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I've become "that" mom... you know, the one who makes her children continue learning during the summer. In the spring, our school sold summer homework packets. I ended up buying the math and language arts package to work on with my girls. The packets are designed to be worked on three days a week. They actually don't take that long (about 15 minutes), but when you multiply that time by four... it takes a little longer than I wanted.
Still, I want to make sure my daughters keep up with all the progress they made during the school year. They had a great year, but not without some struggles here and there. It's my hope that by reinforcing what they already know, they'll be ready to go full steam ahead when first grade starts. Plus, they'll learn a few new skills along the way.
Lest you think I'm one of those moms who takes all the fun out of summer, keep in mind that even though we're doing summer homework, our neighborhood pool has been open 11 days and we've been to it 9 of those days (sometimes twice a day). Do I want my daughters to keep learning this summer? Heck yes. Do I want them to have fun, as well? Absolutely!
We had a wonderful kindergarten year. Choosing the full day option proved to be a great decision. All of my daughters are already doing first grade work and one of them is reading at the second grade level. This was the first year that I split my daughters up in school. They were divided among two classes. We could have easily had one great teacher and one not so great teacher. Instead, we had two great teachers. They have different teaching styles, but it worked. One of the teachers is moving to second grade and I'm hoping some of my daughters will have her when we reach that grade!
Kindergarten, of course, didn't come without stress. Homework every night was a new experience for us, but I managed to figure out a routine. Kindergarten also provided our first ER visit for a possible broken bone. One of my daughters was pulled off the playground zip line by a classmate. Fortunately, it turned out to just be a sprain (and the kindergarten classes were banned from the zip line). I'm glad our first broken bone visit turned out to be a false alarm!
Just one week ago we sat through Kindergarten graduation. It was a really cute event. All the kids sang songs and then received their "diplomas." Thank goodness they won't have another "graduation" until fifth grade, because all of my girls wanted to know why we didn't host a graduation party!
Phew! My preschool job has been done for a week and already this summer is hectic! I must say, preschool was a lot of fun. It had its challenges, especially since I was hired to work in a Special Education room and some of those kiddos needed one on one support. Plus, I think I was sick at least once a month, including a doozie of a case of bronchitis during Spring Break. That's what happens when little ones pick their noses and then want to hold your hand! Overall, though, I had a great time. Sadly, I will not be returning to preschool when school resumes. The good news, though, is that I will move into the elementary building and work as a paraprofessional with the mild/moderate Special Education program. I'll miss preschool, but I think this will be a good fit. Instead of worrying about what happens to the preschoolers moving on to kindergarten who still need help, I'll be one of the people helping them!
At the end of April I decided to quit my part-time retail job. Working two jobs (even if they were both part-time) was becoming too much to juggle and really taking away from time with my family. Since I only worked in the morning preschool session, often times I would sub for other paras in the afternoon, which made for long days if I had to work my retail job that night. It was a great decision to quit. For the first time in five years my husband and I are both off on the weekends. It's a nice feeling to have the entire weekend for family time. Plus, I'm not working during summer break, so I'm really trying to enjoy this time with my daughters.
My goal is to get back to this blog, at least for the summer, and I hope that's something I can manage!
The new job is great. After a month I feel like I'm finally finding my groove. I really enjoy working with preschoolers and (so far) they seem to like me! Now if this can just become full time, I'll be happy!
Things are obviously a little different in my house now. Instead of getting four kindergarten girls ready in the morning, I'm getting them ready plus myself. So far we've made it out the door on time! (Some mornings it's quite a challenge to get out the door on schedule).
The downside is that I don't get to spend as much time volunteering in my daughters' classes, but they seem to have accepted that. I see them every day at the end of the morning preschool session. I walk by the cafeteria with my class while my girls are eating lunch. They and their friends all wave and shout at me. I feel like the rock star of kindergarten!
I really hope to have more time to spend on this blog, but I have a feeling that won't happen until the summer.
