Should my son advance to Kindergarten?

Question

My almost 5-year-old son is a happy, bright, rambunctious boy. Sometimes, he has trouble listening, or maybe hearing/understanding what we say. The preschool teachers seem to feel that he is perhaps immature and would benefit from another year of preschool.

What makes it more difficult is that his sister, who is four days younger, is very ready to advance. Which will be worse--for him to struggle while is sister succeeds? Or to always be a year behind his "younger" sister?

His doctor has recommended an evaluation. What kind of evaluation would be appropriate?

Answer 1

It's called "the gift of time" when you let your preschoolers have more time before they start kindergarten. My son will be 5 1/2 when he starts kindergarten this year. I'm so happy I made the decision to keep him in preschool one more year. Now he will be able to completely understand and thrive in school. Yes, your son will be a year behind his same age sister but school will be so much easier for him. Not having to deal with the daily struggle will make him a happier little boy, eager to learn. There are plenty of 6 year old kindergartners in the class and it's for a reason. A lot of children need that extra time to mature and get to the point where they are ready for the demands of kindergarten. And it's no longer just to get kids socialized. My older son's kindergarten year was hard. They learned to read, write,do math, write stories, and much more.

So remember, it's not holding your son back, it's giving him "the gift of time".

Answer 2

I agree that if you have the ability to keep him out an extra year to do so as unfortunatly our kindergartens are not what they were when we went to school.  Expectations are extremely high once they enter "big school"

However, if your doc has recommended an evaluation you need to contact your local school district.  All schools offer a free developmental evaluation for children 3-5.  It will most likely be a play-based assessment with degreed teachers, and other school personel (speech pathologist, school psych, occupational therapist, etc...depending on your son's concerns) Once they evaluate him they can give you a better idea of what you need to do.

Answer 3

the preschool teachers need to do a full observation on him in all his development needs.

1 physical = fine and gross motor skills

2 cognitive= for his learning skills example pointing to bigger- smaller  drawing a circle with eyes nose and mouth.

3 language= this observation need to be narrative so they can write down exactly what he says in his own words.

4 emotional & social = to observe his fixed and fluid  friendships in the preschool setting. also to see observe his fellings toward others and how well he can care for himself .

you have every rite to ask his preschool teachers to carryout these observations on your child .

any data the gather can be giving back to you .

you can then show his doctor and ask the doctor  or the supervisor in his setting to do an evaluation on  all the findings from the observations.

this should only take a week to do and hopefully it will put your mind at rest.

we carry out observations all the time for the parents in our setting , its a great way to show parents how well their child is developing and if he / she can meet their milestones for their age group before the child moves on to ''big school'' !!

hope this helps. and don't be shy to ask for help when it come to your child.

Answer 4

Boys mature at a different rate than girls, and a LOT can happen over a summer.  When I decide to suggest a child stay another year in preschool, I look at age (summer birthday?), maturity (can they separate from mom more than can they sit still), and grasp on the basics (does he recognize by SIGHT most of his letters, know his colors and shapes, numbers by sight 0-9, can he write his name (or is he beginning to)

Age is just one factor I use to determine if they are ready.  If age+immaturity+lack of skills are all present, then I recommend they stay another year.  If they simply can't "sit still" and all the other factors are aligned, then I say send him.  Like I said he can mature a lot over the summer and a good teacher will know how to engage him in learning.....a lot of preschool teachers do not have the education or experience to know the tricks to getting children interested/engaged.  Good luck!