Hi everyone, I figured it might be a good idea to start up a thread for moms of kids entering Kindergarten in 2016. It can be a place for us to share ideas, concerns and whatever else might come up.
A quick few items by means of intros:
1. Child's name (or identifier), date of birth
2. Type of program (public, private, charter, magnet, etc)
3. How is your kid getting to school?
4. Special things about the program you want to share
Good idea? Bad idea? I might be talking to myself, lol.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
1. Child's name (or identifier), date of birth
G, born 12/16/2010
2. Type of program (public, private, charter, magnet, etc)
Magnet, public
3. How is your kid getting to school?
By car, it's a 10 mile or so commute, program is out of town
4. Special things about the program you want to share
I am really excited about this particular school, it's brand new, and they're enrolling K and 1st grade only classes this year. Next year, they'll add another K class until they reach 8th grade. They've chosen 120 kids for Kinder classes this year, so I am not at all worried about it being too small for my son.
On that note, I plan to call the principal, he's currently a principal at another school and introduce myself and see what I can do in terms of helping in the school. There's no established Parent Organization, which is has its pros and cons.
grapefruit / 4800 posts
1. Late May 2011
2. Public
3. Bus, though it's just over a mile and starts early so we may walk, drop off some
4. Not sure if there's anything unique, it's full day and supposed to be the best public school in our area. over half the kids from her preschool go to that school and there's lots of neighborhood kids so she'll have lots of familiar faces. I'm a bit concerned bc redshirting is very popular here, especially with boys, even some late winter boys ( though the cut off here isn't till oct). So she'll be with kids over a year older than her and is kinda small for her age. But she's smart and ready so it seems pointless to hold her back. Our neighbor sent her June boy on time and he had a bit of an adjustment but is doing very well now so fingers crossed. I'm due with our third in the fall so it will prob be good for her to have a full day but I'm anticipating lots of adjusting for everyone with a the upcoming changes.
pineapple / 12566 posts
1. L - December 2010
2. Private, it's the French Lycée and it mostly mirrors the French national education system. It's taught mainly in French but they get about 4 hours of German language classes per week (English doesn't start for 3-4 more years). He'll be in "CP".
3. We will plan to walk (about 15 min on foot) but it's just 2 tram stops away so if we happen to catch the tram, we'll take it.
4. I have a few concerns. 1st is that it's going to be a huge change. Currently, his whole daycare is about 24 kids. When he starts, there will be 6 CP classes of about 25 kids, plus, the site is CP to high school so I'm concerned that he's going to be totally overwhelmed by the sheer size of it. 2nd is the schedule. M, T and F get out at 4, W is only half day and Th gets out at 3:30. I'm going to be handling all of the pickups, so I'll have to adjust my own schedule plus make it for pick up for my younger LO. 3rd, and it's not really a concern, but I'm curious to see how he will adjust to being taught in French. It's one of his native languages but we only use it at home and he has a tendency to anglacize his grammar.
pineapple / 12566 posts
@looch: how big is G's current daycare? That's really neat that he's in a brand new program that is starting with just 2 years.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@lamariniere: He's in a preschool program with a whopping 11 kids and two teachers. Last year, he was in a 4s program with even fewer kids.
I'll be honest, we could have put him into K this year, but he wasn't mature enough. The difference from last September to now is huge and I hope he can handle the transition to a larger class. I am sure it's going to be bumpy.
@Maysprout: thanks for joining!
pineapple / 12566 posts
@looch: ok, so big change in terms of size!
Here public school will not take kids until they are 6. So in my son's daycare class there are a few kids with September birthdays and they will turn 7 shortly after starting elementary. At the Lycée you have to turn 6 the year you start school, so my son is squeaking in by 3 days. Had he been born in January 2011, it wouldn't have been possible.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@looch: fun!
Child DD1 - DJ - Aug 2011
Going to public school. She's been in full time preschool and 2 other little boys are going to the same school.
We will drive her for sure even though we are only 2 miles. I'll be on maternity leave this first semester and then we will have to look at schedules for spring.
We are excited about school for her but worried since she turns 5 the week before school starts.
Some questions on my mind:
A - what's for lunch? Can we pack peanut products?
B- what's nap or rest time?
C - what's the schedule /curriculum
D - how to select a teacher!
pomelo / 5298 posts
1. C, 8/18/11 - she will be 5 right before the start of the school year
2. Public (full day, school is K-6 and houses nearly 700 students)
3. I will drive her to school, there is a highway between our house and her school, but it's on my way to work/daycare.
4. C was in a public Pre-K program this year at a different elementary, so she's ready from a routine perspective. She will go to our zoned elementary for Kinder which is also ranked higher. I'm hoping she gets accepted for Spanish immersion for 1st grade.