After the somewhat stressful process of deciding where my daughters would attend kindergarten, I thought my education decisions were over for a few years. Nope. Now I need to figure out next year!
A refresher on kindergarten choices: I had three options for my daughters. I could send them to the nearby charter school, send them to the public school we are zoned for or open enroll them into the public school where they attended preschool. I ruled out the charter school without ever speaking to anyone other than the secretary. During my initial phone call she informed me the school's policy is to separate multiples. I'm not opposed to separating my girls, but I want some say in the process. After a lengthy discussion with the principal where my daughters attended preschool, I made the decision to open enroll them there for kindergarten. First of all, he asked me to keep them there. I want my daughters in a school where they're wanted. He also told me it didn't matter how my daughters were separated in class (and also said they didn't have to be split) and left the decision to me on how to separate them. Plus, I visited the two full-day kindergarten classrooms and the teachers were fantastic. I don't regret my decisions at all. We have two wonderful teachers (which was important to me because we ended up with a not so wonderful teacher our final year of preschool) and we feel like we're part of the "school community." (I'm also on a first-name basis with the nurse/secretary as it seems she needs to call me at least every other week to alert me to a cut, scrape, fever, etc).
But now I need to start looking ahead to first grade. My daughters love school. I want that to continue, so I take this very seriously. (I know, I know. I make it sound like I'm selecting colleges!) The principal wants us to return next year. There are a lot of pros. My daughters have friends at this school. They're familiar with the school. We feel welcome. Plus one of the first grade teachers was Roo's speech therapist last year, so it would be nice to have Roo in her class. One of the reasons the teacher went to first grade is because she wanted more time with the students and felt like she could also address speech issues with those who need help.
I still have to consider the school we're zoned for. I have a meeting with the principal next week. Going to that school means my daughters would leave their friends at their current school, but would be in classes with children from our neighborhood. I've heard good things about this school, so now it's time for me to find out for myself. I have a lot of thinking to do!
We're nearly a month into the school year. You would think by now parents would have the drop off routine down pat. Wrong! The drop off is ridiculous. Nearly every parent thinks his or her time is more important than the person in the front of the line.
In theory, parents are not supposed to get out of their car in the drop off lane. Unfortunately, teachers have not been outside recently to help with the process. I don't have a problem with parents getting out of their car to help a child. Those of us with bigger vehicles know it can be difficult for a child to climb out while loaded down with a backpack and lunch box. When no teachers are outside, I wait to pull up to the very front of the line, get out, get all my girls out, say bye and get in my SUV and drive away. Then you have the parents who start unloading in the middle of the line, talk to their kids or a passing parent, heck, maybe even take their child by the hand and walk them to the school. No. NO. NO! If you're going to walk your child to the door, you need to park in the parking lot. It's a process, people!
Oh, and let's not forget the parents who drive into the parking lot and try to zip to the front of the line, bypassing all of us patiently waiting to unload. Yeah, I have to admit that when I have the chance I purposely make it so they have no room to pull in. It's the power of the SUV. I have to be to work, too, show some patience.
My biggest beef is the parents who peel into the parking lot. Seriously. It's a school full of young children. Slow down or it's going to be a disaster.
Now I'll step off my soap box! (for today)
When I picked up my daughters from school yesterday, one of them came rushing up, asking me if she could sell her toys to win prizes. Huh? The whole school had just come out of an assembly for a fundraiser. All the kids are being asked to sell crap (let's face it, that's what it is) and the more crap you sell the more prizes you win. (These prizes could also fall in the "crap" category as I think they're pretty much things from the dollar store).
I get that our schools are underfunded and do what they have to do to bring in money. But I hate that my nearly-six-year-olds had to sit through a sales pitch that involved being shown "fantastic" toys and prizes they can win.... if only they do their part.
I don't need what the school is selling, so why should I ask my neighbors, friends and family to cough up money for these items. Fortunately, there is an option that allows you to simply make a donation to the school. Each $10 donation counts toward a "prize" item. We'll go that route, I guess. Wouldn't it be easier to just institute an additional "fee" per family instead of asking our kids to go door to door?
