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We moved from Michigan to North Carolina. I have two first graders. They aren't twins and they both passed Kindergarten last year. They did have things to work on and it was recomended that they may benefit with Summer school. We were moving so that wasn;t a choice. My son is doing okay but today I was infirmed that in this state my daughter wouldn't have passed last year and they feel she now going into the third week of school should go back. I have recently looked in the the state law and things to home school but I'm somewhat concerned with doing that I will be all over the place and they won't get enough of what they need. I guessd if we want her to she can stay in first but they basically said she won't pass. My concern is that next year a public school may not place either child in the right grade as they may look down on home schooling. Thre of course is no Charter schools here either. I know that next year if my husband stays with this job and we can't return to Michigan I will not live here as there were we are there or no oppurtunities like Charter schools and that doesn't work for me. So if we stayed we would move to Virginia which is where he works anyway. My kids although not twins are 6 months apart. My daughter loves learning and I'm just crying that to put her back now will hurt her as she knows she went to Kindergarden already. Now two of my older sons did KIndergarden twice they were young fives and she is to. They didn't go into Ist and then get pulled back and didn't have a sib the same age. I also should say that I don't think it really made a huge difference as with my 15 year old it took until he was in six grade to get them to test him and stop saying he didn't try hard enough. He was tested and is special ed for Math and Laugauge Arts had that been done sooner it might have made school better for him and us as a parent that it was his problem because he didn't try hard enough. Then my oldest daughter I was told that she should retain KIndergarden and I said no and she was fine. Any suggestion from others who may have been in this same situation. My daughter is really going to be upset to go back to Kindeder garten. To those who might be thinking of moving to another state do your homework, My son who is 15 has to be toltally retested even though he just had his two year retest in Michigan. So if they conclude something diffferent than Michigan he may not quailfy for the same thing. I wish we would have never moved.
If she was a young five in kindergarten, she probably does need to go back. That lesson might have been learned with both your sons that had to do the same thing? Put her back. It's for her own good.
Find out if passing kindergarten is a prerequsite to enrollment in first grade-it isn't in the state I live in-and if not, tell them 'no thanks.
If you decide to homeschool, I recommend joining Home School Legal Defense Association. They can help you with public school enrollment after homeschooling.
'My daughter loves learning and I'm just crying that to put her back now will hurt her as she knows she went to Kindergarden already. Now two of my older sons did KIndergarden twice they were young fives and she is to. They didn't go into Ist and then get pulled back and didn't have a sib the same age. I also should say that I don't think it really made a huge difference as with my 15 year old it took until he was in six grade to get them to test him and stop saying he didn't try hard enough. He was tested and is special ed for Math and Laugauge Arts had that been done sooner it might have made school better for him and us as a parent that it was his problem because he didn't try hard enough. Then my oldest daughter I was told that she should retain KIndergarden and I said no and she was fine. Any suggestion from others who may have been in this same situation. My daughter is really going to be upset to go back to Kindeder garten.'
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I can understand why you are upset but you need to strive for objectivity in order to offer appropriate support to your daughter. Kids pick up on adult's attitudes and emotions very quickly.
Are the problems academic or developmental/behavioral or both?
If you have been through similar experiences with two other children then you know whatever the issues are they must be confronted as they will not disappear.
Do you think your daughter would do better if she could be in the same class with her brother? I remember that they wouldn't move her before, but maybe they would try that if they want to move her around anyway?
What do you think she needs to do? The reason I ask is when my now 14 yr old was in kinder at the first parent teacher meeting his teacher told me he would probably have to redo kinder. do they offer any kind of interventions where you are? My 2nd grader had to have reading intervention last year and it worked wonders on him. What about a tutor? I guess what I am trying to say is there is noone who knows your child like you do and I have to say it is much easier to hold one back in kinder than later on.
She for one is not a behavior problem at all. She in Michigan passed Kindergarden that is why if we decide to keep her in First they can't move her back, The issue is that I'm worried that the teacher could take on the feeling that in her opion she shouldn't be there The principal came out as much said she won't pass. The principal even said she can't believe the Michigan would let children go to school Kindergarden when they are born in Nov or early Dec. She was born in Nov. She was put in Title I but it has only been three weeks of school and it was the second week before she started to get that one on one help. She does well in scpeeling but they have 10-15 vocab words everyweek and they are tested on them on Friday. Plus 5 spelling words and they have 4 Mth problems everynight. We work with them everynight. She and her brother are both drug exposed she now knows her spelling and she took a practice test tonight and got 100% but on Friday she may not remember. She remembers what she hers in stories her teacher said. Her teacher tested her with some test she does in the clasroom and she didn't compare to what they say a first grader was. After school I kind of asked her some What If questions. What if you went to Kindergarden again. She said she would be very mad and she loves First grade. In her mind she is doing really well and doing her best. I'm not sure what to do as I really wonder if the school will just push it back in my face as the year goes on that I kept her there. I would really like to homeschool and have worked in the schools as a para pro but don't have a lot of monet to spend and need some kind of guildeline to follow to know what to teach. Also I had heard that next year if they go back to public school they may not except them as being the grade level they are. They won't put them in the same class. She has more homework then he my son does because the work she has his teacher does in in class as part of his centers.
