Kids Being Ready For School

[Josiegirl]

There was an article in our local paper about kindergarteners being unruly and not ready for school; felt way too many had never even held a book, taught to sit and listen or been socialized. They also stated they can see a lot of problems with 3rd graders.
I was shocked, saddened and disheartened. There are a lot of outlying districts and I've had mainly kids from those surrounding schools recently and so many times the parents get glowing remarks about how ready their kids were for kindergarten.
This a.m. my childcare resource specialist called and invited me to be part of a meeting about this whole issue. Somehow, somewhere, they're missing something.
There could be SO many variants at work here, causing these issues. I can only tell from my own personal experience the last dcks I had from the local school had major issues within the family. How can I add anything to the meeting if I have little experience with kids in this particular school?
What about your local schools? Do kids seem ready? Are there lots of issues? If not, what factors would you consider being to blame? If they do seem ready, why do you think that is?
I'm extremely interested in hearing what people here have to say. And if you could link some resources 'out there' that correlate between behavior issues, learning issues, being ready for school, etc., please do!
Thanks so much!

[snbauser]

I think there needs to be more research in this particular case. What kind of home life do the children have? Were they in any type of daycare/preschool prior to Kindergarten? etc. My personal opinion is that nowadays parents are too focused on finding programs that will "teach their kids to read" in order to be prepared for Kindy. They forget that learning to socialize, take turns, be patient, sit on the carpet for circle time, stand in line without touching their friends, be quiet when someone else is talking, etc are all important skills children need to learn in order to be successful in Kindy.

[Play Care]

I think there needs to be more research in this particular case. What kind of home life do the children have? Were they in any type of daycare/preschool prior to Kindergarten? etc. My personal opinion is that nowadays parents are too focused on finding programs that will "teach their kids to read" in order to be prepared for Kindy. They forget that learning to socialize, take turns, be patient, sit on the carpet for circle time, stand in line without touching their friends, be quiet when someone else is talking, etc are all important skills children need to learn in order to be successful in Kindy.

[Cradle2crayons]

I think there needs to be more research in this particular case. What kind of home life do the children have? Were they in any type of daycare/preschool prior to Kindergarten? etc. My personal opinion is that nowadays parents are too focused on finding programs that will "teach their kids to read" in order to be prepared for Kindy. They forget that learning to socialize, take turns, be patient, sit on the carpet for circle time, stand in line without touching their friends, be quiet when someone else is talking, etc are all important skills children need to learn in order to be successful in Kindy.

I agree.

In my experience, because parents are so focused on book learning and worksheets, they push providers into the same thing.

What happens is they end up with a bunch of kids who don't know how to have good social behavior. They've never been told no. They don't have any conflict resolution skills. They can't get along with others and don't have any manners.

[LoraJenkins]

I think there needs to be more research in this particular case. What kind of home life do the children have? Were they in any type of daycare/preschool prior to Kindergarten? etc. My personal opinion is that nowadays parents are too focused on finding programs that will "teach their kids to read" in order to be prepared for Kindy. They forget that learning to socialize, take turns, be patient, sit on the carpet for circle time, stand in line without touching their friends, be quiet when someone else is talking, etc are all important skills children need to learn in order to be successful in Kindy.

[daycarediva]

I think there needs to be more research in this particular case. What kind of home life do the children have? Were they in any type of daycare/preschool prior to Kindergarten? etc. My personal opinion is that nowadays parents are too focused on finding programs that will "teach their kids to read" in order to be prepared for Kindy. They forget that learning to socialize, take turns, be patient, sit on the carpet for circle time, stand in line without touching their friends, be quiet when someone else is talking, etc are all important skills children need to learn in order to be successful in Kindy.

Spot on.

Also, the common core requirements are so beyond ridiculous, developmentally inappropriate and honestly, detrimental, it's unreal. My ds just started K and he has been with me for my prek and went to formal prek. He is academically and socially prepared, but this poor child is stressed and overwhelmed and that shows every evening at home. He has 30-40 minutes of homework 4 nights/week, and gets a COMBINED 40 minutes of lunch/recess as free time during the day.