People always say things to me along the lines of "I can't imagine what school mornings are like in your house." They're really not bad. My girls can dress themselves. They pick out their outfits the night before. They need some help with brushing their hair, but that's OK. I've even reached the point where I can let them tell me what they want for breakfast (within reason) and they can each have something different. I even have time to check my email before we leave the house. It's what happens after school that leaves my head spinning.
I won't rant about the pick up lane at school. It's stressful. It's chaotic. Any parent who picks up their child from school knows what I'm dealing with. Depending on the chaos of the day it can take me anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes to get home. And then the real fun begins.
Our school district has a policy that every grade, including kindergarten, has to have at least 15 minutes of homework a night. Our two kindergarten teachers send home their packets on Monday with specific things (thank goodness they send home the same things) to work on every night. The packets are due Friday. For a family with one child, this homework should truly only take 15-20 minutes (I keep track of the time). Times four... at least an hour. Phew! I can't really do the homework as a group because a lot of it is "Tell me what letter this is" or "What sound does this letter make." Sue Sue would shout all the (correct) answers before her sisters if given a chance. Couple the homework with our required reading log (which I try to do one on one, even though I'm sure the teachers expect me to read one book to all four) and we have a lot to do. Fortunately, Hubby is often home before the girls and I get home, so he's a great partner. We can split the work, so it's a little less painful. (I like doing homework as soon as we get home because everyone is still in "school mode" and they haven't realized how tired they might be).
Then it's time for dinner. After that, it's a shower or a bath. It has been in the high 90's ever since the first day of school. They have three recesses a day, plus gym class three times a week. Trust me... they need to be bathed/showered every day! Then, if they're lucky, they have 45 minutes to an hour to veg in front of the TV before bed.
Today is the first day that I'll head directly from the morning drop off to work and then from work directly to the pickup. We'll see who is the most exhausted tonight!
The novelty of eating in the cafeteria still hasn't worn off for my daughters. The excitement of packing their lunches has definitely worn off for me. Basically, I'm running out of healthy options.
Don't get me started on drinks. For whatever reason, the only juice boxes I can find are not 100% juice. My girls still struggle a bit with juice pouches (Caprisun, etc) and I can't blame them. Sometimes I have trouble opening them, too. It's easier to pack boxes, but I would much rather pack real juice than the stuff I'm finding.
Three of my girls are willing to experiment with sandwiches. They like turkey. They like peanut butter and jelly. (Thank goodness our school allows peanut butter). They'll even ask for sandwiches with just cheese. One of my girls refuses to try turkey, but she's happy with the other choices. (I should probably point out that they have insulated lunch bags and I throw an ice pack in each bag every morning). Still, I wish I could find more variety.
I tried packing carrot sticks. I stopped doing that after one my girls told me she gave away her carrots to a friend. I'll also pack a small bag of pretzels or chips. I've discovered, though, that they're not eating these at lunch. They save them for the car ride home.
My biggest issue in trying to find variety is time. The entire lunch period is about 40 minutes, but this includes a 20 minute recess. The actual eating time is about 15 minutes. I'm really struggling to find things they'll eat and be able to finish in that amount of time. Any input is appreciated!
The kindergarten moms (and dads) at my daughters' school are easy to spot. We are the moms who stayed until the first bell on the first day and reluctantly walked to our cars when our children went in the building. We are the moms who stayed until the first bell on the second day, but tried not to be overbearing as our children ran around on the playground before the bell. We are the moms who spent Friday standing off to the side, practically in the parking lot, joking with one another that on Monday we would suck it up and simply drop our children off in the front of the building, let them walk to the playground and stay out there until the first bell all by themselves (well, with teacher supervision, of course).
I don't know about the other moms, but I managed to do just that this morning. It was a little unsettling watching my four girls walk to the back of the school by themselves. Even they weren't sure they were up for the challenge. They made it to the playground and probably forgot about me the minute they climbed on the swings. I'm slowly learning to let go.
