We had Punky's yearly evaluation at school on Thursday. It was the moment we'd been waiting for since September. Did we make the right decision to put her in the pre-K class a year ahead of schedule? What decisions are we facing for fall? Just how smart is she anyway?
In short, yes, none, and very.
She definitely holds her own in class and academically she's at the top. She's ready to start kindergarten, maybe even first grade as the director put it, but her age will prevent that from happening in any public school in Pennsylvania. Her social skills are on par with the others in the class as well. The only place she falls a bit behind is on fine motor skills - she's right on target for her age, but her age is a year younger than the rest of the kids. If we choose the private school route, she will have no trouble passing the tests for admission.
But, we have already decided to let her stay and repeat the pre-K class at this school next year.
In all fairness, I have to admit that part of that decision was based on finances and convenience. I hope that doesn't make us bad parents, but private school is so expensive and she would have to go to a school in New York. I could take her every morning, but pick-up would be an issue with our overlapping work schedules and we have no one available to help fill in those time gaps.
The pre-K teacher told us about her plan to keep Punky learning and engaged if she repeats the class next year. She also assured us that once she finally does start kindergarten, she will be sure to contact her new teacher to give her some background on Punky's academic level. She told us that there may come a time when public school wants to bump her up a grade, but we can cross that bridge when we come to it.
Punky knows that all her friends will be moving on to new schools in September. She also knows the reason she isn't going to kindergarten is because of her age. They are letting her participate in the pre-K graduation with her class in May even though she technically won't graduate. Even though her attitude about all of these statements is stellar thus far, I don't think it will be all smooth sailing.
She loves her school and she loves her teachers. Aside from us, they know her better than anyone. I'm confident the director will make next year's class interesting for Punky. And it's not like she never learns anything at home. We always talk about math, spelling, and reading, and lately she's been so interested in science that we've been doing mini-science projects in the kitchen. She's been teaching me sign language since I forgot all but the alphabet I learned as a kid, and I continue to teach her various words and phrases in Spanish and Italian. There's no doubt we'll be able to keep her engaged until she finally starts kindergarten.
With this evaluation we got her first official report card. It's so cute. We showed it to her when we got home and told her how proud we are of her. And she was quick to remind me that I gave my nephew five dollars for his good report card. She doesn't miss a trick. I happily forked over some cash for her to add to her envelope to save for the American Girl doll she wants so badly, and then I put the adorable report card in her memory box for safe keeping.
I'll never be one hundred percent confident in the decision we made, but I wouldn't have been if we went the other way either. The hardest thing about being a parent is that her life is truly in our hands. We make all the decisions that will mold her into the person she will become and the life she will lead. In this case, we're setting the timeline, too. She could be a year ahead in life - finish school sooner, graduate from college a year earlier, start her career faster, and possibly even get married and start a family sooner. Considering the age of her parents, that might not be such a bad thing.
But we've decided to keep her little a year longer. And that's not such a bad thing either.
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