Daughter starting Kindergarten - already been at school for a year
#1
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Joined: Mar 2013
Location: Bay Area CA
Posts: 39
Daughter starting Kindergarten - already been at school for a year
Hopefully not a dumb noob question...I've done some searching but couldn't find a thread exactly like this...
We will be moving to California (Bay Area) in the Summer. Our daughter will be Kindergarten age (turns 5 this month) and we are hoping to educate her at a public school. Our choice of location is going to be very much driven by the school (I will be working in San Francisco and we're looking at Marin and the East Bay at this stage...)
ANYWAY - our daughter is thriving at school - she thrives on structure, seems to love the learning and her reading is progressing very well. I know all parents think *their* little ones are amazing...but as far as I can tell she certainly does well in that environment.
So - as I understand it Kindergarten is just for 3-4 hours per day. A couple of questions then:
- How have other people seen their kids coping with this? I'm concerned she'd be climbing the walls or just wanting to watch TV all the time.
- We are due to return to UK 2-3 years time - do people find themselves needing to give extra tuition / support in order to enable the children to keep up?
- Any other experience of people moving over with kids of this age...
Thanks in advance for any and all help!
We will be moving to California (Bay Area) in the Summer. Our daughter will be Kindergarten age (turns 5 this month) and we are hoping to educate her at a public school. Our choice of location is going to be very much driven by the school (I will be working in San Francisco and we're looking at Marin and the East Bay at this stage...)
ANYWAY - our daughter is thriving at school - she thrives on structure, seems to love the learning and her reading is progressing very well. I know all parents think *their* little ones are amazing...but as far as I can tell she certainly does well in that environment.
So - as I understand it Kindergarten is just for 3-4 hours per day. A couple of questions then:
- How have other people seen their kids coping with this? I'm concerned she'd be climbing the walls or just wanting to watch TV all the time.
- We are due to return to UK 2-3 years time - do people find themselves needing to give extra tuition / support in order to enable the children to keep up?
- Any other experience of people moving over with kids of this age...
Thanks in advance for any and all help!
#2
Re: Daughter starting Kindergarten - already been at school for a year
Many school districts have a paid for half day kindergarten and you can pay (as most do in my experience) to top up for the full day.
If you are not sure where you will be moving to exactly, check them all out, as it might help your decision.
#3
Re: Daughter starting Kindergarten - already been at school for a year
I'm not based in California, but this thread may help:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...ten+California
#4
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Joined: May 2007
Location: Westchester NY
Posts: 337
Re: Daughter starting Kindergarten - already been at school for a year
Numerous threads on this subject - depends on the child and the school district.
We originally came here for two years in exactly the same situation as you, with an academically gifted 5 yr old with an April birthday. The school tested her for kindergarten a standard test, shapes colours and alphabet and counting to 20 and backwards from 20-1.
Having done reception in the UK she was reading and knew 2, 3, 5 and 10 times tables and they didn't test for any of this. Luckily I took a few of her UK school books and her end of year report. I spoke with the person testing her, the principle of the school arranged a meeting with us. She spoke with my daughter and after a consultation with the district office she was moved up a grade. She did 1st and 2nd grade in the US and 3rd and 4th in the UK.
We came back here for 5th grade where she was re tested and was testing at a 7th grade math level so allowed her to go back into the year group with the friends she made in 1st and 2nd grade. Shes now a 10th grader and has had absolutely no problems being the youngest either academically or socially. For her it was the right thing to do moving her up but everyone is different and schools are different too here as you will find.
We originally came here for two years in exactly the same situation as you, with an academically gifted 5 yr old with an April birthday. The school tested her for kindergarten a standard test, shapes colours and alphabet and counting to 20 and backwards from 20-1.
Having done reception in the UK she was reading and knew 2, 3, 5 and 10 times tables and they didn't test for any of this. Luckily I took a few of her UK school books and her end of year report. I spoke with the person testing her, the principle of the school arranged a meeting with us. She spoke with my daughter and after a consultation with the district office she was moved up a grade. She did 1st and 2nd grade in the US and 3rd and 4th in the UK.
We came back here for 5th grade where she was re tested and was testing at a 7th grade math level so allowed her to go back into the year group with the friends she made in 1st and 2nd grade. Shes now a 10th grader and has had absolutely no problems being the youngest either academically or socially. For her it was the right thing to do moving her up but everyone is different and schools are different too here as you will find.
#5
Re: Daughter starting Kindergarten - already been at school for a year
There is no right, one size fits all answer to this question.
While some have had luck in moving their children ahead, both in schools that allow it and children who have thrived, others have done so and now regret it as the children get older and their child is behind in some ways. There are kindergartens here that are on par (or exceeding) Grade 1s in the UK, and there are ones here that don't even get up to the level of reception. It really is highly dependent on the school you are coming from and the new school you are attending.
It's important to remember that their education isn't just academic--it's emotional and physical as well at this age. Being a bit behind in those areas can affect a child just as much as being behind in their understanding of math or spelling.
