Private Kindergarten

Has anyone ever put their DC in a private kindergarten or looked into it? If so can you please share your thoughts or reasons for doing so?

my dh and I are considering it for our DD...but we are not positive. She has an early Jan. birthday and our school district has a strict policy that if you child is born after Dec. 15th...they can not start kindergarten until the following school year.

Our daughter is 2 yrs old, already writing letters, counting to 20 and is extremly interested in learning....(our son is the complete opposite, he hates doing his phonics books and reading with us) DD actually listens in when we are working with DS and she has started to participate and she answers kindergarten level questions correctly.

Her teachers have told us that she is ahead of the rest of the class, and the only reason she has not moved up is because she is not expected to start kindergarten for 3 more years.

any information you have on private kindergarten will be appreciated.
TIA

Re: Private Kindergarten

Im a public school kindergarten teacher....and there is a huge difference in ability and age of children that come into my class....for example this past year I had a student who was 4 until Nov. 30th and another child who turned 6 on December 8th. That full year makes a huge difference in their ability to listen, attention span and what information they are ready to obtain. Kindergarten in my district is an academic grade...gone are the days of play time and crafts (I do squeeze them in as much as I can though) So the older move advanced children are able to obtain more of the information presented. ...they leave reading, writing, adding, subtracting etc...where a younger child might have really mastered the alphabet and will be more ready to learn to read in first grade.
The thing I would be worried about is...if you put your daughter in private kindergarten...and then want to move her into public first grade the next year will the district honor that kindergarten year....or will they place her in kindergarten again based on the age. Also you have to consider the social aspect....if your daughter is a year younger will that be a problem socially.....if you feel she is mature for her age that probably won't be a problem...but she will be a year younger all the way through her school experience.
Just some thoughts.

Message edited 8/22/2009 3:01:37 PM.

Re: Private Kindergarten

Another teacher here who agrees with everything the above poster explained.

Another thought.....You obviously want to set your daughter up for success in everyway....Not only in her academic endeavors but socially and emotionally as well. She will have a clear advantage if she enters later....She will feel successful and then she will be successful as school will be a positive place for her.

There is a reason your school district will not let her attend....and she is only 2 now. You really can't tell now what will be appropriate years from now. Continue to provide her with enrichment and wait and see.

Re: Private Kindergarten

Posted by Michmouse

Another teacher here who agrees with everything the above poster explained.

Another thought.....You obviously want to set your daughter up for success in everyway....Not only in her academic endeavors but socially and emotionally as well. She will have a clear advantage if she enters later....She will feel successful and then she will be successful as school will be a positive place for her.

There is a reason your school district will not let her attend....and she is only 2 now. You really can't tell now what will be appropriate years from now. Continue to provide her with enrichment and wait and see.

Re: Private Kindergarten

I would check with you school district before you even entertain the idea. Most go by age and she would most likely repeat Kindergarten in the public school.

I go through this a lot with parents of the some preschoolers in the day care I work at. Quite a few were shocked when they had to repeat Kindergarten.

Re: Private Kindergarten

My DC were born Dec. 30. I would not want them to be the youngest in their class, no matter what their abilities might be. Although a private school may allow your DD to enroll, she will probably be a full year younger than many of her classmates, and at that age that year makes a difference (as the teachers above were able to explain).
My birthday is Jan. 5th, and I was always ahead in reading, and other subjects, but my parents waited to put me in kindergarten. I did just fine. I am glad they did not put me in a year ahead, I would have been the last to do everything, and would have always been the youngest, which as a kid can be difficult.

Re: Private Kindergarten

DD#1 is a January 11th baby and our cut off is December 31st. She was the oldest kid in Kindergarten. She too, according to her teacher was leaps and bounds above the rest of the class. She tested really high. She gained so much confidence from being in this position. I would rather my kid be the smarter, more secure, more mature and emotionally developed kid than the other option. She is now in 3rd grade and you know what, she still does very well in school, but the gap closes between the kids. The young ones do not seem so... young. There is alot to be said for being the oldest and maybe even "smartest" in the class.

Re: Private Kindergarten

As someone who's child seemed to be academically ahead of his peers, I agree with the teachers on this thread to not opt for a private kindergarten.

Most schools have different levels of readers in the classroom & work with each student. In my daughter's kindergarten class, most students were at a C level (A to Z, Z is the highest). One student was at an M level.