On Friday I took my daughters shopping for school supplies. Somehow, we managed to come in under $100, if you don't count back packs and lunch bags. Kindergarten school supplies are fairly basic: markers, water colors, 96 #2 pencils. Yes, 96. (OK, 24 per student, so 96 for our family). I will count myself lucky for finding the supplies at a relatively decent total price, because I'm sure next year the list will be more specific and cost much more.
Then on Friday night I received an email from the school. The first day of kindergarten has changed. Changed. CHANGED! It is now five days earlier than we originally planned.
I could go on a big rant about the principal and say things such as "How dare he?!" But the truth is, I completely understand why he made the change (even if it would have been better to have made the change at the end of the previous school year). Traditionally, full day kindergarten, half day kindergarten and preschool start on the same day. This causes what I like to call "parking lot chaos" at our school. The parking lot is small, which makes sense since elementary kids can't drive. This is all fine, until there's a big day at the school: parties, field days, and the first and last day of school. The road in front of the school turns into a make shift parking area, and this is not a road full of cautious drivers. Anyone without a student speeds through the school zone, regardless of the signs posted. It's not unusual for a police officer with a radar to be situated in front of the school during the first few weeks.
Anyway, the first day of kindergarten has been changed in order to stagger the start dates for full day, half day and preschool. I'm on board with change because of the parking lot situation and because instead of starting on a Monday we will now start on a Wednesday. This means my girls will spend three full days in kindergarten, then have a weekend and then embark on a full week of full day school.
Unfortunately, I'm now in slight panic mode. Hubby and I are now frantically trying to reschedule vacation days to accommodate the new first day rather than the old first day. Our summer break has now been cut by five days, not a huge deal, but takes away our last few days at the pool. Oh and did I mention that by the time you read this I will have just 16 days to get us ready to go back to school?! Yes, I'm slightly panicked.
When my daughters started preschool we had a fun time picking out backpacks. By sheer luck, I found bags that were smaller than a traditional backpack, which worked great since my girls weren't quite 3-years-old. I let them pick whatever character they wanted and none of them ended up picking the same thing.
By their third and final year of preschool, it was clear their backpacks had seen better days. The straps were either broken or on the verge of breaking. Plus, the once size-appropriate backpacks now seemed too small. My daughters kept asking when they could get new backpacks. My answer: when you start kindergarten.
We are now in the process of getting ready for kindergarten and my girls are excited to buy new backpacks. However, they are not excited by my rule: no characters. Cakes had her heart set on a Rapunzel backpack. I thought long and hard before I made my decision. I'm not buying new backpacks every year, although I will buy them on an as-needed basis (loss, damage, etc). My concern is that while Rapunzel (or Sleeping Beauty or Tinkerbell or Minnie Mouse) is the coveted character this year, next year she may be so "last year." Considering how much backpacks cost, I'm not going to buy a character backpack this year, only to be informed it's babyish in first grade.
I've made a deal of sorts with my girls. If they choose a "plain" backpack that will last for several years, I'll let them pick a character lunch box. They seem OK with this arrangement, but so far we haven't found a Rapunzel lunch box. (This may not matter as Cakes is now leaning toward a Hello Kitty lunch box).
On a side note, as Purex Insider, I submitted an article to Purex and it was selected for the company's website. You can read it here.
At my daughters' Valentine's Day party, the topic among the moms turned to which school our preschoolers will attend for kindergarten. One mom began telling us what a "genius" her little one is. She has her testing to enroll in a charter school for gifted children. One of her reasons is that her daughter is reading and she doesn't want her held back in kindergarten by kids who aren't as advanced as her daughter.
Ugh. It's kindergarten. Yes, kindergarten is a crucial time for children. It will, in my opinion, make or break their love of learning. But I don't think a lax year of kindergarten will prohibit a child from attending a good college. When I was mulling over where to send my girls for kindergarten (the nearby charter school? the closest elementary school? the current elementary school where they attend preschool?) a teacher in my neighborhood said "It's just kindergarten. They'll be fine regardless of the experience."
