Kindergarden Orientation

sbucking · Guru

RE: Kindergarden Orientation

Tiffany · Senior Member

Lizzy wrote:

happylib wrote:

We still don't know for certain what we are doing with Elizabeth. I thought we were waiting, then she went to the screening and we changed our minds. Then we went to her preschool conference and we have changed back to waiting again. It makes my head hurt.

Regardless if we wait of if she goes I am going to feel a sense of loss this year because her friends she started with are almost all going to kindergarten. She has other friends at preschool, but it just kind of feels like we are being left behind. On the other hand, it will be good for her to be the big kid on the block for a change.

All I know is that right now this just seems like such a huge decision and hope we make the right one for her.

we're almost in an identical situation, libby. ivy's preschool teacher said that she thought she would do good to go to pre-k because, although, academically she is ready, emotionally, ,she is not. but, we are going to schedule a tour with a school and see what the kg teacher says, etc. I want her to go but, at the same time, i am really sad :(

what do youmean by shes not ready emotionally? I was just asking because I feel the same way about Ava. She is so smart and ready academically but I don't think shes ready emotionally. I just don't know if its the best to hold her back one more year. She is my first so I have not experienced the school system for my kids yet.

Supafly · Guru

Anna is starting in the fall and she is very excited about it. of course, she has no clue what she is in for, so IDK how she will feel on the first day.

We have orientation on June 10th. The kids get to go into the classroom while the parents get the talk. I am dreading the whole thing! Ours are full day programs here, and I just think that is too much for a 5 year old, but that is just me-and it isn't like I am going to change it! I am not ready for her to be gone all day, and I am not ready to have to take her out of school or go on weekends to do things like going to the zoo or whatnot. I am not ready for these more relaxed days to come to and end. And yes, i will still have time with Kate, but I am going to miss Anna terribly. And I know it is only a matter of time before Kate follows suit, and quite frankly, I find it very sad!!!

I have days (like all of them this week, lol) where I want to run away, but still-this feels different. I *can't* do things with Anna during the weekdays starting next year and that bothers me a lot!!

I'm sure I'll adjust though, and by next summer I will be wondering how I am going to entertain her all summer long...

happylib · Guru

Tiffany wrote:

Lizzy wrote:

happylib wrote:

We still don't know for certain what we are doing with Elizabeth. I thought we were waiting, then she went to the screening and we changed our minds. Then we went to her preschool conference and we have changed back to waiting again. It makes my head hurt.

Regardless if we wait of if she goes I am going to feel a sense of loss this year because her friends she started with are almost all going to kindergarten. She has other friends at preschool, but it just kind of feels like we are being left behind. On the other hand, it will be good for her to be the big kid on the block for a change.

All I know is that right now this just seems like such a huge decision and hope we make the right one for her.

we're almost in an identical situation, libby. ivy's preschool teacher said that she thought she would do good to go to pre-k because, although, academically she is ready, emotionally, ,she is not. but, we are going to schedule a tour with a school and see what the kg teacher says, etc. I want her to go but, at the same time, i am really sad :(

what do youmean by shes not ready emotionally? I was just asking because I feel the same way about Ava. She is so smart and ready academically but I don't think shes ready emotionally. I just don't know if its the best to hold her back one more year. She is my first so I have not experienced the school system for my kids yet.

We are waiting on Elizabeth based mostly on her social and emotional development. Academically she is ready. We met with her preschool teachers about it.

Some of the things to look at are how she interacts and plays with others. Does she participate and identify with the group? Does she initiate play with others? Can she express her feeling, ideas and needs clearly to teachers and peers? Does she suggest or ever lead in play or activities without being prompted?

I know for Elizabeth, she does these things, but not consistantly or necessarily in a classroom setting. Unfortunately we have had a bit of a bullying situation (once again Elizabeth did not do so well at communicating what was going on to us) that has not helped either. Right now we are thinking it is to her benefit to be able to interact and communicate better so that she not only can get along better with kids, but also be able to ask for help from teachers and tell us if there is something else wrong.

Robin · Guru

Lucy wrote:

Robin wrote:

Mark will be starting K in the fall. They don't have preregistration this year but they are offering a Kindergarten camp that is one week in June--from 8:30 to 11:30. Mark is going to that.

