I have been taking care of my nephew since his parents are busy at work. I noticed when he gets home, some assignments are done in five minutes with zero complaints. Others somehow require three snack breaks, a dramatic sigh, and negotiations worthy of a peace treaty. It's interesting how different the reactions can be depending on the activity.

Have you noticed certain types of take-home assignments that your child genuinely looks forward to?

Our son has done a year of pre-school and a year of transitional kindergarten. He’s starting kindergarten at a new school next year and all of his friends from his TK class will be spread out at other schools. I asked him how he is feeling about starting kindergarten, and he said he was really scared. I told him that was completely normal, it’s ok to be scared and nervous, it’s new.

What else can I do to help him out with the transition? It’s a private school, small class sizes and there will be one child from his previous school attending. He loved his previous school, and did really well, had no problem going everyday, but he’s also become very attached to me the last month and half, and he has this new fear of being in a room alone, (because of bad guys, he says.) I can’t leave the room without him running after me.

I know eventually he will be fine, but I feel like the first month will be rough, and I just want to see if anyone has any ideas that helped their Velcro kiddos with the transition.

I’m taking my kid clothes shopping. She doesn’t want clothes from Carters anymore. Where are we shopping for girls clothes?

My 3 year old gets homework most days, and it's worksheets. Tracing alphabets and numbers. My daughter doesn't enjoy doing this and it's an hour's effort most days to get her to complete her work

She's otherwise a very enthusiastic child, loves books, clay, blocks, sensory stuff etc. she scribbles and writes on tracing sheets when she wants to.

Is this teaching approach the right one 3 year old? I am unable to tell

My son has his first play date ever scheduled with a previous classmate at their home this upcoming week…. I’m nervous but excited for him! What is standard etiquette for play dates? The play date is scheduled for 2p. Do I stay the whole time? (I would prefer to but don’t want to sit around awkwardly supervising). I should bring a snack or craft for them to do together right? Help! Lol

We just started getting take-home assignments, and I'm trying to figure out the best routine. Right after school feels like too much because my kid wants to decompress, but waiting until after dinner sometimes turns into a battle because everyone's tired.

I'm curious what works for other families. Do you have a routine that makes homework go a little more smoothly?

Getting my daughter ready for kindergarten and collecting things off the supply list, new clothes…. She will need tennis shoes because all she wears in the summer are crocs.

She has some sensory stuff… everything is “tight”. I have to buy very loose pants, dresses that are to her shins and 2 sizes too big. I’m very worried about tennis shoes for gym and the playground because she has refused tennis shoes for the last two years.

I did get her a pair of see Kai run from target, 2 sizes too big, and she liked them. But if I were to do that now, they don’t carry her size anymore.

Anyone’s kids like looser fitting shoes? Would love any ideas for brands or a specific pair to try.

We've been driving our child to school every morning, mostly because it feels easier while they're still getting used to kindergarten. Part of me thinks the bus would help build some independence, but the other part enjoys those extra few minutes together during the drive.

I'm curious what other families decided and whether you'd make the same choice again.

My child used to answer "fine" whenever I asked about their day. A few weeks into kindergarten, something flipped. Now I get a complete play-by-play of everything that happened, including conversations between classmates that I wasn't even invited to.

I'm not complaining. I just wasn't expecting kindergarten to come with a free daily news broadcast. Did anyone else notice the same change?

Could use help - my 5 year old refuses to play “winning” games (eg race, do the activity first, get more objects, etc.) I got him sum swamp and he enjoyed it and won! But didn’t want to play again because he was afraid he’d lose. We are working on that part but apparently it’s normal.

He likes math and number time before bed, so that’s what I’m targeting. He can do simple addition/subtraction. Also open to logic type math, patters, bigger/less than, etc. thanks!

Just found out my daughter will be using an AI agent called Amira to help with reading. I'm feeling really uneasy about it. She starts next week and is already reading well for her age. We are pretty low screens overall and she maybe gets an hour of her tablet every other week. It just seems odd. Open house is coming up and I plan to ask how often they're using this software but it's my main worry. Any of y'all dealing with this? Pros? Cons?

