School Readiness

[feeb]

I am looking for some guidance and insight into how others have decided if child ready for school and if was suggested that maybe an extra year would be good for child did you do that or send them to school??

DS1 can get easily distracted, at times finds it hard to follow instructions and concentrate. He is currently for some reason being naughty more than normal and is playing rough which is not him that is way his brother plays not him.
Apparantly play is very basic, to me he does lots of imaginative play etc.

DS1 will be 5 soon and plan is for him to attend school next year he is very excited and looking forward to school.

We see a speech and OT and have done for 18 months or so. We are working on many things including lack on concentration. etc, about to repeat hearing test as well.

He can write name, identify some letters, count to 20, name body parts.

DS2 will be 4 in Jan and plan was for him to attend kinder then, if DS1 does not go to school and repeats kinder I will then be forced to not start DS2 as would not want them in same year level (I know not a huge issue as DS2 is going to one of youngest. My worry is that DS1 starting school at 6 and 1/2 he may get bored doing more time at kinder and may not help concentration issues.

Other issues would be child care as they have kept boys in diff rooms this year when DS2 could have moved up, but due to fact that when they are together they are just at each other and need to do everything together staff and us decided was best to keep them in seperate rooms but this would not be possible next year as DS2 can't stay in current room at 4.

[Amity]

I'd have a meeting (if possible) with his kinder teacher, speechie and OT and discuss the issue with them. Probably more around September than now.

[Olive]

For me, it's about social and emotional readiness, is he socially and emotionally ready to go?
What have his teachers said?
Look up Kathy walker, she as a service to access kids for school readiness.
DD2 is starting at 6, emotionally, she's not ready for school next year.

[feeb]

OT and speech are going to kinder in a few weeks to observe him at kinder.

[Artechim]

Agree with the clucker, there is a whole lot of time between now and the start of next year so what is relevant now may well have changed in the next 8 months. I would enrol him for school and then make a call closer to the time (with input from the people you see).

[feeb]

He plays with other kids well normally, we are very social and out and about everyday doing things with others. Kinder 3 days a week and CC the other 2 days so plays well with kids, and when we see other friends mixes with diff ages well.
He goes to gymnatsics as well as talks to other kids as well, is shy initially meeting people but warms fairly quickly.
Kinder are saying he plays more with the younger kids in class and at times being a bit mean which i am concerned at as not the norm for him.

[wysiwyg]

I didn't realise in VIC that if after Apr 30th you had any choice of year e.g - I thought you had to start school in the year you turn 6 which would be Jan next year wouldn't it? Or is it you just have to start before turn seven? Or is there more than one intake a year?

[~Gee_Whizzy~]

I didn't realise in VIC that if after Apr 30th you had any choice of year e.g - I thought you had to start school in the year you turn 6 which would be Jan next year wouldn't it? Or is it you just have to start before turn seven? Or is there more than one intake a year?

In Victoria a child has to start primary school the year they are turning 6. if for whatever reason your child is not starting by the year they turn 6, a letter from Dept. of Education is required...

Eta:- the above was the info i was given by a D.O.E rep last week it's not an issue for me as DD1 will turn 6 a week before the 2015 school year starts

[wysiwyg]

In Victoria a child has to start primary school the year they are turning 6. if for whatever reason your child is not starting by the year they turn 6, a letter from Dept. of Education is required...

Cheers - so it is the exception rather than 'normal' process - makes sense now thanks.

[feeb]

I have read some of Kathy Walkers things and have heard her talk a few weeks ago, mostly I think he is ready by her points but other things have me confused.

Thanks all

[Arimeh]

I worry about dd1 as well - she lacks concentration and focus, she can't follow instructions and she's so darn ditzy!! And clumsy.

She also has no interest in doing anything like writing her own name etc. Ds was writing his at 3, so to have her be totally different is very hard to deal with.

I've asked her kindy teachers to get a person in to assess her, I feel she has "issues".

I'm also waiting until closer to the time that she would start prep, she might hit a developmental streak after 5 or something. I don't want her to repeat kindy for the same reason as you - dd2 will be going there next year.

