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I know this has been talked about a lot, but now that we are in a co-op it is really applicable for me. My kids are all in classes for their age appropriate "grade". They are in the class they would be in if they were in school.

However, in the really low grades it is a nightmare. I have a preschool class. It is mainly 3 yr olds and 2-4 yr olds. The 4 yr olds are almost 5 and way over the just turned 3 yr olds and the 3 almost 4 yr olds are way over the just turned 3. There is one boy that just should be in the toddler room. He is sweet, but he is still toddler. He is potty training still and all. In fact, there are 3 potty trainers in our "preschool" co-op class.

Now, in the k/1st grade class...there are a ton of 4 yr olds. The kindergarten is mainly made up of 4 year olds and the 1st grade is made up of 6-7 yr olds. You can imagine the differences in maturity.

I love the co-op and my kids love it. All of them are in higher grades except my preschooler. I want to suggest the co-op rethink the current combo of grades/ages to accomodate maturity next year.

It would be so much more beneficial to the younger kids to have a k4/k5 class (needing to be 4 before the start of co-op). The preschoolers would do well with a 3/4 yr old class for those that turn 4 during the year. All younger or potty training should be in the toddler room.

I am hesitant to put this out there though, b/c the powers that be totally didn't want to hear about the potty training issue. I don't want to deal with another person's child and changing soiled clothes. Period.

This seems to even out as the kids get older and they move through the higher grades in the co-op, but there are a lot of just too young for k/1st combo setting in the k/1st class. Four year olds and 7 year olds together make for a horrible mismatch of personalities, maturity, and emotional readiness.

Would you bring it up?

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I agree that you need to bring it up but the problem might be not enough teachers to step up. My CC class has from just turned 5 to over 7. There's a pretty big range there in maturity and ability. It's not the ideal mix, but no one else stepped up to be a teacher. So we make do. But I agree that the parent needs to be found because you can't be responsible in a preschool class with potty training. Most preschools won't take kids unless they are potty trained unless they specifically have a "toddler" class.

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Sounds like the crazy age breaks at our church... I would just ask to change it some this year and share why. The co-op should be flexible enough to do this and it could make life easier for every adult involved. I also think that there should be 1-2 helpers in any class where there are children who are potty training. If you are busy taking care of a soiled child, then who is taking care of all the other children in the room??? THe helper can rotate kids to bathrooms or find the parents of the child who needs clean clothing.

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I get that homeschoolers aren't locked into age-based grade levels. That is cool. But outside of a situation with a kid WAY outside the norm, they probably need to be grouped by age as most homeschool parents seem to think their kids are geniuses so it would be hard to accurately group them by level. The only other way to do it well, imo, would be to test kids into the younger levels like many schools do; but that would be challenging in it's own way.

 

I would liken it to school or daycare. There are occasions when children should be moved up or down a level (or three), but it's done pretty rarely. Since a homeschool co-op will likely be smaller and allow for more accommodation as well as a better level for ALL students, usually, moving up shouldn't be necessary. Of course, if your 7yo wants to take Algebra and has proven he's capable of doing so and behaving appropriately, we'll more than happily allow that :)

 

(this to say that I *get* it as I advocated for a child to move from my preschool class up a couple levels as I believed that was best for him. When the center wouldn't allow it, I helped the parents consider other preschools. This was best for him socially, academically, behaviorally, etc. I'm all for doing it when necessary but calling all 4yos kindergartners just because they are homeschooled is plain silliness.)

 

Of course, the other end of this is that a teacher SHOULD be able to accommodate a range of children. LOTS of programs are multi-age. There are real benefits to that. But I don't think a person expected to TEACH kindergarten should deal with toddler issues like potty training either.

Edited by 2J5M9K
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I get that homeschoolers aren't locked into age-based grade levels. That is cool. But outside of a situation with a kid WAY outside the norm, they probably need to be grouped by age as most homeschool parents seem to think their kids are geniuses so it would be hard to accurately group them by level.

 

 

 

 

 

I think so, too.

 

I am finding that co-op classes have the same problems that traditional school classrooms do. The social and maturity levels may not match up with the academic levels. And I don't know about most, but enough parents advance the children that if you don't advance your own, too, they will be left behind in a group of kids that are way way below their level. And then you get this situation where 2 year olds are in "preschool", when they are still running around in diapers.

 

So then it comes down to, what is the purpose of these classes? If they aren't really learning anything, it is only for socialization, isn't it?

 

To answer your question, is it possible to bring it up without offending those involved? I think you need to decide why you are there, and if making the suggestion is really going to change anything. Maybe you won't know unless you try. To me, the concept of a co-op means parents should have some input. I am rethinking the outside classes myself, because of a similar issue.