When I went to K, it was half day, you colored, learned to sit for a story, learned to share, had juice and snack and went home. Prek isn't even like that anymore. It's SAD.

[Angelsj]

Spot on.

Also, the common core requirements are so beyond ridiculous, developmentally inappropriate and honestly, detrimental, it's unreal. My ds just started K and he has been with me for my prek and went to formal prek. He is academically and socially prepared, but this poor child is stressed and overwhelmed and that shows every evening at home. He has 30-40 minutes of homework 4 nights/week, and gets a COMBINED 40 minutes of lunch/recess as free time during the day.

When I went to K, it was half day, you colored, learned to sit for a story, learned to share, had juice and snack and went home. Prek isn't even like that anymore. It's SAD.

Agreed. They need to check the expectations for these kids. 5 year olds, and certainly not 3 year olds, are not necessarily ready to sit still for long periods or listen to three or four books. Some may be, but many may not be. We need to back off these still very little kids, and TEACH them in K.
Studies have shown over and over, if we give them time to be kids, sometimes up to age 7 or 8, they maintain a love of learning, and easily catch up to or exceed their peers as they near late elementary school.

[Josiegirl]

I think you're right when you say each case needs to be studied and bring up more information.
The thing is...there are a lot of families on assistance in this area. I hate to sound like I'm stereotyping but a lot of them seem to be high needs families. I have a dcm that works within the system and she moved to an outlying district just so she would be able to send her kids to a different school. She has seen what can go on. I tried opening my dc home last fall to a family with 3 boys, from this school. It's hard to form a team with the dcp when the dcm is in your driveway saying F this F that, with her boys right there. She worked 2 part time jobs, had a court order against her dh, lots of bad stuff, took a good month getting all her paperwork to me so technically I shouldn't have even had them. Hard to work with people like that and help their kids grow.
I think kids need more loving attention at home. I think they need to cuddle with mom or dad at night and read stories together. I think everybody needs to slow down, try to decrease the level of stress in their lives, reconnect with their kids, get rid of all electronics once in awhile and love their kids. Kids are extreme testers of limits, they need to know someone loves them enough to stop them and teach them. But as a dc provider how does one get families to do that? I can only do what I can do in my home to try to make up for some of that loss in their own homes.

[Laurel]

I think you're right when you say each case needs to be studied and bring up more information.
The thing is...there are a lot of families on assistance in this area. I hate to sound like I'm stereotyping but a lot of them seem to be high needs families. I have a dcm that works within the system and she moved to an outlying district just so she would be able to send her kids to a different school. She has seen what can go on. I tried opening my dc home last fall to a family with 3 boys, from this school. It's hard to form a team with the dcp when the dcm is in your driveway saying F this F that, with her boys right there. She worked 2 part time jobs, had a court order against her dh, lots of bad stuff, took a good month getting all her paperwork to me so technically I shouldn't have even had them. Hard to work with people like that and help their kids grow.
I think kids need more loving attention at home. I think they need to cuddle with mom or dad at night and read stories together. I think everybody needs to slow down, try to decrease the level of stress in their lives, reconnect with their kids, get rid of all electronics once in awhile and love their kids. Kids are extreme testers of limits, they need to know someone loves them enough to stop them and teach them. But as a dc provider how does one get families to do that? I can only do what I can do in my home to try to make up for some of that loss in their own homes.

I agree with everyone else and what you are saying here. It sounds like a combination of the school expecting too much from a child so young and a bad home life.

They may have to revamp the kindergarten classroom in this case to correct the problem. They'll have to meet the child's needs instead of having the child meet their criteria. They will have to 'teach' holding a book or whatever they need.

They might have to try unconventional things since they can't term like we can. Maybe they could partner with a business for financial or resource help or do fundraisers.

I think the teacher might have no choice but to parent the children a little bit. Maybe give them a snack in the morning (as many might not have had breakfast). Maybe a formal naptime. Do they do that in kindergarten anymore? Like on a mat. Mine went when there was half day kindergarten and my daughter, in particular, was very tired when she got home after half a day.

