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In a message dated 4/17/04 5:31:07 PM, b229d655@... writes:

<< Hello, I have been quiet for a while, enjoying my munchkins for Spring
Break.
I can't wait until Kindergarten is over!!! >>

It's over now if you don't send them back.
Kindergarten's been going on for years and years and will continue to do so.

Your children's stay there is just a few months. It could end today!

Sandra

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In a message dated 4/17/2004 7:38:51 PM Eastern Standard Time,
SandraDodd@... writes:
> Your children's stay there is just a few months. It could end today!

I know that it could have ended long ago or at least a week ago (the last
Friday before Easter, when Spring Break started). And in my mind, I thought,
"Maybe he will enjoy being home this whole week and won't want to go back."
We've had a wonderful week, where we did what we wanted, when we wanted, PJ's all
day, T-Ball, Busch Gardens, games, building, art, movies, etc., etc., etc.
But as the week ended, he started asking when does he "have" to go back and I
said you don't "have" to. But he keeps saying that he wants to. If he told me
he didn't want to go back, he wouldn't. But I feel like I "put" him there as
I lost my nerve when K approached and now that he has formed a likeness or a
fondness for it, it would be unfair to make yet another decision without him.
We have discussed over and over about next year and he is adamant about not
going again. There's a lot he doesn't like and that's enough for his decision
but on top of those things, he knows he would be there all day as opposed to 3
hours and that he will have different teachers and most likely if we were
going to continue school, he would have to go to a different one because we don't
like the commute to the one he is in and he was moved up on the waiting list
for the Fundamental school closer to us. He doesn't go to our zoned school.
So, I am certain that he will not miss it once it has been over for the Summer
and he already knows it would be a different school and all day. He tells me
that he likes to play at school and go outside but he doesn't like having to
wait all the time, wait for recess, wait for art, wait for library day, and all
that. He says he already knows everything they teach him, and that's true.
He actually seems to know less now that he's been there, he knew so much
before K. Anyway, as much of a struggle as it is, I know that he is helping to
make this choice and I am happy for that. When I started the homeschooling
journey and discovered unschooling along the way, I found my path, it feels
natural, like a calling, I think we've always done it actually, until K, we've just
never called it by a name. It was like an anxious child with an answer saying,
"Pick me, pick me, pick me." And as hubby learned more and felt good about
it and our families too, I knew that we found what we had been looking for.
But in doing so, I feel like he has a right to a choice in this. So we are here
and soon we will be where we want to be and that's OK for now. I just really
hope he doesn't ask to go next year, cuz I'd just fall apart. But he seems
to know what he wants and isn't that the goal we seek in this?

Pamela
Who appreciates this amazing list and all that it has to offer.


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cinward2001

Hi Pamela,

It sounds like you're in a bit of a tough situation, but you know,
I'm not sure that I'd let my 5 yr. old. make such an important
decision at such an early. Sometimes, kindergarten, the teachers,
and the other students can make such a *strong* impact, but it's not
necessarily a good one. To me, it's like advertising on TV. When
the boys were younger, they really thought that the toys advertised
would be as COOL as they looked on TV. It took a bit more maturity
and experience for them to be able to step back and say "Yeah, it
looks neat on TV, but that's TV." I don't believe they could have
done that for kindergarten. And yes, we bought them the "cool" toys
a few times to show them that they wouldn't be quite the same, but a
few toy disappointments don't have nearly the negative impact of a
year in kindergarten. :\

You said it yourself...your son seems to know LESS after being in
K...and I'll bet that he's internalizing some not so great concepts
and ideas there, too. But at his age, he can't recognize those...he
only sees the playground, friends, the "cool" stuff.

Just some thoughts... :)

Cindy

Holly Selden

Absolutely the only reason my youngest is still in Kindergarten is because his teacher is truly amazing. He's got a few weeks left and he's going to miss her like crazy.

She teaches her students through life. I've actually been in the process of writing an article about her for our local paper. She's just an amazing individual.

However, if she wasn't there, he would have been removed when my other two were.

I'm actually dreading the end of the wonderful relationship Max has formed with her. I just can't say enough about how special she is. I'll miss her terribly and hope to keep in touch with her. She has offered to do any evaluations the state requires.

Holly


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queenjane555

--- In [email protected], b229d655@c... wrote:

> He actually seems to know less now that he's been there, he knew so
much
> before K.

Same thing happened to my son. When he first started K, my very pushy
professor ex-MIL talked to his teacher (without my knowledge!blech!!)
about possibly moving him up to first grade since he is so "smart"--
the teacher acknowledged that he seemed to be ahead of the other
kids, but there were just a couple of math concepts she wanted him to
master before moving him up, and that he would probably be moved
after winter break. It never happened, and i didnt push it cuz it
didnt seem a big deal to me. By his parent teacher conference just
before spring break (horrible story), she said that he used to be
above average now he is "just average"...my son is clearly not
"average" but it was pretty obvious to me (and to my SON!)that doing
more, thinking more, talking more didnt get you anywhere but in
trouble in this class, so why bother?