After the conversation at school yesterday, I just wonder: why do we put so much pressure on little kids to be "advanced" and "gifted"? Let me tell you something about the "Talented and Gifted Program" when I was growing up. There were no tests involved, at least none that I can remember. Your parents filled out a form saying they wanted you in the program and boom! you were in. Were some of these kids smart? Sure. Were they all? Well, I'll just say not all of them went on to have stellar high school grades or achieve a higher education.
Do I think there's a place for "gifted" programs? Absolutely. Children learn at all levels. There are going to be kids who are learning beyond their grade level and ignoring their needs can set them up for failure. But kindergarten is about so much more than academics. It's about learning to follow rules. It's about learning social skills. It's about progressing beyond preschool and learning how to, well, learn.
After hearing this mom, I spent a few minutes questioning my own decision. Should I really be putting my daughters in public school? Should I be looking into to these "advanced" charter schools that I've never heard of? Then I realized something: I have the smartest children on the planet. I mean don't all parents feel the same way about their children? My girls will be just fine.
Yesterday I had the chance to volunteer in my daughters' preschool class. I like doing this every now and then to see what they're learning and how they're adjusting. It's fascinating to see how much they've changed.
Two years ago, my daughters began their preschool experience. They attended twice a week. They were the youngest and the smallest in their class. They didn't interact a lot with the other kids, simply because the other kids were bigger and played rougher. Last year they attended four days a week and started making friends beyond their "sister-circle." This year? They don't need one another at all. They sit with friends during circle time. They play with friends at recess. They don't care if they're not sitting next to one another at snack time. They pick different "creative centers." It's really nice to see them gain some independence from one another and know they'll be OK when I do separate them in school.
As I've mentioned, their class is made up mainly of girls. A few new students have joined the class and the ratio is now 13 girls and 3 boys. Since little girls are known for their dominating personalities, I wondered what recess would be like. For the most, they all got along. Sure, there's the girl who wants to be in charge and the girl who wants to pester everyone, but all in all they seemed to have fun playing together. All of them. The boys weren't as willing to engage with the girls, but when they did, it wasn't a big deal.
Next week I'll be attending parent-teacher conferences. It will be interesting to get the teacher's take on how my girls are doing. My personal opinion is that they're thriving and loving every minute of it. Now if I can just get that feeling to last through high school we'll be set!
Since my daughters have been in preschool before, I should have known this was going to happen. Here we are just a week into the school year and they all have runny noses. It's the sign that school is back in session... and the germs are back with a vengeance.
I can't complain too much. At least my girls are building their immunity. (I'm choosing to see the positive side of this). Still, it's frustrating to have ended the previous school year with pink eye and start this year with a cold. I'm pretty sure this is a cold and not allergies, just based on some of the other symptoms.
I'm not the only parent with this problem. Most of my Facebook friends who are moms have status updates relating to illness. One of my co-workers has a third grader who missed the entire second week of school due to strep throat. It's just how it goes.
I, too, unfortunately am falling victim to the Back to School Bugs. My throat is on fire. I'm sneezing up a storm. But remember... I'm choosing to see the positive side of this, so here it goes: I would rather have all of us be sick NOW, instead of in a few weeks when we celebrate a fifth birthday times four!
We survived the first day back to preschool! Yesterday was a tad chaotic, but we managed to get through it. Since my girls missed the kindergarten cutoff by DAYS they are the oldest in their preschool class, but I don't think that's a bad thing. Get this... their class is made up of 14 girls and 2... yes TWO.... boys. I don't know how that happened, but my girls are ecstatic to have so many female playmates.
I'm a little concerned about their teacher. For the last two years we had a wonderful, amazing teacher who was let go due to budget cuts. Their new teacher is extremely unorganized. I'm hoping it improves with time, but I'm not convinced it will. Still, my girls are excited to go to school and that's what counts for now.
