kindergarten

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1

Ok, my son did Pre-K last year, and failed. Really it can happen. I spent my entire summer doing summer school, and working the system. I finally got him into kindergarten for this coming school year. Now I am wondering what I need to do to make sure he doesn't fail kindergarten. Any body have advice about what I need to make sure he knows and is able to do to make sure he doesn't fail kindergarten?

Yes, my son has special education needs. But we are in catholic school, so the public school stuff doesn't apply. We are doing an IEP, just to have it on the record, but his situation is complicated, even all the specialist we have seen say it is very complicated. There is no diagnosis that explains his "stuff." I more interested in: Does he have to be reading to go to first grade, and if so what type of books? Does he have to do addition and subtract?

Thanks.

2

I think the big question is why he failed? Was it due to behavioral issues? Learning difficulties? In both cases, he may qualify for an IEP or 504 plan. These are customized plans for teachers that help your child thrive in school. To get started, put in a request at the district office for an evaluation. Legally, they have to provide this assessment if parents ask for it. Just mention you think your child might benefit from special assistance at school and can they schedule an evaluation. It's free, so take advantage of it.

Also, start off the school year by asking if you can meet privately with his teacher. Outline the difficulties he faced in pre-k and steps you've taken to help him. Then ask for his/her input on what else can be done to ensure a successful time at kindergarten. Treat the relationship with his teacher as a collaboration.

Best of luck!

3

This website offers lesson plan ideas for teachers k-2nd grade. If you browse through the material you can get an idea of the subjects, content, and skills an average kindergartener should know.

http://atozteacherstuff.com/Grades_K-2/

4

It is normal for boys to sometimes need an extra year of Pre-K. My son has a late birthday so he will get two years of pre-school.

If he has already started Kindergarden just keep in close contact with his teacher.

5

How old is he? And why did he fail?

At my daughters school they gave a paper filled with what they will learn by the end of Kindergarten, I was amazed! Kindergarten is definitely different from when I was a child.

But they did stress a few things to work on over the summer. Basically they said by the time first semester is over, which I believe is in November they will expect every child to know their alphabet and the sounds of the alphabet. So they said that is one thing to work on, if anything make sure they know and can recognize the alphabet (upper case and lower case). They also said to read a lot over the summer and after every book ask what about what happened at the beginning, middle and end of the story. (Not sure if this is just my daughter's school, because they already started this book program in Preschool) Then I would make sure he can recognize his numbers 0-9 and work with him to count as high as he can up to 100. Then just make sure he knows the basics, colors and shapes. But really the only thing they stressed was knowing the complete alphabet and then if you had time work on the sounds of the alphabet.

All this being said, don't over push him. If he isn't meant to pass Kindergarten, its better that he gets held back now before he has to worry about the embarrassment of peers in a higher grade.

Edit to Add:
Yes my daughters school said they would start to read at the end of the year and also would be doing addition and subtraction.

6

You'll want to check with your school since private schools have different requirements and (I assume) can make their own exceptions as they see fit.

In our public school, yes the kidergarteners have to be reading in order to move on to first grade. I don't know what the minimum is, but my daughter can read all of the typical level 1, 2, and 3 books independently. She can do basic addition and subtraction, but I'm not sure if it is required for her to start 1st grade or not. There is a list of "sight words" that they are required to know as well.

good luck,
Karen

7

I tried to post before you reposted with the additional info. But it didn't go through. Anyway, I believe that they need to be started reading before the end of kindergarten. Since you are aware of spec.needs, then I would suggest a workbook for you. It might be very helpful. I used it with both of my children, who are not spec.needs, but the method of teaching would probably work much better than any sort of rote memorization skills that schools starting using to teach reading these days. And one-on-one learning of reading skills has got to be far more beneficial than group.

I suggest you pick up a copy (Amazon has them for under $15) of the lesson book "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons". It will AMAZE you at how simple it can be, and how effective it is. It tells you exactly what to say (or not say) including what to say to correct any mistakes your child makes. Each day's lesson is about 2 pages and takes between 15 and 30 minutes (the later lessons take longer because your child is doing much more reading). By the end of the 100 lessons, your child can pick up a book - ANY book, and read. Now, you won't want your child trying to read War and Peace... you will still want tons of age appropriate books around.. because that is what will interest him, and those are the books that he will understand the vocabulary. But he will learn to read by sounding words out (not sight words) and he will learn comprehension when he reads. A VERY important skill.

I was intimidated when I first thought about doing this. My SIL mentioned the book to me b/c she had used it with her girls. She is a LD teacher. But even though I have never taken a single "education" class, I had NO problems whatsoever! And I was so blessed to be able to be the one to teach my kids to read. I really feel like that is such a gift.

Good luck and God bless!

8

If you get an IEP he will pass onto first grade without any problem.

