My son is 6 years old. Will be 7 in March . We moved to Mexico when he was 3. I waited until he was 5 to admit him to kindergarten. I noticed a speech delay when he was about 2 and was about to start speech therapy before we moved. I started him speech therapy in Mexico due to the language his education would be in. 3 years in and you can understand him some but not for his age. I noticed he can’t read and spell like the homework requires. I work 2 hours with him each day on homework. He’s improving but I don’t know if enough to move to first grade. I don’t know if it’s due to the language of Spanish. A had an MRI that came back he was ok but the part of the brain with speech/ communication need maturing . I was advised by 9 he would catch up with speech. The school says he’s ready to move on to first but I see different at home. I don’t know if I should have him repeat kindergarten to adjust more to the Spanish and do better and understand the assignments better. Most important so his teachers and peers can understand him because right now they don’t. Any advice would be appreciated.
I’m very confused about so much homework for a child in kindergarten, and the requirement to read and spell. Many children in kindergarten are just emerging readers and don’t have this high skill level. I think you should stop with this homework and you should absolutely no be spending 2 hours a day on this with a child so young. This sounds more like punishment, and a sure way to get him to hate school and hate reading.
I’m also confused by your statement that you waited until he was 5 to start kindergarten. Isn’t that the customary age? Or are things different in Mexico??
If he needs speech therapy, arrange for it. Young children learn a second language very quickly unless there are other delays. Most kids under the age of about 9 acquire a second language without an accent, because they are still developing skills around pronunciation. Older people can learn to be fluent in 2 or 3 languages (or more) but will almost always speak with a slight accent. Think of famous people like Arnold Schwartzenegger, Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas - fluent in English but still have a trace of an accent.
If the teachers say he’s ready to move on, go with it. They seem to be able to understand him well enough, and the more stimulation he has, the more he will learn and progress. Many kids (like many adults) learn in different ways. Work with the educational professionals in the school and arrange for whatever kind of speech services they offer. Also talk to the pediatrician about speech therapists who can help. Then, as a parent, you should work with those professionals to learn how to best support their work with your son. Many totally well-meaning parents do what they assume will work (because it’s how they themselves learn), but it winds up being a totally inappropriate method for a different type of learner. If you’re drilling your child with visual homework (writing, spelling, reading) but he’s not a visual learner, it’s not going to sink in and it’s just going to make him frustrated. I’d expose him to auditory experiences - books on tape, children’s museums with spoken exhibits, and kids on the playground. Give him some confidence rather than punishing him with so much work. I’d also talk to the teachers about adjusting the amount of homework they give to such a young child - tell them what you’re doing and ask if he really needs hours of homework every day. I don’t know of an educational theories that recommend so much written work.
As Diana said, two hours of homework that requires reading and spelling is not appropriate for kindergarten. It’s not clear to me if that is the expectation of the school, or if you are working with him that long because of your worry about him. Please meet with his teacher and clarify what you can do to help him best.
I am hoping that he is getting speech therapy to help with his articulation, and I’m assuming that you have had his hearing checked to make sure he is hearing well. I’m not sure why an MRI was indicated, but hoping you found it reassuring.
Definitely let him go on to first grade unless he is truly miserable at school because he is lost and unable to participate. The research on this is pretty clear that most kids don’t do better when they are held back, and hopefully the school has a good reason why they are recommending he go to first grade.
Make sure that at home you are enjoying him and supporting his interests, whatever they are. Help him feel motivated to learn. Play with him, let him lead the play. Find books that capture his interest. If he’s struggling with reading now, try more reading to him. If he doesn’t like to be read to because he is already feeling ashamed that he isn’t reading well, assure him that everyone has things that are easy for them to learn and things that are harder for them to learn. Point out something that he is good at, and let him know you are confident that he will learn to read too. Many children are not reading well at the end of kindergarten, and many educators would argue that we shouldn’t be pushing reading so young, as most kids do become better readers in first grade. I’d back off for now, and then next year, once his love of books is well established, see if he will take turns reading with you, like you read a sentence then let him read a sentence. Make sure he sees you reading and enjoying it. If he is having a hard time connecting with peers at school, see if you can set up playdates outside of school, as one on one might be easier for him to make himself understood and develop a friendship.
I’m also a little confused about your statements about language. Are you saying that he was speaking English (even if delayed) before you moved to Mexico? Were you speaking only English to him before you moved to Mexico, so that Mexico was his first exposure to Spanish? Is he only exposed to Spanish now? I know many families where the children speak one language at home and one at school, if their parents speak a different language than the school. The important thing is that you speak to him in a language that you are fluent in, and that he speak in the language he is most comfortable in. If you are fluent in both languages, that is great, and he will learn both too, but it might take a little longer.
A couple of questions:
- is it that he doesn’t know Spanish very well that he’s struggling or is
- that he has speech issues in general?
Speech issues in general - I don’t think repeating the school year will help. Just continue along with the speech therapy. One of my children went to it and it was helpful. Turned out my child had hearing problems. So that needed to be addressed also.
If it’s that your child has problems with Spanish, then I’d have your child just be immersed in more Spanish if not spoken/used at home. It will come.
Keeping him back I’m not sure will help him in either case. It doesn’t sound like the school thinks it is necessary.
What does the speech therapist think?
I would have the therapist weigh in, and if necessary talk to the school to give support.
I don’t follow the 1-2 hours of school work. When my kids learned to read and spell it was 5-10 minutes reading and 5 minutes for spelling.
Hi Marybel,
For starters, I’d back way off on doing that much homework every day. He’s such a little fellow, and already has to be in school all day. Take the pressure off him!
Kindergartners are LEARNING to read and spell. They’re not supposed to be proficient yet.
If the school feels he’s doing well enough to proceed, I’d at least give that good hard consideration. I don’t think repeating a grade is the end of the world, but if it’s just a matter of his speech progressing, I think I’d let him go on to first grade. After all, if his speech continues to be a bit delayed, you could well run into the same problem at the end of the next school year.
He’s been in Mexico for 3 years, so I doubt he’s still ‘adjusting’ to Spanish.
Rather than more academic pressure, I’d find lots of opportunities for him to run around and play more, hopefully with lots of different kids. He’ll figure out his own ways of communicating far more effectively than more worksheets.
Khairete
Suz
It sounds to me like you should find a speech therapist to work with you all. I would also have the pediatrician on board so he/she can weigh in on physical development/MRIs and be kept abreast of any changes and progress or setbacks he may have. Maybe you would feel more comfortable putting him in a school that has experience in helping kids with speech delays, teachers that will have the patience and creativity to help. The teachers here usually develop an IEP (individualized education plan) for kids in that situation. Or, you could just be worrying about nothing and if the teachers feel he is ready to move on, then perhaps he is and you’re just over-worrying or expecting him to be a prodigy and instead of the teachers, you are the one pushing too much work and other rigorous assignments on him to compensate for his speech delays.
You absolutely need speech pathologist to evaluate him. Ask the pediatrician if insurance will pay for an evaluation. I would not accept only going by a school evaluation.