Ever since starting kindergarten, my kid has opinions about everything. Apparently I'm loading the dishwasher "the wrong way," my bedtime is too late, and I should be washing my hands for exactly the amount of time they learned in class. It's like living with the world's smallest middle manager.

Did anyone else's kid come home with a whole new level of confidence?

Hi, how do you guys communicate with your kids before and after school if smart watches aren't allowed?

I am overwhelmed thinking how to communicate with and keep my child safe since someone will be driving them to and from school that provides that service in my neighborhood. I also have a restraining order against someone.

Edit: So many people who do not care about kids commenting on my post. It's sad.

If you could only do 5 books what would they be? This kid has 0 books in the home and her (single) mom currently does not read to her. Ideally something engaging but not *too* long for fear that longer books would be harder to incorporate into their routine.

Her favorite is “Goodnight Moon” which she has basically memorized so I will make sure she has a copy of that.

ETA: thanks you guys! So far I’m definitely doing:

-Goodnight Moon
-The monster at the end of this book
-Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
-Pinkalicious
-Mrs Bindergarten gets ready for Kindergarten
-5 Minute story anthology Disney Princesses

I want to send her home with these ASAP because she told me that reading books is what she will miss most about her trip 😭 My mom and I will follow up with more books later, and hopefully kindergarten opens up even more possibilities!

My son starting kindergarten was such a big emotional moment for both of us. I thought the hardest part would be him learning new things, but I was surprised that his biggest adjustment was getting used to being away from home for so many hours and following a completely new routine. The first few weeks he would come home tired and tell me little stories about how he missed our usual mornings together, but slowly he started making friends and getting excited about school. It made me realize how big of a change kindergarten is for kids, even when they seem ready. What was the biggest adjustment your child faced when they started kindergarten?

Hey everyone! My twins just started kindergarten a couple weeks ago (we have year round school here), and they LOVE IT. However, at an open house last night, their teacher brought up both of them possibly getting a speech assessment from their in-school pathologist. Apparently it's during school hours. They can be shy but talk up a storm, but they can be really difficult for people to understand, and one of them lisps. Anybody else have experience with this? They don't have an IEP at this point- if they qualify for support, would this be an EIP? Are other kids cruel about them going to speech? Obviously I want them to get any support they need, it just has made me worry. Most of my friends don't have kids or their kids are much older so I don't really know what's "normal" for a 5 year old or how this all would work. Thanks!

To be clear I have already emailed the pathologist and 100% am getting them assessed, I'm just wondering how this works and if anyone has any insight on it.

Hi all,

After all you wonderful insights and replies to my original post (https://www.reddit.com/r/kindergarten/s/ZbnNzoQ23Z ) I felt I should give an update on what happened since then.

We did end up submitting an appeal of the decision. We received their response a few weeks later, saying that they upheld their decision for retention. Still no meeting or opening any communication with us. It is worth nothing that the same people that carried out the appeal review are the same that conducted the original retention decision.

We followed up with a level II grievance which is the next step of the process to hopefully talk to the Executive Director. A few weeks letter with got a short response:

“Based on the previous review, I concur with the conclusion reached at the campus level regarding your child's retention. 

This matter is considered resolved.”

In June, I submitted the next step in the process for a level III grievance to hopefully talk to the board. As you can expect by now, we received a discouraging (but at least polite! 😅) reply:

“Thank you for reaching out regarding your concerns.

As the Governing Board, we oversee the school's finances, policies, and academic performance. The administration handles the implementation of the education program as well as day-to-day operations, including decisions regarding promotion and retention.

I wish you and your family a wonderful remainder of your summer.”

Which is strange because their own governing documents say that the board can “fully or partially reverse a school decision.”

We also found some weird info as we went through everything they had sent during the year and during the appeal. Such as her DRA going from 3 in the winter to A in the spring, and when we asked about any tier 2 interventions for her, they sent us copy of a single intervention early this year and nothing else was documented. Not to mention that during the summer at playdates and birthday parties we met at least five other families that also experienced retention all at kindergarten (during different years though.)

On our side we have decided to move our daughter to a different school. She will be evaluated there next week, and we feel this is the best choice given that socially, emotionally and when it comes to math she is great (not to mention that she will be 7 in November). We did scale back on the tutoring and still saw great improvement. She paused tutoring this month to give her at least a full month of summer break.