A business partner might provide the money for snacks and nap mats.

As for getting one on one, maybe they could do what our elementary school used to do. They had children from the older grades come and read one on one to a kindergartner. Maybe they could involve responsible older children in some way. Can middle or high school students come to help out? Where I live high schoolers are required to do community service in order to graduate. I'm just trying to come up with a couple of ideas you could bring up to them.

Wow, what a rough and sad situation.

I hope you decide to be on the panel. You could really help them.

Laurel

[Kaddidle Care]

Spot on.

Also, the common core requirements are so beyond ridiculous, developmentally inappropriate and honestly, detrimental, it's unreal. My ds just started K and he has been with me for my prek and went to formal prek. He is academically and socially prepared, but this poor child is stressed and overwhelmed and that shows every evening at home. He has 30-40 minutes of homework 4 nights/week, and gets a COMBINED 40 minutes of lunch/recess as free time during the day.

When I went to K, it was half day, you colored, learned to sit for a story, learned to share, had juice and snack and went home. Prek isn't even like that anymore. It's SAD.

What she said! I know a Kindy Teacher and she has pressure and stress too being that her kids are supposed to be able to write a paragraph by the end of the school year.

In our town they just recently went to full day Kindy. I was against it but the School Board doesn't listen and only polled PreSchool and Kindergarten Parents. The parents think "Oh goody - I can go to work and have free child care." Well.. it's not free because everyone in the town pays for it. Now they have to redistrict because they closed a school a couple of years ago and now added classes due to the full time thing. They insist our taxes won't go up - who are they trying to kid?

Oops.. sorry - a wee bit of a rant there.

Anyway, not every child is ready for full time and not every child is ready at 5. Sadly, it is the rare child that is traditionally nurtured at home by a parent that's mature enough to see the child's needs first. Get ready ladies.. because they will never take the blame themselves and they will blame it on "Daycare".

[caregiver]

In my day...back in the early '60's,now I have given my age away... but Kindergarten was for kids to learn how to be with other kids,how to socialize,color,GET read books, not have to read them themselves,had to take a nap on a little mat,how to sit and listen and just learn how to be away from your parents for a half a day. Then in first grade is when you started to learn things more. I know times have changed and are still changing, but what society wants kids to know going into kindergarten is ridiculous.
Parents do feel that they have to have their child know how to read, do math etc at age 3 yrs old. It is society today that makes them feel like this is what they have to do. There was no such thing as preschool either in my day, but today there is, so parents think they need to have preschool before kindergarten and yes it does help the child before they enter kindergarten...but preschool WAS what kindergarten was in my day.
The kids now days do have a lot of pressure to be expected to know things at such a young age. Children, in my opinion, just need to have those 5 yrs of life to learn at their own speed,have fun just being a child and just getting to know who they are in this world and what it is all about. BUT, society says not, so the pressure starts when they are even that 2 yrs of age to know so many things and the parents feel like that is what they need to have their child do and know.
In my opinion again kids should not be expected to know so much educational stuff when they start school, they do need to know how to get along with others before they start school, how to be polite, have manners, sit and listen to the teacher, which all should help in starting, getting along and learning better when they start school.
Preschools are a good idea for kids before they start school, but to have a child HAVE to know SO many things before that(preschool age) is too much pressure for parents and kids.
It would be so nice if society would just go back to what I call "the simple years" and let kids be kids for a few years and not demand that they know how to read,write,know another language and know math all before they enter kindergarten, but I guess that is not the way the world is today, which is too bad, but that is the way it is unfortunately.
All this is just how I look at it, but not saying anyone else has to agree with me, just how I personally feel,so not trying to say there is anything wrong with how anyone else does things,everyone has their own opinions and I respect them.

[Angelsj]

I know times have changed and are still changing, but what society wants kids to know going into kindergarten is ridiculous.
Parents do feel that they have to have their child know how to read, do math etc at age 3 yrs old. It is society today that makes them feel like this is what they have to do. There was no such thing as preschool either in my day, but today there is, so parents think they need to have preschool before kindergarten and yes it does help the child before they enter kindergarten...but preschool WAS what kindergarten was in my day.

