In February I posted about Logan’s teachers advising me to think about putting him in Junior Kindergarten rather than Kindergarten. I concluded my post with this:
“I’m just hoping that his presence (or lack thereof) in junior kindergarten isn’t the swing vote that decides on its existence.”
Guess what, ladies and gentlemen? Sure enough, Logan’s presence (or lack thereof) in junior kindergarten IS the swing vote that decides on its existence!
The school superintendent cornered me in the hallway the other day when I went to pick Logan up from preschool.
“So, are you going to send Logan to Junior Kindergarten?” he casually asked me.
“Um, I’m not sure yet,” I said, wondering what the rush was.
“Well, we’ve got two kids signed up right now and if Logan goes too, we can definitely have a Junior Kindergarten program,” he told me.
Great. So if I don’t send him to Junior Kindergarten, there most likely won’t be one next year. No pressure.
The thing is, his preschool teacher said that he could fall behind, but she told me that intellectually, he’s up to the challenge. Her worry is that with kindergarten being more like first grade used to be these days, kids are learning at an incredibly fast pace and Logan gets so into his own world, he could fall behind, especially with the fairly large class expected next year.
Logan at his 5th birthday party 3-14-09
So I’m torn. The factors I’m weighing are these:
Pros for sending Logan to Kindergarten: He’s intellectually ready; he will be 5-1/2 when school starts; he’s tall for his age; he will be there all day, every day, which seems like plenty of time to learn what he needs to.
Pros for sending Logan to Junior Kindergarten: School is only 3 days a week, which he would no doubt prefer since he complains about going to preschool now, just 3 mornings a week; we won’t risk him falling behind because he will only be with two other kids and will have a lot of individual attention from the teacher (his current preschool teacher).
Cons for Kindergarten: The intense schedule (a full day of school 5 days a week, plus nearly 2 hours on the bus every day); the possibility that he will get lost in the crowd and/or not be where the other kids are; the school probably won’t be able to have a Junior Kindergarten if Logan goes to Kindergarten.
Cons for Junior Kindergarten: Half of each day consists of preschool, which Logan has already been attending for the past 2-1/2 years; he may become bored; he’ll be 19 when he graduates from high school.
What I keep coming back to is this: The JK didn’t even exist until this year. Sending Logan to Kindergarten wouldn’t have even been a question a couple years ago, when there wasn’t that option because I definitely wouldn’t send him back to preschool.
Basically, it seems to me that he would be fine either way, which actually makes the decision harder!
Have any insight or comments for me? All are welcome and appreciated!
It just so happens that this is a topic of intense interest for me! Not only do I have 4 boys and an interest in education, but I’m currently working on an article about PK-K boys and school.
I talked to a couple experts on Fri, and the upshot is this: If you have any doubt at all about sending your son to K, wait a year. Boys DO develop differently than girls — specifically, the areas of their brains that handle fine motor skills and language arts mature more slowly in boys than in girls — and with K becoming the old first grade, it can make a difference.
If you want more info, email me or msg. me in FLX.
Jenny
http://www.bloggingboutboys.blogspot.com
I wrote to you in February. I have a son in fourth grade (Ben) who sounds very much like your Logan! Our advantage was that his kindergarten class was small so that helped. Since you asked for comments, here goes:
Although the class will be big and the day long, I think you should put Logan in Kindergarten. You shouldn’t be bullied to put him in the junior K (and that is what they are doing when they say “Well if you don’t put him in, there won’t be a junior k). Like you said, half of it will be preschool which he already has had.
Even though the class is large and Logan is sure to have his moments, it sounds like maybe the accelerated curriculum may actually appeal to your son. I was worried about the same thing with my son (curriculum) and it turns out that my son loved it. He still enjoys school when it’s more challenging that when not. I thought the long day/every day would be too much for my son, but he actually adapted very well. My daughter that I thought would do much better with a full day is actually having a harder time adjusting!
Those “spacey” moments still occur, but my son gets a lot more than even I realize. It drives me and his teachers crazy when we think he’s not listening, but we talk to him about how he needs to attend to the task at hand and it helps.
You mentioned that Logan will be 19 when he graduates (if he goes to Junior kindergarten). That will be hard for him as he gets older. How would you have felt if you were 19 as a senior in high school? At that age they already think they’re grown ups and you won’t be able to tell him otherwise. If at 18, you both feel he still needs a little time, then he can have a year off before starting college. One of my former kindergarten students did that this year and it was a wonderful experience for him. He had time to mature and got great job/volunteer experience as well.
