Kindergarten (Houston, Sugar Land, Early: daycare, home, preschool) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

rubynicholson77056 · 12-09-2008, 12:36 PM

My daughter just turned 4 in August. She started a pre-k program in September. Prior to this, she never attended daycare, mother's morning out or anything of that nature. However I took time out of each day to make sure I was "kinder-prepping" her. She knows her alphabets, can identify them, can count to 20 and identify each number, knows shapes, colors, can identify some words, can spell her name and write some of the letters (she struggles with the K), can identify shorter/taller, bigger/smaller...etc. Her pre-k teacher says she struggles with coloring, cutting, arts and crafts...etc. She feels I should hold her back a year because of the lack of arts skills, her age (she is the youngest in her class b/c of the Sept 1st rule) and her maturity compared to the 5 year olds in her class. I mean I know arts and crafts are a part of kindergarten, but since when does it take precedence over academics? Did the "No Child Left Behind Act" make it this complicated? Has anyone else held their child back or been told that they should? The outcome?

MommiePreMed · 12-09-2008, 12:53 PM

Coloring, cutting, and many other art activites utilize fine motor skills. If your daughter's fine motor skills are not deveolped she may have trouble writing or mastering other skills that are standard for kindergarten children.

The next school year is 8 months away. A lot can change in 8 months. Tell the teacher that you all will evaluate your daugter at the end of the year, or before the new school year.

Maybe So · 12-09-2008, 12:56 PM

[quote=rubynicholson77056;6489062] Her pre-k teacher says she struggles with coloring, cutting, arts and crafts...etc. She feels I should hold her back a year because of the lack of arts skills, her age (she is the youngest in her class b/c of the Sept 1st rule) and her maturity compared to the 5 year olds in her class. I mean I know arts and crafts are a part of kindergarten, but since when does it take precedence over academics? quote]

Believe it or not but those skills have a connection with a childs fine motor skills, reading skills etc. Being able to color in the lines is actually a big deal. Cutting helps strenghthen the muscles in the fingers which in turn will help with handwriting. Talk to the teacher and find out more information. Ask her the implications of your child's struggles. It is not always a bad idea to be the oldest in ones class. Early educational success and self confidence go a long way. Good luck.

icon7 · 12-09-2008, 12:58 PM

I couldn't color worth a crap...but I was left handed and was told later that this took more time to develop...by 7th grade i had won several awards at the Houston Livestock show and Rodeo for my paintings and drawings...Don't let them hold her back...but i remember Kindergarten being a waste for me because I already knew all my letters, numbers, addition, and subtraction. My dad had taught me at an early age and I grew up watching sesame street and that other program that came after it on channel 8

Plus Lefty scissors were hard to come by back in the day...

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubynicholson77056

My daughter just turned 4 in August. She started a pre-k program in September. Prior to this, she never attended daycare, mother's morning out or anything of that nature. However I took time out of each day to make sure I was "kinder-prepping" her. She knows her alphabets, can identify them, can count to 20 and identify each number, knows shapes, colors, can identify some words, can spell her name and write some of the letters (she struggles with the K), can identify shorter/taller, bigger/smaller...etc. Her pre-k teacher says she struggles with coloring, cutting, arts and crafts...etc. She feels I should hold her back a year because of the lack of arts skills, her age (she is the youngest in her class b/c of the Sept 1st rule) and her maturity compared to the 5 year olds in her class. I mean I know arts and crafts are a part of kindergarten, but since when does it take precedence over academics? Did the "No Child Left Behind Act" make it this complicated? Has anyone else held their child back or been told that they should? The outcome?

cbreeze22 · 12-09-2008, 01:09 PM

I don't have personal experience with this, but I've taught elementary grades and have an insane number of family and friends who are master-degreed teachers. Topics like this come up a lot when they talk about their jobs.

Mommie is right on. December is WAY too early to make that determination, especially with a child who is brand new to structured classroom learning. Yes, the skills the teacher mentions are important as mentioned, but there's still more than half of the school year remaining. If the issue is her not yet having these skills as opposed to not improving them steadily, then it's a non-issue right now.

Like Mommie said, I think the subject should be dropped and re-evaluated around April. In the meantime, it may help with your daughter's confidence if she could do the same activities at home, where she's been more comfortable and doesn't have the pressure from this teacher (or seemingly more advanced kids who have just had more exposure to a formal curriculum).

Hope this helps some.

MommiePreMed · 12-09-2008, 02:00 PM

Kumon makes quite a few workbooks if you are in need of ideas to help your daughter master these skills.

We live in the era of NCLB, so I would do all that I could to keep my child above the level mandated by the school system.

rubynicholson77056 · 12-09-2008, 02:07 PM

I did forget to mention that she is a lefty...I also thought it was a little too early for her teacher to come to that conclusion...maybe she just wants to keep me paying $500 a month for an extra year! LOL...Thanks for all the great advice...will definitely order those Kumon books!

icon7 · 12-09-2008, 03:18 PM

Yes. Another Lefty...We are the chosen ones! Yeah, my handwriting was always crap too. I used to get grades for hand writing in elementary school until i was in 3rd grade and they were always D's or D-. I would think a school teacher would know that lefty's, for the most part, struggle a bit more with writing and stuff. it is funny that only 7% of the population is made up of left-handers, But 15%+ of doctors and 23%+ of the engineers are Leftties...i read that in a book my sister gave me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubynicholson77056

I did forget to mention that she is a lefty...I also thought it was a little too early for her teacher to come to that conclusion...maybe she just wants to keep me paying $500 a month for an extra year! LOL...Thanks for all the great advice...will definitely order those Kumon books!

Topaz · 12-09-2008, 04:15 PM

Left-handed trivia of the day from Wikipedia: "Though constituting less than 10% of the general population, four of the last six U.S presidents have been left-handed: Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. President-elect Barack Obama is also left-handed, as was his opponent, John McCain."

Anyway, Sugar Land parents can be quite crazed about doing a lot of school prep with their children. I bet a lot of the children in your daughter's pre-K class have had hundreds of hours of arts and crafts practice by now. My son's kindergarten teacher said many Sugar Land parents do 3 hours per evening of extracurricular study with their children. (I think this sounds quite silly but it is interesting to know). I agree with everyone who recommends that your daughter get more practice at home and then it will be easier to decide if she really needs another year of preschool or not.