Thursday, October 29, 2009
Bye Bye Ba ba, kindergarden decisions, and other random thoughts
I swear I will add pictures one day! Because yes we do have a picture of our little man obliviously waving goodbye to his ba ba. It has gone well but now he acts just as neurotic about his sippy cups.
So here is a question...I really need feedback.
Wesley is a May boy. This means (supposedly in the world of school) that we have the hard decision of holding him back until he is a full 6 or starting him when he is 5 and will turn 6 at the end of the school year. This is a really difficult decision for me. Mostly I feel that right now and his pre school teachers have agreed that he academically can handle kindergarten at 5. Socially I am told he is doing well. I am just not so sure that his ability or readiness for kindergarten should dictate what will happen in 2,3,or 4th grade. Even if he is social and has friends I just don't know if his maturity is where it should be. For example: Wesley's class has a star chart, I think this system is fabulous for his class and his teacher to maintain order but I was sad to see that Wesley was one of 4 kids with the least amount of stars. Sure I did the whole "not my kid, it was the other kids fault", the teacher must not have been paying attention, etc. But after my split second moment of dreaming I realized that 9 times out of 10 the teacher tells me it is because he has a hard time following directions(there was that one time him and another boy were tackling ). I have started working with him at home, going over letters, having special read time, playing a game(during Liam's nap of course). I have found he really does have ants in his pants. He cannot sit still. He is very distracted. I am not talking about him needing to be medicated I am talking about him being a 4 year old little boy. Wesley's teacher this year is working really hard to prepare them for kindergarten next year. I am just wondering if he will have all his wiggles out!
So I have a few thoughts.
1. Put him in kindergarten next year and see how it goes.
2. Ask the other may birthday boys what they are doing and follow suit so that if we hold our little men back at least he will still have peers from his class.
3. Put him in kindergarten at the christian school he is in now and put him in Kindergarten at the public school the next year.
4. Home school him. I love this idea purely from the stand point we can work at his pace. We can do Kindergarten or first grade work, with lots of breaks and recess to get out his wiggles.
My only hesitation with #4 is that well...I actually have 2 hesitations. 1. I am an extrovert and a mom of little ones and I enjoy my few hours of either cleaning the house, going to bible study or running errands. My second hesitation is that I want to be sure we have enough social activities to keep him involved with kids his age.
Can anyone throw out their ideas as far as what they did? Do you home school? Did you have a may boy? What are your thoughts....
Oh and one more thing we are considering a vehicle right now ...any thoughts on the Ford Flex versus the Toyota Sienna?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Totally Toyota Sienna!!!! Love mine. No question. There that decision is solved.
I have a May birthday boy and I homeschool.
Any other questions?
I vote for options 3 and 4. My oldest boy isn't a May boy, but he's a boy! Academically he's well ahead of the curve, but socially (and with those wiggles) he get's himself in a little trouble at school- much more now in 1st grade than kindergarten. He's a Fall baby, so on the older end of the spectrum for his grade. I think the social aspects are more important than the academic ones, as long as he isn't getting wiggly because he's bored with the easy work.
I think you're wise to be thinking about how it will all play out when he gets to 2nd and 3rd grade etc. Doing K twice might be wonderful for him, especially at 2 different school. My son actually did that, his private school put him up in the K class a year early, and then he did K again the next year. He loved it.
We have a Sienna and LOVE it. Never going to drive a mini van, but then I got practical and we love ours. Lots of space, flexibility of seating, I could go on and on. I will shoot an email in the next day or two about homeschooling.
Our lives involve a 15 passenger...so no thoughts on the vehicle. We do however homeschool, and I can tell you that we have found that even though it isn't always easy...it is easier on our children. They have no problems being social- not even a little bit. You see they get those skills from you :) They also can do everything at their pace...if they excel at something great- you move them along....and if they don't because they are a struggling learner...fine then take your time for a while in that subject. As for the fidgets...in our home that is a standard, and we can deal with it easier than a classroom because it is just us. Sometimes our kids stand at the table to do homework, or they take a 10 min break to run and then do their work....etc.
Not preaching to anyone, because I am a former school teacher....but we really just love to homeschool. So in the end- you are the mom go with your gut, pray about it, and do what you know to be right!
Hi Bethany! Okay, I'm a kindergarten teacher but I don't know your little boy at all so take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt. I have had many little boys with late spring/summer birthdays have a very challenging time in kindergarten. Their academic skills may be solidly average but you're right in knowing that social skills are extremely important. At the beginning of kindergarten I would expect students to be able to attend to a story/teacher directions and be able to complete a color/cut/paste project independently (perhaps with the assistance of picture cues). The families I have had who have chosen to wait often have students who end up being class leaders. But, May (and next fall) are a long way off and kids can do a lot of maturing over that time. I'm sure you'll make the right decision when the time comes and definitely listen to the preschool teacher because I'm sure she has a lot of insight into classroom management. Good luck! :)
Hey, no matter what you decide girl, I have to tell you that there are SO MANY opportunities here locally to be involved with the home school coop (I just had 80 people sign up for a home school field trip) that there is no fear of becoming a hermit. Science classes, musicals to perform in, PE classes, field trips, you name it. My kids are too social and the challenge is to try and stay home more. Don't let that concern affect you in any way.
I'm going to comment on more than one post...can I do that? I like you insight on the word orphan. Its definately a Biblical word, but we need to use it wisely because little ears are listening.
You are right to be thinking about kindergarten already. I've taught preschool and kindergarten, and its a hard decision with boys. We are homeschooling our 5 year old July boy this year, and hope to continue. It is hard but wonderful. Somedays it seems we are gone more than home, as many educational opportunies arise:) I generally fall in the hold them back category, but every child is different. Mom will know best!
Post a Comment