Kindergarten registration forms - a lot of info requested! (insurance, how much)

[YetAnotherTransplant]

Wake County kindergarten registration starts today at our school. Anyone else caught off guard by all the information requested?

How honest were you in answering the following questions:

Please tell us what you would like us to know about your child.

Please tell us what you would like your child to gain from this year in Kindergarten.


Also, did you really disclose every little medical thing ever to happen to your child? Seems a bit... invasive, if the medical issues aren't active.

[poppydog]

I think that's pretty standard. I'm not in Wake, but in CHCCS and I've seen a lot of those forms over the years. The "what you would like" questions are really to help the teachers get a jump start on your kid. No harm in being honest, but frame it in a positive light. I mean you don't want to say, "My son Johnny can't sit still and he gets into trouble the minute I have my back turned." You might say "Johnny is full of energy and eager to engage in hands-on projects."

For the what would you like your child to gain, well what would you? Can your child read? If not, maybe that. If so, maybe get better at it, or learn more about math, or learn social skills, or more independence.

For my kids I would have put something like, "Bea is quiet and shy, but loves animals, particularly cats, and loves to draw. You may be able to engage her more easily with some cat-related books or projects. I'd like her to learn some more independence and make some good friends and work on learning to read." I'm sure I went on for paragraphs and paragraphs on my kids. I do think it helps the teacher to know that Bea likes cats and Johnny loves superheroes and then they can tailor reading sessions with those themes. Usually their personalities shine through, but if your kid is shy like mine were it can help the teacher to have a little insider info.

I don't recall the medical info part except for the immunization records and filling out the insurance info and doctor's contact info every single time a field trip form comes home.

[Sal_M]

I looked at it in terms of what do they need to know that would better assist them in teaching/working with my child to make this a good year and transition.

What they need to know: You are a recent transplant, big moves can have an impact on kids. This is also where special needs should come in, if any. Also, if your child is advanced in any area, this is where you can bring it to the schools attention. Do they like to school, are they shy?

For what I want my child to gain - I want them to grow - academically and socially. What areas would you like to see improvement.

Medical, my Pediatrician did their part and again this goes to what they need to know to work with your child. Does your child have diagnoses that are being addressed with an IEP. Does your child need meds at school. But to answer your question, I believe that there is some medical stuff that does not need to be part of their record - my opinion.

[twingles]

I agree it's silly because you can usually figure out a child within the first half day of school. Mostly I think they want to see what kind of blinders a parent has on about their child. For instance there was a parent who wanted their second grader moved to 4th grade this year in our school (so skipping second and third grade entirely) and the child was failing every assessment given at the beginning of second grade. It's good to know if you are dealing with delusional parents.
As far as medical stuff - yes some of it is irrelevant, but things like allergies are not. But if it's irrelevant (your child weighed 2 pounds at birth but is reading at a 10 th grade level) then leave it out.

[YetAnotherTransplant]

Yes, twingles, exactly! I have a child that's (been independently assessed as) working 2 grades ahead of grade-level. I was trying to figure out how to give a hint of this without being flagged as that parent.

Also poppydog, how to indicate my child is shy and slow to warm up to new situations without making it sound like a big red flag when he's really very typical. I didn't want it to seem like a hint of a larger problem, so I just left it off.

In the end I'm sure I ended up communicating very little, since I was unsure of the audience and any gotchas with putting too much info.

I ended up putting something fairly generic thing about social and emotional growth and continued love for learning in response to the second question. Which sounds cheesy I'm sure but is actually pretty honest.

[twingles]

I think it's fine to say your child is shy and slow to warm up. It will help the teacher know to keep an eye on them. Of course this is dependent how much the teacher cares about such things. The questions are generic - you never know who you'll end up with.

As far as academic ability they will be testing them the first week of school on reading and writing so no worries there. They get placed into reading groups accordingly. Again, your teacher's skill level comes into play in how challenged they will be in that group.

We've been lucky to have had some really great teachers in elementary school here. I'm glad we are finishing up before our luck runs out

[YetAnotherTransplant]

That's great! Glad you're happy with your school experience...

[poppydog]

Originally Posted by YetAnotherTransplant

Yes, twingles, exactly! I have a child that's (been independently assessed as) working 2 grades ahead of grade-level. I was trying to figure out how to give a hint of this without being flagged as that parent.

I think the way you do that is you say, "Sophie really loves to read. She's finished the Magic Treehouse Series and is really enjoying Harry Potter now." Or you could say, "Henry loves games and puzzles and has a lot of fun adding up his winnings at Junior Monopoly." But like Twingles said they will assess. I don't know how they do it in Wake or in Kindy, but this year in CHCCS in 5th grade they're doing quarterly assessments on the computer that get progressively harder until the child can't go on any further — kinda like Play online, learn online and feed the hungry | Freerice.com if you've ever played there. That way the computer finds the level the child is on.

I did have to tell my child's 2nd grade teacher that she was well past "Frog and Toad" because she was beyond frustrated at being asked to read level K (Fountas & Pinnell scale) when she was reading Harry Potter at home. That's pretty much the only time we've had an issue, though. Most every other teacher has been great about meeting her where she is.

[lamishra]

you are way overthinking this. just answer honestly if you feel compelled,, or not at all. really doesn't matter. "little princess snowflake loves to read and she 's been reading xyz series.She also likes math and has learned her numbers up to xxx. hoping she learns yyy this year but she is shy and needs encouragement in certain situations"'

[Sal_M]

I agree, don't stress it. No matter what your child will still be assessed by the teacher. I don't think there is anything wrong with saying that your child is reading, you can indicate when they started to read or what they like to read. To me that is factual as opposed to you saying they are reading at xyz grade level.

What school are you assigned to?