Delayed child - K5 options

[ZeldaRules]

Hi

 

Question: What are my K5 options for a 5YO that is developmentally delayed if I wanted to put him in an easy program next year? Something like K was when we all went to school. Background below.

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I have a 4YO that is developmentally delayed. He didn't start talking until he was 3.2 (he is now 4.5). He gets OT once a week and is in a speech program twice a week for 2 hours/day at the public school. OT is one-on-one, speech has 5 children and 2 teachers. It's great for him. He is pretty normal except for his speech and a few minor sensory issues. He can't even really trace a circle, let alone write any letters...handwriting will be an issue. That is something that will just have to 'click' for him. There will be no pushing it, just encouraging it. :)

 

My oldest is 6 and I homeschool him and plan on homeschooling all of them. If K was like K when I went to school - 1/2 day and full of arts and crafts, I would probably put my son in K just for K. But it's not like that. He would definitely not be ready for K next year. My plan is not to really do anything formal with him until he is 6. If I have to wait until 7 for him, I would do that too, although my husband would be stressed out and I would have him to deal with...:)

 

So today after his Occupational Therapy (OT) appointment, his OT was asking me about his time with other kids - she would like him to be around other kids his age so maybe he could learn faster from 'monkey see, monkey do'. I get that and wouldn't be closed to putting him in something a few days a week. He would NOT be ready for all day K, and I wouldn't do that to him. I feel he would be bullied, and one day of full bullying is one day too many. I'm not willing to take that risk (he is small, so small and doesn't talk right would be a big target). I am wondering what my options are for a delayed child - private or public.

 

Would Montessori be a good option, and if you put your children or have put them in Montessori, what was the cost? What about Waldorf?

 

Do the public schools have any options for a child that is K age, but not ready?

 

He can see mokey see, monkey do with his siblings, but I agree it's different among others who are your peers. Maybe if I could even do it for a month or two, that would be suffice for him.

 

I would put him in co-op next year, and I would probably help out in all his classes. That is one day a week (9-12 on Monday's/3 classes). Although I'm not sure he would be ready for some of the K classes. I'll have to evaluate where he is at that time.

 

Thanks.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I used to teach at a developmental preschool. It had normally developed kids at the preschool level (which is like K used to be in the schools) and developmentally delayed kids up through 6 years old. Ours was through a charity/organization for developmentally delayed people. Is there something like that in your area?

[In The Great White North]

A Waldorf kindergarten would work. They do not do any writing. They do handwork to develop small motor coordination, focus on storytelling, circle time and free play, with lots of songs. They are usually multi-age classrooms (4-6) as well.

 

Waldorf standards for starting 1st grade has many children still in kindergarten at 6, because it is not entirely by birthdate.

[Tidbits of Learning]

Hi

 

Question: What are my K5 options for a 5YO that is developmentally delayed if I wanted to put him in an easy program next year? Something like K was when we all went to school. Background below.

-------------------------------------------

I have a 4YO that is developmentally delayed. He didn't start talking until he was 3.2 (he is now 4.5). He gets OT once a week and is in a speech program twice a week for 2 hours/day at the public school. OT is one-on-one, speech has 5 children and 2 teachers. It's great for him. He is pretty normal except for his speech and a few minor sensory issues. He can't even really trace a circle, let alone write any letters...handwriting will be an issue. That is something that will just have to 'click' for him. There will be no pushing it, just encouraging it. :)

 

My oldest is 6 and I homeschool him and plan on homeschooling all of them. If K was like K when I went to school - 1/2 day and full of arts and crafts, I would probably put my son in K just for K. But it's not like that. He would definitely not be ready for K next year. My plan is not to really do anything formal with him until he is 6. If I have to wait until 7 for him, I would do that too, although my husband would be stressed out and I would have him to deal with...:)

 

So today after his Occupational Therapy (OT) appointment, his OT was asking me about his time with other kids - she would like him to be around other kids his age so maybe he could learn faster from 'monkey see, monkey do'. I get that and wouldn't be closed to putting him in something a few days a week. He would NOT be ready for all day K, and I wouldn't do that to him. I feel he would be bullied, and one day of full bullying is one day too many. I'm not willing to take that risk (he is small, so small and doesn't talk right would be a big target). I am wondering what my options are for a delayed child - private or public.