There was such a wide level ranch of kids levels a that age some know how to read others don't know how to hold a pencil. The teacher has such a hard time teaching at different levels. A lot of the teacher will have to be done my you. You will have meeting at the being of school to show what they will be learning. This is were you will get the best information about what he needs to know. October you should have a conference with the teacher, more info. If you can work in the class once a week, it will help you see what the teacher, your son, and other kids are doing. It helps you keep up. Schedule a monthly meeting with the teacher to see how he is keeping up. What does we need to work on, what is he doing well? His teacher knowing you are a concerned parent will help him succeed.

Does he know how to use a glue stick and scissors? If he does it will make things easier on him in class, so he can spend more time on the paper work/important things.

They are tested on was counting to 100. This was later in the year. They start 1-10 go to 1-20 so on. You can start on this now. We would count every, she liked to count stairs. We made a game counting every time we went up and down. If you start early playing with him counting every chance you get it will be easier in the long run. Being in Arlington you should be able better luck find stairs than some places.

This is our school web site links, sorry you just can't click on it.
http://schools.4j.lane.edu/howard/howard_site/Kindergarten_Links.html

Good luck!! He will do just fine with you helping him.

9

Honestly, it depends on what his issues are. Does he have attentional issues or a learning disability? My suggestion would be to request a meeting with his teacher right at the beginning of the school year to discuss his academic history and the expectations for the year. Stay in close contact with the teacher and request a full evaluation, where he can be screened for issues with speech, motor skills, reading skills, learning disabilities, and if he qualifies, he may get therapies, additional reading help, or special education services. You can't make your child pass or fail in school. Your involvement is important, but you cannot control his learning. He is in the classroom without you, and if he has any sort of disabilities, you can't make him perform above those, he will need educational supports.
Good luck

10

My son's K class was reading by Christmas time (simple word books, sentences) in Kindergarten and in 1st grade they were doing spelling tests every week (10-12 words/week). First grade also had addition, subtraction, fractions. And they did a LOT of reading in first grade.

11

Public school is still requried to offer him a program, even if you decide to go to private school. It is going to be difficult for him to get what he needs in catholic school, they ususlly just do not have the resources and support services to make kids with special needs successful. He may qualify for speech and langague even if he is not attending public school. It is an instructional service, so they may still have to provide that. The one exception my be if his issue is only a cognitive one, and if he will learn how other children learn, only slower and with more repetition. He might do OK in catholic schools under these circumstances with private support services. If he is high functioning, or has peeks and valleys in his intelectual functioning, a langague based issue, or fine motor needs, he will be better served in public kindergarten. He can't fail public kindergarten if he has an IEP, under no circumstances should you hold him back as this is not an effective educational strategy for children with special needs. If what the teacher did the year before did not work, he should not give it another go, that is not his failur, it is the schools and in public school, he would be due compensatory serivices to bring him up to grade level because the school failed him. Many parents bail out the school by allowing rentention which is not good for children (especially ours.)

I would go ahead and see what the public school will offer, and compare the two programs and see which one is going to be best for him. We had to give up on our committment to catholic education. What we found early on is that they tried very hard to help, but just could not offer us what she needed. At one school, we were asked to hire a full time aid and pay for it ourselves, above the cost of the tuition. It was just not fesable. Once we were in public school and she was progressing, going back is not an option either, as most of the cathlolic schools in later grades are looking for "average to above average students" not above average needs. Unless you have a very progressive parrish school who has a large committment to kids with issues, you are probably better off in public school and CCD.

If reading is going to be an issue, you want him to have an alphabet phonics program, orton gillingham based, sometimes called dyslexia instructional or intervention programs, because all children can learn to read this way; he need not have dyslexia to need this method to learn to read. You will want to avoid whole language programs and reading fluency programs which will not help him learn to decode. These programs are available at public schools, and if you advocate, you can get them. You need to be able to demonstrate that he needs this, and the earlier you do, the better off he will be. If you stay with catholic school, you may be paying for this kind of reading isntruction privately, and it is best offered as an intensive program, with daily instruction so private serivice is expensive. One think is for sure, if he stays in catholic school, and he is not progressing with reading from the outset, assume that this is what he needs and get it for him sooner rather than later. Learning to read is essential, and it has an experation date! The best window for learning to decode is prior to the end of third grade. Most kids will need this program for one or two years and will make significant progress in the program, if done prior to the end of 3rd grade.

