Is anyone planning to repeat preschool year with July 05 kiddo?

gogona · Guru

Is anyone planning to repeat preschool year with July 05 kiddo?

Supafly · Guru

I have not considered doing that, but I can completely understand why people do. I do worry about Anna socially, but I don't think repeating will be the answer for her personally.

That is a tough call. I have a nephew who is an August birthday, and I honestly think he would have been better served to wait. I know it would have been tough because he is a big kid (well, all of my nieces and nephews on Bill's side are tall), but he is also immature. He struggles and then plays the "I don't care about school" card to cover it up. His parents just think he is turning into a menace, kwim?

I definitely think it is beneficial to some kids, and I think that early on in their school career is the time to do it if you are planning on having them repeat.

supergrover · Guru

very seriously considering it. The only thing holding me from a final decision is because Koda is already the tallest kid in his preK, and i worry he will feel outcast. At the same time, he is not socially ready for K.

A major part of our decision is we plan to homeschool, so struggle with the idea of sending him to K only to pull him in grade 1. It seems pointless.

We will talk seriously with his teacher at our two conferences, but he will likely repeat. He will go from 3 to 5 days. K would be (much) cheaper frankly, but I REALLY think he will be labeled ADD from day 1. I just don't think he would be emotionally ready.

daisy · Guru

i havent considered it but i do COMPLETELY understand why people repeat preschool. i have several friends in R's preschool who are repeating the 4s program (bdays ranging from summer through december). i agree with laura - it's better to repeat a grade now than later.

supergrover · Guru

just a quick addition,

"red-shirting" for an extra year of preK is the sebject of Koda's teacher's research for his dissertation. What he has found thus far is academically, everything evens out by grade 3. So he discourages parents who are making that choice as a means to have the "smartest" kid in the class. That said, he encourages it for kids who are not socially or emotionally ready. He kept his own son back an extra year in PrK.

3s_a_crowd · Guru

I wont with K she is totally ready. It looks like we will be moving in september so I dont know if Ill start her at the school here and take her out or jsut do a dvd homeschool for kindergarten so her years not interrupted.

I do worry about this with Raym though. If I hold him back a year if hes not caught up by then do I then have to hold scott back. I dont want to hold him back but think it might be rough for Raym to be in the same class as his younger brother kwim. I dont konw I cant believe Im already stressing over this and I have 4 years before that comes to be an issue.

daisy · Guru

3s_a_crowd wrote:

I wont with K she is totally ready. It looks like we will be moving in september so I dont know if Ill start her at the school here and take her out or jsut do a dvd homeschool for kindergarten so her years not interrupted.

I do worry about this with Raym though. If I hold him back a year if hes not caught up by then do I then have to hold scott back. I dont want to hold him back but think it might be rough for Raym to be in the same class as his younger brother kwim. I dont konw I cant believe Im already stressing over this and I have 4 years before that comes to be an issue.

that's a super tough choice, and i know someone going through the same dilemma right now (her kids are 4 and 3, so it's more pressing).

Juni · Guru

As of right now I have no plans on repeating preschool. Gavin is just learning how to write his letters and working on fine motor things but emotionally and socially I think he will do great and that is more what I would hold him back for.

SerenityNow · Veteran Member

These darn summer birthdays! The bane of my existance!! Really!

Ok, so Evan was tested by the school because he slurs his sentances like a drunk. Not kidding.

So the testers said he pronounces everything fine and has mastered pronunciation and there is no reason for his slur talk. They think he is like the stutterer, his mind is faster than what he wants to say so he says it so fast it is a blur.

His preschool teacher (director for 30 years) said he sees a puzzle accross the room and is already there before his body is and is so fast, twirlling, it is nutty.

His mind works like that I guess. The testing showed that he is at a 6 year old level for language and math but you wouldn't guess it unless you ask him questions.

So I am stuck with a kid who is smart but slurs and is just not the kid who sits silently and he follows everyone. Socially I want him to have another year (and to learn that we don't have to speed talk!). He is very, very innocent even for his age. He loves everyone and is so sweet, I just can't see him going into the jungle just yet.

Maybe I am wrong. Heck, I don't know. When you have a kid whose development is such a puzzle, how do you know what to do?

daisy · Guru

SerenityNow wrote:

These darn summer birthdays! The bane of my existance!! Really!

Ok, so Evan was tested by the school because he slurs his sentances like a drunk. Not kidding.

So the testers said he pronounces everything fine and has mastered pronunciation and there is no reason for his slur talk. They think he is like the stutterer, his mind is faster than what he wants to say so he says it so fast it is a blur.

His preschool teacher (director for 30 years) said he sees a puzzle accross the room and is already there before his body is and is so fast, twirlling, it is nutty.

His mind works like that I guess. The testing showed that he is at a 6 year old level for language and math but you wouldn't guess it unless you ask him questions.

So I am stuck with a kid who is smart but slurs and is just not the kid who sits silently and he follows everyone. Socially I want him to have another year (and to learn that we don't have to speed talk!). He is very, very innocent even for his age. He loves everyone and is so sweet, I just can't see him going into the jungle just yet.

Maybe I am wrong. Heck, I don't know. When you have a kid whose development is such a puzzle, how do you know what to do?

R has a lot of stuff that hasnt quite caught up to her other skills also.
like, she's been reading for a year but is only JUST initiating convos with peers, etc.
it's SO confusing.
i am just going with my gut, it's all we have.
we have to figure all of this stuff will work itself out?!

