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Stay in pre-K (trom chova) or move to kindergarten (chova)?



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amother
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Post Mon, May 22 2017, 2:36 am
One of the ganim (preschools) in our city closed, they now have too many kids in the system. So, becasue my daughter was born near the beginning of the year, for next year, they bumped up my daughter to gan chova (kindergarten), rather than keeping her in trom-chova (pre-k) like she is supposed to be. Apparently, they bumped up 5 trom-chova (pre-k) kids only and the other 20-something kids (welcome to large Israeli ganim) are really gan chova age. If she goes to gan chova (kindergarten) now, she will stay there for 2 years, so that she will enter 1st grade on time. The gan chova she was placed in is by far the best in the neighborhood with a fantastic ganenet. I'm trying to decide whether I should just let it be or if I should start fighting the system to get her put into trom chova (pre-K) which is where she is supposed to be.

Intellectually, I believe she really could be ready - it's already clear that she's a very bright kid, she already knows letters and numbers and is a fast learner with a good memory and picks things up quickly, so that doesn't concern me. Socially, I just don't know how to tell whether she is ready - she does fine socially now, I just don't know how to gauge whether her social skills are good enough to be the youngest in the group. Emotionally, she behaves like an average 4 year old - still some tantrums here or there at home, though not at gan (they say she's very well behaved there). Like many 4 year olds, she sometimes shows surprising maturity and sometimes behaves like a kid half her age - her overall emotional stage seems perfectly normal to me and in gan, but again, I'm not sure where it would need to be to make sure she's ok as the youngest in the group. Her motor skills are behind though, she has always had low muscle tone and hyper-mobile (read: weak) joints, and she has received physical therapy and occupational therapy for at least few months every year since she was a baby. She is finally doing well enough that we are on a 6 month hiatus from all therapies (just doing exercises at home) before re-evaluating in the fall. Her fine motor skills are now just in the range of her age, but it is unclear whether she will need more occupational therapy next year or not (due to the underlying low tone and hypermobility), and so I'm nervous about putting her somewhere where everyone is older (e.g. has better motor skills) and more fine motor tasks will be needed. Her gross motor skills are still behind, but this seems to affect gan very little (e.g., as long she can climb and play on the playground, it matters less that going up/down stairs or running quickly are still a little difficult for her). Her attention span is a bit unclear - she has no problems in gan, and sometimes she can sit and concentrate for long periods and sometimes she is bouncing out of her seat, and she is also extremely distractible - her OT and PT have said that it's not clear yet whether this is normal or whether these are early signs of ADD (it runs in the family, so it isn't unlikely). I know that in general the ganenet feels her abilities in all areas (including attention span and motor skills) are on par with what's expected for her in the gan setting she's in now.

I plan to ask her current ganenet whether she thinks she is ready to move up, as well as the ganenet for the gan chova about how they will handle it. And to ask her PT and OT what they think.

But, I was looking for some ideas as to what skills are needed for gan chova (kindergarten) that she might have/lack, or how different trom-chova (pre-K) and gan chova (kindergarten) really are (sitting and concentrating vs. play time, etc.). Advantages of being oldest/youngest, if it's worthwhile for her to do gan chova (kindergarten) twice rather than trom chova and then chova just once. Fighting the system is a hassle, and so it's only something I want to undertake if it's necessary.

I'd be happy to hear some opinions in general or your own experiences with these things. Thanks!
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salt




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 22 2017, 3:02 am
Sounds like she would be fine. Acutally, I think it's harder on the ganenet that on the kids, to have a wide age range.
In our neighborhood they used to combine trom chova and gan chova sometimes if there were not enough kids.
And the younger ones would stay on two years. I think they can gain a lot by staying on two years.
For kids who are the correct age for Gan Chova, but on the young side, parents/gananot often recommend staying on in gan chova an extra year anyway.
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5*Mom




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, May 22 2017, 6:02 am
I wouldn't even consider it. She should stay with the kids she will go on to school with and not have to switch friends every year. Repeating also has plenty of drawbacks: same teacher or different, will she be bored... This decision was made for their convenience not with your dd's best interest in mind. I would say no and not even spend any more thinking about it.
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amother
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Post Tue, May 23 2017, 3:21 am
Thanks for your responses.

Update: They actually placed her in gan chova because when they asked the ganenot if anyone could be moved to gan chova, the ganenet actually recommended they push DD ahead (I didn't know this initially). The ganenet says she's very bright (well ahead of her age), and as far as emotionally, socially, language skills and attention span, she is right on target age wise. The ganenet did say that her physical skills are behind, but since she is getting OT/PT anyway, that this shouldn't be the major deciding factor. The ganenet thinks that moving her up would be the right decision for her from an educational perspective and that she would really benefit from being in an environment where she could learn more and be with kids who are more advanced. Importantly for me, the breakdown of play time / learning time is the same in gan chova as in trom-chova (just the material they learn is more advanced).

Also, in response to 5*mom - the gan she is in this year is a 2 year gan (e.g. 3 and 4 year olds together) - so if she stayed then next year she repeats what she did this year, or she goes to gan chova and then the following year repeats what was done next year. So she is going to repeat things either way. . . Also, because her gan now is a 2 year gan, there are kids from her class this year who will be with her in gan chova next year, so she will have friends (there are ~10-15 kids from her gan going to the gan chova), and apparently many kids in Israel repeat gan chova, so at least some of the class will stay the same her 2nd year. It's still not ideal though.

The ganenet says that the bright kids generally do very well being pushed ahead, and it would be a shame to keep her in trom chova where she will be with kids who are almost 2 years younger than her as well (because the gan is a 2 year gan, my daughter would be 4.5 years old and one of the oldest, and while there are kids her age, there will also be kids who are as young as 2.5 years old). The ganenet thinks that she is independent, goes with the flow and is very adaptable, and would therefore transition well to being in gan chova.

So, I am feeling somewhat better about the whole thing, though we haven't fully made up our minds yet. I know she'd be happy staying where she is (trom-chova) because she had a good year this year, but I now also wonder whether keeping her in trom-chova would hold her back or not. And if she could do well being pushed ahead, it could be great for her, but I also don't want to push her too much either. . .
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Iymnok




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, May 23 2017, 3:29 am
repeating gan chova is no big deal and pretty common. The most important thing to pay attention to when deciding next year whether to send to kita alef or not is her emotional maturity and her social skills. If she is lagging in those, it's really hard to catch up. The gannenet is not concerned about her fine motor skills since they spend so much time in gan chova playing games and doing exercise to strengthen their hands and get them used to the writing position. especially in the morning if you get her there by 8:00.
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