I read your thread in the education forum as well. I think you were on the right track with your idea to homeschool. School is obviously not the right place for your child at this time. As a parent, you know what your child needs and you will be able to work through it. Homeschooling can be scary at first, but it is so rewarding. Your child will be able to go her own pace without the fear of teachers or labels or anything like that. I am sure you could find some support groups in your area. You can buy homeschool materials from many sites and catalogs (Rainbow Resource is a good one). The E.D Hirsch books: What your _______Grader Needs to Know can also be very helpful.
You know what is best for your child. Good luck with wahtever you decide!
I believe you mentioned that although she passed Kindergarten, she did need to work on some stuff. Being a first grade teacher, I know that Kindergarten is...somewhat....easy...it is nothing compared to first grade (though many parents think it is)...and if a child struggles in kindergarten (the comment "need to work on...), usually, that is a sign.
I don't see why you would think it would be beneficial to keep her in first. Obviously there has been some talk regarding your child, if the principal is involved. If she's definitely going to fail first (it's usually- not always- but usually, if a child is below a certain point, a teacher can tell that for that child to pull herself up to passing is *usually* not going to happen), then why make her have a frustrating, first grade year when she might wind up hating it because she will struggle throughout, perhaps not have a clue of what is happening, start to realize that her peers are so much ahead of her and then her self-confidence will be affected....it's not that schools WANT to retain students, it doesn't look good on their record so actually schools try not to, so if they are already suggesting it........
Plus, she is young. I can't believe your first state had a cut-off that late that allows children to enter first grade at 5 years old for a couple of months. She is basically the age of a Kindergarten student.
IMO, if she had stuff that she needed to work on in Kinder, then she will be unable to hand the first grade material, she is young, most likely will not be successful in first grade, so I would put her in Kinder. I wouldn't just homeschool just for the fact that you don't like what you are being told. What if it is for the good of the child, and what would be best?
Have you requested her to be tested for some kind of learning disability?
I moved from Michigan to Arizona last February. My son is the exact same age as your daughter (born 11-02). He was eligible for kindergarten, as the cut-off date is December 1st in Michigan. I was going to put him in it, because he is very smart and had over one year of pre-school, where they practiced writing, among other things (he knew his alphabet and many sounds, could count to 20, etc). However, my husband and I discussed it and realized that MI was an odd one out on the cut-off date, plus that many states were recommending that if the child had a summer birthday (say they turned 5 in July, with a mandatory cut-off date of being 5 by Sept. 1), that they be held back.
We knew we would most likely not be staying in MI, and did the math--we figured that he could end up being almost 2 years younger then his future classmates in another state! So we put him in the Kindergarten-Readiness class, which all told, was not that different than the regular kindergarten. Now that he has started here--Wow! What a difference in expectations--and this is just kindergarten! His teacher informed us that they would be expected to "hit the ground running" on the first day of 1st Grade; that they would be expected to read a worksheet and know what to do and do it. She also expects almost perfect penmenship by the end of the year, as well as being able to read the "100 First Words" (the 100 most common written words).
Sorry for the long post--just want to let you know that you aren't going crazy: Michigan's education requirements do seem to be vastly different from other states. That said, if it was my daughter, I would arrange to speak with her teacher for a good amount of time. Explain the stresses your daughter has had to go through recently and how you are concerned that switching her back to kindergarten would be too much. Then discuss with the teacher how she forsees problems if your daughter is consistently struggling in class. Perhaps you can arrange a meeting between you, her teacher and the kindergarten teacher? I would leave the principle out of it, since you have already had problems with him/her. When you reach your decision, I would explain to your daughter that states run their schools differently and that if she started in NC, she would only be kindergarten right now. Make the focus on the difference in schools, not in her. If you decide to keep her in 1st grade, I would let her know that she might get to be in first grade again next year, because of the difference in schools.
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