- On the first, I turned 55 which makes me a senior citizen in some circles. AARP has been sending me magazines for years because my girlfriend signed me up when I hit the 50 year mark. She is quite younger and takes great pleasure in teasing me about my age.
- Sammy Cat has taken her two remaining kittens (Ace and Bryce) venturing outside. This morning when Holly popped open the can of wet cat food, Sammy hightailed it indoors, leaving Ace stuck up in a tree. Apparently even in the animal kingdom, some things have priority over others.
- Jordan enters kindergarten. He has an appointment this afternoon to inspect his classroom and meet the teachers. We debated about enrolling him this year because his birthday comes very in late August meaning he will have just turned five years old and will be in the same class as children who've been five for 10 months or more. That doesn't seem like a big deal but it is tremendous to a child who is a little less mature. There are problems with behavior when younger children are expected to act as calmly as older children.
In Minnesota children only receive one year of kindergarten (as opposed to the normal two years given when I was a child). I believe an extra year is the wiser plan. Day care socializing is not the same as socializing in elementary school. Rules are not the same. Expectations are higher. Children need those two years to mature and acclimate to a school environment before they really settle into schoolwork. We have decided to let him try kindergarten for a few hours each morning and then at lunch time, he will return to his normal daycare situation. If things go well, we have the option of extending his school hours. If there are problems, we can shorten his hours. And we can always give him a second year in kindergarten.
4 comments:
Many Hppay Returns...Congratulations :o)
You raise an excellent point re the age and maturity of kids entering school. Here they recommend to parents that if boys have just turned 5 its best to hold off a year as they mature slower than girls. We tend down under to really focus on the "social" factor, that is if your kid is independant and mixes well with other kids then they (teachers) will more often accept the kids over kids who are intelligent yet a wee bit conservative.
Let's hope Jordan doesn't have to go through a second year of kindergarten. Autumn always seems to bring so many changes, doesn't it?
Thx Michele.
Shayne, as Michele stated, boys mature so much slower than girls. As Jordan's uncle, you certainly know how immature he is.
I would not consider going a second year as failing kindergarten. I would consider it as simply going to level 2. Just as elementary school has several levels, which we call grades 1 thru 6, so should kindergarten.
I was one of the youngest children in my class, and I believe by having that extra year of kindergarten to socialize (get civilized) before being placed into a tested classroom situation, I benefited greatly. And I had two other siblings at home where as you know, the boy has none.
I don't know why they changed kindergarten from two years to one but I believe it was a tremendous error on the educational systems part.
You may indeed be correct. I also went through two years of Kindergarten (up there in Keewatin). I only realized later what benefit it was to me.
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