Kate's end of school year {and thoughts on repeating kindergarten}

I know I am late in posting this but I wanted to post a little bit about Kate's last day of kindergarten and reflect on having her do an encore presentation of kindergarten as I know so many parents out there struggle with this decision.

Let me start with the celebrations first.  They had a fun splash day the last week of school which Kate really enjoyed.  It was HOT though.  Almost too hot for a splash day even:)

I went to the splash day for a little while but had to leave to go to work.  Plus, I was melting:)

Also the last week of school was an awards ceremony.  Kate had perfect attendance for the second year in a row!  And while I know that is not an academic achievement, none of the other peanuts has ever had perfect attendance. And honestly I never would have thought Kate would either.  She was the SICKEST little pre-schooler.  She had strep, ear infections and even mono constantly until we had her tonsils and adenoids removed.  BEST DECISION ever!!!

Kate also was given the Art Achievement award for her class from the Art teacher.  I was really proud of her.  She loves art and she won two art contests at school this year (Spooky Spaghetti and Fundraiser Bash).

{Iphone shots}

Kate and her sweet and wonderful teacher:)


A few last day of school photos of Kate and Harry....







Okay now onto my thoughts about repeating kindergarten...

Two of my 3 peanuts are summer birthdays. And 2 of my 3 peanuts are what I would call "late bloomers."  They are very smart peanuts but the lightbulb for reading and some other things (sitting really still or paying attention or doing multi step tasks or writing 5-7 sentences in their daily journal) just took longer.  Last year a lot of things went right over Kate's cute little head both academically and even more socially.  She was on track to go to first grade academically according to her teacher and the school but as I observed her in the class, I could tell she was just not fully absorbing all that was being presented.

Also, she was bullied a bit last year and I worked really hard on trying to teach her to stand up for herself and to be strong and confident.  Kate was one of the youngest in her class and she was not a leader. Our school is quite challenging.  I did not want to see Kate struggle year after year and see her confidence crumble.

This year, Kate was a leader.  She was not bullied once.  By the end of the year, Kate was at the top of her class in everything (even reading and she has dyslexia).  She is strong and she is confident.  The other kids looked up to Kate.  And most importantly, we saw the lightbulb switch on.  Kate really absorbed all that she was taught.  She came home and taught us things. She had the attention span and the maturity required of the classroom.

I would say that without one shred of doubt, this was a fabulous decision.  Kate bloomed.  I am sure she would have bloomed either way but I think we gave her better soil for blooming by having her do another year of kindergarten.  There might have been a small touch of social stigma for about the first 2-3 days of school but then that was gone completely. All of her sweet friends from last year's class still include her in playdates and birthday parties so she actually doubled her social circle at school.

Last November, a classroom mom pulled me aside and asked me why I held Kate back.  She said, "Kate is so smart and she is such a leader.  All the girls want to be her friend and they look up to her.  She is a fabulous reader and good at art and sports.  I just don't understand why you held her back?"  

In all honesty I was a bit taken aback because the way I was asked was kind of accusatory.  But I just smiled kindly and said..."THOSE are exactly the reasons I held her back. She was not those things last year.  She was a follower and she was struggling to keep up academically and socially.  She needed an extra year to get there. So, if you perceive her that way, I know we made the right decison"

Kate's teacher summed it up too. She knew Kate last year and she witnessed how timid and naive she was.  She said, "this year Kate found her voice."  And she did.