Our little girl will be 3 in Aug, she is in a "2" playschool class we think she should be with the 3's, agree?

Question

When we put her in last year there was no slot for her in the 2's class, so she was placed in the 1's. The nearest child in age to her is 4 months younger and there are at least 2 children 11 months younger than her. We feel she should be with the 3 year olds {we want her to be around children her age}. The director says she "needs to be a leader" and she does not have the attention span to be in the 3's yet she sits through movies like Ratatouille, fully engaged. I think she is board with her class, and even her teacher says she should not be with the 2's, but with the 3's.

We will start her in K when she turns 5 {the law here is must be 5 on Sep 1} Are we being "anal" about her being with 3 year olds over 2 year olds? Are we shortchanging her development by keeping her with children that are a year less developed and mature than her? Please offer thought out responses. Thanks!

Answer 1

I currently teach a two year old class that has children ranging in age from turns three in September (oldest) to turned two the end of April (youngest).  The older children can be helpful within the classroom, in that they can model the desired behavior for the younger ones.  

The teacher can be an asset to getting your child into the age group she needs.  Could it be that there are no spots for her in that age group?

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Do you have a cut off date to attend kindergarten?  That date should be used throughout your daycare to move them to theirnew group.  Our cutoff date is August 1 so they have to be 3 by August 1 to be in the 3's group - 4 by August 1 to be in the 4's group - etc.  If her parents feel she is not ready for kindergarten, then she could repeat the oldest group before kindy but that should not be up to the administrator alone, that should be a joint decision between caregivers, administrator and parents.

Answer 3

Unless you plan to hold her back in Kindergarten she should be with her age group in September. If there really are problems you need a better idea of what they might be and that requires placing her with kids in her cohort-the kids she will be with in Kindergarten.She also needs to be exposed to the age appropriate curriculum. It may well be that her behavior will rise to the occasion. Don't be too impressed with the movie watching. Electronic media has its own attraction for kids. On the other hand, are you sure that the program understands child development and isn't expecting too much. She may just be an exuberant little girl. In any case her current placement is telling you very little about how she functions compared to kids her own age and you really need to look at that.

     By the way, I directed 2 day care centers with mixed threes and fours in all classrooms and still think it is the best model but that is hard to find.

Answer 4

While it is great that she has the opportunity to role model with the younger children, it is a disservice to any child to be developmentally and chronologically ahead of ALL the class.  

She will have ample opportunity to role model with her age appropriate peers because all children don't develop evenly.  In fact development is rather uneven for all kids.

The attention is something that she will work on when reinforced by the other 3 yr olds, they can role model appropriate 3 yo attention for her.

Teachers don't get it right a lot of the time.  You have to advocate for your child.  My son is delayed with minimal speech and mildly autistic and is going to a 3 yo typical class at a private preschool 2 days a week, he is now 33 months and turns 3 Sept. 27th (he attended the 2 yo preschool program last year so they are aware of his learning differences), the other 3 he will be attending the school district provided developmental delayed preschool.

Answer 5

Can you check out some other facilities to see it they have a program that would offer what you feel is right for your daughter. You are the parent and know her the best.

Answer 6

I'm a teacher trained in early childhood development.  You've got a couple of "red flags" in your letter.  The first being that the teacher says she does not have the attention span to be promoted.

Teachers have lots of experience with students of all abilities.  You don't say how many children you have, but it is fair to say that the teacher has had many over the years and so, is highly qualified to tell you if your child's behavior falls out of the realm of the normal child her age.

Teachers (directors) do not like to contradict parents and in a daycare situation, there is good reason not to...loss of money if they lose your business.  Suffice it to say, they thought long and hard about the decision to speak with you.

Another serious red flag is that you say your child can watch a movie all the way through.  Recent studies have linked tv watching before the age of 2 years old to problems with attention.  It rewires the brain of the very young to need constant visual stimulation.

Movies and television are highly stimulating.  What you're calling bored may be an indication that she cannot handle everyday life and needs constant levels of "exciting entertainment".  TV and movies have also been shown to promote passive behavior (zoning out...an appearance of learning/listening, but in reality more of a semi-twilight state).  In other words, because the child cannot interact with the characters and storyline, little is gained (educationally) from watching.

I would definitely evaluate her myself.  Other than watching tv, does she have the ability to sit through a book? How about an age appropriate game?  A truly intelligent child can sit through things they've done before and extract new meaning from them.  

Of course, not all children are that highly intelligent, but there are many books and websites that describe what behaviors are appropriate for someone of your child's age.

Answer 7

Interesting.  We really can't tell you one way or another because we don't know your child nor do we know the child care facility.  My first thought is that she will experience being a "leader" in her classroom and that's good.  However, you know your child best...but then again you must respect the director's opinion if you still have your child in this care facility.  You both need to lay it down in front of each other and talk about it objectively if you haven't already.  One thing to bring up, if you haven't already, is that you WILL be starting her in Kindergarten at 5, she will be a young five and she would benefit from 2 years of actual preschool... a 3 year old class and a 4 year old class.  You could also ask for a time frame of when she could enter the 3 year old class.  Directors have to juggle "numbers" quite a bit so a little understanding but firmness that you would like her to be in the 3 year old classroom will go a long way.

Is there not a space in the three year old classroom? If she is 3 in August then really there is no reason to keep her back in the 2 year old classroom after September (the new school year).

Are all the children in the three year old classroom older so that she would be quite a bit behind the other children?  Consider that.  

Remember that sitting for a movie is not a great measurement for attention span.  :-)  I know many a children who will sit for tv because of the action and stimulation but put them in a large group setting that is typical for a preschool classroom and they can't stay attentive for 5 minutes.  So truly think about her attention span.  Usually, at the beginning of the year we consider 10 minutes max for a young 3 classroom working to a 20 minute group by the end of the year.  

If you truly think she is bored then discuss how the teacher in the classroom can help in this regard.  In a decent toddler room there should be simple centers set up so each child can "work" at her own speed and interest.  Boredom is very seldom a problem.  

Good luck!