starting kindergarten

[kim]

Alright...here is what i have found out about our school district. The cutoff for kids to enter kindergarten this coming fall is that they must turn 5 by Dec.31st. Ds turns 5 Jan 3rd. That's fine, although we do wonder how ds will be when we end up moving into the neighboring district in a few years, where they must turn 5 by March 1st. But we are trying not to borrow trouble...we'll worry about that later.

In any case, I am wondering what to do with ds next year. He will be in a 4yo playschool class (and it really is only that...play....no real academic content). I just don't want him to be bored. So I was debating doing a bit of homeschool type stuff with him. But then I don't want him to be bored in kindergarten because he knows so much more than other kids. In all honesty, he *already* is capable of much of the K curriculum. Maybe I am over thinking this...I don't know. What do you think?

[Reneemomto5]

With current and past experience and boys, and this is my 2 cents, later is better. I so wish I would have waited for my oldest and 3rd son, mad at myself for not, but again its just my experience Kim.

I homeschool, avid believer in homeschooling from public school experience. And also know its not for everyong as well. I talk with teachers, good teachers teaching in schools who see that each child learns differently and how they have 20 students and they try their hardest to be sure each child is learning at their level or ability. Hopefully when your son enters school he will get a great teacher and she will tailor the academics to best suit him whether that is struggling, cookie cutter or advanced. Talk with the district, see who the teachers are, research the curriculum they use and just check things out.

If you feel in your gut your son is ready and you are moving very soon, contact the schools and discuss things with them, this is your boy not theirs so don't be afraid to question everything if you want. But also if you have another year I say CHERISH it.

Again just my 2 cents.

[kim]

I'm not actually debating sending him to school this fall, Renee. We've decided to keep him at home. And we are happy with that decision. I'm just wondering if I should "enrich" him at home, academically speaking, in the next year. You know, intentionally. As opposed to teaching him as we go about our day and encounter stuff type teaching that we do all the time.

[Reneemomto5]

Oh I see, okay. Just asking for materials to help enrich him. There are wonderful free curriculums on line for kinder. and pre-k I have been looking at some for work. Just google it and a bunch come up. I also purchased curriculum books from Sam's/walmart that are great foudation builders for young ones.

There are great computer games and online games that are free too. If you want a list of anything just give me a holler I'll track some down for ya!

And if you know what type of learner your son is there are great curriculums like Abeka and Bob Jones. But I seem to have whole word readers which aren't as common in curriculum materials.

Didn't mean to come off judgemental there Kim, I just love kids staying at home as long as possible.

Happy teaching!

[kim]

Renee, you NEVER come across as judgemental!! Don't worry about that. Thanks for the suggestions! I'll look into them!

[mamallama]

Hey Kim! How about LOTW? I did that with Gracie when she was younger. It's pretty easy to do and you can tailor it to involve Fiona too. http://www.letteroftheweek.com/index.html

[Mo2b1d]

Originally Posted by kim

So I was debating doing a bit of homeschool type stuff with him. But then I don't want him to be bored in kindergarten because he knows so much more than other kids. In all honesty, he *already* is capable of much of the K curriculum. Maybe I am over thinking this...I don't know. What do you think?

My personal opinion is 2 fold. On the one hand, I think it's really important for little kids to be allowed to be little kids and not be forced to learn things they're not ready for. On the other hand though, when you can tell your little one is ready and anxious to learn and they're not being allowed to do so, I think that could be bad too.

Only you and your dh know what's best for your lo. Sorry, I know that sounds like a cop out, :lol I can however, share what we chose to do in a similar situation, and maybe our experience will be helpful.

When our oldest was 4, we made the choice not to do regular preschool, in part because he already knew all of the info that was presented there. He was too young to start K, as he was only 4.5 when the school year would've started. So, we decided to homeschool him for K and see where he was when he was supposed to start K the next year. The way we figured it, he'd either be WAY ahead and would just start public school in First grade, or he'd be really well prepared and have a bit of a jumpstart on K in public school.

A little while into our homeschool experience, we realized that we were going to keep homeschooling all our kids as we realized it was what was right for our family.

Anyway, last year, which was K at age 4, we took it slow. We did get a curriculum, worked through it slowly, took alot of breaks, and did alot of field trips and hands on activities and art projects and Bible projects in addition to the curriculum. When we worked on a material, if I could see he was having trouble "getting" the concept, I'd back off on it for a little while and wait until he was developmentally able to get the concept. 4-5-6 is a hard age for little kids. Developmentally, they're not all able to master certain math and reading skills at the same time because their brains might not be ready to take it on yet. That's why reading just doesn't click for some kids until later...and why early and late readers seem to all catch up to the same place in later elementary school.

Anyway, long story short, he's now a homeschooled first grader, even though he should be in K this year.

In your situation, I'd suggest teaching your ds whatever knowledge he's willing and able to soak up. I wouldn't push him to learn concepts if he's not ready for them. And I'd just see where he's at this summer IYKWIM. If he's significantly ahead, the school may decide to start him in 1st grade instead of K. Or, perhaps there will be a K class that has more advanced students or moves at a faster pace for him to enroll in. I wouldn't worry about him being bored in K if he knows all the material, because you can always homeschool to avoid that if he can't start out in 1st grade. On the other hand though, if you know homeschooling isn't right for your family, then it might be a good idea to discuss just what options are available to you with your school district if your son masters the K material now.

[kim]

I'll check out that website, Becca. Thanks!

Mo...some good points. I have no plans to push anything on ds...don't want to sour him on school before he even starts! lol Its just that he is eager and already picking up stuff so fast....I just want him to keep moving forward from where he is. KWIM? Prior to starting school, the pace doesn't matter, nor does how much more he learns before starting. Thanks for your input!