Their "orientation" is a staggered start during which 4 of the kids in his class go for one day the first week of school, then they all go starting Monday of the second week.

Mark is excited. And so am I.

I told Mark that kids at big kid school don't wear character underwear, just plain white, and he was VERY excited last night when I brought him home some plain white undies from the store.

I'm also excited that next year, Mark won't have to tag along and hang out with the babies at my work, and he won't have to go in the nursery when I go to church meetings. Plus I'll have 2 days a week that I can run errands and go shopping by myself.

Robin the red cracked me up.

But seriously do they not? Joe loves his Spongebob undies!

Before Henry started K, my friend (who has an older ds) told me to make sure that he wore plain underwear. Otherwise kids would tease him.

(Also a friend of mine sent her dd with a sippy cup in her lunch on the first day of K, and her classmates called her a baby.)

I'm really wondering about the underwear thing though because ALL the boys in Mark's preschool class have cool character underwear. ?? Guess I'll send him in white the first few days and see what he says about it.

Chickie · Senior Member

It was a really hard decision for us but we are going to wait to send Nolan until he's 6. He will go to preschool for his 3rd year in a row in the fall.

Academically he's ready, but we want him to have the extra year of maturity. It won't matter in kindergarten, but will help him later on in middle school, etc. It's pretty much the trend to hold them till they are 6 here, especially if they are boys. It helps them also because they develop slower than girls and you don't want them to be the smallest boy in the class when they get older for sports and stuff.

My birthday is at the end of August and I've always wished my mom had waited to send me to school. I struggled all the way up to high school. I just wasn't ready and I was forever behind in class. I was smart and could do the work. It was just that I was behind socially and couldn't make myself do the work like the other kids. Plus, when I went to school they put you in a certain class depending on your reading level. Well I tested really high in reading, but I couldn’t keep up with the other stuff.

It was such a hard decision and we really went back and forth on it. He went to kindergarten roundup and absolutely loved it. Never even looked back at me once. Just went in a room full of strangers and started playing. He wants to go so bad, but he understands that he has to wait one more year.

Once we made the final decision we finally felt at peace with it, so I know it was the right one. The only thing that stinks is paying another year of preschool.

Sonya · Guru

Ugh.

Good school visit, bad evening afterwards.

He's been crying in his bed because he thought he'd love it but didn't. :(

It was only one hour and I'm sure he'll love it when the time comes but MAN, it sucks that I feel like we oversold it to him.

We're not going to talk about it for a while. :(

He thought they sat too much. I think the real problem is that he wanted to play on the playground and we didn't do that. He also would have enjoyed time exploring the classroom and he didn't get to do that.

Sigh. Why is this all so hard?

Chickie · Senior Member

ugh! that sucks Sonya. It's such a hard decision. I had no idea how much I was going to wish he had a winter birthday so I didn't have a choice of when to send him.

I'm sorry the evening didn't turn out the greatest. :(

Lizzy · Guru

Tiffany wrote:

Lizzy wrote:

happylib wrote:

We still don't know for certain what we are doing with Elizabeth. I thought we were waiting, then she went to the screening and we changed our minds. Then we went to her preschool conference and we have changed back to waiting again. It makes my head hurt.

Regardless if we wait of if she goes I am going to feel a sense of loss this year because her friends she started with are almost all going to kindergarten. She has other friends at preschool, but it just kind of feels like we are being left behind. On the other hand, it will be good for her to be the big kid on the block for a change.

All I know is that right now this just seems like such a huge decision and hope we make the right one for her.

we're almost in an identical situation, libby. ivy's preschool teacher said that she thought she would do good to go to pre-k because, although, academically she is ready, emotionally, ,she is not. but, we are going to schedule a tour with a school and see what the kg teacher says, etc. I want her to go but, at the same time, i am really sad :(

what do youmean by shes not ready emotionally? I was just asking because I feel the same way about Ava. She is so smart and ready academically but I don't think shes ready emotionally. I just don't know if its the best to hold her back one more year. She is my first so I have not experienced the school system for my kids yet.

Tiffany, the teacher said that because she has problems at drop-off - she still cries a little and the teacher said they usually don't see that at 4 and also she has problems sharing.

