Post by Monica Geller on May 26, 2020 17:56:20 GMT -5
I’m not sure what we’re doing. DS1 will go to K in the same district I teach in. I was in a meeting with the superintendent last week regarding plans for next year. Basically, a “normal” year isn’t looking promising at this point (which I completely understand) and they’re trying to get feedback from all stakeholders. As a middle school teacher our discussion didn’t involve their plans for Kindergarten, so I don’t know what they’re considering. But DS1 is READY for K so I won’t hold him back. But if we end up in a distance learning situation where I’m expected to teach my classes and help him with Kindergarten, I’m nervous about how that will go! I am not an early Ed person. 😂
Post by dancingirl21 on May 26, 2020 19:15:27 GMT -5
DS1 is in kindergarten this year. He is a July birthday and we held him. So he’s almost 7, going into first grade. He’s done really well with K, but that is likely a combination of his age and starting the year in the classroom. We held him based on recommendations from his pre-K teacher and it was the right decision for him.
DS2 is a June birthday and turns 4 this June. So he would be a Fall 2021 Kindergartener, if we send him on time. I hadn’t really thought about all the kids that may be held this year that would also be a part of that class. It could change things for us, but we’ll see.
Post by wizardressofoz on May 26, 2020 19:53:17 GMT -5
My DS is 5 now, with a November birthday. I had been planning to send him to a private full day kindergarten with excellent wrap around care for a year, and then to public school (our public school just offers 1/2 day kindergarten and there would be misc logistics for before/after care. I WFH full time (even outside of Coronavirus) and have a DD aged 3 who goes to daycare, and my DH works in an office 4 days a week. So, summary, like many others, things have been a total shitshow for the last 3 months.
I’m similar to a PP. I cannot stomach the idea of paying for private school...for kindergarten....with regularly scheduled distance learning. He’s socially /emotionally a little young, but I was planning to send him this fall. I might send him to public school and deal with the logistics on my own for the rest of the day,,,since, hey, got a lot of practice in the last few months. I don’t know, the school doesn’t know what they’re doing yet, and it’s a mess. Stressful.
I don’t have one going into K, but if I did, I’d either find a private K or wait. I would not want them to go to K remotely. The social skills learned in K are so important.
Our school is letting us email registrations and will be asking people to come in person later to bring things like original copies of birth certificates. DS is a November birthday and cutoff is September. I don't feel strongly about other people red-shirting, but we aren't considering it for DS because of his age and readiness. I've only ever heard it being criticized here and other places online. IRL people seem either neutral or for it for kids who would struggle.
Even if our school comes up with some kind of in person learning, I doubt we will be comfortable sending DS. I'm hoping for some kind of online option even if schools open. It's far from ideal, and it won't be much of a kindergarten experience, but I am not comfortable with the reports I've read of people getting the virus from just being in the same room for a period of time even if they weren't that close to the person. It doesn't seem safe to me to have them all sitting there for hours and hours in the same room together regardless of being 6 feet apart or with plexiglass or whatever, and I don't see kindergartners being able to wear masks effectively (and we don't even really know how effective masks are). Plus, 5-6 year olds can't be expected to sit still at a desk all day, and how would they manage letting them have recess or move around? Our area has too many cases for schools opening to seem safe to me, but I guess we'll see.
ETA: I reread my post and I just want to clarify, I'm very pro masks in general, just that we don't have enough research to know exactly how effective they are under different circumstances.
We just got an email today with his teacher assignment and a scheduled date for a one on one meeting with his teacher the week before school starts. I have no idea what to do think about it. They're not even enrolling after care right now because of the pandemic. I'm so bummed out that there is so much uncertainty around this for him. He's been really excited for kinder and now I don't know what to think about it.
eta: We will not be redshirting. He'll start K this year, whatever that looks like. I just don't know how we're going to handle that if he can't physically go to school. We'll have to hire someone to help teach him. Maybe there will be neighborhood groups that can sort of do a pseudo-homeschool thing. I'm just stressed out even thinking about it. I'm going to wait until July to start really trying to figure out how the heck we're going to handle this.
isabel we’re also planning to hire someone for the days or half days that our kids likely will physically not be in school. Distance learning equaled pretty much no learning for the past three months since DH and I are still working FT, and I’m not comfortable with that being the case all of next year.
If you are thinking of holding your kid for a year, prepare for the possibility that the school will just stick them in first when they do start.
I know CA schools have that option. Most don't do it, but if the enrollment numbers and ages are all wacky they might have to. The long term ramifications of many people red shirting kids could really mess with a school system.
Post by sapphireblue on May 26, 2020 22:39:27 GMT -5
I hadn't really thought of what we are planning to do as red shirting, because we are only doing it because we are in a pandemic.
For us, the decision really is based solely on the fact that we feel that in three months, there is no way it will be safe to send our child to kindergarten. I really feel that all of the crowded activities that are happening and will take place over the summer will lead to a second surge in the fall and I don't want my child in the middle of that.
Obviously I truly hope it turns out I'm wrong about that and just being paranoid.
