Hello Kindergarten friends!

Now that we're all half-way through the year, I was wondering if people would be willing to give a mid-way update on their kindergarten experiences? Maybe take a look back at your expectations going in and whether they are being met?

I'll start.

As you may remember, I have dd5 at a private, gifted school. The school prides itself on ability grouping, so children can work at the appropriate grade level while still remaining in the kindergarten classroom.

My fears going in were that she would throw the placement test and not be appropriately placed in reading and math.

Fortunately, this did not happen. She is in a reading group (two students) ... working at somewhere around the 3rd or 4th grade level. She is also in the "most challenging" group for math.

Overall, I am pleased with how the year has gone. DD is very happy, which cannot be overlooked. However, I think there is room for improvement.

The reading group she is in seems to meet infrequently. I am thinking other groups are getting more attention from the teachers, probably because they are at various levels of learning *how* to read. This does bother me. However, dd has been learning a lot about phonics, long and short vowels, plurals, etc. during this time - which, though she doesn't need to know for reading, she does need to learn for spelling (at which she is not nearly as advanced).

My biggest problem is with the math because I do not find their "most challenging" to be nearly challenging enough. DD could have done all of this a year ago, if not more. That being said, I am not confident that dd presents herself at school to be as good at math as I know she is. She is an early summer birthday, and seems less mature than some of her classmates when it comes to clear handwriting, etc. Plus, she is not one of these "worker-bee," task oriented, children who tear through the material with a single-minded focus. If she already knows the concept, she is not going to do page after page of it, just to show you that she has it mastered. She's bored and on to something else in her mind.

I'm not sure if I am going to talk to the teacher about math or just let it ride because, as I said, dd is not complaining. I know that they have plenty of "mathy" kids at this school ... so as long as dd is in the "most challenging" group, I am inclined to believe that real challenges lie ahead. Or maybe I will talk to her teacher about it if the opportunity presents itself. We'll see. smile

Sometimes I worry that dd doesn't have any good friends in her class. But then, she is invited to birthday parties and other outside activities and always enjoys herself. I think she sees herself as a "friend to all" while I worry she is a "good friend to none." Perhaps this, too, will come with maturity.

How about you?