3s_a_crowd · Guru

question for those of you who are holding back for emotional reasons like crying at drop off etc.

What is the difference here between prek and kindy that would change that, would you just take her home or just make her cry. I would think maybe the structure of Kindy might help ease some (ie going every day instead of them kind of guessing what day they will go) of that but I really dont know. And couldnt they learn sharing just as easy in kindergarten.

Im not in that predicament so I really cant say what I would do, Im just curious what the teachers think an extra year in prek will actually do for them vs. letting them be in the kindergarten enviornment.

happylib · Guru

3s_a_crowd wrote:

question for those of you who are holding back for emotional reasons like crying at drop off etc.

What is the difference here between prek and kindy that would change that, would you just take her home or just make her cry. I would think maybe the structure of Kindy might help ease some (ie going every day instead of them kind of guessing what day they will go) of that but I really dont know. And couldnt they learn sharing just as easy in kindergarten.

Im not in that predicament so I really cant say what I would do, Im just curious what the teachers think an extra year in prek will actually do for them vs. letting them be in the kindergarten enviornment.

I can't speak for everyone, but it is deeper than just a little crying. It has to do more with their maturity and ability to cope with social situations, emotions, and self confidence. In kindergarten the focus is much more academic and they do not have time to focus on those things, especially these days.

Also, not being able to relate and interact with peers creates problems. Kids feel left out and lonely. It sometimes leads to bullying too. It can cause kids to have difficulty in seeking help from teachers academically and socially. If a child is emotionally stressed he/she is not going to be able learn as well. This can also lead to low self esteem, which is something that is bad enough in middle school years and does not need any head start.

3s_a_crowd · Guru

THanks for your input. I hope I didnt offend with my question. I just didnt understand.

See with Raym he is not very social and that is one of his weaker points. Talking to his therapists they all seem to agree I just put him with his age group as it advances and he'll pick up these skills.

I guess I wasnt thinking in the aspect they dont really have as much time to do that in kindergarten. I hope you are able to come to a decision you are comfortable with soon. SHe will do great either way because she has such a great mom.

happylib · Guru

3s_a_crowd wrote:

THanks for your input. I hope I didnt offend with my question. I just didnt understand.

See with Raym he is not very social and that is one of his weaker points. Talking to his therapists they all seem to agree I just put him with his age group as it advances and he'll pick up these skills.

I guess I wasnt thinking in the aspect they dont really have as much time to do that in kindergarten. I hope you are able to come to a decision you are comfortable with soon. SHe will do great either way because she has such a great mom.

I am glad you asked and wanted to understand. I am not sure how well I explained it. I also think that it is just different for each kid. In Raym's case, it might actually help him, which is why I am guessing the therapists made that recommendation. I know that it's nice to have some input from others that don't have our emotional investment, yet are still trustworthy. I am glad that you have that too. You too are a great mom and am glad that you are here. smile

Chickie · Senior Member

happylib wrote:

3s_a_crowd wrote:

question for those of you who are holding back for emotional reasons like crying at drop off etc.

What is the difference here between prek and kindy that would change that, would you just take her home or just make her cry. I would think maybe the structure of Kindy might help ease some (ie going every day instead of them kind of guessing what day they will go) of that but I really dont know. And couldnt they learn sharing just as easy in kindergarten.

Im not in that predicament so I really cant say what I would do, Im just curious what the teachers think an extra year in prek will actually do for them vs. letting them be in the kindergarten enviornment.

I can't speak for everyone, but it is deeper than just a little crying. It has to do more with their maturity and ability to cope with social situations, emotions, and self confidence. In kindergarten the focus is much more academic and they do not have time to focus on those things, especially these days.
Also, not being able to relate and interact with peers creates problems. Kids feel left out and lonely. It sometimes leads to bullying too. It can cause kids to have difficulty in seeking help from teachers academically and socially. If a child is emotionally stressed he/she is not going to be able learn as well. This can also lead to low self esteem, which is something that is bad enough in middle school years and does not need any head start.

Thanks for putting all that down! I was trying to think how to word it and you did it so beautifully!

This is exactly why we decided to wait. Plus, just to add a little more, some of the things Nolan isn't ready for are things that will come naturally as he matures a little, not something we can force him to learn.

