UPDATE: Please Read Regarding my 6yr old having problems reading -more details added?

Question

Hello everyone

I had recently posted a message about my 6yr old daughter that might have to repeat kindergarden, i wanted to offer a more thorough explanation.

Firstly I had enrolled my daughter in a ESE program for children with either learning disabilities she went to a pre-K class last year she attended it at her current elementary school, at that point they decided to pass her to regular kindergarten and continue speech therapy, they said they would watch her to see how she does in regular classes, well my mistake was not to ask them what would happen if she didn't do well, I guess since the teachers were so optimistic, and i thought that kinder was as easy as it was when i was growing up,I thought she would be fine.

anyway after she started kinder we went to one meeting and they said she was doing well except for math, well that was about 3 months ago, now the teacher tells me she might be held up in kinder because of reading problems, and that she is doing well in math, well we only have 2 more months of school here in florida and I am of course worried, I mean I do have many books, and I do spend some time with her, however I am now also asking myself why didn't they put her in some sort of special ed class if she is a slow learner, and it's not as if they didn't know it since for her to be put on that program she went through a lot of tests in 6 months.

anyway I am a bit upset at myself also would I have known that kinder was sooo hard nowadays I would have done more that I have to this point, but in the same token there the experts and they should have known what to do with a child that has learning difficulties, maybe take her out of a normal kinder and put her in some sort of special ed class?especially since she is enrolled in that ESE program, there solution is for her to repeat kinder, and I don't agree as I have seen how much she has learned.

The teacher tells me that my daughter is very well behaved and gives it her all, but with reading difficulties she cannot pass to 1st grade, I really don't know whether I should fight this or not, because I know I am the parent and I take full responsabilty, however some does fall on them since they should have informed me of this sooner, had I known she would have to repeat kinder for failing to learn how to read, I would have focused more on reading and not so much on math. I figured they could put her in 1st grade special ed class instead of having her repeat kinder.

I however did order Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons recommended by someone here I also and did go to the starfall.com website, this is the first time I have had this kind of experience since she is my oldest daughter and my youngest is in Pre-K I had no idea kinds could repeat kinder, anyway I will ask them about summer school and what else I could do, but this has all caught me off guard, I just need some guidance when it comes to this, because we will be having a meeting soon, and I don't know whether to fight it or just let it be, in any event I just want to look out for my daughter, Thanks so much to all the caring folks on this site, I appreciate all your advice. sorry for the long message I made paragraphs but they don't show up for some reason.

I guess the paragraohs showed up after all :)

Answer 1

You are your daughters best advocate! You need to do what feels right. If you do not feel that your daughter needs to make up another year then I say fight it. Retention is the extreme last resort. Kids that don't catch up half way through their second year of Kinder tend to never catch up. I said a couple of days ago that she can get specialized instruction before or after school in areas of deficit. If she is only behind in reading why hold her back and make her repeat everything. Talk with the kindergarten and see if your school is aTitle 1 school and ask if she can get help from the Title teacher. Good luck!

Answer 2

Ok, I am not sure how it works in Florida but I am a mom of an elementry student in Special Ed and the tests they do are very through. My son has been in Special education since 3rd grade (he is a 4th grader now) and he received special help with math and reading in 1st and 2nd grade. The special education in Michigan is not a full day classroom sort of program. My son goes 2 hours a day 5 days a week for reading and math to a seperate classromm with 5-8 students in the class. They test him based on his goals and I have a meeting with them twice a year on top of the two parent teacher conferences I have every year.

Call the school and request a meeting with the principle, special education teachers and the classroom teachers. Find out what can be done on your part to get her where she needs to be and what the school can do to get her there as well. There funding depends on student progress. You need to have them test her for her specific reading disability, different disabilities require differnet learning strategies. Try Sylvan and maybe your school district has some summer classes she can take that will help him.

Lastly and sadly the best thing for her may be to repeat kindergarten, it is way better to do it now than in the 3rd or 4th grade. I begged my son's school to hold him back because he didn't have what he needed to pass the grade he was in let alone the next grade.

Hope this helps,

Jennifer

Answer 3

I had basically this same situation occur with my son when he was in kindergarten, although luckily in our situation the teacher told me early enough and asked me to try tutoring him early enough, so that she did pass him through to 1st grade.

I read all the research on retention and the only time when it is is recommended, according to all the studies I read is when the child is socially immature. With a child that is having reading disabilities, like my son, he may continue to have problems (my dh and mol do as adults for example), and you can't just continue to retain the child every year when he is struggling. So I don't really see it as a good solution, and it can cause self-esteem problems they say and they don't see any lasting benefits (any benefits didn't seem to last longer than a few months). Plus, my son was a head taller than the other children, so I definitely did not want my child held back for that reason as well.

Plus, if the teaching in kindergarten wasn't effective, why just repeat another year of what wasn't working well? That doesn't seem to make any sense!

