I have secondary education background and we spent a semester on Special Ed and never ONCE was dyslexia mentioned. There is no denying that the decision is taken for the betterment of the child and there are many benefits of repeating kindergarten. He may grow physically and may feel comfortable amongst his peers. Teachers often have good instincts, but not every teacher is great. But know that teachers dont make the recommendation to repeat kindergarten without a lot of thought. Because differences are our greatest strength. Praying my daughter will make the right decision. Me and his dad are leaning towards repeating. Acting immature can be a sign that kids are struggling and need more support. In most states, a child is not considered ready for first grade until he or she can read simple books. He can build master structures with a huge number of plastic blocks of all sizes and do things with triangular and square magnets that are amazing. It's about whether he or she is ready to make the jump to first grade. Every answer seems wrong! We did not have the money to send him to daycare and it was just to short of a notice. It's about how developmentally ready he or she is for first grade at this moment in time -- and children will reach their milestones when they're ready. Kindergarten students spend a great deal of time on their pre-reading and reading skills. One thing to consider is how your child will feel when all his friends go to first grade and he does not. What can cause kids to seem immature. Some kids act younger than their peers because they are younger than most kids in the grade. Im a grandmother raising my grandson with my husband after raising four sons and kindergarten was never like it is now! I am a teacher, and I HAVE reevaluated after many years of thinking what is not analytically true. Would retaining him be beneficial? Experts also point out that holding a child back due to developmental delays is, literally speaking, further delaying development. Sleep: Many kids consistently sleep less than six hours a night. And a child's levels of physical, social, and intellectual development may be wildly uneven. Our little guy is very social and very much aware of his surroundings even figuring out adult things out. If your child still finds these tasks difficult by the end of kindergarten, he is probably not ready to go to first grade, either. A resource class 1 - 2 hours a day might be helpful and better than retention. Free single copies of "The Elementary School Performance and Adjustment of Children Who Enter Kindergarten Late or Repeat Kindergarten," are available from the National Library of Education at . However, because kids often make sudden leaps in development later in the year, it can be hard to predict their performance in first grade. An estimated 5 percent of kindergarteners spend a second year in the class [source: Mlyniec]. When my son Sammy started kindergarten, I looked forward to our first parent-teacher conference, imagining all the wonderful things the teacher would say about his interest in history and his precocious verbal skills. It can be a better fit emotionally and age-wise. I would like to know what specific research you have found that states that retaining is not beneficial. Emotional. I know that my oldest was not required to read at this level until she was in 1st grade. What if I want my child to repeat kindergarten but the school wont allow it because of the mo child left behind? 6. Every week! And as a full time student myself with several children needing help with homework I hardly have the time. For all anyone knows, your child could end up perfectly on track by the fall. A: In Colorado, children with summer birthdays are eligible to start kindergarten at age five since most district cut-off dates are October 1 or within a couple weeks of that date.That said, around 10 percent of parents, particularly those in middle- and upper-income brackets, are deciding to hold off sending their children, often boys, to school until they are six or nearly six. Does he wait his turn? Julie Rawe is the special projects editor at Understood. The most productive way to approach the topic, then, is from a neutral place. Kids who are already the oldest in their grade will be almost two years older than the rest of the class. Speak to other parents and see what they think about the teachers judgment. My husband and I knew she wasnt doing well with reading so we recently enrolled her into the Sylvan Learning center. Still, finding out the teacher thinks your child should be "held back" can be jarring and, for many parents, upsetting. What could be bad about spending more time on these skills before going to first grade? The teacher say I am setting him up for failure if I dont. But are concerned he will act out if he is bored. Entering kindergarten children have already learned to appreciate the feel and look of books, and the sound of language. I have a hard time believing that, as I am sure all parents do. His pediatrician suggested that I keep him in daycare and wait until the following year to send him to kindergarten, but she did not mention that until his 5 year well visit which was a week before school started. Shes also going to attend a reading program over the Summer. I wish he were only going 1/2 a day but that wasnt an option where we live. "In addition to evaluating a child's social and emotional readiness for first grade, teachers now must consider specific grade-level standards instituted by the state or the school district," says Marilou Hyson, Ph.D., associate executive director for professional development at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), in Washington, D.C. As a result, more children are in danger of not passing muster. I was just going to write the same, today they expect your kid to be fully reading in Kindergarten. I totally feel you. He lives with adults and communicates like a little adult. Things we knew he concretely understood never translated in class. The recommendation to repeat the year is not a comment on your child's intelligence; it's a comment on your child's maturity. I have an almost 6 year old. Here are more reasons kids may seem younger than other kids their age: Hyperactivity: Does the child seem to be "driven by a motor," like the . Perhaps students with learning disabilities who repeat kindergarten do better in school than they would have had they not repeated kindergarten. Scholastic.com. As a result, babies tend to get a high number of infections, usually 4 to 8 per year. The Age of the Child. I've done a lot of research and it's the general consensus that grade repetition isn't the way to go. There are certain basic skills that all children should have going into first grade, no matter where they live. Hi Jeanie, "Should Your Child Repeat Kindergarten?" Julia Layton Assuming that a child who is deemed ready to enter Kindergarten at age four is somehow a super-child - perfect in