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For two hours a week this summer, Krissy Rubesch has been working with a tutor on reading and math. Summer schooling isn’t unusual for kids who need a jumpstart on academics for fall, but Krissy is only going into kindergarten.
Absurd. What is with pushing kids only a couple of years out of diapers? Good grief, they have their whole lives to keep up with the Joneses... why start before kindergarten??
As a mom of a 1st grader, it wasn't long ago that I was helping out weekly in her Kindergarten class. Here's the dilemma for parents whose kids are going to be in Kindergarten: So much of Kindergarten is learning to sit through school. It's learning maturity, that you can't just do whatever you want, that you have to work together with kids you might not have things in common with. Combine that with the ABCs, learning the sounds each letter makes and starting to write and you've got a lot of their plates.
My experiences as a room volunteer were that I noticed one little girl in particular who is writing and spelling many advanced words and she is reading at about a 3rd grade level. Very smart academically, but very immature. She cries a lot when she doesn't get her way, she's always the person who raises her hand to tell the teacher that someone is touching her while they are sitting on the carpet. Then there are the kids who don't even know their ABCs, let alone what sounds letters make. There are some great websites that will tell you what your child SHOULD know by the time they start Kindergarten. The best thing you can do is to sit down and do their homework with them. Pay attention to what they are doing in class....look at the papers they bring home. If you notice they aren't writing their letters correctly or they don't know the numbers in order, then you can help them with it. If your child is truly a genius, that will show in other ways. Trying to get your kid a "leg up" on the competition only will help them in one area. It's more than just academics that are started in school.
I always have to wonder why parents are in such a hurry to make their kids advance faster than necessary. It definitely is not for the kids. It's so they can show off and show what a great parent they are. Surely they must be amazing parents if their kids can read Pride and Prejudice when they are 6!
I've always thought that a kid who doesn't need to learn what the class is doing (because they already know it) is going to be bored. A bored kid is usually the kid that is the disruptive one. It's also the one who gets to be the "teacher's helper" which helps the child out very little. The "Advanced" programs usually don't start until 2nd or 3rd grade so until then, they are going to be listening to lessons that are redundant. Why do that to your kid? In addition, a child who can "skip a grade" is a child who probably is not at the emotional maturity level that the class they move up to is. Imagine taking a Kindergartner and putting them in 3rd grade. Not a good idea.
Love your kids, pay attention to what they are doing, don't hold them back but don't be in such a hurry for them to advance either.
I've always thought that a kid who doesn't need to learn what the class is doing (because they already know it) is going to be bored. A bored kid is usually the kid that is the disruptive one. It's also the one who gets to be the "teacher's helper" which helps the child out very little. The "Advanced" programs usually don't start until 2nd or 3rd grade so until then, they are going to be listening to lessons that are redundant.
I haven't done any tutoring with my child who is about to enter kindergarten but she already knows how to read much more than just sight words. I suspect that she might be a little bored in kindergarten but hope her excitement about being in school will help her still learn and enjoy it. Even without tutoring some kids know more than others and learn faster. I hope that all the early standardized testing that schools do isn't dumbing down the whole experience. Hopefully my daughter's teacher will find a way to keep her challenged.
I'm not saying my kid is a genius at everything, but from what I see of other kids her age she seems a step ahead at this point.
My five years olds just started kgarten, and I seriously considered getting them a tutor over the summer. My reason for considering it was that they seem to be behind their peers academically (abcs, 123s, etc) although they seem to be really bright kids. And, I have been trying to teach them these things along and along since they were toddlers, but they are very slow to pick up on them. The school they are going to is a magnet school where the expectations are really high for even kindergartners, so I didn't want them to be behind and become discouraged with the whole experience. I thought that getting them extra help would boost their self confidence and lessen their frustration. I am still unsure if I made the correct choice by forgoing it. I guess time will tell.
“She is ready and I saw no reason to hold her back,” says Rubesch. “But I do want her to have the confidence academically, especially against her peers who are almost or over a year older than her.”
Just as there are some parents who push sports and beauty pageants for what it does for THEM...there are obviously parent who push academics....
Hopefully, the mom will have the money around in about 4-5 years when the child needs daily psychotheraphy due to extreme anxiety and feelings of worthlessness unless she is perfect that are currently being instilled in the 5yr old...
I'm not saying my kid is a genius at everything, but from what I see of other kids her age she seems a step ahead at this point.
If I had a dollar for every parent I heard say that I would have retired many years ago.
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