Get Ready for Kindergarten Month on August, 2024: Will this 5 year old do okay in kindergarten with out going to preschool?

August, 2024 is Get Ready for Kindergarten Month 2024. Dietitians Online Blog: August 2010 Wellness News Get Ready for Kindergarten

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Will this 5 year old do okay in kindergarten with out going to preschool?

It's not a question of whether she'll be smart enough to learn the basics in kindergarten, it's whether she'll be READY to learn well in kindergarten.

If she's having those kinds of problems in preschool and they were never addressed or corrected...those same problems will still be there when she starts kindergarten. Especially since her mother didn't make her go back to preschool.

She won't be able to learn the basics if she can't listen, sit still, and treat others respectfully. She'll have a really hard time and probably refuse to go back to kindergarten too. But she won't get a choice; she'll need to finish, and it will be stressful for her and her mother.

I think she needs to have a successful year in preschool to make sure that those issues are taken care of. Preschool isn't required, so it's a good place to practice and learn those skills. She HAS to go to kindergarten, and she'll be much more successful there if she's learned the behavior stuff beforehand.

Also, kids who go to preschool ARE ahead of the kids who don't go, unless their parents make a special effort to teach them the basics at home before kindergarten starts. It has nothing to do with which kids are the smartest, but...the kids who don't know the basics may FEEL less smart compared to the kids who learned them in preschool. The kids who are ahead and the kids who are behind are treated differently in the classroom (the teachers don't do this on purpose, but it happens most of the time) Their peers are also aware of how much they already know, and treat them accordingly.

I remember a lot about kindergarten (I'm 24 now, and I work in child psychology). My college roommate and I were in the same kindergarten class together, and we were the kids who were way ahead. We helped our friends learn a lot of the basics...but they never caught up to where we were. All the way through high school, the gaps were still there. Everyone advanced, but we were still at the top. She and I competed for grades and motivated each other. I was valedictorian when I finished high school, and I thanked my friend for being so smart in kindergarten and motivating me to work hard.

It's not that our parents were competing to see who had the smartest kid. Our parents didn't even know any of this until we told them (when we were much older). It wasn't even competing for one of us to beat the other one. We tried to MATCH what the other was doing. Motivation, not pressure. We tried to help the others catch up, but they didn't feel like they could because we were way ahead. They started and didn't know their letters and numbers. My friend and I could never remember NOT knowing letters and numbers, and we could both READ in kindergarten.

Knowing the basics ahead of time has nothing to do with your child's intelligence. However, having that kind of edge can definitely give them the self-confidence they need to try hard and do well. If anything, the child won't walk into kindergarten and feel like she is behind.

I went to two years of preschool; I started when I was four. I'm not sure how many years my friend went, but her mother was also an elementary school teacher. It makes a huge difference, and she'll be in much better shape academically and behaviorally if she does preschool first for practice.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Early start in kindergarten?

Early start in kindergarten?

Many, many 4 year olds, especially boys, are not ready for Kindergarten! Starting before he is ready will either push him too much, resulting in his repeating, or his hating school. Most schools will not even allow enrollment until a child is 5, or near to 5. In my district is currently is 5 by Dec. 1, but they are phasing that up to Sept. 1.

My youngest was born in Oct. and started school too early. He repeated K. My oldest was born in Dec. and couldn't start until he was already 5. He then skipped 1st grade. He never went to preschool. You can teach him all he needs to know at home, and more!

Boys mature much later than girls. So, even if you find a school to take him young, you would do best for your son to let him start later. Make your own preschool for him to do if he wants to learn. If he wants...if he is ready...not if his dad wants it! Read to him, take nature walks, do lots of arts and crafts, learn the letters. When mine were 4 we did a letter a week. They learned how to draw the capital letter, ate a snack that started with it, did a craft related to it, made a patch with the letter for an alphabet quilt. We also did themed months. Apples, gingerbread, dinosaurs. No spelling, reading, writing. Field trips, books, crafts etc.

It doesn't matter how smart your son is, there is no way a child his age is mature enough to handle formal lessons in school. It never hurts to wait. We never hear of any parent who says "I wish we hadn't waited." We hear of those who wish they had. Dig in your heels!

Is my daughter ready for kindergarten?

Is my daughter ready for kindergarten?

Oh my gosh no! Don't let her be held back for choosing not to follow the directions sometimes. If it's honestly only 1 in 5 times that she doesn't follow directions it's not that bad. It sounds like she's just being a child and following what interests her. Maybe in kindergarten she will grow out of it.

Now, if it was an academic difficulty then I would say to wait on kindergarten. Well, maybe even then I would say start her in kindergarten because I think 2 years of K would be far more beneficial than staying in Pre-K for 2 years.

Anyways, I think your daughter will be fine. Maybe you can just praise her and offer some positive consequences when you hear she has a really good day.

Also on this date Thursday, August 1, 2024...