behavior, attendance, performance, attitude, aptitude, diligence, handwriting, and . Q: Even though he had an early August birthday, we started our son in kindergarten at a private Christian school. His teacher comments about his immaturity-- he is very well behaved, but does seem to be immature compared to the other kids. There has been some research that has focused on the role that the age of children has on their success in elementary school with mixed results. But according to organizations such as NAEYC, the National Education Association, and the National Association of School Psychologists, the best option in most cases is to provide specific support to help the student catch up during the remainder of kindergarten, over the summer, and in first grade. But all are given time to find their feet in school, and time to succeed. Babies are born with immature immune systems. This can make them cranky during the day. These questions concerned me, but I knew that repeating kindergarten was the right thing for my son. As a mother it makes me sad she wants to do this. I cannot give much advice about teaching on Kindergarten or early elementary level as I was a teacher for grades 8 and above in English and History. He developed stomach aches all the time, even on weekends, which threw us off. Think about milestones, If you began teaching 10 . Emily you are 100% percent correct! I could use advice information and anything that could help us!! Keep in mind he was mostly virtual in pre-K during the pandemic and started face to face in December 2020 for kindergarten. They might be teased or left out because of their trouble with speech or language. Ugh. We were reassured that they would work with his math and build on what he knows with reading, but not once did we hear anything about resources that can help him with reading if we chose to put him in first gradethat was made out to be just another burden for someone to do. Then, for a few years, I taught in a school for behaviorally disordered children. This doesn't mean you won't . Can he work with others as a group? What's more, kindergartners can range in age from 4 to 6 because about 5 percent of kids repeat the year and another 7 percent wait a year before starting, according to the latest figures from the National Center for Educational Statistics. I do know a few who "red shirted" due to perceived immaturity who regretted it once the kids hit jr high & high school., jodifla WDW lover since 1972. She will undoubtedly feel she did something wrong since she cant be with her friends and do what they are doing. Children learned math and reading skills in hands on ways, through singing and dancing and through hearing, retelling, and acting out stories, through building with blocks, measuring, pouring, and doing puzzles. I sort of understand. And if the issue is counting and numbers, or poor early reading skills, perhaps giving a child more time to learn numbers and letters; to hear stories read; and play with making rhymes, is indicated. I believe struggling kids should be promoted, but receive other intervention methods, such as intensified learning, supplementing classroom instruction, and providing one-on-one tutoring with a teacher or cross-age tutoring with an older student . I will do what I need to do. 2022 Sandbox Networks Inc. All rights reserved. It has been a nightmare to get help for them. On the positive side, keeping your child in kindergarten for another year certainly reduces the likelihood he or she will begin first grade in a rough spot that could lead to long-term academic and social insecurity. So now what should you do? I think it will scar him to be kept back. I would love to get your opinion concerning my 5 year old grandson. And the social stigma of being held back can have a major impact on a child's attitude. 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. There can be an age difference of a year (or more) in class. Colors perfect gets along with other kids good, writes his name and letters and much more. Kindergarten retention totally ignores what we know about child development.Early childhood is a period of very rapid intellectual growth. 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! Holding a kid back in kindergarten or 1st grade has nothing to with sports. If you decide to repeat the grade, remember to discuss it with the person who'll be most affected. Hes great with a scissors, but doesnt really get along well with other children. First should we allow him to repeat kindergarten ? This is not about how smart or good or "normal" your child is. I suggest you have him evaluated by a speech therapist and see what the speech therapist thinks. It can feel like an insult: like your child isnt smart. My best friend, by the way, is an Occupational Therapist so she is used to working with these school aged kids a lot. Some kids just need more time to develop. 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. 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. Im being pressured to follow the schools recommendations by family and the school, but I know my son. My 6 year old daughter is in Kindergarten at a private school in NYC. (Oh, and don't call it that!). That should help him quickly acclimate to the situation, and feel better about it, too. Holding back in failure of an entire school year that soon cannot be explained well or documented. This is by far the hardest decision Ive ever made. Anyone have their child repeat kindergarten & regret it? Why is it still being suggested then? He is very smart he just had separation anxiety at first. By the time children are of school-age, their rate of infection is usually the same as the rate for . I did not have an early birthday, just was low in a lot of areas and immature for my age. Have you thought about holding your child back from first grade? That can be frustrating and cause kids to act out. WORLD of difference. Do you often have to repeat the instructions for even a simple one-step task? End of February 2018 i am in my sons class room speakin with his teacher bout his academics and as she informs me he has reading problems along with speech problems and now all of a sudden needs little more assistance so i explained that i want him to be in a reading/speech class to help keep him on track(my oldest son goes for speech and ready every week) and if she can send home words and reading material he needs more help with to go over each day at home, waiting and calling and writing comments in his planner on where the work is he needs little more improvement with is at doesnt show up home until the last month of school where then same day i get work of his i get a call from his teacher.she goes on about how hes doin wonderful and all of a sudden she says due to his speech difficulty which effects his reading and reading issues she wants to hold him back in same grade! Your partner in parenting from baby name inspiration to college planning. 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