> I just really hope he doesn't ask to go next year, cuz I'd just >
>fall apart.

My son finished out his K year, because i was working full time and
didnt know what to do (if i had to do over, i wouldve quit my job
that day and taken him home)...but i promised him, over the summer
i'd figure out SOME way, any way, to HS, and he'd never have to go
back. But they let the K students meet their 1st grade teachers, and
she gave the kids all these little trinkets and toys, even Pokemon
stuff, so Seamus thought 1st grade would be soooo cool. So i let him
go. Within days he was begging to stay home. Poor kid.

I hope your son doesnt want to go next year either...but if he does,
i think the fact that you want him home and he could come home
anytime, will mean alot.


Katherine

[email protected]

In a message dated 4/17/2004 8:54:39 PM Eastern Standard Time,
cward@... writes:
> You said it yourself...your son seems to know LESS after being in
> K...and I'll bet that he's internalizing some not so great concepts
> and ideas there, too. But at his age, he can't recognize those...he
> only sees the playground, friends, the "cool" stuff.
>
> Definitely some good points. But I don't really see any "bad" stuff that he
> may keep to himself. We talk about everything. Being nearly 6 1/2, he can
> communicate wonderfully. His K is still only a 3 hour program unlike many of
> our local schools which have switched to full day. I don't see a whole lot
> of any negative stuff coming home because they flat out don't have any time
> for anything. We get there at 11:30 and it takes 'till nearly 12:00 to get
> the 18 K's ready for the day and then they cram all the day's activities into
> the next 2 hours and then start getting packed up at 2:00 and then they are
> out the door by 2:15. So we do have wonderful mornings and then the rest of
> the day. The most negative stuff is that they have no time to really do
> anything, they are rushed. He tells me all the time that he can never say much
> cuz there's no time to listen. He likes his teachers and so do I, we have made
> it a point to "know" them. When it comes to him knowing less now than
> before, I feel that he still knows it all but hesitates to express himself because
> he knows there's no time there for individual focus. If this had been a
> full-day program, he would never have gone. We tried this out because I lost my
> nerve, but he is still the little guy we've always known, he's never cried
> there or been hurt and we are there all the time. If my 2 year old and I are
> done doing our stuff, we go over to the school early and play. We chose this
> school because it is a Fundamental school and gives us, as parents, more say
> in his day and more parent, teacher, staff interaction. I can't say too
> much negative stuff about it because there's not enough time for anything in a
> 3-hour day but our family never wanted to do school and we just know that we
> won't do it again, if we are lucky enough to continue living as we do, with me
> at home. If he ever said he didn't want to go, he wouldn't. If the school
> was killing his spirit, he was unhappy, or if it was full day, we would never
> even think about it, he just wouldn't go. I guess we all look at like a
> 3-hour playtime, which for now, he's OK with. I think our family life has
> suffered far more than he. We learned a lot this year, it gave us an appreciation
> for what we had prior to school. It gave me the strength I needed to say I
> am going to homeschool. There are a lot of things I don't like that helped
> put me back on track, none of them I think are detrimental to him or he
> wouldn't be there at all.
>


Pamela



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[email protected]

In a message dated 4/17/2004 9:50:31 PM Eastern Standard Time,
HLSelden@... writes:
> She has offered to do any evaluations the state requires.
>
That's awesome and it seems that in doing the evaluations, that she is
supporting your decision to bring your child home. Our teacher is the same, she is
supportive and happy to help. This makes it easier to let him continue, even
if I'm gritting my teeth through each day.

Pamela


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[email protected]

In a message dated 4/18/2004 12:43:10 AM Eastern Standard Time,
queenjane555@... writes:
> By his parent teacher conference just
> before spring break (horrible story), she said that he used to be
> above average now he is "just average"...my son is clearly not
> "average" but it was pretty obvious to me (and to my SON!)that doing
> more, thinking more, talking more didnt get you anywhere but in
> trouble in this class, so why bother?


How awful for her to say that!! This truely supports that schools dumb them
down. One good example for us is that they decided to teach the Pledge of
Allegiance and they were going to go over one part each week for 4 weeks and
whoever could recite it, would get a certificate and a little prize, well he knew
it from day one because he had learned that in karate almost 2 years earlier
and when he told the teacher that, she said that's really good but you need to
wait until we go over it with everyone until you recite it. So he waits and
as they go over each part, he begins to forget how it goes all together. In
the end, he is still 1st to recite it but I could see the wheels slowing down
during the process of waiting. In scchool they are trained to think alike, work
alike, do alike, all at the same time. It's horrible.


But they let the K students meet their 1st grade teachers, and
she gave the kids all these little trinkets and toys, even Pokemon
stuff, so Seamus thought 1st grade would be soooo cool. So i let him
go. Within days he was begging to stay home. Poor kid.

I hope your son doesnt want to go next year either...but if he does,
i think the fact that you want him home and he could come home
anytime, will mean alot.

He has already met the 1st grade teacher but he knows he wouldn't be going to
that school again anyway. He is also not happy about being there ALL day.
So I think he is firm in his decision for next year.

Pamela


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