I just got off the phone with the person in charge of kindergarten enrollment at our local charter school. The school has full day kindergarten so I would really like my girls to be accepted. Anyway, I asked her what the school's policy is on classroom placement for multiples. She said "we really try to keep them separated." Then I asked her how many kindergarten classes she anticipates having next year. Three. So if the girls are accepted, it won't be possible to have all four of them in different classes. I already have ideas on how I would like them split up... Geesh. It's only the second day of preschool and I'm already focused on kindergarten!
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Last Thursday I attended parent-teacher conferences with our preschool teacher. During the conference I expressed my desire to have my daughters be in her class again next year. She made a comment along the lines of "well, you never know what's going to happen, but I fully intend to be here next year." Yesterday morning I called the preschool coordinator and left her a message with my request. Three hours later when I picked my daughters up from school, Ms. Melissa told me she was informed on Friday that she (and two other teachers at the school) will be laid off at the end of this school year. I'm angry on so many levels.
Our time in preschool has been wonderful. I was anxious about navigating through school with quadruplets. Instead, Ms. Melissa made it a warm and welcoming process. Last year, she always sent a helper to unload and load the girls from the car, a small gesture, acknowledging how time consuming it can be to get four children unbuckled. She has always treated my daughters as individuals rather than "the quads."
I appreciate her teaching style. She is not critical. When one of the girls struggled with a homework assignment and simply couldn't complete it, Ms. Melissa emailed me and told me not to worry. She had gone over the work with Roo, who did everything with no problems. Ms. Melissa is "on" from the minute children are dropped off. She starts the day with songs to get everyone moving. She gently reminds the students to follow the classroom rules. Her class if often the last to arrive at the pick-up spot because they are learning until the last minute. Even recess and snack time are teaching tools. At the end of recess, each student has to help do the head count. During snack time, good manners are encouraged, including saying "please" and "thank you."
It saddens me that a good teacher is being let go. I realize someone had to go, but part of me wonders if the right choice was made. I know I'm biased, it just seems ridiculous to lose someone who has had an impact on so many young lives.
To add insult to injury, I just spoke with someone else in the school district. She said this is likely just the beginning of the cutbacks.
When I wrote a post last week about whether I'll separate my daughters in school, a good question came up: will I be forced to separate them? There are some school districts with policies stipulating that siblings can't be in the same class. Fortunately, my district is not one of those.
For now, it has been my decision. As I explained in my previous post, I kept my daughters together their first year of preschool and this year, as well. Now I'm being "encouraged" by their teacher to split them next year. I just don't know. I don't intend to keep them in the same class for their entire school career, but I don't know if now is the time to do it.
Still, I'm grateful that my input matters. I have a good idea of which of my daughters are ready for some independence and who may need to be with her sisters a little longer. Yet I appreciate the input from their teacher. She sees them in an environment that doesn't involve mommy and daddy. She sees who blossoms without my protection and who relies on her sisters for comfort.
I don't like the idea, though, that there are school districts that have policies on the books that don't allow multiples to be in the same class. I really think more states need laws similar to the Minnesota Twins Law, which gives parents of multiple birth children the right to decide whether they'll be separated.
There are many reasons to keep multiples together. There are many reasons to separate them. It really needs to be an individual decision. I'm not suggesting teachers shouldn't have a say in what happens, but I think it needs to be an open dialogue between the parents and the school rather than a set policy.
I'm also concerned that with a specific policy deterring multiples in the same class, then you effectively set one (or more) of the children up for failure. Would some of my daughters be denied entrance to honors classes because they can't be in the same class with their sisters? Growing up, my parents made me take all honors classes... even in my worst subject (math). Their philosophy (and I agree with it to an extent) was that it's better to struggle in honors classes and actually learn something, than to coast through an easier class. Throw in some electives and hundreds of other students and it would be hard to keep all four out of the same classes.
