Jan 16th, 2009
Colin, Mad Libs and Kindergarten
I just had to post this today because Colin continues to blow me away sometimes. I got him Mad Libs Junior about a month ago and he just thinks it is the best thing. Mad Libs Junior is a little different because it provides a list of words for you. He calls it his “joke calendar” – who knows why. Anyway, as you can imagine with a 4 year old sense of humor (actually I guess every one’s sense of humor while using mad libs) he wants every adjective to be “stupid” and every noun to be “toilet.”
This became a problem when I brought Mad Libs to his preschool to be my “small group” lesson for the day. I told him before hand that stupid, toilet, pee, barf and fart were not appropriate for school. While I was reading the kids the word choices I would just skip the “bad” words, however Colin can read most of them so he starts pointing out all the bad words and everyone just erupted in to laughter. They got totally out of control and Colin, giggling like a manic, just kept saying “I just can’t stop, I just can’t stop laughing” if you know how Colin giggles you would know how incredibly funny the whole thing was.
Anyway, on to the amazing part. Today we were doing a mad lib and I asked him how many of the words he knew from the list of nouns, he proceed to read this list all by himself:
starfish
pancake
octopus
marshmallow
banana
jellyfish
yo-yo
butterfly
cupcake
sunflower
scarecrow (this is the only one he even hesitated with)
dolphin
He just read them straight down the line, totally out of context. Plus he isn’t sounding them out, he just knows them. Therefore I wouldn’t really say he is reading, because he doesn’t sound them out (he can, but never wants to spend the time doing it) but really, when you grow up you don’t sound things out – you just know. It is crazy to me.
Which brings me to the next topic: Kindergarten. Up until Monday we had thought we would just wait another year because he misses the cut off date this fall. Then I met with Colin’s preschool teacher. She said she thinks he is really ready to go, as much as any other kid in his class, all of whom are already 5 or turning 5 shortly. He is very bright, totally ready in that department. He is social and confident, has lots of friends, plays and shares well. He sits during circle time and is always the first to raise his hand to contribute to the conversation. The only issue is that he is a little small physically. That is my one worry, although he doesn’t seem to have any clue or care in the slightest. Most people who know him at school have said they think his personality is strong enough for that to not be an issue. So now we are at a loss about what to do, plus our options may be limited.
Colin’s birthday is Sept 14 so that means he misses the August 31st deadline (you have to be 5 by then) to go to school. You can get your child tested and then apply to go early, however the Seattle public schools are so messed up there are all these choices and you don’t necessarily go to the school in your area. Also if you want your child to go early you are the last to be placed which means there is almost no chance of getting to go to the school you want to go to, especially because where we live is very crowded right now.
I really don’t know what is the best thing to do. I honestly can’t imagine him going to preschool for another year – they are just starting to identify letters now. Plus he gets along so well with all the kids he is currently with who will all be going to Kindergarten next year. In addition to deciding, then there is all this pressure to pick the right school – why can’t we just live in a one school town and that is where you go…? I think we are going to try to get him in, but have a back up preschool like Jump Start to send him too if he doesn’t get the school we want.
Thoughts on this anyone?
i don’t know…i’m totally influenced by my mom who ALWAYS tells people to wait, regardless of how bright the kid is. i woudn’t underestimate how the size thing will affect him. that will stay with him forever and a year can make a big difference in size and physical maturity…maybe not now or in elementary school, but in high school, etc.
my brother’s birthday is August 24th. he’s obviously a very bright guy (and always has been) and my mom has always been thrilled at her decision to wait. and really, at the time, the only reason she did it was because his best friend at the time was 3 weeks younger and couldn’t start. but she’s so glad she did. my brother was pretty small headed into high school, even being in some cases 6-9 months older than other kids. she couldn’t even imagine him being a year ahead.
couldn’t you just find an extra program for him so that’s he’s challenged beyond pre-school? plus, you do lots of stuff with him at home (which is probably why he’s more advanced anyway).
I wouldn’t worry about the friends thing…they’re all probably going to end up at other schools anyway. that would be more of an issue if you lived in a one school town and everyone was headed to the same kindergarten.
i know lots of people (cousins, etc) who have struggled with this question, and I don’t know anyone who has regretted waiting. my cousin kelly for one (with her youngest.) she waited (selfishly, since he was her last kid at home) and she’s SO happy she did- he’s totally thriving, and a leader in the class, even in kindergarten. you should have chuck ask eric if you want to hear more.
i love the quote “i’m laughing so hard, i just can’t stop”….i love feeling that way
wish you guys were going to be there in Feb!!
yeah, you make good points – we have talked about them before and I always think of what your mom said when I am considering what to do. The whole thing might not even matter if he doesn’t get in anywhere except for West Seattle or something.
It is hard because he already seems like a bit of a leader in his current class. He seems to be very confident, which is great.
Granted on the other hand he has been having these tantrums lately where he becomes a raving lunatic – usually around 6 PM when he is really tired. He just argues about everything except that his arguements don’t make any sense
So in that respect I can’t believe he would be ready for K but then again they don’t happen at school.
It is still a long time away. I am just going to do what I can to keep his options open and then decided later.
i hear you, i’m sure it’s a tough decision. just think about the long term. he may very well be ready, but then he’s going to be last to get his license and most importantly, last to turn 21. not that important, but remember what that felt like
you want him to be the FIRST to go to Ricks, not the last! HA 
(I don’t know you — I think I found your blog through someone else’s blogroll, just making it clear, so you don’t think I’m a stalker)
We went through this with our 5 year old whose birthday is Nov 1. He doesn’t meet Seattle’s cutoff for early entrance (unlike yours) and his older sister attends a private school, whose age cutoff he did not meet (and which we think is also a good fit for him), so we didn’t pursue the early admission option in SPS.
And, we were really daunted by the choice system, and the “last in line”, meaning that we wouldn’t get access to our neighborhood school (View Ridge). It’s possible that the new k-8 at Addams might end up having “last in line” spots. Depending on where you live, that might be an option.
If private school is an option for you, they do occasionally admit September birthday children (different schools have different cutoffs). The application deadline was Jan 15th, but some may still take an application.
And, I’m kind of making the assumption that it’s good to get him into school. My 5 year old (who stayed in preschool) is getting bored in school. He blanks out during the circle time. The school ahs a lot of free time, and we bring him home early/late a lot, so it works out OK, ’cause he can still do the “works” & play with his friends.
Good luck (and I hope it’s not too weird having a stranger drop in and say these things. It’s just that your situation matched mine so well).