"Also, not being able to relate and interact with peers creates problems. Kids feel left out and lonely. It sometimes leads to bullying too. It can cause kids to have difficulty in seeking help from teachers academically and socially. If a child is emotionally stressed he/she is not going to be able learn as well. This can also lead to low self esteem, which is something that is bad enough in middle school years and does not need any head start."

This blue above is exactly what I went through in school. I think it's why I couldn't snap out of it until highschool. I seriously did not have any friends until then. I was too shy to ask the teachers for help. I always, always had a low self esteem. I'm not saying if I had of waited to go until 6 it would have fixed everything, but I know it would have helped.

I think another reason I struggled with this decision for Nolan is the last thing I wanted to do was project my bad experience growing up in school on to him. He is so outgoing and smart. I think he may be ready for kindergarten, but there was just something nagging at me that said he wasn't. We finally came to the conclusion that there could be many negative things happen to him if we send him too early, but we couldn't find one bad thing if we waited to send him even though he was ready.

-- Edited by Chickie on Saturday 15th of May 2010 03:20:33 AM

Chickie · Senior Member

3s_a_crowd wrote:

THanks for your input. I hope I didnt offend with my question. I just didnt understand.

See with Raym he is not very social and that is one of his weaker points. Talking to his therapists they all seem to agree I just put him with his age group as it advances and he'll pick up these skills.

I guess I wasnt thinking in the aspect they dont really have as much time to do that in kindergarten. I hope you are able to come to a decision you are comfortable with soon. SHe will do great either way because she has such a great mom.

Will Raym go to preschool?

The reason I ask is Nolan had huge separatiopn issues and was kind of shy until we sent him to preschool. We sent him early at 3 because my mom watches him and he never had any interaction with other children. It was amazing the difference in just after a week of being there. Going to preschool made him a totally different kid.

Obviously Raym does have 2 other children to play with. I was just remembering how shocked I was at the difference once I had him in a school setting with other children. I sent him to a church preschool rather than a daycare preschool mainly because I was hoping it would be a little more structred and it has worked beautifully.

apies · Guru

Emily is going to kindergarten in the fall, but she's going to be in the special needs room at the beginning of the year.

i was shocked when they told me what K is like now. for example, they said that the incoming kindergartners will be expected to provide a writing sample the first week of school. when i asked about this, she said that most of the kids can write a sentence by the beginning of K. emily definitely cannot do this.

it's hard because i never really know how far behind she is. academically, i know she does pretty well, but she is still behind on her gross motor because of her balance issues. and her lack of balance leads her to be hesitant around the other kids b/c she doesn't want them knocking her over, etc.

i have a pretty strong feeling that she will start out in the special needs class and then up splitting the day between special needs & regular K. my hope is that by the end of the year she'll be able to be mainstreamed into the regular room with the accommodations she needs. i'm not 100% convinced that the special needs room is her least restrictive environment, but we'll only know for sure once she starts in there in the fall.

Sonya · Guru

apies wrote:

Emily is going to kindergarten in the fall, but she's going to be in the special needs room at the beginning of the year.

i was shocked when they told me what K is like now. for example, they said that the incoming kindergartners will be expected to provide a writing sample the first week of school. when i asked about this, she said that most of the kids can write a sentence by the beginning of K. emily definitely cannot do this.

it's hard because i never really know how far behind she is. academically, i know she does pretty well, but she is still behind on her gross motor because of her balance issues. and her lack of balance leads her to be hesitant around the other kids b/c she doesn't want them knocking her over, etc.

i have a pretty strong feeling that she will start out in the special needs class and then up splitting the day between special needs & regular K. my hope is that by the end of the year she'll be able to be mainstreamed into the regular room with the accommodations she needs. i'm not 100% convinced that the special needs room is her least restrictive environment, but we'll only know for sure once she starts in there in the fall.

Wow on the sentences. That was certainly not the message we got at the school meeting I went to. Maybe that's because 90 % of the kids enrolling at our school are going into french immersion but they focus more on the overall learning than the traditional three Rs (they do all of that but in a more unoffical way).

Charlie could certainly not write a sentence right now. He can write words that we dictate but isn't doing that on his own.