I'll think hard though about the implications raised in this thread because I really hadn't thought about it in terms of the difficulties for my son of remote learning or the impact on the school of waiting, just in terms of safety and fears of the virus.
If you are thinking of holding your kid for a year, prepare for the possibility that the school will just stick them in first when they do start.
I know CA schools have that option. Most don't do it, but if the enrollment numbers and ages are all wacky they might have to. The long term ramifications of many people red shirting kids could really mess with a school system.
This scares me. I need to see about getting his IEP/504. Any recommendation on how to start researching?
If you are thinking of holding your kid for a year, prepare for the possibility that the school will just stick them in first when they do start.
I know CA schools have that option. Most don't do it, but if the enrollment numbers and ages are all wacky they might have to. The long term ramifications of many people red shirting kids could really mess with a school system.
This scares me. I need to see about getting his IEP/504. Any recommendation on how to start researching?
We just got an email today with his teacher assignment and a scheduled date for a one on one meeting with his teacher the week before school starts. I have no idea what to do think about it. They're not even enrolling after care right now because of the pandemic. I'm so bummed out that there is so much uncertainty around this for him. He's been really excited for kinder and now I don't know what to think about it.
eta: We will not be redshirting. He'll start K this year, whatever that looks like. I just don't know how we're going to handle that if he can't physically go to school. We'll have to hire someone to help teach him. Maybe there will be neighborhood groups that can sort of do a pseudo-homeschool thing. I'm just stressed out even thinking about it. I'm going to wait until July to start really trying to figure out how the heck we're going to handle this.
Keep in mind too that a lot of places distance learning is not meant to replicate a full school day. In my state K students had 30 minutes of work to do a day. So while you may need childcare, don't necessarily worry that the workload will be too much.
isabel we’re also planning to hire someone for the days or half days that our kids likely will physically not be in school. Distance learning equaled pretty much no learning for the past three months since DH and I are still working FT, and I’m not comfortable with that being the case all of next year.
How do you go about finding someone for this? I wouldn't mind doing this, but have no idea where to look. DS1s current tutor is a HS student so I am sure he will need to do his own work. Plus, he is not their to watch the kids obviously.
In the fall I would expect that distance will be more robust and not quite the hot mess it was this spring. Admin and teachers will have had time to see what worked, what didn't, and make some adjustments. Regardless, so much of what you learn in Kindergarten is social and that will be impossible with social distancing. If I had a child with a birthday right before the cut off I would wait a year before enrolling and not even feel bad about it.
Has he done testing through the district? If not and you want to get that part started, I would call your school and request testing and email a formal request for testing too. Each district is handling that different because, as of now, a lot of places can't do person to person testing but it'll start the ball rolling and get him on the schedule for when they are able to start.
karinothing I’m going to wait and see what things shape up like for the fall before looking for someone. Maybe there will be some teachers who decide not to go back because they’re a little older and would rather just be around one family than a bunch of kids? Maybe we do some combo of a teacher or college education major and a younger babysitter for some recreational stuff?
Our district seems to be deciding between a couple full days per week versus half days everyday in person. They’re also coming up with other types of childcare/aftercare options, I believe. We need some kind of school:childcare 9-4 at minimum everyday. I’ll probably ask around and use next door, maybe care.com once we figure out what we need.
isabel we’re also planning to hire someone for the days or half days that our kids likely will physically not be in school. Distance learning equaled pretty much no learning for the past three months since DH and I are still working FT, and I’m not comfortable with that being the case all of next year.
How do you go about finding someone for this? I wouldn't mind doing this, but have no idea where to look. DS1s current tutor is a HS student so I am sure he will need to do his own work. Plus, he is not their to watch the kids obviously.
I’ll send you our tutors info if you want. Noah zooms with her daily. I also found an online immersion school program that meets a few times a week
How do you go about finding someone for this? I wouldn't mind doing this, but have no idea where to look. DS1s current tutor is a HS student so I am sure he will need to do his own work. Plus, he is not their to watch the kids obviously.
I’ll send you our tutors info if you want. Noah zooms with her daily. I also found an online immersion school program that meets a few times a week
Sure! That would be great. Is the online immersion program through outschool? I was thinking of signing him up
isabel we’re also planning to hire someone for the days or half days that our kids likely will physically not be in school. Distance learning equaled pretty much no learning for the past three months since DH and I are still working FT, and I’m not comfortable with that being the case all of next year.
How do you go about finding someone for this? I wouldn't mind doing this, but have no idea where to look. DS1s current tutor is a HS student so I am sure he will need to do his own work. Plus, he is not their to watch the kids obviously.
If our daycare doesn’t reopen, we will be set because one of their teachers is watching our kids starting in June and she won’t have a job to go back to until they open, so we’d just keep her with us. She’s more equipped to teach him than we are.
If they do reopen, but school is distance learning, we’ll put him in a full day program at a pre-school that I know is open and can accommodate his distance learning. Or, if that’s not an option, I’ll look in my neighborhood to see if anyone has small groups of kids working together. I’m guessing I’ll be able to find a parent or former teacher who is willing to step up and help handle a small group of kids who are doing the same work. Maybe I can trade off with another family so we get some free days and so do they.
