates, so why don't the beneficial effects of being older apply to both groups? Some possible answers are that The underlying developmental problems of the two groups may differ. The two groups may have different socioeconomic backgrounds. Parents who choose to delay their children's school entry may have a higher level of awareness and involvement. The stigmatizing effect of being required to repeat a grade may harm children's academic progress. Educational Leadership, " When Children Aren't Ready for Kindergarten, " H. Holloway, Volume 60, Number 7 (April 2003), pp. 89-90 ~~~~~~~~ The above is a clip of the original which is now hard to find online. One source of this article is here http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.js\ p?_nfpb=true & _ & ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ666037 & ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=n\ o & accno=EJ666037 I wanted to put the following twice so it's not missed as there is more info here to expand on what I said Much more at our http://www.apraxia.org site in the discussion area or here in the archives Research: Reason to delay kindergarten http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=115029735601 & topic=8863 ===== Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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