Edited by Penelope
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Am I understanding correctly that you are teaching the preschool class? If that is the case then I would definitely think it is appropriate for you to suggest a different age division, even if it just means splitting up the preschoolers into 2/3's and 3/4's. Beyond that I think the leadership needs to make at the very least some grade cut-off suggestions, especially if most of the k'ers are actually 4-year-olds. Is this a group where the parents have to serve as teachers/assistants? Our group was having problems staffing our preschool/nursery rooms until we made a rule that parents of babies/toddlers/preschoolers HAD to serve in one of those areas. The only exception was for those who were truly gifted/led/called to TEACH a class at another level (not just assist, but plan lessons,etc). We haven't had a problem with not having enough adults in the preschool classes since making this rule. Maybe this is something you can suggest to your group's leaders. Sometimes pointing out the problem goes over a lot easier if you can point out a viable solution at the same time.

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Sounds like the crazy age breaks at our church... I would just ask to change it some this year and share why. The co-op should be flexible enough to do this and it could make life easier for every adult involved. I also think that there should be 1-2 helpers in any class where there are children who are potty training. If you are busy taking care of a soiled child, then who is taking care of all the other children in the room??? THe helper can rotate kids to bathrooms or find the parents of the child who needs clean clothing.

 

There are 2 adults and 1 senior hs student taking child development helping us. I refuse to change a soiled child. I didn't volunteer for preschool and specifically did not put it on my choices yet was told I had to b/c I had a preschooler. My preschooler was trained at 2. I specifically asked about having to change diapers and was told no it was preschoolers. So I feel I have a good gripe here. I have it in writing too b/c I save my IM's and it was on messenger that I was asked.

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No expert, but the potty training thing should be an issue. From what I understand in a church setting sometimes nursery workers have to go through training and background checks to even be around children that would need diaper changes. This can be a huge liability issue!

 

By not addressing it your co-op is leaving themselves open for accusations of the most heinous kind. Is your co-op required to maintain liability insurance? I would approach it from that angle.

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Am I understanding correctly that you are teaching the preschool class? If that is the case then I would definitely think it is appropriate for you to suggest a different age division, even if it just means splitting up the preschoolers into 2/3's and 3/4's. Beyond that I think the leadership needs to make at the very least some grade cut-off suggestions, especially if most of the k'ers are actually 4-year-olds. Is this a group where the parents have to serve as teachers/assistants? Our group was having problems staffing our preschool/nursery rooms until we made a rule that parents of babies/toddlers/preschoolers HAD to serve in one of those areas. The only exception was for those who were truly gifted/led/called to TEACH a class at another level (not just assist, but plan lessons,etc). We haven't had a problem with not having enough adults in the preschool classes since making this rule. Maybe this is something you can suggest to your group's leaders. Sometimes pointing out the problem goes over a lot easier if you can point out a viable solution at the same time.

Yes, we do have to serve in classrooms and I was told I needed to do preschool b/c I have a preschooler. Well, I also have grade schoolers as well. We switch periods. I only teach and hour and help an hour. The preschool class hours are split 50/50 like music/art and one is teacher and one is helper for the respective subjects. I like my adult partner in my class and we implemented a potty break 1/2 way in our class so I doubt we have accidents. This is more a question of whether they need to change things up b/c it is a bit ridiculous to expect a parent whose children have been out of diapers and potty learning for years to take on the task for someone else. I suggested a policy on it, but they totally didn't want to address it beyond what the parents wanted to do (not the volunteer teachers).

I gave a suggestion that the parent be gotten instead. It was met with reluctance b/c said parent may be instructional teacher in another class. Then I was asked what to do if my child has an accident and I said my child has been trained for years. If they have an accident, they are sick. Get me.

I am using a curriculum with them but most aren't ready for it. Then there is the almost 5 year old who is doing beautifully. There is 1 child that really needs to go back to toddlers.

It is just hard to go to plan for such an age range when some can use scissors and some can not.

But I don't want to deal with potty training at all. I have done that 4 times with my kids and I don't want to do it with someone elses kids.

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No expert, but the potty training thing should be an issue. From what I understand in a church setting sometimes nursery workers have to go through training and background checks to even be around children that would need diaper changes. This can be a huge liability issue!

 

By not addressing it your co-op is leaving themselves open for accusations of the most heinous kind. Is your co-op required to maintain liability insurance? I would approach it from that angle.

 

I did. It was brushed off as getting parents ok on how to deal with their child.

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