Should my daughter repeat Kindergarten?

Question

My daughter started Kindergarten last fall when she was only 4 years old. Her birthday is in November and she is the youngest in her class. I'm concerned about her going on to 1st grade because she doesn't know all of her numbers by sight (1-10) and can not yet count to 100. She gets frustrated easily when trying to read and is really not reading yet. And, she's had a hard time paying attention this year, which is why she seems to not know what she's supposed to. It's May and the school year ends in 3 weeks, so I must make my decision pretty quickly. If I do have her repeat she will be closer in age to the other children in her class and I'm hoping she'll have a good base to do well next year. She's got great self-esteem and will also know some friends who will be going to Kindergarten at her school this Fall. I'm confused and worried. This is a huge decision.

Answer 1

Talk to the teachers and see what they think.  If she is not able to count to 100 or does not know her numbers by sight then I would think they would not want to promote her.  It is very important that when kids start 1st grade they have the basics down first.  If they don't have the basics they will struggle through school and could have their self esteem affected because all the other kids know how to do it.  Given her age to stay an extra year in kindergarden will not hurt her at all and will give her a chance to learn the things she did not grab this year.  Also if she continues to have problems next year then I would ask to have her evaluated for learning problems.  She is still young but if she continues to not grab the concepts the extra help she can get in resource could catch her up.  Just things to think about.

Answer 2

I'd hate to have her leave her newly-made friends, BUT if u find it suiting for her to repeat the grade, i say GO FOR IT!

Answer 3

Ok, there will alwasy be the youngest kid in the classroom. and she is probably the kid. Also, if she does need to areas of improvement, let her repeat a little bit of it until she understands what she needs to know. And then let her move on to first grade. I get straight A's and I learned to counto 100 when I was either in first or second grade. IF you dont want her to repeat Kindergarten, there is this program called "Sylvan" and you could take her in summer time. What "Sylvan" does is they have tutors or whatever who help children in whatever areas they need improving in. So if youu take her 3 times a week, someone will help her match up on whate she needs to know. Eventually, she learn. She probably just needs to be taught differently. Yout the mother/father, I didnt see the pic, you'll make the right choice for your kid. Good Luck! I hope this helps!

Answer 4

Get the input of your child's teacher and the teachers she would have next year as a first grader or kindergartener.  It will be easier to decide after you get their input.  I have a son who has an October 30 birthday, so he started kindergarten just before he turned six.  It has worked out well because he is at the older end of the class instead of being the youngest.  I hope the best for you and yours  :)

Answer 5

Well it depends. If the teachers say so then definatly yes. You should talk to them. If not you shouldn't. Maybe she is just a slow learner. That is the case with alot of kids. One of my kids is in first grade and she has best friend who now learned to read but when she began first grade she could hardly read anything. But now she is a very bright child and really she just needed practice. She now is up on her class rooms wall for most improved.

Answer 6

Yes this definitely sounds like she would benefit from being held back.  This is best to do now instead of sending her up and it happening in a few years.  That is embaressing and can be horrible for a child.  Kids this age don't even notice.

Answer 7

Yes, I think so.

Answer 8

Me personally I wouldn't make her repeat kindergarten.

What I would do is give her help in the summer with her numbers dedicate some time to practicing numbers and letters.any child at a very young age is very quick to lose focus because they have very low attention spans....Help her in the summer and she will do great next year in first grade....trust me i have four kids.

Answer 9

I thik so.  it would be a shame to move her forward if she's really not ready.  It's not as if she will older than everyone else.  If she gets easily frustrated then moving forward is going to make her feel defeated tec.  So, keepher back and if over the summer she picks up more then she'll just be ahead of the game.

Answer 10

It sounds like your daughter would benefit by repeating Kindergarten.  1st grade they really start teaching things at a faster speed and she should enter at least knowing her numbers and showing reading readiness.  If she struggles in first grade it will really effect her self confidence and that is a harder grade to repeat because she will be so much more aware of it.

Answer 11

Well, I think the average age of kindergarden is 5, so I definitely think she should repeat it, if she did well and dominates all topics covered, letters, colors, left and right, numbers, started reading etc.. then maybe she has the capacity to go to 1st at that age if not don't put her trough that pressure because it might be worst for her, as I said if she repeats it she will still be the right age to go to 1st so it shouldn't affect her at all. My son just finished 1st grade and I tell you it was a hard grade, you learn almost everything there, reading, adding and subtracting, oral reports, social studies, the difference from kindergarden is huge. Think about it.

If you feel more comfortable you could take her to a psychologist and have her take an evaluation so she can tell you if she can handle it.

