Re: kindergarten concerns

kevles@xxxxxxx (Beth Kevles) wrote:


This has been an interesting thread.

Both of my boys have late-summer birthdays (August and September). Both
started kindergarten the fall they turned 5, since it was clearly time
for them to have more academic instruction than they got in nursery
school.

I had an early November birthday in 1937, and at that time it was
about the last date possible - if my mom had not been induced a week
early, I would have had to wait a year. So I started when I was 4
years and 10 months and turned five in November of that year which was
1942. I graduated in 1955 at age 17. It was a half day
kindergarten, and my mom fought to have me in the morning session
because I still took a nap in the afternoon.

My sister was born in early June and started in 1945 when she was 5
years and 3 months, and should have graduated in 1958 about when she
was having her 18th birthday. But since I had taught her to read,
they skipped her over 1st grade, so she graduated only 2 years after
me when she was having her 17th bday.

I didn't consider keeping my oldest two girls (born in August and
September respectively) out of kindergarten, and both of them started
in the year right after they turned 5 and graduated HS at 17.5. There
was no public kindergarten at the time where we were living, and so
they both started half day at a parochial school which was only in the
morning. Which was good for my oldest one because she was still
taking an afternoon nap like I had at her age.

We moved to a suburb of Philadelphia while DD#2 was in kindergarten
and the only slot they had was afternoon, which was OK for her because
she was not a napper.

DD#3 was born in May and she started - as my sister did - when she was
5+ She did morning kindergarten which was good because she was also a
napping type child. She graduated just after she turned 18

DS born in January, and for the first time I considered keeping a
child back. He could have started when he was 4+ as I did, but I
red-shirted him so he didn't start kindy until he was 5 years and 8
months, and he turned 18 in the middle of his senior year.


My older boy was the type who tires easily (later discovered a chronic
infection, had the adenoids out, and suddenly had a very energetic child
on my hands). He was only offered 1/2 day kindergarten, but we put him
in daycare for the other 1/2 day for social reasons. He LOVED it. The
morning was strictly academic, the afternoon more play-based, but with
academic content and time to do their homework. (Yup, homework in
kindergarten. What a waste of time ...) He never napped in daycare,
but took advantage of the quiet time after lunch for the first couple of
months.

By the time my younger child entered kindergarten full-day was the only
option. He was a very high-energy youngster. With full-day there was
more social time built in, so instead of being at the desk all the time
there was a lot of time for moving around, for recess, talking over
lunch, and all that good stuff. He loved every second of it.

I think that most kids can adapt to whatever environment they're put
in. I suspect that the child's ability to "handle" a full-day vs. 1/2
day environment is really a red herring for most kids. However, the
social issue is real. I'd put a child into whichever program has more
social time, since that's what makes kids want to go to school. And if
one program pays more attention to social/emotional development, go for
it. That's what kindergarten used to be about, rather than academics,
and I'm more and more convinced that social and emotional skills are
what really NEED to be taught at that age. The academics just come
along for the ride.

I had my children in various kinds of pre-school before they went to
kindergarten, mostly because we often lived where there were no
playmates. This was particularly true for the two younger ones,
although of course they also had their older siblings.

The only one of them where we lived that she could go and play on our
street with someone of her age when she was 4 to 6 years of age was
DD#2. When DD#1 was that age, we lived on a dead end street that had
an Army post at the end of it. When DD#3 was that age, we lived on a
state highway, but out in the woods - only one house visible to us in
any direction. And in DS's case, we lived on a dead end street with 4
other houses that ended in the water opposite a Catholic HS.

My kids are now in 5th and 7th grades, both thriving in school despite
being at the very young end of their respective classes.

Your own mileage may vary, of course :-)
--Beth Kevles
bethkevles@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the GMAIL one if you would
like me to reply.
.

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