[~Gee_Whizzy~]

yeah for kids born before 30 April parents generally have the "option" to start their child at 6 rather than 5.

my DD1 will start prep in 2015 and will have turned 6 on 21 Jan 2015. my reasons (coupled with her kinder teachers and the council appointed PFSO assessments) are similar to Olives and are more to do with her maturity/emotional readiness

[feeb]

I worry about dd1 as well - she lacks concentration and focus, she can't follow instructions and she's so darn ditzy!! And clumsy.

She also has no interest in doing anything like writing her own name etc. Ds was writing his at 3, so to have her be totally different is very hard to deal with.

I've asked her kindy teachers to get a person in to assess her, I feel she has "issues".

I'm also waiting until closer to the time that she would start prep, she might hit a developmental streak after 5 or something. I don't want her to repeat kindy for the same reason as you - dd2 will be going there next year.

Thank you for making me realise i am not alone, I have been so upset and worried and keep crying.

[~Gee_Whizzy~]

Feeb- to answer your queries, I think you'll have a more rounded idea of where your DS is at once the meeting of all those involved with his care have 'compared notes' so to speak? When does your DS turn 5?

i know for *me* Iwish I'd taken up the kinder deferment option for DD1 when they were available but our council (and most from what the DOE rep was saying) will no longer be offering deferment options as of next year

[feeb]

Feeb- to answer your queries, I think you'll have a more rounded idea of where your DS is at once the meeting of all those involved with his care have 'compared notes' so to speak? When does your DS turn 5?

i know for *me* Iwish I'd taken up the kinder deferment option for DD1 when they were available but our council (and most from what the DOE rep was saying) will no longer be offering deferment options as of next year

How do you mean deferment option not available?? I am under the thought that kinder can apply for extra year of funded kinder for DS1 and I can defer DS2 till year after.

He will be 5 in July.

[~Trish~]

Hugs Feeb . You will be amazed at how much your DS will change and develop in the months leading up to school. I remember wondering how kids could be ready for school in the first half of 4 year old kinder, but as the year goes on you really see them change and you just know they're ready for school. Both of my boys went through "naughty" patches that seemed out of character in 4 year old kinder too - maybe a rise in testosterone at that age? Both got worse towards the end of the year (sorry!) and I think it was just because they needed more, that the kinder hours and activities weren't enough for them any more (I'm not a child psychologist and I could be completely wrong lol!).

Please don't stress just yet, and it sounds like you are doing all the right things anyway

[Nai]

What a tough choice! I think I would wait until after he is assessed until deciding though. When do school enrolments need to be in?

Arimeh, dd2 is similar. She has minimal interest whereas dd1 was writing and reading at the same age. Maybe second child thing. Dd2 said she would learn when she went to school and she is stubborn like that so I'm hoping she will learn when she gets there. I'm enrol lying her tomorrow! Eek!

[~Gee_Whizzy~]

How do you mean deferment option not available?? I am under the thought that kinder can apply for extra year of funded kinder for DS1 and I can defer DS2 till year after.

He will be 5 in July.

The info i was given last week from DOE was that in order to get a second year of funded 4 year old kinder, the child needs to meet set criteria (I *think* there are 3 main criteria the only one i can remember is speech - sorry, i kind of tuned out when she started on that because I *knew* my DD wouldn't meet all the criteria to get a second year of funding. Our council offered 2 deferment options, one before 4yr old started and another at the end of term one. I didn't really "get onto it" with DD1 so i missed out on being able to defer her for this year and the 1st round of assessments that she has had, her only "low" scoring was in the emotional/maturity part. Social, language, cognitive she was fine in - so i will most likely be sending her to a Steiner kinder which caters for for 4 and 5 year olds as I asked council if i could send her to 4yr again at our own expense, but it's not an option, they don't "allow" it.
Apparently it used to be that if your child started 4yr old but you then felt they weren't ready etc, deferment would be offered at the end of term 2.