Kinder Prep

you can buy workbooks at Target or at bookstores...then get a sticker chart..when he does some work in it..you put a sticker on his chart..when he gets to the end he gets a prize..my son will say he's too tired to work in his workbook but if i work with him and put stickers on the finished pages he enjoys himself..especially if i praise his work..he is also going into kindergarten..only goes to preschool 2 afternoons a week..so i bought the workbooks to help him..he can spell his name..knows the alphabet and counts to 100..so try the workbooks and work with him..they enjoy it when we sit w/ them and help..make it fun.

D.

Start him a routine NOW! He will be expected to sit and listen for long periods of time, whether he starts K now or next year. If he can't sit still, he might be considered a distraction in class and I'd hate for him to start his academic career on the wrong foot.

I am not a huge fan of kids starting K knowing everything - K is an introductory learning environment that should be fun, creative and structured. I think for the most part they just want kids to know how to put on their own shoes, wash their own hands, put on their own jackets and unpack and clean up their own lunches. If they can sit still, pay attention and obey well, then they will learn alot.

I suggest after bfast, read a beginner reader to him (it is usually in large print w/small sight words), then have him work on a puzzle, and then have him color - see if you can get him to color in the lines so he can build his small motor skills muscles rquired for writing. I know you said he hates doing all this but in reality, he will be expected to sit through those kinds of activities, maybe even harder activities, in K. If you do so every day, that should take about 20-30 mins and then reward him by playing outside. Each week up till school starts, add on a few minutes and soon you may find he can sit and pay attention longer than a minute. Build up his attention span - that is a good thing!

You can do an online search of the kindergarten requirements in your state online. You can even find information about the standards for the kindergarten year (what they are supposed to know by the end of K). That is if your only concern is academic.

I've worked with 4-5 year olds for 11 years and I own one this year myself. I've found that boys in general get interested in writing/drawing later than girls, almost always after they are already 5, and that it will happen very quickly like a switch. Just bam, and one day he will want to write and draw all over the place.

They all eventually get the academic stuff. Here in Massachusetts K isn't even required by law, the kids just have to meet the academic standards and age requirements for first grade. So as long as that stuff is learned before first, they are good.

The concern shouldn't be academic at all. In all my 11 years I've only seen one kid that I recommended repeat the K year because of his academic skills. The concern should be social emotional.

Is your son confident enough to be in a room full of strange children and still make friends without you having his back? Is he tempered well that he won't yell or fly off the handle at the first sign of a disagreement? Is he beginning to try and solve social conflicts by himself and through talking, reasoning and cooperating? Does he finish what he starts? Does he become easily frustrated? These are all things to look at when considering whether or not to hold a child for a year or send him to K right when they meet the age requirement.

I don't know your boy, so I can't judge him or give you an opinion about him, just generalities I've seen over the years. Most boys who are 5 after June benefit greatly from an extra year. I've seen both situations and lots of permutations. Some go when they are 5 and do great, others go when they are 5 and have a very hard time. I've never seen a problem with a kid that's waited, they have all done well.

I hope some of that helped.

The research shows that it's recommended to wait a year for a child, especially a boy, who will be 5 before the Fall. I did that for my son. My parents did that or me and I know socially that I adjusted much better than friends who were too young and immature. As a Speech Therapist, I find way too many parents putting in their children who are too young and immmature to focus and simply not developmentally ready, as well as socially. Kindergarten is demanding these days with an all day program, no playdough or nap time like the old days. My son had an hour of homework every night. Did you know in most other states, outside of CA, that they will not admit a child into Kindergarten if not 5 by July 1. I heard CA is also moving up it's date, one month each year for the next 5 years. Give your child the benefit of time. No reason to rush them into a fast paced academic environment he will be in for many years to come.

We just had kindergarten orientation. They told us our children should be able to recognize all the letters and know their sound. They also said they would like the children to know how to write their first name. It was mentioned to practice cutting. And they mentioned to practice writing the letters. Our preschool teacher said that cutting is a huge skill in kindergarten, as is letter and number recognition.

If you are really concerned, turning 5 in July will make your son one of the younger children in his class. There is no harm in waiting a year and letting him go to preschool before starting kindergarten. I would talk to the school he will be attending and see if they can do an evaluation to help you decide what is best for your son.

Hi!
I am going trough the same thing with my boy who would be 5 at the end of November. He is a late talker so I will hold him back for a year, he almost finished a year of preschool and still needs to learn how to focus. I think it would be a good idea to consider ( and discuss this with your family of course) to put him in a preschool maybe three times a week and consider to hold him back until he learn how to focus and get more mature as well to learn his abc's and numbers and to like in my case help my son socialize also.
Sometimes is better to start slowly to integrate kids into new learning enviromments so they have time to learn and adapt to the new experience I think.
Good luck and keep us posted, we are in the same boat!
A. :)

Is it possible to have him in a pre-kindergarten class for the year before starting kindergarten? Some school districts have this an option - including ours, if the child meets certain criteria (like a late birthday close to the cut-off, relative immaturity, etc.). Pre-K is still separate from 3 year old preschool and 4 year old preschool. My friend's twin boys are in 4 year old preschool now, but they won't be 5 until Oct and the cut-off is Dec.1, and she can tell already they are not going to be ready for kindergarten - they will still be very young, they are twins, they are boys, and their speech needs some work. So they are qualified for the district's pre-K program. A Montessori preschool or pre-K program might be a good option too to help him get an extra year in before kindergarten - again, depending on his age and how young he will be compared to the other kids in the class (an extra year would make him 6 when he starts). I would also be in contact with the school where he would be going to kindergarten and find out what they expect the kids to already know and be able to do prior to starting, and what skills they will want them to gain while they are there.