Lizzy · Guru

I am seriously considering it...right now she is repeating the 3's program so technically, she would just move up to the pre-k program. She is doing WONDERFUL right now and I can see a huge difference since last year...it is amazing. I can't even imagine what she will be like next year. but, she still struggles with writing her name, saying/knowing her letters and numbers, etc. so, I guess I"ll get a better idea what her teacher thinks at the parent/teacher conference in November.

-- Edited by Lizzy on Thursday 8th of October 2009 11:22:46 PM

-- Edited by Lizzy on Thursday 8th of October 2009 11:23:22 PM

happylib · Guru

We are going to decide based on the progress E makes. Since we have had testing done, it has become obvious that intellectually she is fine, but her motor skills are lagging. This has led to anxiety and some other emotional/social issues. At this point we will see how fast the therapy helps. If by the next school year she is not ready, then we will wait another year.

On a side note to this emotional readiness, I know I shouldn't be, but I am shocked at how soon kids are starting with the crud about who can be friends and who can play with who, etc. disbelief

kdrew · Guru

As of now I plan on having Sarah go into the pre-K class at her pre-school next year.

I'll still sign her up for Kindergarten in case we decide to send her at the last minute though.

Sara · Guru

Our plan has always been to hold Owen back a year since his birthday is July 25th and the cut off here is August 1st.

This year we have waivered on our decision given the knowledge Owen knows. He is technically not even in the pre-k program at his preschool since it was always our plan to keep him back.

He was speech tested last week. I had it done since it is free and he says his "oo" sound with an "r" in there. Kind of hard to explain but think, "goord" "loork", etc.

They told me that is just how he is holding his tongue and he will outgrow it. All other speech things he is right on target for. He also got evaluated for developmental things since that is what they do and he did awesome, they actually cut him off counting when he got to 70. Some levels he tested right in his age range and some things he was in teh 5-6 yr old range. They actually looked at me like I was crazy saying that I had planned to keep him back a year.

I sent out a message to some on FB and got some great responses (ty april, kristi, michelle, steph and any others I forgot) I really took these opinons to heart. I have also talked to many Kindergarten teachers not just in our area as well.

The trend here is to keep your child back so I had to take that in consideration as well knowing Owen could be the youngest by well over a year in his class.

Given that Owen is small for his age, his tempermant and the fact watching Bryce with some of the stuff he is learning and I have no real pressing need to get him out of the house,it is not as if I am working full time. I think we are going to continue with our plan to keep him back a year.

The license age moves to 16.5 come July and that would make Owen super young and I see him having an issue with that (ty Michelle for making points about things when they get older).

dorian · Senior Member

we are considering it here as well

more for purposes of self confidence and awareness than academic reasons

I think the extra year will do him a lot of good in so far as trusting his body and abilities, especially as it relates to his fine motor issues.

this week we pulled him from the Pre-K dual language program b/c their intensity about starting and finishing tasks was putting too much pressure on cole. From a language POV he was way ahead of the class, but when it came time to do writing, coloring, cutting, etc. he was getting very stressed and shutting down.

We have put him back into his former school (after receiving a tuition subsidy from the school) and he's already excelling. Soon I'm sure I'll start a thread about all of that...

but anyways...short answer is yes, we are. the school he is currently at has a 'bridge' program, which is a bridge to kinder program for children who need the extra year to get ready before going to swim with the big fish. :)

Alicia · Senior Member

For me no matter gender or age I wouldn't decide until the end of school year or summer. That of course is easy for me to say since I don't have to worry about getting a spot and paying for it since she is public school. With Raven I don't see any reason now to repeat preschool and I believe she is right on schedule for kindergarten.

Dddiii · Guru

I need to keep an eye on how Meghan's social skills develop this year, as well as wait and see how her speech improves.

Academically, she's ready now. Maturity wise, it all depends. I look forward to discussing this with her teachers at the mid-year conferences. I know they don't see any issues so far because I made sure to ask that let me know if they see anything we need to work on.

Alison · Guru

Mason will be repeating preschool next year. He didn't start "real" preschool until this year anyway. I just don't think he'll be ready for kindergarten at 5, maturity-wise. Even though his birthday is early June, I think it's the right choice for him.

apies · Guru

i was assuming that emily would repeat preschool. but then last year at her end of school IEP meeting, the special ed team laughed at me for suggesting it - they said she was pretty much kindergarten ready at the end of her 3yo preschool program.

idk - i'm on the fence re: her gross motor delays. she's still not good with running or jumping and she is still a bit timid around peers her age b/c she's nervous about getting knocked around. i'm going to keep checking in throughout the year and then make a decision in the spring.

like some others have mentioned, i'm also nervous about her being so much bigger than the other kids in the class - she already is so if she's a year older, she's really going to be.

LucsMama · Senior Member

Lucas is the second to youngest kid in his class (one girl is born in Aug) and one of the smallest kids but I'm not going to hold him back another year. 1) I think he would be bored and 2) If I did so I would have to pay to send him somewhere b/c he is in public PreK and you don't get to repeat PreK here because of lack of spots.

I stayed at home with him for his first 4 years and he has only been in PreK for about 2 months now but seems to be doing great. Before he started PreK he was already writing letters and words on his own.

If he didn't seem ready I would have no problem holding him back and I don't think there is anything wrong with doing that.

Oh, and Lucas is currently in a 5 day a week all day prek

-- Edited by LucsMama on Monday 12th of October 2009 01:31:58 AM