We had some difficulty because while my child was ahead, socially speaking he was in a more difficult position. He understood body language & sarcasm early - which made it a challenge because he didn't have the emotionally maturity to cope with what he considered slights. There are equal challenges for children who are ahead as for children who are behind.

My school district offers additional programs for the gifted & talented students but they are also socialized with their peers. I would see what your district offers once they are in school before making any decisions.

Also I encourage you read NY Magazine's article on the praise & peril of praise. I found it pretty interesting & could see the effects on many kids (including myself).

Re: Private Kindergarten

i've read all the previous posts and i want to add something from the other side.

boredom.... if your child is really that far advanced and working well above level. (and you have time to make this determination since she is only 2, i'd wait until she's 4 to see where you need to go) you don't want her in K if she's bored out of her mind.

i had that with my son. he was very advanced, but socially needed some help. he's a january birthday, so he had the extra year of preschool, having missed the cut off dates.

well 6 weeks into Kindergraten and you could see the lack of interest, he made no friends in his class, kids didn't understand him because he was functioning on a different level. he would come home, and when asked what he did in school, the answer was always "nothing." and while they claimed they would work with him at his reading level (which was light years above the rest of the kids in the class) 6 weeks in, and they had done basically nothing. he would get harder books to bring home, but those were still below the level he was capable of, he was not being pulled out to work with other kids at his own level (as i was told he would be) and he had not even met one of the reading teachers in the building yet, even though i was promised they would be working with him separately. now in a class of 16 kids, the teacher just doesn't have the time to spend with the kids who are ahead of the curve.

anyway, point being, we pulled him out of public school and enrolled him in a private school for gifted kids. suddenly, he was coming home happy, telling me about all the great stuff they were doing in all teh different subjects, he was telling me about friends he made at school. (and we realized socially, he is fine with kids who can relate to his interests.... he still has difficulty with random kids on the playground) but kids from his school who are like him, he does great with. its expensive, and a hardship, but he's so much happier now being given the academic stimulation he needs, and relating to kids who understand him.

public school just couldn't give him what he needed. so while it sounds great to be ahead in K, and socially more mature, etc... well, its not always the answer.

Re: Private Kindergarten

as a former kindergarten teacher, i fully agree with the others. there is SO much more to kindergarten than learning how to read!

as parents, we always want our children to do their best. i can't tell you how many parents i have every year who think their children are "advanced" or "gifted" because they did things early. reading and writing early are really just that--they started early. the gap significantly closes by around 3rd grade, where you REALLY can tell if a student is gifted and talented. that's why you rarely see a true gifted and talented program before third grade---children may be ahead of their peers at that point, but not necessarily "smarter".

i personally wouldn't do the private kindergarten route. your baby is only 2! a lot can change by 5 anyway. i would rather my child be the oldest in his class and have the emotional maturity to have a happy and educational year than the youngest, who can read, but doesn't have the maturity to deal with a full day, academically based, kindergarten.

Re: Private Kindergarten

I think you should go with your gut. My birthday is Nov. 30th, so I was always one of the youngest in my class. I had no trouble keeping up, and graduated 7th in the class with a full scholarship to college. If your child is bright enough and socially ready, then don't keep her home.

Re: Private Kindergarten

We've thought about private school, still deciding what to do. Our reasons are different, my kids would be starting private kindy the same year they would start public kindy since we want them to be socialized with other children their ages.

It may be difficult for you to find a kindergarten program that will accept a 2 year old. From what I've seen they will take kids that miss the public school cut off so they start a year earlier than they would in the public system, but not 2 or more years earlier.

Re: Private Kindergarten

I agree with all of the other teachers. I taught kindergarten for 11 years and I have never had a child "bored" in my class. A good teacher will challenge every child. It is rare to have a true "gifted" child, but it does occur. If you feel this is the case, I urge you to have her tested so that her teachers will be prepared and ready to challenge her from day one. I am a firm believer that children, no matter their intelligence, need to be grouped with children their own age. If you are armed with the info stating your child's needs you will get her the education she deserves from the get go. Parents of children with learning disabilities do this, and parents of the gifted should as well, but rarely do.

For what it's worth, there usually is a huge bell curve as to what is "the norm" as far as acquisition of skils in kindergarten, but that norm grows smaller and smaller as the years go by, and the playing field is usually leveled by 3rd grade.