My son will be 5 in July as well. I might seem like I'm just jumping on the bandwagon, but this is a very emotional topic for me. I have always wanted to wait until my son turned 6 to send him to kindergarten, because I've heard that boys generally need that extra year to be mature enough to sit at a desk, listen to the teacher, work quietly and independently, etc. My husband was very surprised, as he just thought, "If he's 5, he goes to kindergarten."

I have talk to so many parents of summer birthday kids, and about 90% of the time they either say they were glad they waited or wished they had waited. I have talk to a few who said they sent them and have no regrets.

I mention this mostly because you said he loves to run and play and really has no interest in color or reading books. That's very common and age appropriate! So much can change in one year, and he might really thrive in a PreK or 4 Year Old Preschool Class.

Our son is just finishing his second year of preschool (1st year is 2 mornings a week, 2nd year is 3 mornings a week). We were going to send our son to a PreK at a private school, so that he would continue to learn and grow and then begin kindergarten when he's 6. We are so fortunate that our school district has the funds to do a "Transitional Kindergarten" for those kids who are eligible for Kindergarten but have summer birthdays or are simply not ready. It was really the answer to our prayers, because now our son does not have to change schools again in a year.

I would look into anything your school district might offer or simply look for a preschool or PreK program that looks like a good fit. He would learn all the things you are concerened about (letters, writing, etc.) and would have another you of a more "play based" environment. It might really help him to excell in kindergarten and school in general.

I echo what mallory p said. We bought those letters for our son, 2. We store the letters in a bag at the end of his tub and pull out random letters, now he knows most of the alphabet and it only took about 3-4 months. We haven't started forming words, but reading Mallory P's comment made me realize that is the next step, so we will start that soon.

The best thing that you can do is go to Target and get Tub Letters...they are foam letters that he can play with in the tub and stick up on the wall. that is how my youngest learned to read actually. What you do is just put all the letters in and really just make a game of it. Pull the letters out and have him say the letter and you reinforce the sound it makes. After a while of doing this you can start putting together 3 letter words with the sounds he knows. Pretty soon it will click for him and he will be reading! The thing is you have got to make it fun...and follow his lead. If he wants to do it for only 2 minutes then fine. My son was like yours-he never wanted to sit still to 'learn' anything and was instantly bored when I suggested it. This method worked like a charm and he entered K reading!
I wouldn't worry about the writing of the letters-that will come and it can be really hard so you don't want to frustrate him. Maybe try it with sidewalk chalk if you want to.

Does he like to play games? You could try to find some games involving the alphabet. Go fish cards with the alphabet are a good way to do this.

I would say getting him to recognize all letters of the alphabet upper & lower should be your number one goal this summer. Then if he does well with that, you could also work on sounds after that.

But to be honest my daughter completed her first year of preschool and still didn't recognize all the letters and knew no sounds. Her preschool teacher said to work over the summer. I tried, but my daughter doesn't respond well to me going over things with her. I was worried when on the first day her Kindergarten teacher said, if they didn't recognize all their letters and know all sounds by the 1st marking period they were children they thought of as "at risk". Boy was I pleasantly surprised by the first marking period, she knew them all, knew the sounds and much more!

go to starfall.com it is a great website.

Kids come to kindergarden at all levels. I went to the parent meeting.. and found out in kindergarden they will learn all letters and sounds.. to count to 100 , to count by 10s, count by 5s, count by 2s, they do rhyming words,

My daughter was 5 in december so she will go to kinder as one of the oldest kids.. she know all of the things I mentioned.. but .. she is immature cries easily..

There is a floor mat at Babies R Us or probably any store that has toys it is a foam mat with the alphabet on it and some numbers. Make a game out of it and that will probably help him recognize his numbers and letters. Even get him to spell some words with the letters. It is fun because the letters and numbers come out and you can peice it back together again. You can move things to different places so that he doesn't just go off of memory of where that number or letter was placed.

We got alphabet go fish

If he really likes to play outside, get some chalk and play games outside with letters. Hopscotch, using letters or numbers and other games that require him to jump to, stand on, or circle different letters - anything you can think of.

Leapfrog makes fridge magnets that have all the letters and their sounds.

Also, I sell Discovery Toys and we have a few fantastic, fun games for teaching kids their letters that are intended for kids ages 3-5.
ABSeas:http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/esuite/control/product?P...

Letter Fun Lotto:http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/esuite/control/product?P...

Short Vowel Fun: http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/esuite/control/product?P...

All three are very fun and it's a nice way to teach them without them feeling like they are learning. My son's preschool just bought several things from me to use in the classroom.

Also, one other thing I do with my son is just point out letters and words in the real world. Whenever you see a big sign, you can talk about it and mention what letters you see. Ask him to search a billboard for the letters in his name. To teach the sounds, go on a walk or to the park and talk about things you see (look at the slide - what letter do you think ssssslide starts with?)

Good luck!
K.
http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/karenchao - great products for all ages. Everything comes with a lifetime warranty!