3s_a_crowd · Guru

Chickie wrote:

3s_a_crowd wrote:

THanks for your input. I hope I didnt offend with my question. I just didnt understand.

See with Raym he is not very social and that is one of his weaker points. Talking to his therapists they all seem to agree I just put him with his age group as it advances and he'll pick up these skills.

I guess I wasnt thinking in the aspect they dont really have as much time to do that in kindergarten. I hope you are able to come to a decision you are comfortable with soon. SHe will do great either way because she has such a great mom.

Will Raym go to preschool?

The reason I ask is Nolan had huge separatiopn issues and was kind of shy until we sent him to preschool. We sent him early at 3 because my mom watches him and he never had any interaction with other children. It was amazing the difference in just after a week of being there. Going to preschool made him a totally different kid.

Obviously Raym does have 2 other children to play with. I was just remembering how shocked I was at the difference once I had him in a school setting with other children. I sent him to a church preschool rather than a daycare preschool mainly because I was hoping it would be a little more structred and it has worked beautifully.

Raym will go to school at three at a normal school here. Ages three and four are only for kids who need early intervention and with his diagnosis he qualifies. If money permits Id rather send him to a normal preschool though because I dont know if being around other children who are behind in areas is going to hinder his growth since he may want to just be where everyone else is kwim?

But as of right now hell head over to the school district at three.

Robin · Guru

apies wrote:

Emily is going to kindergarten in the fall, but she's going to be in the special needs room at the beginning of the year.

i was shocked when they told me what K is like now. for example, they said that the incoming kindergartners will be expected to provide a writing sample the first week of school. when i asked about this, she said that most of the kids can write a sentence by the beginning of K. emily definitely cannot do this.

it's hard because i never really know how far behind she is. academically, i know she does pretty well, but she is still behind on her gross motor because of her balance issues. and her lack of balance leads her to be hesitant around the other kids b/c she doesn't want them knocking her over, etc.

i have a pretty strong feeling that she will start out in the special needs class and then up splitting the day between special needs & regular K. my hope is that by the end of the year she'll be able to be mainstreamed into the regular room with the accommodations she needs. i'm not 100% convinced that the special needs room is her least restrictive environment, but we'll only know for sure once she starts in there in the fall.

I've never heard of incoming K's being able to write sentences.

I know they're expected to write their first name somewhat legibly--capital first letter, lowercase the rest.

Also in the past, when they've done K testing (at the pre-registration), they've asked stuff that has to do with letter/number recognition and being able to recognize the parts of the body.

And I think at Henry's, they may have asked him to do stuff like jump up and down. I don't really remember.

apies · Guru

Robin wrote:

apies wrote:

Emily is going to kindergarten in the fall, but she's going to be in the special needs room at the beginning of the year.

i was shocked when they told me what K is like now. for example, they said that the incoming kindergartners will be expected to provide a writing sample the first week of school. when i asked about this, she said that most of the kids can write a sentence by the beginning of K. emily definitely cannot do this.

it's hard because i never really know how far behind she is. academically, i know she does pretty well, but she is still behind on her gross motor because of her balance issues. and her lack of balance leads her to be hesitant around the other kids b/c she doesn't want them knocking her over, etc.

i have a pretty strong feeling that she will start out in the special needs class and then up splitting the day between special needs & regular K. my hope is that by the end of the year she'll be able to be mainstreamed into the regular room with the accommodations she needs. i'm not 100% convinced that the special needs room is her least restrictive environment, but we'll only know for sure once she starts in there in the fall.

I've never heard of incoming K's being able to write sentences.

I know they're expected to write their first name somewhat legibly--capital first letter, lowercase the rest.

Also in the past, when they've done K testing (at the pre-registration), they've asked stuff that has to do with letter/number recognition and being able to recognize the parts of the body.

And I think at Henry's, they may have asked him to do stuff like jump up and down. I don't really remember.

thanks robin.

emily can definitely do all of that, but when i met with her pre-k teacher in december and she told us about the K program, she basically told me it's like 1st grade now in their expectations.

that stresses me out. emily doesn't do well when she feels discouraged so i really don't want her having a bad experience in K where she thinks she can't do what the other kids can do.