Clearly I've just scratched the surface of this issue, but I'll leave you with this final thought: if a parent of a "singleton" can request that their child be in a specific teacher's class (even if you've never done this, you can't tell me you don't know a parent who has), then why can't parents of multiples do the same thing?
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At some point, every parent of multiples is faced with this question "Do I separate my children in school?" It has been something that weighs on my mind as the beginning of each school year approaches.
When my daughters started preschool last year, they only went two days a week. I talked with the head of the preschool program and she suggested I keep them in the same class the first year. She had some good points: I wouldn't have to deal with multiple field trips, multiple in-class birthday parties, all the homework would be the same. On the first day of school I was so glad I made the decision to keep them together. My daughters had were on the verge of turning three. Many of their classmates were already four. My girls were the teeny, tiniest things in that room. It helped to have them together, simply so they didn't stand out.
When the time came to figure out what to do for this year, I decided to keep them together again. I really like our teacher and I couldn't imagine only having one or two of my daughters in her class.
I'm pretty sure I'll keep them in the same class next year for their final year of preschool. But then comes kindergarten. They'll be in a different school, so initially I thought I should keep them together to help ease the transition. Then I thought maybe it's good to have all the changes come at once. I still have some time to think about it.
Until my daughters are in high school, I doubt there will be a chance to truly separate them... in other words, putting all four of them in different classes. Our school district isn't small, but it's not so big that the elementary schools have four classes for the same grade level. I'm not going to spend my time driving them to and from school all day, so splitting them into am and pm kindergarten won't work. Also, don't even suggest putting them in different schools. Not. Going. To. Happen.
So then what? How do I split them up? Two and two, most likely. But which two? We're giving them a second bedroom in the spring, so I doubt I'll want to put the "roommates" together. They'll get enough of each other at home. There are some personality conflicts on occasion and some of the girls tend to thrive out of the shadow of the others.
Clearly I have a lot to consider over the next year and a half. I'll let you know how I sort it out.
When people find out my daughters are four-years-old, they often say something along the lines of "Oh, kindergarten will be so much fun next year." I'm sure it will be... for the children who are in kindergarten. My daughters won't be among them.
Based on the guidelines of our school district, my daughters will turn five exactly three days after the cut-off for kindergarten. Three days. It has been a long, thought out decision (and I've changed my mind numerous times), but I will not ask the district to let my daughters start kindergarten in the fall.
Initially I was concerned that my daughters would get burned out on another year of preschool. We are fortunate to live in a school district that offers preschool and fortunate to be accepted into the program. Last year my girls didn't notice when all but two or three students moved on to kindergarten. At the end-of-school party this year I think they'll notice that they're among the only students not getting a "diploma." (They still receive a nice keepsake from the teacher). I think in the fall they'll notice most of their classmates are "new."
I was also concerned about having my daughters be the oldest in their class. Think about it... they'll turn six within a month of starting kindergarten. Most of their classmates will have just turned five. I am a November baby. I have been asked countless times if I was held back in school. No. I didn't turn 5 by my school's deadline (I think it was Sept. 1). I started on time by my district's guidelines. I just don't want my daughters to be asked throughout their lives if they were held back. Silly, I know, but it was still something that bothered me.
But those aren't good enough reasons to start them early. It may only be three days, but it would still be starting them early. A third year of preschool may give them the confidence that they need to enter kindergarten full-steam ahead. Being among the oldest in their class means by high school they will hopefully be at the same maturity level as their peers, rather than feeling as though they constantly need to keep up.
A mom of triplets once discussed what happened when she had to hold back one of her children. One of the ones who advanced to the next grade started doing poorly in school. When the mom got to the bottom of it, she discovered that her daughter was purposely doing bad in school in hopes of going back to her brother's class in the lower grade. Do I expect my daughters to have some struggles in school? Sure. Didn't we all? But starting them on time, rather than early, could help me avoid some heartbreaking decisions.
Besides, my daughters were born at 28 weeks gestation (and two days). Had they been born on time it would have been months past the kindergarten cut-off and I wouldn't have given their "start time" a second thought.