I think the whole point lies right here. Just because "society" suddenly feels like kids should be doing more in preschool and K, does not make them developmentally ready to do so. This garbage IS creating problems, and we are solving those problems by medicating or blaming children who honestly were not ready to handle what we did to them. It is crazy!!

[Starburst]

In addition to my preschool student teaching, for another class I have been doing student teaching for 3 separate kindergarten classes and have seen a few kids that somehow slipped through the cracks and were let into kindergarten when they obviously aren't ready. I have also seen some older preschoolers that, as of now, I cannot see being ready for Kinder at the end of the school year based on some of their behaviors.

There was one boy in particular in the Kinder class who would squirm in his chair and keep touching everything (including me!) and when I was trying to help him with his work he asked me for a hug (I am not a "hugging" or "touchy" person) I told him no and that he needs to do his work (as a student teacher I can't hug the children for liability reason- though one girl came up and hugged me without warning as I was leaving one day). But he also would always play with the materials and keep lifting them in the air and putting other children in risk of injury (i.e. popping the glue-stick caps off or being careless with the scissors and pencils) as well as distracting the other children.

My elementary education teacher said that because of childhood obesity schools no longer supposed to use treats as a reward (which as someone who was obese as a child I pretty much assumed anyway and fully support). I was surprised that I still see the Kinder teachers using candy and gold fish crackers as a reward. None of the pre-K places that I have worked or observed at have done that (stickers/stamps yes, but not food), and kinders shouldn't need as much incentives to be motivated to do work as preschoolers, at least in IMO. The other day after a kinder child completed a simple task he asked me for a Pixie Stick .

To answer your question as to what might be causing these stats:

*My ECE teacher says that most people who are making the tests and standards don't value individual development. She believes that elementary schools focus too much on what a child "should" know on ages in years instead of developmental patterns by months. She thinks that when you do that you skip milestones that may be important for development. And she said that in most cases when a child has help that starts at the stage of development in the domain that the child is at and then work their way up to where they "should" be at had better results (and much sooner results) then just pushing the curriculum of where they "should" be at age wise and hoping they improve.

*Some of the teachers who have been teaching for a long time assume that because they have the minimum education requirements to teach completed over 10 or 20 years ago that they shouldn't have to upkeep their skills or take refresher courses once in a while and that they just do what always worked for them in the past but that things are changing.

*Counter wise, the children may not have been prepared enough before being enrolled into school.

*Children are not getting enough physical activity and have so much built up energy that they feel the need to act out during class, distracting themselves and others from the lesson.

*Most children are not eating healthy and all the junk in their system is causing brain fog, high spikes followed by low dips in blood sugar, and other issues with concentration and mood.

*Children may not have enough structure at home and have issues adjusting to a structured

*Children today are playing more video games, watching more TV, and have so many things that are instant than any other previous generation. This also starting with children younger than ever, so they tend to have shorter attention spans and are not used to having to wait for rewards or results, this over time can lead to a lack of motivation.

*Also as some other people have pointed out, children are expected to succeed milestones at a young age and adults put lots of pressure on them to be "advanced" or "special" in some way. The children are burnt out by the time they get to school. Some children may have a natural interest in some "advanced" academic related topics or advanced natural talents (like in the show 'A.N.T Farm'), in which case you should nourish that curiosity and support it, but most children do not and are forced by their parents to take on too much extra curricular activities to make them special.

*In a few cases, the child may actually be gifted or advanced but bored in class. There are some kids who may actually understand all or most of the material and are bored due to not having challenging enough material so they may be seen as "trouble makers" or even "slow". I think that might also be the reason why children who do learn to read early still wind up at the same reading level as their peers by 3rd grade. Most parents seem to put so much energy in to the child's education when they are young that they think the schools will keep up at the child's level but sometimes the child winds up not exceeding past it or even get behind because they are bored.

*Schools are be coming too academic and cutting out extra curricular lessons that children might enjoy more like music, art, sports, and creative play (performance arts and other special interest activities)