In the fall I would expect that distance will be more robust and not quite the hot mess it was this spring. Admin and teachers will have had time to see what worked, what didn't, and make some adjustments. Regardless, so much of what you learn in Kindergarten is social and that will be impossible with social distancing. If I had a child with a birthday right before the cut off I would wait a year before enrolling and not even feel bad about it.
I think this will be highly variable. Our school has stated they will make no plans until July or August. Teachers cannot be compelled to work over summer so they are planning on doing the prep needed to kick of the year in the 2-3 days of PD they have at the start of the year. I expect fall to be very hard on the youngest learners given their stance.
In terms of K -- it also varies a lot with schools. Our K is highly academic. It isn't that social. While you don't need 6 hours to cover the material 30 mins isn't near enough either.
My DS is 4, will be 5 in late August. He is 2 days before the cutoff. We are still planning to send him on time. I have concerns but I have similar concerns about waiting a year—our public school resources are already tapped and I worry people will wait and overload the school. He is ready by all accounts from his pre-k teacher—he has been navigating the waters well in pre-k, can read/write etc. Private school kinder is half day here so that wouldn’t work for us.
My kid is 5 and just finished TK (provided by the district). His bday is 2 weeks after the cutoff, so if I waited, he’d have a year without an education and then start K when he’s nearly 7. So...that’s not happening. As someone else mentioned, I also have concerns about the district moving kids like this straight into 1st grade.
We will do K in the fall, however it looks. I am not a good homeschool teacher and my kid doesn’t like the work. But I am lucky to SAH so it hasn’t been a hardship (other than on my sanity) and we can make work whatever we have to in the fall. I realize that many people have a lot more moving pieces. I am also assuming that schools/teachers realize that distance learning is not as effective and plan to catch kids up as needed, once options improve. All of the kids starting any grade are in the same boat right now.
Honestly, I’m giving it all very little thought right now. 2 months is a very long time for things to change, in either direction. The schools will not decide until late July. But either way, my kid is starting some kind of K in the fall.
glinda I think the concern is that a lot of public school kindergartens are likely to be only half day or only a couple days a week next year due to staggered schedules - so if private half day k doesn’t work, public half day k probably won’t work either.
Post by turnipthebeet on May 28, 2020 0:37:24 GMT -5
Just remember that if there is distance learning this fall, all of the kindergarteners will be starting 1st (or the 2nd semester of K) having missed the socialization component, so your kid won’t be “behind”. It will fall to the 1st grade teachers to navigate that in 2022.
Post by humpforfree on May 28, 2020 6:25:06 GMT -5
My kid’s birthday is a couple weeks after the 9/2 cutoff here and she was going to do early K entry (on the recommendation of her pediatrician and preschool teacher). She had her assessment literally the day schools closed in March. Right now I’m pretty sure she won’t go early this fall, and we will just have her go “on time” in 2021.
Another thing to consider that I didn't see mentioned in my skim -- if you are in an area where schools are "capped" and you are already enrolled for the coming year and now considering homeschooling/delaying, make sure you are aware of what that means for future years and your "spot." We are considering keeping our rising 1st grader home, but this will almost certainly mean he'll end up having to switch to a different school (and bus further away) for 2nd grade when we re-enrolled him, and no way to tell how long until he'd get back to his current school.
Post by outnumbered on May 28, 2020 8:31:21 GMT -5
I no longer have a kindergartner so my opinion has less weight. I would send my child. All kids entering at this time are facing the same challenges. If a large group of kids are held back classroom size and space will be an issue. In our district K size classes are capped. A large cohort would require an additional classroom. Our district literally has no space left. We would have to add portables at a considerable cost. This whole thing sucks. There is no parent that is not anxious about the effect this has regardless of age or grade.
In the fall I would expect that distance will be more robust and not quite the hot mess it was this spring. Admin and teachers will have had time to see what worked, what didn't, and make some adjustments. Regardless, so much of what you learn in Kindergarten is social and that will be impossible with social distancing. If I had a child with a birthday right before the cut off I would wait a year before enrolling and not even feel bad about it.
I think this will be highly variable. Our school has stated they will make no plans until July or August. Teachers cannot be compelled to work over summer so they are planning on doing the prep needed to kick of the year in the 2-3 days of PD they have at the start of the year. I expect fall to be very hard on the youngest learners given their stance.
In terms of K -- it also varies a lot with schools. Our K is highly academic. It isn't that social. While you don't need 6 hours to cover the material 30 mins isn't near enough either.
If you’re in a NY public school, plans have to be sent to the state for approval by the end of June.
glinda I think the concern is that a lot of public school kindergartens are likely to be only half day or only a couple days a week next year due to staggered schedules - so if private half day k doesn’t work, public half day k probably won’t work either.
Right, but I would either be paying for it or not for the exact same issue. Our only other option would be to put him in full time pre-k again and have him just repeat everything he did last year.
Additionally having him in public school means he and my older son will be at the same place—whether their schedules are staggered or not, it is still a benefit to me.