We have a WIKI that covers some of these issues here:
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Educat...s_in_school%3F
There was this thread from awhile ago in a similar predicament.
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=643985
If you want to move the child to a higher grade, bring some examples of their classwork from their school in the UK, the course lesson plans, report cards, etc. Many educators will listen and take a look at what you have to see which is the best fit.
Good luck.
While some have had luck in moving their children ahead, both in schools that allow it and children who have thrived, others have done so and now regret it as the children get older and their child is behind in some ways. There are kindergartens here that are on par (or exceeding) Grade 1s in the UK, and there are ones here that don't even get up to the level of reception. It really is highly dependent on the school you are coming from and the new school you are attending.
It's important to remember that their education isn't just academic--it's emotional and physical as well at this age. Being a bit behind in those areas can affect a child just as much as being behind in their understanding of math or spelling.
We have a WIKI that covers some of these issues here:
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Educat...s_in_school%3F
There was this thread from awhile ago in a similar predicament.
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=643985
If you want to move the child to a higher grade, bring some examples of their classwork from their school in the UK, the course lesson plans, report cards, etc. Many educators will listen and take a look at what you have to see which is the best fit.
Good luck.
Last edited by penguinsix; Mar 6th 2013 at 1:28 am.
#6
Re: Daughter starting Kindergarten - already been at school for a year
Will have to check it out.
The school question does come up fairly regularly, especially about moving up a grade or not and how to fit back in the UK, so could find a lot of threads with experiences and opinions here as well as in the MBTUK section and then the wiki has a lot of info on education.
#7
Re: Daughter starting Kindergarten - already been at school for a year
My daughter was 5 when we moved here and had already finished reception class in England. I spoke with the principal of the elementary school and we decided she should skip kindergarten and go straight to first grade. The main reason for me doing this was we weren't sure if we would settle here and didn't want her to be behind her english classmates if we moved back. 11 years later we are still here and my daughter will graduate from high school next year, the very scary thing is she will only be 17 when she goes off to college.
She has never had any problems academically or socially being the youngest in her year. She has a huge circle of friends due to the fact that all non school activities she did were based on age. The one and only thing she hates is that she will be the last one in her year to get her driving license and will still be taking the bus to school when she starts senior year so will not get a much sought after parking space.
Our school district has full time kindergarten but some of the neighboring districts have half day. I am not sure about California so you need to check with your school district.
When my daughter started 1st grade there was another child who skipped kindergarten who didn't do well either academically or socially. He didn't move up to 2nd grade with his classmates but redid 1st grade and carried on through school with children his age.
She has never had any problems academically or socially being the youngest in her year. She has a huge circle of friends due to the fact that all non school activities she did were based on age. The one and only thing she hates is that she will be the last one in her year to get her driving license and will still be taking the bus to school when she starts senior year so will not get a much sought after parking space.
Our school district has full time kindergarten but some of the neighboring districts have half day. I am not sure about California so you need to check with your school district.
When my daughter started 1st grade there was another child who skipped kindergarten who didn't do well either academically or socially. He didn't move up to 2nd grade with his classmates but redid 1st grade and carried on through school with children his age.
#8
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Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2013
Location: Bay Area CA
Posts: 39
Re: Daughter starting Kindergarten - already been at school for a year
Thanks guys - very much appreciated. Evidently my search-fu is weak...
#9
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Location: Groton MA
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Re: Daughter starting Kindergarten - already been at school for a year
Just to add my two pennies worth.
We moved to US last October, with long term plans to stay we weren't keen on pushing our son into 1st Grade, but were concerned about half day Kindergarten. Fortunately there were still places available for full day K in our school although we do have to pay for that bit. I think the fact he's already done 1 full year in the UK set him up well to cope with the transition, allowing him to focus on making friends and learning the differences in education and school life.
Anyway having our son get on in school was our biggest concern out of the whole move to the US, fortunately he's coped amazingly well and really enjoys school making many new friends.
In terms of the level of education I’d say US K is more advanced than UK infants, which sort of balances the one year difference in starting ages. This might be a reflection on location, most parents in our school are either employed by Microsoft or by similar high-tech companies, many of the children are very advanced, some are already reading novels at 5-6 years old (personally I don’t think that’s a good thing). The situation was quite different back at his school in High Wycombe.
Steve
We moved to US last October, with long term plans to stay we weren't keen on pushing our son into 1st Grade, but were concerned about half day Kindergarten. Fortunately there were still places available for full day K in our school although we do have to pay for that bit. I think the fact he's already done 1 full year in the UK set him up well to cope with the transition, allowing him to focus on making friends and learning the differences in education and school life.
Anyway having our son get on in school was our biggest concern out of the whole move to the US, fortunately he's coped amazingly well and really enjoys school making many new friends.
In terms of the level of education I’d say US K is more advanced than UK infants, which sort of balances the one year difference in starting ages. This might be a reflection on location, most parents in our school are either employed by Microsoft or by similar high-tech companies, many of the children are very advanced, some are already reading novels at 5-6 years old (personally I don’t think that’s a good thing). The situation was quite different back at his school in High Wycombe.
Steve