Roman is officially a kindergartener! When did that happen!?At the beginning of the year, we weren’t sure whether he’d continue on to kindergarten or repeat pre-K. Deciding if your child should repeat a grade can feel a bit challenging. He’s only 4 years old which is young for his grade. Most of his friends and classmates are already 5, while Roman’s birthday isn’t until June 21. For kids with summer and early fall birthdays, they are the youngest in a class by far. And so his teachers, Bart, and I all agreed if he’s not ready for kindergarten we’d hold him back. That seems to be a new trend among parents and schools these days, holding kids back so they’re not the youngest. This inevitably is believed to help kids succeed more, being a bit older, a bit more developed, a bit bigger.
Bart and I are not going to rush our kids’ development, but instead find the best way to nurture their growth–which I know is how many other parents feel.
For families who hope their kids move on to competitively play sports, for which size does matter, not being the youngest in the grade may impact their future successes as athletes. But since Bart and I are not really into sports in that capacity, the size thing doesn’t factor into our decision.
Last fall, during our first parent-teacher conference three weeks into school, Roman’s teachers shared with us he wasn’t paying attention and wasn’t focusing well. But after a full year of learning and growing, his teachers now have no concerns about him and so are encouraging the next step up.
This summer, our goal is to keep Roman as active as possible and to continue working on what his teachers suggested. This little boy absolutely loves math, and so we’ve been spending time practicing basic addition and subtraction with games and shapes. We’ll also be working on his handwriting.
Remember, what works for Roman may not work for other kids. Each child and situation is unique. We do the best we can for our kids! If he had to repeat pre-K, okay, no problem. If he is ready to move on to kindergarten, okay, no problem.
I choked up watching Roman prance across the graduation stage, shaking hands with an administrator, looking so proud. If you’re anything like me, you too have had your fair share of bittersweet mom moments, getting emotional, realizing how quickly your children are growing and moving farther away from the nest. We gotta cherish these moments!