Some children would benefit from repeating kindergarten. Information on our advertising guidelines can be found. Spelling tests in kindergarten? You have some options. Repeating a grade at this age can indeed be beneficial. We both went on to finish college. Im having the opposite problem. I dont think my daughter will handle being held back well. For more than 20 years, Eileen Marzola has worked with children and adults with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders, and with their parents and teachers. Here are some of the skills that children are expected to demonstrate by the end of kindergarten, according to educator Rief: When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. . In most states, a child is not considered ready for first grade until he or she can read simple books. Kindergarten is not a fluff arts and crafts grade. Some children might suffer from the social stigma of repeating a grade and end up feeling embarrassed and ashamed, leading to a negative self-concept. Children who are behind in these areas late into kindergarten may: In deciding whether your child should repeat kindergarten, it is important to consider whether he has all the skills he needs to go on to first grade. Parents can ask to see examples of their child's work compared to the work of other children of the same age. Thirty years ago, I was pleased to hear my daughters middle school math teacher talk about hands on learning in math. He lives with adults and communicates like a little adult. FamilyEducation does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Staying in kindergarten means not only repeat exposure to the curriculum and so a greater chance of picking it up, but it also means being the oldest -- and most knowledgeable, mature and capable -- student in class, which can increase confidence dramatically, setting the tone for long-term positive self-concept and continued school success. I may just decide to revisit the topic and include the study in my piece. Kristin J. Carothers, PhD is a clinical child psychologist devoted to the destigmatization of mental health problems. Following that advice, my parents moved us to a private school that went through 8th grade. Youd think given all the evaluations and so forth, that the school would back you. So I told her teacher today that we will work hard with her and that if she isnt eligible to pass that I will be pulling her out of the school system because something isnt right when 3/5 of my children are at risk of failing right now. You're right that normally repeating the grade is not helpful. Ive seen the damage done to countless students by the change, and much joy and celebration robbed from early education. Not a teacher, but have researched standards. So we entered him into kindergarten in August 2014. I am also currently looking into private tutor for my Please note: This "Expert Advice" area of FamilyEducation.com should be used for general information purposes only. Read David Elkinds Miseducation and look up the High Scope program. Kindergarten starts around age 5 for a reason. The work done at home, or not done at home, will place all children behind where they would have been socially and academically. I got held back in preschool for crying too much. Editors note: This post was originally published 12/02/2015 and has been completely revised and updated for accuracy and scope. As she teaches she "shoots" for the middle and hopes to draw in as many low and as many high students as she can. Can he run and jump, play catch, bounce a ball, dance? My research states that you do not retain if there is a learning disability (dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia sp?). I know that my oldest was not required to read at this level until she was in 1st grade. And those possible downsides are significant, too. Understood does not provide medical or other professional advice. As the kindergarten year draws to a close, many parents are left worried their child isn't fully prepared to take on 1st grade. They did some testing prior to the start of the school year and told us they . Im so upset! She only just turned 5 this month while the other students are all turning 6. 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. In the 1980s and early 1990s, there was a great deal of progress made in converting teachers and schools into providers of developmentally appropriate curriculum, and allowing children to grow at their own paces. Do you often have to repeat the instructions for even a simple one-step task? Lets follow Finlands example. Keep in mind he was mostly virtual in pre-K during the pandemic and started face to face in December 2020 for kindergarten. Repeating a grade increases the risk. If the teacher is concerned about the child's maturity or behavior, parents can ask for specific examples of behavior that cause concern. Question: Even though he had an early August birthday, we started our son in kindergarten at a private Christian school. - The youngest kids may be slower to develop physically, shorter, and less advanced with sports and other interests. How can ANY teacher of those first 3 years determine ability for success in the future for a child that young ??? Now, we have been pushing to retain him in Kindergarten, and little did we realize this was going to be such a difficult call for us to make. I would love to get your opinion concerning my 5 year old grandson. And 4th we have our 5 year son who has ADHD and maybe ODD. Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law. We are confident that she will be prepared for 1st grade by September. When a teacher or other education expert recommends repeating kindergarten, it's seldom (if ever) about a single skill your child is behind on. Should I trust the professionals or my instincts. Advice given here is not intended to provide a basis for action in particular circumstances without consideration by a competent professional. More academic focus. He will be turning 6 in a week here. They seem to retain NOTHING from the entire day at school! They needed less remediation, and they earned higher grades while enrolled. Repeating a grade, or grade retention, is rarely a good choice for a child who struggles academically, behaviorally, or socially. Should you hold your child back from first grade and let her repeat kindergarten? "Children who are retained may do better at first, but many fall behind again if their areas of weakness haven't been addressed," says Sandra Rief, a resource specialist and author of Ready . However, Im still struggling with the decison. Kids develop skills at different rates. 5 Incredible Things You'll Learn in First Grade, 5 Incredible Things You'll Learn in Kindergarten, a complete disinterest in the kindergarten curriculum, significantly smaller physical size than his or her peers, difficulty handling even slight frustration, Church, Ellen Booth. Speak to other parents and see what they think about the teachers judgment. Does he like to look at books? What could be bad about spending more time on these skills before going to first grade? My best friend, by the way, is an Occupational Therapist so she is used to working with these school aged kids a lot. Who wants to hear their child is average? One child may come to school already able to read, while another can't tell A from Z. Just like I would rather her be a young 6 than a young 5 when starting kindergarten, I would rather her be a young 19 than barely-older-than-17 when she begins college (especially if she attends away from home). My daughter is behind and her teacher wants to retain her. So here in 2020, I find this article. And while its bad, no point crying over spilled milk. Does he wait his turn? Things we knew he concretely understood never translated in class. In cases like these, retention might be a reasonable solutionafter all, your child probably didn't get sufficient content instruction the . Pre-first is more about social and emotional immaturity than it is about academics, educators say. Then, for a few years, I taught in a school for behaviorally disordered children. Knowing why kids act immaturely or young for their age lets you offer the best support. There might be an illness or divorce in the family. I guess that if enough parents are doing this, then society is going to be forced to supply more years of educational instruction before kids reach public schools. Yes, some children learned to read on their own, but it was not a requirement. After multiple evaluations and what not the school has basically been recommending to promote. However his fine motor skills need work. But for kids like Sam, schools and parents may make a more difficult call: to repeat kindergarten. So i dont believe in repeating kindergarten. A fantastic memory, the main reason they want to possibly repeat kindergarten is due They might burst into tears when something goes wrong or get clingy when they feel insecure like little kids typically do. Emotional. A positive and open talk about the plan can do a lot to help alleviate the stress of being "held back." My grandson is very bright, but I have found that his report cards have everything on it as emerging. It can feel like an insult: like your child isnt smart. If they arent reading, it isnt even a question that they remain in kindergarten. Second do you have any suggestions on how to teach him to blend sounds into words? The most productive way to approach the topic, then, is from a neutral place. Make an effort to understand why the teacher is suggesting retention. Time to catch up academically. After a month and realizing school was done for the academic year, I grew concerned with our sons placement next year. I think it will scar him to be kept back. He loves school and I would hate to give him the stigma of repeating when it's something he doesn't have control over. She will be older when she starts college. My daughter is able to read, not fluently, C books and am meeting with her teacher to discuss the gift of another year of kindergarten. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. The study of 784 Texas school children followed from first grade until graduating or dropping out of school led by Dr. Jan N. Hughes, Professor Emeritus in educational psychology, found that even though grade retention in the elementary grades does not harm students in terms of their academic achievement or educational motivation at the transition to high school, it increases the odds that they will drop out of school before obtaining a high school diploma by 2.67 times. He has been staying after school to work on blending. Take a closer look at the immature behavior and see if you pick up on patterns. So because he is not doing well with blending sounds and he only knew 55 words of 100 on a site word test. 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