What did work well for us was when I tutored my son, but I will admit that we work fine together, I know some parents and children have problems working together and then you might want to get a tutor, but I did teach him to read over a 6 month period or so (you could start now and then over the summer). You also might as well just begin to push the school for the testing, diagnosis, reading teacher/tutors and programs that he probably needs at his school.

I have to tell you though that I'm in FL and they said things like they don't like to diagnose or label till the child is 10, they told me AFTER the meeting & off the record we should take him to a pricey Lindamood Bell ($6000 several years ago)....averaged his IQ subscatter together (5s and 15s) and said he should be fine in a classroom and little tricks like that....I think so they don't have to pay for reading services. Hopefully, you will not have to deal with any of that, but just want to warn you so you can avoid it if they try that on you!

Answer 4

Firstly; does your child have a learning disability? This information would be helpful in determining what you can do to help her with her reading. I am a teacher, in Canada, so I am not sure what the school board requirements are in the US for a child to enter grade one. As a teacher, if I have concerns with the children in my class, I certainly do not wait until the end of the year to discuss it with the parents. That is something you should definately bring up to the principal of the school. My adivce would be for you to schedule a meeting with you (and your partner if applicable), the teacher of both the kindergarten class AND the first grade teacher, the principal, and if your child has been tested for a learning disability, the doctor, therapist or resource worker that has been seeing your child. As a group you can discuss the issues at hand and decide collectively what do about it.

If you are trying to work on your childs reading at home it may be more helpful if someone other than the parents do this. Children often respond better to people who are not in their family. They usually are more receptive and cooperative with strangers. That being said, would a tutor help? This can be costly, however, if your child has been identifed as having a learning disability, quite often there are free resources available to parents. (at least in Canada there are) The interent can be a great help finding such informaiton out.

I would be happy to discuss this further with you, I can offer many suggestions with what you can do from home, but first I need to know the following: does your child have a learning disability and if so what is it? what is it that your child needs to be able to do in order to move to first grade? what problems specifically is she having with reading? her teacher could tell you that. feel free to email me and I can offer some suggestions.

Answer 5

I dont really kno if i should answer this or not because i dont have any children but i dont think your daughter really needs to repeat kinderten unless she's way behind. Well first of all is she really slow in reading or just a little bit. If she's really slow then i suggest that she repeats kindergarten but if she isnt she should probably just go to summer school or tutorials. I dont really think a book would really help her read unless you read with her through the syllables and etc. Or you can get those books where it has a little pen and you can press it on a word and it'll go through the syllables through the words as your daughter reads. Sorry but i forgot what it was called. But anyway that should help your daughter some.

Answer 6

This is exactly why I homeschooled my kids. My daughter was a wonderful student but was a reluctant reader. She loved being read to but couldn't/wouldn't read. She took her time learning to read and didn't fully read until grade 3. That is totally okay when you homeschool - you can do assignments orally, etc. until reading and writing come together. Now she is a junior in a public high school, getting all As and Bs, always on the honor roll, in IB courses (which will give her college credit by the time she graduates high school) and is looking forward to college. She loves reading!

Anyway - if you can't homeschool, I would suggest either working with your child over the summer or holding her back in Kindergarden. It would be much less traumatic to retake K than struggling with 1st grade and having to retake a higher grade later because of problems. Good Luck!

Answer 7

I'd also consider purchasing "Hooked on Phonics" for your daughter. Armed with that and the 100 Easy Lessons, I'd go to that meeting and "notify" the teaching staff that you will be tutoring your daughter in the summer and wish her to be tested for reading in late August to determine whether she has improved enough to move to 1st grade. Your daughter's learning aptitude may increase tremendously with only one area to concentrate on. And make it fun for both of you!

Here are some ideas: When driving around town, have her try to sound out signs. Help her find words that start with an alphabetical letter... We used to play this in the car when we'd go on a road trip...

Don't just have her read and read books. Help her make up her own story, color it, read it and then cherish it! Maybe even consider copying it at Kinko's for a Christmas present to grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.. Help her learn to love the time you spend teaching her to read.

Take a trip to the library, preferably on story day. Let her listen to the story, then browse in the children's books area and let her pick out a book. Then take her to get her own library card.

Each time you complete a lesson, reward her! Another trip to the library; a trip to get an ice cream; rent a movie to watch at night with popcorn!, etc..

Answer 8

hi first of all let me tell you I have a sister that is not fully reading yet. she knows how to sound out certain words and has been Star Student in her class twice. I think that you should allow the teachers to do there job. I still believe that you should getinvolved in teaching her how to read. Start off teaching her the sounds of all the letters (long and short). This will help her think of words as she sounds them out. soon she will be just as good a reader as the other kids...

Answer 9

I wonder is they could decide at the start of the next school year so you could do all you could over the summer? If she is behind in kindergarten she may need to repeat kindergarten so she wont get even further behind in 1st grade and you will be in the same boat as you are now.
Wish you the best of luck!!

Answer 10

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