They can . He will be turning 6 in a week here. Exactly Emily, these kids with dyslexia are NOT going to magically learn to read. His teacher has to repeat everything to him. Overall cognitive development and social skills are typically a larger consideration in the recommendation to repeat. Staying in kindergarten means not only repeat exposure to the curriculum and so a greater chance of picking it up, but it also means being the oldest -- and most knowledgeable, mature and capable -- student in class, which can increase confidence dramatically, setting the tone for long-term positive self-concept and continued school success. 6. Sensory issues: Some kids react strongly to sensory information and may get overwhelmed by things like bright lights. He didnt even register on the standard test they gave to that assesses each student. In the 1980s and early 1990s, there was a great deal of progress made in converting teachers and schools into providers of developmentally appropriate curriculum, and allowing children to grow at their own paces. Repeating Kindergarten, delaying formal schooling, giving them more time to 'play' and explore their interests and develop more whatever you want to call it, we have made the call and are happy we did. School!. Kindergarten was about learning letters, learning to write them, creating stories, social skillsnow it seems that the just want to make sure these kids are 1/2 way done with what 7 year olds can doHave to start thinking public schools are not for my youngest. This decision should not be based off of how you feel or how you think others will look at you. Some kids just need more time to develop. Is this a public or private school? Not kind of reading but really reading. My son turned 5 a week before the deadline. This is not about how smart or good or "normal" your child is. I did not know these words at 6, nor could I build and create what he does without my help. The research clearly states not to and the teacher says we have to do this for his well being. My older son is in kindergarten. Hi Jeanie, Understood is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charitable organization (tax identification number 83-2365235). The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review recently carried a story Kindergartners "Redshirted" to Gain Edge, in which Harvard researchers suggest that red shirting (1) increases the potential for high school drop outs and (2) threatens depressed lifetime earnings because the student's entry into the labor market is . How could a child flunk out of kindergarten? Kids develop at different rates, and some need more time than others to gain skills. 4. Keep in mind he was mostly virtual in pre-K during the pandemic and started face to face in December 2020 for kindergarten. Get that out of your head immediately. Fast forward to high school and they STILL seemed little. A: In Colorado, children with summer birthdays are eligible to start kindergarten at age five since most district cut-off dates are October 1 or within a couple weeks of that date.That said, around 10 percent of parents, particularly those in middle- and upper-income brackets, are deciding to hold off sending their children, often boys, to school until they are six or nearly six. Parenting expert John Rosemond says it isn't the end of the world to have boy repeat kindergarten. Have you thought about holding your child back from first grade? I literally did not care at all as a kid. Retention often is associated with increased behavior problems. Following that advice, my parents moved us to a private school that went through 8th grade. Any advice is greatly appreciated esp now. Those books he flies through them because he satisfied the teacher. Our son barely showed up on it. What can cause kids to seem immature. First should we allow him to repeat kindergarten ? His teacher comments about his immaturity-- he is very well behaved, but does seem to be immature compared to the other kids. Perhaps students with learning disabilities who repeat kindergarten do better in school than they would have had they not repeated kindergarten. It can be a better fit emotionally and age-wise. This article is not accurate in the standards that are taught and need to be mastered. He has some learning challenges (I think a learning disability), and has been in speech since he was 2. . There is a whole checklist of things your child should be able to do before going to kindergarten. Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Thats awful she didnt speak up sooner! Even the screening laws are failing these kids. They did some testing prior to the start of the Living with Children: Weighing the . . I just received a letter about a possible retention for my son, i do have a meeting scheduled with the school. But are concerned he will act out if he is bored. We also dont want him to hurt his self esteem. A child who is ready for first grade can: While your childs teacher may make the suggestion that your child repeat kindergarten, its up to you, the parent, to make the final decision. Ideally, a kindergarten program will be flexible enough to meet the diverse needs of all its students. Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks.com article: Blend Images/Ariel Skelley/the Agency Collection/. Has a teacher recommended that your child repeat kindergarten? If the teacher is concerned about the child's maturity or behavior, parents can ask for specific examples of behavior that cause concern. Ask about any additional services the school can provide and what you can do at home to help. Exactly! Repeating a grade at this age can sometimes be beneficial. Was it the finger painting that did her in, or was it story time? Will your child benefit from being held back? He may even be ahead of his new classmates. After a month and realizing school was done for the academic year, I grew concerned with our sons placement next year. There might be an illness or divorce in the family. We found we had good results at home. the decision of repeating kindergarten, and children's academic performance in higher grades. Rather, it's about an overall picture of a child who may be too "young" -- physically, cognitively, socially or some combination thereof -- to thrive in first grade. Schools that favor retention ignore the research, which has shown that most children don't catch up when held back. Last Wednesday his teacher and principal told us that they wanted him to be held back, SHOCK was how we felt! I will do what I need to do. If the therapist disagrees, Id show the teacher and demand he be allowed to continue on to first grade while receiving therapies. Im so conflicted. I know that my oldest was not required to read at this level until she was in 1st grade. Is he flexible? The most important thing, in the end, is how you react to the situation. Julia Layton Praying my daughter will make the right decision. A school psychologist should do a battery of tests to determine why a student isn't progressing. Shes also going to attend a reading program over the Summer. You're right that normally repeating the grade is not helpful. Old born in November. Many of them suggest parents seek independent evaluation for specific developmental delays and then, if the results warrant it, spend time in occupational therapy over the summer to try to catch up. Thirty of these families had chosen to redshirt their sons back in kindergarten, and 25 opted not to. Shes says thats whats holding him back the fact hes not writing like he should. The research is very clear that even if children are not ready academically or emotionally they do not benefit from retention. Being retained had no effect on students' chances of graduating. Hi, So finally did you decide on this? My 6 year old daughter is in Kindergarten at a private school in NYC. This study was from Taiwan where the cut-off date, similar to the U.S., is August 31. We were told today that we should leave her back because she isnt progressing at the pace of other Kindergartners. My husband and I knew she wasnt doing well with reading so we recently enrolled her into the Sylvan Learning center. I think it will scar him to be kept back. Weve read to him every day for long periods of time since he was 2 months old. They feel repeating would be a good option so his social/behavior/impulse control and executive functioning to catch up. Whether it's kindergarten for a second time or playing catch-up over the summer to prepare for first grade, a positive, low-pressure attitude is essential. This doesn't mean you won't . From old progress reports, it appears the emotional immaturity stemmed from not consistently staying on task and randomly talking out of turn. I do know a few who "red shirted" due to perceived immaturity who regretted it once the kids hit jr high & high school., jodifla WDW lover since 1972. The decision to hold a child backoften called " red-shirting . I emailed his teacher and she responded that he would be advanced to the 1st grade. The first time around first grade was really stressful for him, although we were slow to pick up the clues. He was at least even with everything she is doing. My mom refused to have me held back, as there was nothing wrong with my intellect; in fact, I surpassed my peers in reading skills, as I began reading simple words at age 2 1/2- 3 years old and read story books aloud to my Kindergarten class. If starting school is postponed for boys with birthdays after, say, June 1, "immature" boys suddenly become those with birthdays after March 1. There should be 20% of the kids identified. Requirements for first grade readiness vary from state to state. Every answer seems wrong! We have 4 children 1 in college who was older in the class-breezed through school ranked #2 out 650, 2nd is Freshman (oldest in class) and doing well with social and academics, 3rd is a 6th grader (youngest in class) who has dyslexia/ADD and we did not retain her and she has come into her own finally with As and some Bs with much remediation for the reading. Emotional. He gets 100% on everything. Im having the opposite problem. Long story short, he did not do well in kindergarten. Babies' immune systems begin to mature soon after birth. I believe struggling kids should be promoted, but receive other intervention methods, such as intensified learning, supplementing classroom instruction, and providing one-on-one tutoring with a teacher or cross-age tutoring with an older student . ended up repeating first grade. Because of COVID, there will be many children who are betwixt and between. The teacher has let him build legos, blocks pretty much all year. First graders typically start the year knowing how to count at least to 10 (and usually beyond), reciting the entire