Are you ready for kindergarten? Am I? Is Z?

[dsrtao]

Here's what the school district wants in a child entering kindergarten:

[Unknown site tag]

• Listen to stories without interrupting. That sounds like it's for the teacher's convenience. I don't listen to stories much in the office, although I do write them from time to time. Z can do this.
  
• Understand actions have both causes and effects. 37% of the voters don't know this one.
  
• Cut with scissors. I suppose. Although a knife with a straightedge guide is usually better.
  
• Follow simple directions. Z manages complex directions, when he feels like it. Creating simple directions is harder -- that's programming!
  
• Manage bathroom needs. An excellent skill. Everyone should have them. Politely excusing your self from a meeting or class, for instance... what do you mean, carry a pass?
  
• Button shirts, etc... the people on television aren't great role models, and Z's only clothes with fasteners are one button-down shirt and several polo shirts. He's so preppy...
  
• Begin to control oneself. I hear some subtext...
  
• Separate from parents without being upset. Have I ever told you the story of How I Went Home in the Middle of the Day and the Teacher Never Noticed?
  
• Speak understandably. Z can pronounce seventy-nine dinosaur species.
  
• Talk in complete sentences of five to six words. How about fifty words with proper subclauses and phrases?
  
• Identify some alphabet letters. Z is teaching himself to read silently. He identifies some non-English letters.
  
• Count to ten. E counts backwards for rocket launches. Z is trying out counting by 2s and 3s.
  
• Be ready to listen. No comment.
  
• Be responsible for putting away his toys. Well, when prompted.
  
• Establish a clear dismissal routine for your child to follow. Fish bicycle?
  
• Smile. Condescend much?
  
• ...more things for parents, not kids.
  

The question is not whether Z is ready for kindergarten. The question is whether he is ready for first grade or second.

Comments

[elizabear.livejournal.com]

Most people hold their kids back so a child who is barely 5 is a rarity in kindergarten

I heard this yesterday from a friend of mine who has kids in 2nd grade and K. Apparently, Z might be in the minority since many kids who have summer birthdays are waiting an extra year to start K. Also, kids who are physically on the small side are apparently also being delayed by parents who want them to be more on par with their peers, especially for sports. These delays never occurred to me, as I've never had to deal with a kid who is small or academically average, so it was very interesting information.

Z has lived a sheltered world where he shares the center of it with one sibling. ... It's a transition and he should be as ready for it as possible if you want it to be a good one.

He's been doing a lot of classes in the last two years including several where I'm not involved at all, but his big chance will be this summer: he has four weeks of day camps spread over July and August.

[marysdress.livejournal.com]

One other thought - I think you'll find a lot fewer girls with summer birthdays are held back than boys. It's not the size thing that more boys are held back (although that does factor in for families with a sports outlook)as a developmental thing. Girls are usually more predisposed to be ready to adjust to the amount of concentration and sitting involved in kindergarten. Boys aren't as much. Even then, I know many parents with girls with summer birthdays who felt it took them well into 2nd grade to catch up with their classmates.

I know some people will bemoan the amount of sitting and concentration involved in kindergarten - but it's just how it is.

[elizabear.livejournal.com]

Z has sat and done workbooks with me for up to two hours at a stretch. I know that's one-on-one, but he has also been taking karate, and I've seen his concentration on the teacher during this - he's really focused. There was a kid who was distracting Z at one point by pretend sparring with him during the class, but the sensei moved the kid away and Z went right back to being focused. He will also disappear, and I'll find him sitting and reading for 20-40 minutes at a time.

His K screening is May 9, but I don't expect to have any issues found. I just wish the screening was more than "pass/needs attention".