@T.H.O.U.: Our district publishes their menus on their website. You might want to take a look. We started this year with packed lunches until she asked to start doing school lunch. She mostly takes school lunch now. It's $2.40/day in our district. She can have peanut products. One student in her class is allergic, but they don't require us to do anything different for lunch.
Our state doesn't require a rest period for Kinder, so there won't be one. In her Pre-K program they get a 40 minute rest but it's right at the end of the day.
Our school schedule is 7:50 - 3:00, with extended care available for a fee up to 6:00. They get a 30 minute lunch. They get a recess immediately after lunch.
We don't get to pick our teacher. I have received recommendations for a particular teacher and I'm trying to figure out how to make that happen. We have been told that our child will be "fought over" by the Kinder teachers. The kids that go through the program she's in right now are desirable because they are prepared and already know the routine.
I was so nervous starting this year, but now I feel pretty relaxed and ready for Kinder. There's a Kinder orientation coming up soon. Our only real issue is transitioning to a new school, but she'll do well. She will know other kids from either her current program or her daycare.
pineapple / 12566 posts
@T.H.O.U.: I didn't realize your DD was starting this year too! Exciting!
blogger / pomegranate / 3044 posts
1. K, Sept 2011
2. Public school
3. Thinking bus but wouldn't be surprised if my FIL takes it upon himself to shuttle him around!
4. We're actually applying for early admission since he's barely past the cut off date, so I'm curious about what the test will be like! Also need to figure out of we'll put him in aftercare at his current daycare (where D will be)
grapefruit / 4110 posts
1. Logan April 2011
2. Not 100% sure yet. He got the lottery for a localish charter school and a public "school of choice" which I think is like a magnet school. We are waiting to see which one offers us after school care to decide. Both are great with different benefits and cons.
3. Car. If he goes to the charter, daddy will drive him both ways. If he goes to the other one, I will take him in.
4. I going to start a coding program no matter what.
pomegranate / 3858 posts
1. S, December 2012
2. Public junior kindergarten
3. We'll walk her
4. split JK/SK class
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
1. M, 3/27/2011
2. Private Christian
3. By car
4. We just received acceptance letters and spent the weekend figuring out where we're going to send her! We made our decision last night and I've been a little emo thinking about her starting in 4 months
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
@T.H.O.U.: omg I can't believe DJ's starting this fall too!!
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
My DD isn't but I 
this thread. Can't believe so many of our original members have kids starting K this fall.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@MamaG: @Mrs. Tiger: glad to see some other young ones here! So many options about red shirting now but we really don't think she would do well in another year of PreK.
@chopsuey: it's crazy! And so crazy how six month difference means a lot between ages 0-5 and now they just basically go by grade! I'm so glad you guys made a decision! I hope she loves it. Have you told her?
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@brownie: let me know what coding you're looking at! I actually think I have copies of a curriculum for Code.org for K but there are lots of options out there.
blogger / pomegranate / 3044 posts
@T.H.O.U.: the early admission program gives them a 90 day trial period at the beginning of the year, I'm hoping if he's not ready we'll catch it right away! His daycare teachers feel strongly that he's ready, and so do I. We took preschool graduation pics at daycare the other day and he was among the smallest, some of those kids must be 6 and they're already huge! I just hope he doesn't get intimidated...
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
@T.H.O.U.: i know. so crazy!! yes, she knows and wants to start now! 
she's been to the campus a few times and is excited
grapefruit / 4110 posts
@T.H.O.U.: I love code.org but I was looking at using scratch Jr because they have iPads and kibo robots for k-2. Lego we do and scratch for 3-5 and html/JavaScript for 6-8. I use code.org offline projects in my college classes. I also like csunplugged and math maniacs.
pomegranate / 3858 posts
@T.H.O.U.: junior kindergarten and senior kindergarten. JK starts the year they turn 4...basically a public preschool.
nectarine / 2180 posts
@looch: Thanks for starting this!
1. LC, March 2011
2. Public
3. Potentially a combination of driving and bus. We'll see how she feels about the bus in a few months.
4. We are moving to a new town and I just have a lot of anxiety in general about this. We were unable to find a house that was zoned for our preferred elementary school. We toured the school that we are zoned for, and I think it will be fine. Class sizes are smallish (~15) with a teacher and an aide. I'd like to meet with the principal when we move. Academically, I am not really concerned because she's been reading for well over a year, but she is an emotionally sensitive child and so I hope she has a teacher who can help her with that. I also worry that the transition might be tough coming from a play-based co-op preschool to full day academic kindergarten. I think at this age, a good teacher-child match is one of the most important things, so that's something I plan to bring up when I meet with the principal.
pineapple / 12566 posts
@brownie: what is a coding program?
