Hi!!! I wanted to see how you all would handle this situation that I am in. If you have some words of wisdom I would gladly accept any and all suggestions!!!
I have a young girl who is acadmemically advanced. She is of age to be in our Pre-K classroom this Fall. Her parents would like her to be in our Jr. K classroom. Both classes head to kindergarten next year! BUT the Pre-K classroom focuses on the emotional needs of the younger 4-year-old child, whereas the Jr. K is more fast paced and advanced for our young 5's (they turn 5 in the school year).
My gut tells me that this child is not emotionally ready to be with students older than her.... What magical words do you have that I can pepper into my follow up email!!!
Appreciate you!
Dear Friends, I had this situation as well and I think we will have it more often especially if your school is keeping a traditional TK with the December cutoff as opposed to moving with the state UPK program. I asked the teacher for more information on the social emotional development of the child and then went in and observed a few days. I found that the child had difficulty making choices and decisions on her own, was not interested yet in "seat time" with more teacher directed activities, and walked away from conflicts with friends. I felt that the additional time would be a gift for her to develop in these areas and in a play based setting she would have more opportunities to work on these skills. When I met with the parents, we prayed and I explained these things. I also left it a bit open in that if the school year starts and she has grown in these areas that we would make the move then. Hope that helps. In Him, Mary