We had our annual parent/teacher conference at daycare this week.
While we weren't a bit surprised to hear how intelligent Punky is, we were a tad bit shocked to hear that her behavior at school is almost stellar. Don't get me wrong, that's a good thing, but it means she's saving all the whining, crying, hitting, and full-blown tantrums for us. Better than decking some kid at school, I suppose.
Her teacher conducted the standard evaluation, but then the daycare director spent a few hours with Punky one on one to evaluate her further. She took her through a series of skill sets and was amazed to see her easily completing tasks that most kids fail at age five. Based on her discoveries, she made some phone calls to fellow teachers for advice on what to do with Punky to keep her learning and engaged.
The problem, first and foremost, is that it's a daycare. They strictly follow the guidelines as far as what to teach children based mainly on a number: their age. They confirmed our suspicions in that the decision last fall, to keep Punky with her current teacher instead of moving her up with her peers, was made because she was only two. She was eight months younger than the closest child in her original group, so they held her back and stuck her with kids months younger than her. It did wonders for her maturity, let me tell you. We had previously kicked many behavior issues only to have them return in October when she was surrounded by kids still in the biting, hitting, whining stage.
Another problem is that they are simply not staffed to provided a custom education program to one individual child. There isn't really a need; most kids that age fall within the norm of development. Her current teacher told us that she really struggles with Punky in class now because, with a group of rambunctious toddlers, she doesn't have the time to devote to take lessons a step further for Punky's benefit. As a result, Punky is definitely bored and gets frustrated when her teacher makes her wait to answer while the other kids take turns guessing. But, on the flip side, she said Punky is really helping her teach the younger kids. While they have a tendency to tune the teacher out quickly, they pay close attention when Punky steps in and explains things.
Based on all of these observations, they have devised a plan. For the next three months, they are going to move Punky up into the next class where she would have been if she moved with her group last fall. After the summer break, they are planning to move her into the pre-K group even though she will only be three and a half. Based on the director's evaluation, Punky already has most of those skills nailed the way it is.
The only other factors to consider are her social skills and level of maturity. On the social end, she is way ahead of the game. No worries there. On the maturity end, I have some concerns. I think she would have been fine if she moved with her group last fall, but I think the past six months spent with the younger group has hindered her some. The next three months will determine her fate. If her attention span, in conjunction with her ability to sit still, keep her hands to herself, and follow instructions, is where it should be then she will go to the pre-K group in September.
If the plan comes together, she will have completed the pre-K course before reaching age four and a half, and then she'll have almost sixteen months to wait until she can start kindergarten because of Pennsylvania's strict guidelines for public schools. A child must be age five by September 1st, or else they have to wait another year. No exceptions. No testing. No consideration for advanced kids whatsoever. The only way around it is a private school. They will admit a younger child if she passes the required testing. Once kindergarten is completed in a private school, a public school has to admit the child into first grade.
While this decision is still over a year away, we've briefly discussed it. It will be a tough call, that's for sure. We want to do the best we can for Punky and we don't want to push her if she's not ready. And at the same time, I have no idea where the closest private school is to us or if we could even afford it. But, on the other hand, she is starting to read now after just recently turning three. She's doing basic addition and subtraction. She is teaching herself Spanish, for God's sake. Chances are that by the time she is able to start kindergarten in a public school, she'll be reading on a third grade level or higher. And we'll have set the stage for more years of boredom and frustration.
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