 

Would Montessori be a good option, and if you put your children or have put them in Montessori, what was the cost? What about Waldorf?

 

Do the public schools have any options for a child that is K age, but not ready?

 

He can see mokey see, monkey do with his siblings, but I agree it's different among others who are your peers. Maybe if I could even do it for a month or two, that would be suffice for him.

 

I would put him in co-op next year, and I would probably help out in all his classes. That is one day a week (9-12 on Monday's/3 classes). Although I'm not sure he would be ready for some of the K classes. I'll have to evaluate where he is at that time.

 

Thanks.

 

I would look for a bridge class. The kind for kids with a late birthday at a private school or a Montessori school. Montessori worked well for us b/c there were no grades. The beginner class 2-3 yr olds, the middle class 3,4,and 5 year olds, and the last class 4,5, and 6 year olds. It was only a preschool/kindergarten program. The older kids led by example for the younger kids. I chose to put my son in the middle class even though he was 4 turning 5 and most of the children were 3 turning 4. It did him a wealth of good. He was/is small for his age and had delays.

I do think the daily interaction with kids his own age benefitted him. It also benefitted him to be with children a bit younger than himself. He did not stick out so much and was not bullied at all. I am not so sure that his experience would have been the same if he would have been required to be in a class with bigger kids than himself that were all on target for their age. I didn't advertise anything and most other parents didn't realize he was a year older than their children.

I will be honest. I found that the co-op at young ages really did not benefit us at all. Most of the programs for the young kids are just there so the older kids can participate. It seemed to encourage regression instead of progress. Your co-op may be different, but it wouldn't have been my first choice with my son.

[ZeldaRules]

There are a number of classes for K-2 in our co-op. They have art, creative expressions (show & tell, with a story & craft), science, sign language, games, galloping the globe and performing arts (theater). I would put him in art and games or performing arts. It's just enrichment and a chance to be around other children. He wouldn't be ready for the science, galloping the globe or creative expressions. But who knows in a year if he would. I love our co-op.

 

I found a Waldorf school in our area that offers 1/2 day two days a week. I would do that. I looked at a few Montessori websites and it didn't appear they offered 1/2 days. The Waldorf may work, but I don't know much about their philosophy. What is the difference between Waldorf & Montessori? I don't know much about either.

 

Thanks for your replies.

[wapiti]

Sounds a bit like one of my kids - at 3 y.o., the school district psych said he was severely developmentally delayed. He had no words until 3 y.o. (he's still in speech therapy at 7 y.o.). He has attended a montessori charter school since preschool. We did private speech and OT in preschool. He started K not knowing all the sounds to all the letters and not being able to write more than his name. The Montessori classroom did allow him to progress in math in preschool in spite of his issues - that's his strength. He got speech and OT at school in K. Here's the good news - in his case, he is a very late bloomer - teaching to his strengths while supporting his weaknesses worked out really well. By the end of K he was reading Magic Treehouse books. By the end of first grade he was doing long division, though math is another story altogether with him.

 

FWIW, the Montessori method was developed for a special needs population. Also, note that most Montessori Ks are all-day. It was not a problem for my kids. Tired, yes, but otherwise not a problem (classrooms are multi-grade, typically pre-3, pre-4 and K are together in the same class; preschool kids go home before lunch, so the afternoons were just the 10 Kers in the classroom).

 

Our school is a public charter, so we paid tuition for preschool and K (the district pays for half-days, not whole days). Grades 1 and up are free. You'd have to see what's available in your area - Montessori schools vary widely in tuition, etc. and - this is important to note - how strictly they adhere to the philisophy. Finding a good school can take a bit of research in this regard.

 

My advice is to focus on his strengths as much as his weaknesses (this can do wonders for the self-confidence, which is critical), and to not necessarily assume that the core academics (e.g., areas like math, even if he's struggling with reading), need to be watered down merely because he may have trouble with inputs/outputs. (for example, my ds struggled with handwriting, so his teacher got some number stamps in order for him to do math.)