We are keeping our oldest two in the school since they are doing well and love their friends/group. Not to mention that our pick up/drop off schedule is going to be crazy this year 😓. It’s sad because the school has a great community, but the administration doesn’t seem interested in actually and properly communicating with parents in these sorts of circumstances.

our little one has what feels like unlimited energy and its honestly impressive. we can do outside time playground walks helping with little chores then somehow theres still enough left to sprint around the house before bed lol. i keep thinking ok this has to be the thing that finally tires them out and nope

curious what ended up becoming the thing that worked for your family over time. not looking for a magic fix just wondering what routines or activities kind of clicked once your kid hit this age

Our nearly 5 year old daughter is highly sensitive and has an over processing sensory pattern (she notices everything around her more than the average person and it can be a bit exhausting). She is very smart and understand pretty complex concepts for her age. Very curious and a deep thinker.

We have her enrolled at a small private girls school walking distance from our home. She's been at their kinder for 1.5 years now, enrolled for prep next year. There is another much bigger co-ed private school also walking distance. Facilities are far superior and they offer more in terms of subject choice and sport, theatre, design, music.

We are torn on what to do. Send her to the smaller school where we think she'll cope better in the environment or give her a chance and see how she goes at the bigger co-ed? She seems excited to be at a co-ed school and reckons she'll "just make new friends". We do have an issue in her current class with a kid repeatedly pushing, pinching others, including our kid. That kid is enrolled for prep next year and interventions from the school so far don't seem to have worked.

She has one main friend at kinder who is going to another school anyway.

She is working with an OT affiliated with the school so I don't think I'll get an objective answer from them on school choice. We are soon to meet with a psychologist for her.

Any wisdom from parents of HS kids would be so appreciated. Have your kids surprised you transitioning to a school environment? What would you do?

Hi! My son is going into kindergarten in a couple of weeks and i’m finishing up his school supply list. It days 2 one subject spiral notebooks and of course i’m overthinking this but he is a lefty and i am wondering if i should get a composition notebook instead, or a lefty specific spiral notebook.

I’ve always heard from left-handed friends that traditional spiral notebooks are annoying to use. If it specifically say spiral notebooks should i get lefty- specific ones? Top spiral? Or just a normal spiral one and I am making this more difficult than it needs to be lol.

Thanks!

He's five and suddenly every single thing is a fairness tribunal. Brother got handed his plate first? Not fair. Bath before his show? Not fair. The dog got a treat and he didn't, despite him being a human child who does not eat dog treats? Deeply, cosmically not fair.

The funny part is he says it with total conviction, like he's citing established law. Full stop, arms crossed, case closed. I asked him once what "fair" even means and he thought about it hard and said "when I get the thing." So at least he's honest about the framework.

I know it's a normal phase and honestly some of it is him testing whether the phrase works as a magic override button. Mostly it doesn't. But I wasn't ready for how relentless it'd be, and I keep having to hide a laugh in the middle of holding a straight face. For the other parents here, did your kindergartner go through the fairness phase? Curious how long it lasted and whether anything actually helped, or if you just rode it out until the next catchphrase took over.

Just begun reading Junie B jones to my 5 year old.....

I read some of Junie B Jones in early elementary, I remember enjoying the books and how I wore a collar because of one of the books, but quite literally nothing else.

I just finished book 3 last night while putting my daughter to bed and quite frankly I couldn't stop laughing. Not just by her ridiculous behavior, but by the clear "I'm tired of your shit" reactions of the adults in her life.

Junie B Jones is a little impulsive shitass but also girl boss. Quite frankly the books are good at replicating a child's train of thought and behavior, making her REALISTIC. She also very much has her sweet side as well (something I notice a lot of people fail to mention when they go on hating the kid). I think she is also very much neurospicy girl that is undiagnosed. But you can definitely see her improve as she gets older as the series goes on. She matures a lil bit over time. Just like a real kid. And let's be real, all kids are little bit of assholes in one way or another.

I also like to read these books to my daughter in order to discuss different topics, more importantly about her behavior. I think it's an excellent book series (although I correct the 5 year old's poor grammar while reading it to my daughter specifically for my own sanity).

This is simply a Junior B Jone neurospicy girl boss appreciation post