@tinyperson: it's crazy that our LOs are 2 years apart but they are both starting school at the same time! Do all kids do junior kindergarten where you are? Or is it optional?
grapefruit / 4110 posts
@lamariniere: computer programming. My husband and I are both programmers and my son is showing a lot of talent that way as well. It is also an increasing important skill.
pineapple / 12566 posts
@brownie: ah, ok. I thought it was some kind of academic program. My husband is in IT, but not the coding side of it.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@T.H.O.U.: Interesting questions, I actually have no idea if there is a rest period, I have to check on that.
@MamaG: ahhh, peanuts! I have to look into that too, since my son loves peanut butter and I'd love to be able to pack it for his lunch.
@Mrs. Tiger: That's funny about your FIL, when I mentioned my son's school to my dad, he agreed to drive him back and forth.
@brownie: I love the idea of a coding program, that would probably be more of my son's speed rather than a sports program...do you know how I would get one set up, I don't know how to code myself (I should learn, do you have a rec for an online beginners class?)
@tinyperson: I am curious to hear more about the mixed junior/senior kinder classes as the year goes on. I think mixed classes are the way to go, honestly.
@chopsuey: I hear you about the acceptance letters...we just got ours and I still have to hear back about the lottery for a charter school in town!
@Pancakes: I have a lot of the same concerns. My son can be very affected by things in the class room, especially if he senses that someone is sad. He has big emotions when he has them, you know?
I think I got everyone!
pomegranate / 3858 posts
@lamariniere: Both JK and SK are optional here, but most people send their kids. It's all-day and saves us the daycare payments. S starts early because she's a December baby, and so if you turn 4 by December 31, you start the following year. She'll be with kids who turned 4 in January of this year, even though she won't be 4 till the end of this year!
@looch: I think there's a benefit too, so it'll be interesting to see how it works out this year. I think S will do fine.
pineapple / 12566 posts
@tinyperson: Interesting. I'm sure she'll be fine! My son will also be one of the youngest in his class since he's starting with kids who turned 6 in January of this year, but he won't be 6 until the very end of the year.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@T.H.O.U.: I wanted to back up to two of the questions you posted, regarding the cirriculum and selecting the teacher.
For us, the cirriculum at the magnet school is the International Baccalaureate (IB). We're also applying for the charter school in town that follows the theories of Jean Piaget and John Dewey.
I don't think we get to select the teacher. The one thing that kind of bugs me is that I've read that parents that are on the PTO are somehow able to influence their child's placement (in our zoned public school) and that really turned me off. It sends a message that if you're not involved and attending meetings, then you don't have a choice, or that you don't care which seems wrong to me. I mean, we all have obligations, some of us have more access to things than others, but to put that on our kids, not good. At least in public school, where the basis of it is a fair education for all.
nectarine / 2085 posts
This is our first official year of homeschooling as far as the school district is concerned, although we started K last year for a trial run of more formal learning outside of traditional school. It went well, so we're going to keep going.
1. Late summer 2010.
2. Home school
3. He walks.
4. We focused on reading, math, and the physical sciences over the past year and this year we're adding literature and history in a more formal way. This year will be interesting from an administrative standpoint because we'll do an evaluation with the district at some point toward the end of the year. I'm not worried about the evaluation, but it will be something new!
grapefruit / 4110 posts
@looch: I love khan academy and hear good things about code academy. You can do the code.org on your own as well.
My guy has autistic tendencies (enough to do the school district eval but not to pay out of pocket for an eval but he didn't qualify) which puts him about 6 months behind his peers. So the beginning of the year is rough. His second issue is that he is way too smart for his own good (thus the coding program). So he gets bored and can get off task. If he goes to the magnet school, they loop teachers in 1st/2nd and 4th/5th. Which will be good for him.
cherry / 155 posts
1. Child's name (or identifier), date of birth
P, 7/2010
2. Type of program (public, private, charter, magnet, etc)
Public
3. How is your kid getting to school?
Walking
4. Special things about the program you want to share
Nothing about the program, but my son will have a new sibling the month he starts K, so hopefully the transition will be easy!
squash / 13208 posts
@looch: check out Kodable online - my DS loves it - its the type of program where they don't realize they are learning how to code
squash / 13208 posts
Wow - so many Kindergarteners!!!
1. H, March 2011
2. Public
3. DCP will take her and pick her up- its a 1/2 day program
4. Nothing special about the program but today is Kindergarten Orientation - she is so excited to be going to the same school as her big brother!
grapefruit / 4110 posts
@Mamaof2: have you tried the foos? It's my sons favorite and the best pre reader programming I have found.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@Mamaof2: Yes! We have tried Kodable and Scratch (both free iPad apps) and she prefers Kodable.
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