Answer 12

What do her teachers say? This is their job, and they should know what her abilities should be as a graduating Kindergartner. It seems to me like that is a wee young to expect a child to know how to count to a hundred, but like I said, her teachers would know better. If they say it's a good idea to hold her back a year, maybe you should. It sounds like you feel in your heart she's not ready, anyway.

Answer 13

I think it would be best if she repeated kindergarten.  Otherwise, she would continue to struggle, probably for years.  It would be way less traumatic for her to be held back in K than to face the embarrassment of being held back in 4th grade or something.  In my state, they rolled back the K entry age over a few years so that now the child has to be 5 at the beginning of the school year (I think it was originally Dec. 31st).

Answer 14

I would sit down with her kindergarten teacher and ask her honest opinion. Also keep your decision into consideration your them mother and knows whats best for your daughter. Good Luck!

Answer 15

I had just answered this question (about the same) on another.

Personally I would speak with the teachers & have her tested for a learning disability or any other disability such as hearing, vision problems, ect. These disabilities are usually discovered from Kindergarten through 7th grade. My middle daughters learning disability was discovered when she was in 1st grade BUT the school was suspicious of it when she was in Kindergarten. My sons hearing disability was discovered when he was in 4th grade & instead of going straight from Kindergarten to first grade, he was sent to "pre- first grade". Which not all schools in our area have pre- first. It didn't bother him at first but it did once he started high school & realised he could of graduated a year earlier. LOL!

Discovering a child with a disability helps the school prepare that child for future learning with an IEP. Some children DO progress greatly after a disability is discovered

Answer 16

I would let her repeat kindergarden, she obviously isn't quite ready to move on to 1st grade yet.  She is still really young so I wouldn't worry about it.  You don't want her to get too far behind in 1st grade and start hating school because shse isn't understanding things.  I know that my son was on the older side of his calss and he was reading fully by the middle of the year.

Answer 17

You may also want to think about putting her in a summer class. My niece did it she was very behind but is now able to keep up with the other kids, for the most part anways.  Make sure you work with her and encourage her at home as well. I would hold her back only if the school thinks it is the best idea. She can always get extra help in the class too. I know some schools have volunteers that will act as tutors during class.

Answer 18

When my daughter went into kindergarten she could read, knew her alphabet and also count to 100 but only because we worked with her a lot at home. I think a lot of people don't realize that school is way different from when we went.

I had a conference with my daughter's teacher and she commented about my daughter knowing alphabet, numbers etc. but I told her we emphasize that a lot at home but I really didn't realize how important it was until she started school. I thought kindergarten would be finger painting, playing and nap time. The teacher laughed and said it's not like that anymore.

When she started first grade they had an open house and talked about everything the kids would be learning and it did seem like a lot. I think you have to decide if it's possible for her to catch up with some of the skills over the summer with your help or if you'd prefer her try again with kids closer to her age and see how that works out for you. I would just worry about the stigma of her repeating a grade and kids really do know that stuff. My daughter came home and told me who was in the "smart" groups and who were in the "slower" groups in her kindergarten class. Kids know more than we give them credit for so just keep that in mind as well. If it is possible to work on those benchmarks over the summer and get her caught up to speed then maybe that's the route to go. But the higher she goes in grades the more the parents have to be involved with homework, projects, etc. This is only the beginning. Good luck!

Answer 19

I'd say she should probably repeat kindergarten. She'll be less likely to have trouble with school in following years if she's properly learned what she should in kindergarten. It definitely sounds like it's not a matter of her intelligence, either, but simply of her age--younger children have shorter attention spans.

Answer 20

Yes , I would hold her back. It would probably do her good.

Answer 21

Yes, it's a huge decision. I think it's best in this regard to have a meeting with the principal and the K teacher, so see what their recommendation is. Sometimes it's just best to trust the professionals and their assessment.

Answer 22

what school excepted a 4 year old yes she needs to repeat the grade you started her in school at too young of an age

Answer 23

yes i think you should let her repeat & i guess you want that deep inside too..

there's no point burdening her with stuff that she doesn't totally undersatnd while she would have a fair chance to be quite competent with her peers when she repeats the year.

Good Luck.

Answer 24

Yes she should repeat it, first grade is a tough grade if they did not master all they needed to learn.  She should know way more that number wise.  It would not hurt her at all and she will be more with the age group. Years down the road she will not want to be the youngest one of the group.

So I think being retained will help her in the long run.

Answer 25

It would be to her benifit if she did.

Answer 26

i think you should keep her in kindergarten - if you hold her back and she is still in the age range of all the other kids then she'll be fine! The only concern i would have for holding my kid back would be that he/she would not be with the same age group and would be made fun of...

Holding her back will make her much smarter and she'll benefit from it for her whole life

do some summer erichment programs with her too and really work on those numbers!

get some good educational kid videos so she can learn more over the summer and really be ready