In the end you’ll do what you think is best, but I get the feeling from your posts that you would put Logan in kindergarten if it weren’t for the class size. Small classes are obviously ideal, but a well managed class can make a huge difference if the class is large.
Oh the decisions we must make as a parent. Let’s hope this is the hardest one you’ll ever have to make.
Take care.
Don’t make a decision based on what the school needs (pre-K). You’re just nice and accommodating enough to take that into consideration! So have you asked Logan what he wants to do? He may have a strong opinion that helps you decide.
I have girls so don’t have any idea about the development stuff, but I say if he’s old enough and smart, send him to Kindergarten. He might even like school better if he’s challenged by it.
Jenny,
I’ll probably be contacting you. It’s a very interesting subject, isn’t it?
I didn’t have any doubt about sending Logan until the teachers started suggesting that I “think about” Junior Kindergarten. He’s very smart, so that’s not the issue.
I’m anxious to see your article when it’s completed and published.
Sarah
Micki,
Thank you so much for your thoughts on this. I appreciate you sharing your own experience with the same sort of situation, only from the *other* side.
When I read what you said about Logan possibly preferring the accelerated curriculum, a light bulb went off. The reason he gives me for not wanting to go to preschool? “It’s boring.” I’m so glad you said that!
I agree, 19 seems awfully, even ridiculously, old to be graduating from high school. I know many kids these days are that age, but my guess is that they are closer to the cut-off line than Logan is.
Maybe another reason I’m a bit torn is because I like the idea of having him home a little bit longer, even if it’s only 2 days a week. At the same time though, I’m looking forward to having all that time to work uninterrupted.
Like anything, no matter what I do, each choice has its negatives and positives. In the long run I need to do what’s best for *him*, of course.
Thanks again for your comments. I appreciate your insight very much!
Take care,
Sarah
Gretchen,
You know, I did actually ask him sort of casually last week and he said that he’d rather go to Junior Kindergarten. I don’t know that he had thought about it very much though or if he understands the implications of each.
The factor I think he has considered the most is that he would be able to keep Judy for a teacher. He adores Judy. Everything is, “Well, Judy said . . .” While that aspect would be great for him, I’m very afraid that he will continue to be bored.
One of his best friends is Landen, who will be in Kindergarten next year, and I know he’d like to be with Landen. They are only 6 months apart in age (Landen is older).
Thanks for your thoughts on this. The overwhelming majority of people seem to think I should send him to Kindergarten, his dad included.
Our kindergarten cutoff age is being 5 by December 1st. That seems kind of late to me, it seems like Sept 1 or June 1 would be the way to go. We also have a young 5s program which kids are screened for. My son, whose birthday is in June, screened well into the Kindergarten ready range. The only possible reason they offered to encourage young 5s for him was his age, but we know our son is Kindergarten ready. When it comes down to it, you know your son, and you will make the best decision for him.
Wow, December 1st? That’s the latest cut-off I’ve ever heard! Ours is Sept. 1st.
Thanks for your vote of confidence!
Sarah
My son’s school assigned him to a “junior” kindergarten which was basically just another year of preschool. He is also very tall and he felt isolated and alone all year. He saw all of his friends move on to kindergarten and it was quite emotionally traumatic for him! He was also intellectually ready, but the school thought he did not have the ‘social skills’ to be in the regular kindergarten class. The problem with junior kindergarten is that there are usually only a few kids in the program, so the social outlet is very limited and there is usually very little educational content. There is a huge difference socially between a four year old and a five year old, and the five year olds in these classes have no one to play with. My son was very advanced at the end of his junior kindergarten year because we taught him at home and he ended up going straight to first grade, so he never had a kindergarten experience at all. I spent quite a lot of time researching the subject of redshirting or retention in kindergarten. If you go to googlescholar.com and type in “kindergarten retention” you will get a long list of articles from academic journals. There is not a lot of support in the liturature for junior kindergarten programs.
Thanks so much for passing on this information, Katherine. I’m glad your son was able to eventually get where he needed to be. I didn’t even think about the limited social outlet my son would have in Junior Kindergarten.
Really, it doesn’t make sense to put him in JK if they think his social skills leave something to be desired. Wouldn’t he do a lot better in a bigger, more structured class? Very interesting perspective!
Thanks for your input!
Sarah