alphabet and knowing the sounds of most of the letters, reading and writing simple words, and using "creative spelling" to put their own thoughts on paper. I dont think my daughter will handle being held back well. Your child may not mind this as much as you think. There is typically little-to-no social stigma with repeating kindergarten; kids are often all too happy to get to do so. Repeating a grade, or grade retention, is rarely a good choice for a child who struggles academically, behaviorally, or socially. They expect them to know all upper & lower case letters and sounds by November or they are considered behind. I've done a lot of research and it's the general consensus that grade repetition isn't the way to go. By the time children are of school-age, their rate of infection is usually the same as the rate for . It's also important to explain the plan to your child in a positive way, because your attitude will influence his. Please help! Through the year he attended, we had several conferences to discuss his progress. While this justification has some merit, retention could actually be detrimental. She will undoubtedly feel she did something wrong since she cant be with her friends and do what they are doing. A resource class 1 - 2 hours a day might be helpful and better than retention. Kindergarten students spend a great deal of time on their pre-reading and reading skills. The average minutes a day your child gets direct attention from her teacher is 7 minutes. Some children might suffer from the social stigma of repeating a grade and end up feeling embarrassed and ashamed, leading to a negative self-concept. My, very young for grade (August 22nd birthday), 5 year old was reading at 3. I dont agree with keeping him behind, we do homework and practice every night. Information on our advertising guidelines can be found. We both went on to finish college. (June 5, 2012) http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/starting-preschool/curriculum/child-repeat-kindergarten/, Perets, Abbi. For more parenting tips and tricks, find us on Pinterest: Are you a writer, expert, or influencer? Repeating a grade at this age can sometimes be beneficial. The health and medical related resources on this website are provided solely for informational and educational purposes and are not a substitute for a professional diagnosis or for medical or professional advice. Rose, my heart breaks for you and your grandson, as it does my grandson. These are only a handful of the academic skills that most graduating kindergartners have acquired, and if your child is lacking in several of them, he or she may be starting first grade with a deficit that can affect the entire year -- and the ones that follow. Before we speak of first grade readiness, we need to look at kindergarten readiness. So here in 2020, I find this article. We work with an OT for sensory issues and a psychologist to assist with ADHD/ODD, parent management training. This makes it difficult to get a sample group of very young students with diagnosed learning disabilities we can study. Do you often have to repeat the instructions for even a simple one-step task? What kind of long-term effects, if any, can result from repeating or not repeating a grade? Just like I would rather her be a young 6 than a young 5 when starting kindergarten, I would rather her be a young 19 than barely-older-than-17 when she begins college (especially if she attends away from home). That should help him quickly acclimate to the situation, and feel better about it, too. They also were 3.3 percent more likely to graduate from . One consideration in having your child repeat kindergarten is social and emotional development. I knew my son was young entering kindergarten. Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. I am also currently looking into private tutor for my All these things combined he has had a pretty tough Kindergarten. You have some options. There has been some research that has focused on the role that the age of children has on their success in elementary school with mixed results. The researchers said these findings didn't mean that kids born in August are more likely to have ADHD. However his fine motor skills need work. Does he like to look at books? Kindergarten is not mandatory in California although most children in the state usually enroll. You knew that your child was close to the cut-off date for kindergarten. They need to be able to write full sentences with capital letters and periods. I had 2 children held back and come to find out BOTH have dyslexia. He ended up repeating Kindergarten and is doing great, having just finished 7th grade. The number of infections begins to go down with time. Social and emotional immaturity is often cited as a reason for retaining students in kindergarten. I have an almost 6 year old. 4. Joined Jan 1, 2006. Heres what I think: were pushing these young children too hard. You can find out the exact first grade requirements in your state by writing to your local Department of Education. On the standard test they gave to that assesses each student pre-K during the pandemic and started face face! He be allowed to continue on to first grade readiness vary from state to state expert, influencer! Mind this as much as you think others will look at you do have a meeting scheduled the. 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