Martha

12

My son has some issues(Aspergers/ADHD) and kindergarten was difficult. He did learn to read all the sight words by the end of kindergarten even though it seemed like he'd never get it. Now he has caught up and then some!
I was worried he wouldn't pass because of writing, but at least in public schools they do their best to pass the kids along even if they will need extra help in the next grade. My son still doesn't have all of the K level writing skills, even 2 years later. By the end of kinder, the kids could draw 3 pictures and then write a 3 sentence story to go with it. They could see how an unfamiliar word was spelled on the board, then go back to their seats and write it down. Even in kindergarten, they were counted off on spelling tests for backwards letters. Because my son has a documented learning disability, he does not have to master these skills to move on to the next grade. For the other skills such as math, colors, etc., if the teacher could tell from his verbal responses that he was learning, that was enough even if he couldn't show it the same way as the other kids. For behavior, it really helps to have the right aide, who is patient, educated, and can prevent problems before things get out of control. The kinder aide's only qualification was that she was a mom.

13

Your answer varies not only by region, but by district AND by schools themselves. That it's a private school makes it even more unlikely that any of us would know the answer. I know some schools where children have to be reading in order to enter K, and other schools where anything beyond the alphabet isn't even introduced until 1st grade. Some schools where +-x/ is taught in K and 1st and others where not even number recognition is taught until THIRD grade.

14

I would think catholic school is not a good choice for you. Kids are not required to go to preschool. How can he fail? Anybody can start kindergarten, no matter what.

15

Have you ever considered homeschooling your son? It may be so much easier on both of you when you can work at his pace and on his terms rather than meeting the standards someone else imposes for the general population of children his age.

16

Hi Michelle! All I know is this - my daughter is entering first grade this Fall. She can read a lot of sight words and some simple books (stage 1 and 2 easy readers) But that's it. There are a ton of kids her age who are reading novels! I don't let it bother me though. My older one (going into 4th grade) was the same way as her little sister, and she's certainly reading novels now! I don't think my first grader can add and subtract very well - so pathetic of me not knowing!! But apparently she's doing what she needs to be doing to go on to first grade or I would have heard about it from her kindergarten teacher. I think kids should be able to recognize numbers before first grade, but not sure about any more than that. Hope he has a good year this year :)

17

Private school is often the best place for your child to receive one-on-one instruction and children who excel can really fly. However, private schools are almost never set up to teach children with special needs, and will often not take them because of that. Your school may be different, but public schools are mandated to have special education staff, and are held accountable to teach your child in whatever way he needs to move through the grades, and actually get an education. Our NC school district had our kids reading by the end of Kindergarten, but not all the kids have the same level of knowledge going in or coming out. An IEP plan is the best way to go, and by all means have your son's doctors put his issues in writing. This may be what you need to give the school so they can best help him learn. Good luck!

18

I think you need to speak with your school to find out what their expectations would be. In our state, what they accomplish at the end of kindergarten varies by county. In my daughter's kindergarten, she was expected to identify all of her sight words and they were reading very very simple books by the end of the year. they learned to count to 100 and they did things like 10 20 30 40 etc. counting by 10s. they spent time on patterns. Math was if you have 4 apples and you take 3 away how many do you have (complete with pictures of the apples). She did that in preschool also. They were writing some simple sentences, but spelling didn't matter. In first grade, they get a list of words that they have to learn and have spelling tests every week. they are reading books and writing short reports on what happens in the books. By contrast, in my aunt's county, they are reading books out loud in Kindergarten and have reading groups. In a public school, your child would be called out with other kids for individual attention and could possibly have an aide assigned. I don't know if they have as much patience in a catholic school, especially since you had to persuade them to accept him. You could send him there for a year and see how he does. If he doesn't progress, consider moving him to a public school where he could either repeat kindergarten or move on to first grade with extra help.

19

I am sorry you are having such a tough time. It sounds like you are a very responsible mom who is doing all you can to try to help your child.

I have never heard of a child needing to be able to read by the time he gets to first grade.

Since you are asking the specific question of what is expected at each grade level, I googled it for you and found this site:

http://mdk12.org/assessments/k_8/parents_support/index.html

It looks very interesting and I am going to look over it myself.

Although you are doing lots of advocacy for him and seeing specialists, keep talking to specialists until you find one who is really of service to you and gives you some helpful answers. It doesn't sound like you have gotten the support and answers you need yet. It might be that you are going to need a school other than a Catholic School for your son. I don't see how them just failing him in PK serves him and I would think they would have to do a lot more than that for you to be willing to keep him there.

Good luck! You are a fantastic mom who is working hard for your son's best interest!

20

Good Morning.

Have you seeked out an diagnosis for your son's 'stuff'. There are private schools that are just for Special Education children. There is one in Herndon for students with social disorders (The Auburn School). Also here in Richmond we have Northstar. One of these schools may be what you are looking for. So if you prefer private school there are school out there that specialize in students with special needs. If there is possiablity of an diagnosis then it is possiable to take part of the tutition off on your taxes as a medical expense.

My 5 yr old was just diagnosised with High Functioning Autism through VCU. This is an excelent clinic! Good Luck!

Sarah