Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Elementary School What should I look for in kindergarten?

Hi,

My DS5 (early 5) is in kindergarten this year. I've been very confused over what to actually expect out of kindergarten. At this point he is not learning anything. He already knows everything that he is being taught. I've spoken to his teacher about enrichment and he seems willing but his hands are a bit tied. They are not allowed to read anything above a GRL I in kindergarten and math assessments have not yet occurred. DS5 reads at a GRL P and appears to be at least in 2nd grade for math. Do I sit back and look at kindergarten as a year for socialization or do I fight for more? There seems to be no real support for accelerated learners here until 4th grade.

What is reasonable to expect from a kindergarten? I am so torn as to what I should be doing. How did you help your kids?

IMO it mostly depends how your son is feeling. If he's happy, there's no harm in treating the first year at school as a year for socialisation. If he's frustrated, disappointed with school, bored, then you need to get in there and do something about it, as much so that he knows it's not supposed to be like that as for anything you accomplish. This:
They are not allowed to read anything above a GRL I in kindergarten
would be an absolute deal-breaker for me: if I couldn't get that changed, I'd move my child.

I wrote here about my experiences with DS's (fantastic, I have to say) school at the time, e.g. here, here and here.

Good luck, and welcome!

Hi,

Thanks so much for your response. As it happens I had a meeting with reading support today. It's the first time this year that I have felt hopeful. She pulled DS5 out yesterday and assessed him. She didn't assess to frustration but she tested GRL I and he aced it. She said the ceiling had been raised a little bit this year re: level I books but it doesn't sound like much. We'll see. She'll be talking to his teacher and encouraging a lot more differentiation. I'll probably have her test him to frustration at the beginning of 2nd quarter so I have that info and so that they are really aware of what they are dealing with. He doesn't show them in his class so I guess we'll have to go about it a different way. Now if I could only get the math specialist to take him seriously.

BTW he is happy in kindergarten. However the most excited I've seen him was last Friday when his teacher decided to do a little challenge with him. He said the teacher tried to trick him with harder stuff and it didn't work. This just shows me how much happier he would be learning something and having a little challenge to work at.

Commiserating. I have a "happy, cooperative and pleasant" K-er who is mastering appearing like a typical student (despite doing most of this work 2 or more years ago). The school thinks I'm crazy to believe my ds is ahead. On a good note, we will be starting the school's AR program (where he can read at whatever level he wishes). Advanced math in K is tricky from what I hear. We just started "Xtramath" at home per teacher's suggestion. It's not the fun "conceptual" math ds loves, but at least it's giving him necessary tools. Essentially, it's a program to help kids memorize basic math facts. Ds can do advanced math, but has to recalculate simple addition /subtraction each time (beyond SUPER BASIC math) because he's never commited anything to
memory. It's free to public, just google "xtramath".

I don't think we'll succeed in getting too much challenge in class, but at least we have a direction now.

GL!

This is a lonnnnnnnnng time to rely on afterschooling and hope that your child will remain compliant and pleasant in a classroom. This is the same situation we were looking at when we started to enroll my young 5yo in local PS Kindy. We opted to homeschool instead, and honestly, looking back on this, I can't IMAGINE actually having sent her into a kindergarten setting without any differentiation. :shudders: I consider that a disaster narrowly averted-- not that DD would have "made trouble." She's an authority pleaser, but I think that it would have been "leaking out" of her in a million different ways by December of that first year.

JMO, but I tend to think that outside of a very narrow range of personality features, this is likely to not end well for anyone. You might get away with it for a year or two (depending on the child's LOG and the teacher's flexibility).

Do you have external data supporting your child's LOG?


Also-- what Colinsmum said. That kind of inflexibility is a huge red flag. The kind of sign that indicates; "Bridge Out Ahead."

Are there any multiage programs in your area. Maybe a Montessori school that groups k-3 together? That way he could work ahead but still have age peers for some activities.

I do not have any data on DS5's LOG. We have never had him tested. In fact, I don't really know how to go about it. This is all new too me. All I know is what I see at home. I'm actually questioning whether he shows me everything at home, after talking to reading support today. I was trusting that the school would figure it out and give him appropriate material. That has not been the case so now I trying to get it changed.

They do differentiate for reading but it does not seem to be enough. There has been no differentiation for math so far and they seem very reluctant to do it. I'm not sure why math is such a hard subject to get a child assessed for. After looking at the objectives he is at least in 2nd grade probably close, if not ready, for third.

I've decided to give everything until conferences after the end of first quarter. Although I'm not sure math assessments will have been completed.

He would definitely learn more being homeschooled but socialization is important for him.

This just seems an incredibly confusing and difficult road to navigate. I'm really glad that I found this forum. Yesterday, reading through old posts, I knew, for the first time, that I had found a place where I could ask a question about this and not be misunderstood or rebuffed.

Thank you!

There are several of us who have new K-ers here...and I believe we are definitely all relying on the wisdom of the experienced members on here.

My biggest mistake, thus far (there's sure to be more), was assuming that the teacher WOULD just realize ds was ahead by observing his level of work, comments in class, etc. Now I see that his teacher is fielding 20 kids and truly cannot give the one-on-one attention it takes to truly assess a child who is ahead. What they are drawn to, I'm sure, is the child who is lagging behind (or getting into trouble).

If your school has a GT program and/or your state mandates GT identification, you should be able to request an assessment for the GT program.

Yes-- but know that in some states, the mandate for identification really doesn't apply to kids in K-2. My state is one of those.

We were looking at a kindergarten setting where kids in the "top reading group!" were anywhere from Bob books to start and Henry and Mudge by the end of the year... to... kids like mine who were already devouring Harry Potter books at a nearly adult rate. They didn't see any difference between those two students, or provide anything different for them instructionally. Until. third. grade. At that point, there are "enrichment" programs and once a week pullouts. (Woohoo.)

(To be clear, this is obviously crazy.)

If that is true, then really, you're more or less stuck with afterschooling or acceleration (provided that you can advocate for it).

I guess what I'd add to Evemomma's advice is to investigate what your state does for GT kids and how it identifies them and when. That way you KNOW what your options are-- and whether or not you're asking for the moon right away, or something more routine, if unusual.

Our school system doesn't do anything GT related until 4th grade. The very act of me trying to say that he might need something more seems to have everyone on the defensive. I'm so tempted to video tape him and then have a meeting. I'm only half kidding.

The 1st quarter ends Nov. 1. The parent teacher conference will be very interesting AND nerve racking. He'll get what he needs at home until then.