The school year has just kicked off here in Tennessee, and we were thinking back to those earliest days of school for our own kids.
One of the biggest transitions in a child’s life is when they start kindergarten. It’s a big transition in a parent’s life, too!
We were able to stay home with our kids, so up until that point, except for a couple of days a week in a half day preschool at age 3-4, they were with us the majority of the time. Now, if you’re a double income family, your child may have more hours under someone else’s care outside the home (day care) or inside your home (with a family member or nanny), but the transition to “school years” is a significant one for everybody.
To talk about the transition and what you can expect from kindergarten, we’re excited to have 2 kindergarten teachers with us today! Deborah Henderson and Katie Ellis (teacher names….Ms Henderson and Ms Ellis).
Tell us a bit about yourselves… how long have you (or did you) teach K? Public or private schools? Family life?
So….Kindergarten
In the United States, kindergarten is usually part of the K–12 educational system, but each state determines whether attendance is compulsory. Forty-three of the fifty states (the exceptions being Alaska, Idaho, Minnesota, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, and Pennsylvania) require school districts to offer a kindergarten year, either for a full-day or a half-day.
So we’re talking about mostly 5-yr-olds here. Students have to be 5 on or before Aug 15, so it’s possible to have very newly 5 children in with children who may be almost 6, and at this age/stage, a year can make a world of difference in social and developmental skills.
Students with summer birthdays often wait to start K, but more and more kids with spring birthdays do, too. It’s called redshirting.
Academic redshirting got extra attention from the general public when Malcolm Gladwell highlighted it in his 2008 book Outliers: The Story of Success. He discussed research suggesting kids who are older than their classmates have better school and life outcomes. He credited the “cumulative advantage” of all the situations in which relatively older kids were a little more academically ready, a bit physically stronger or more able to focus, or just perceived by teachers as more capable—simply because they’d had more time in life to mature.
Many parents cite extra time to grow emotionally as their motivator for redshirting their children. It gives kids another year to build stamina for engaging in a full day of learning or bolster their social skills. Delaying kindergarten can also be, essentially, an extra year for a kid to be a kid.
What are your thoughts/experiences with this? What did you do with your own children?
Signs your child is ready for kindergarten? (Or, conversely, signs you should maybe wait until the following year to enroll)
Say alphabet, count to 10, know colors. Hold pencil & use scissors. Follow 2-3 step directions; be able to separate from you. Basic hygiene/toilet skills. Some lists you can find seem excessive.
Do parents push too early for their kids to know things before they enter kindergarten? Does it make a difference in outcomes?
Some things parents should prepare for.
Separation (for them, you, and siblings)
Fatigue
Nervousness/Anxiousness
You won’t/can’t know every detail about their day away from you.
They may come home testing out various verbal freedoms you may not allow at home. How do you deal with this?
Teacher infatuation or the opposite (how will you handle this?)
Some Practices for a Smooth Start
Visit classroom and meet teacher ahead of time/open house (Play on the school playground)
DRY RUN for morning of
School supplies…label everything
Anticipate anxiety: reassurance/confidence in them. Practices to help with this…box breathing; finding a friend; prayer, etc.)
Practice & role play at home…. Responding to teacher, talking to/making friends, etc.
Have a goodbye ritual
Something for them to find (note from dad in lunchbox;))
Something to look forward to after school (SNACK!)
Calm & positive at drop off. (don’t linger; Your energy is contagious)
Afterwards, ask them for 3 happy things about their day instead of grilling them on every detail; give them time to unwind and tell you things at their pace.
School day routine….
What are the goals of the kindergarten year?
Students develop skills such as numeracy, literacy, and a greater awareness of the world around them geographically, scientifically, socially, and culturally.
Ultimately, want your kids to love school and learning.
What’s your fav thing about this age group?
Curious if you can tell (and HOW) kids who are entering K from day care settings and those who have been at home? Different socialization, skills, etc.?
As a K teacher, what are some things you’d love for parents to know?