tennessee what does my child have to know to enter k

Kindergarten loomed and Baylor Os Swindell didn't know what to do.

Her son, Brady, had a belatedly June birthday.

Although he was onetime plenty to meet Tennessee'due south altogether cutoff for children entering kindergarten, Swindell wasn't sure he was ready. He was shy and reserved, and she was concerned he wouldn't speak upwardly for himself.

"I agonized over information technology," Swindell said. "I asked everyone's opinion in the whole world that had e'er had a child with a summer birthday."

In the finish, she decided to wait a year to allow him to go more outgoing.

That means Brady will exist vi when he starts kindergarten this fall — nearly a full year older than many of his future classmates.

Throughout Middle Tennessee over the side by side few weeks, parents exist will faced with similar decisions every bit they annals their children for the 2014-15 schoolhouse twelvemonth.

To exist eligible for kindergarten, a child must be 5 years old on or before Aug. fifteen, 2014. But historic period isn't everything.

In truth, at that place'due south no i sure fashion to determine whether a child is ready for kindergarten. And, realistically, a child who excels in i area (like letter recognition) may need help in some other (like properly holding a pencil), which tin make the decision more difficult.

There are some tips for guiding the decision and helping prepare your kid.

one. Think motor skills, not smarts

Yes, information technology's wonderful if your kid tin spell his or her name, count to twenty, recognize shapes, colors and letters — but when deciding whether your child is ready for kindergarten, the torso wins out over the brain.

Can they sit for long periods of time without being fidgety? Have they adult the listening skills to follow a teacher'south instruction? Can they put on a coat and utilise the bathroom on their own? Can they agree a pencil and cutting with scissors?

"You take to separate smartness from youngness," said Linda Prichard, pre-1000/elementary specialist for Rutherford County Schools.

Academics volition come if they are developmentally ready, she said, merely if they haven't yet mastered fine motor skills, they may be disruptive. Sometimes, she said, that can be translated as behavior problems, "but actually, their piddling bodies only aren't ready."

2. Sharpen skills, but avoid drills

Districts and private schools oft do assessments to determine kindergarten readiness. Typically done in a group setting, this may include everything from observing how well they follow directions to watching them run, draw and play.

They also may exist asked to recognize colors, shapes and letters. A bones familiarity with ABCs and numbers is skillful, but don't stress too much if your child mixes upwards "b" with "d" every in one case in a while.

Parents get worked upwardly and think they need to focus on Hooked on Phonics, said Margaret Thornton, first-grade teacher at St. Bernard Academy in Nashville. Simply "You don't want to first out kids with a workbook page on vocabulary they just can't relate to," she said.

Instead, the all-time way to engage a child and familiarize them with colors, messages and shapes is through "accurate activities," she said.

Basically, that ways engage with your kid and talk to them well-nigh what they are experiencing.

Have fun in the kitchen: Ask them to aid get a cereal box or a can of corn out of the pantry, for breakfast or dinner, and talk about what yous come across: What color are corn kernels? What shape are Cheerios? What letters practise you see on the label?

Play "I spy" in the car when yous are driving: Point out the cerise octagon with the letters S-T-O-P or the neon sign with the letters O-P-E-North.

Enjoy a craft mean solar day where yous create a book together: Drawing pictures helps children work on fine motor skills such every bit crayon control, describing what they have drawn works on language development and having them write words sharpens letter recognition. A bonus: Put scissors (blunted, of course) in their hands and have them cut scrap paper into strips or shapes to decorate the embrace.

iii. Speaking of books ...

Read. Read. Read.

Experts say the No. 1 way to prepare a child for school is to read — and not just at them, but with them.

The words on the page will introduce them to letters, sounds and vocabulary, but discussing the pictures on the page or the actions of the character volition increase language evolution. And so, as yous are reading, connect to outside experiences that have happened in the kid's world. "That pig has a balloon. What were you doing when you last saw a airship?"

And as you have these conversations, make sure you don't "baby talk" with your child.

"Information technology makes a really big difference when you are using actually great vocabulary," Thornton said. "You are assuming it is fashion over their caput, only they really option it upwardly."

4. Play with others

Kindergarten is centered on social skills such as cooperation, and the best way to learn that before school is preschool or play dates.

Gear up up time for your kids to play with others, then watch them. Do they snatch toys away from their friends? Do they understand sharing and know how to take turns? Can they play side by side without a meltdown?

Y'all want your kid to transition from talking to adults all the time to realizing there are people their own historic period with whom they can interact, Thornton said. Interacting with other kids helps language development and they "option up unlike skills from different kids that open upwardly their niggling worlds."

If y'all see your child interacts mostly with adults and not peers, that may be a sign they need an extra year, she said.

If a parent does determine to delay the enrollment of kindergarten, involvement in a structured program is a practiced fashion to employ that waiting time, said Amanda DeMeo, director at Grace UMC Preschool in Mt. Juliet.

A preschool setting can help a child to learn how to operate as a fellow member of a grouping, she said, which helps with confidence during those showtime weeks of school (how to line upwardly, how to travel as a group through the school, waiting turns and sitting for a story).

"Being able to develop self-help skills and the ability to trust in a caregiver/instructor are important skills to have earlier that first day of kindergarten," she said.

5. Ask effectually

It doesn't hurt to get advice from others. If your child is in preschool, talk to the instructor. He or she probably has a expert sense of your kid's development and how it compares with other children who would be at that grade level.

If your child is not in preschool or you want another opinion, check with your child'southward dr.. A pediatrician will know near your child's physical evolution and can offer helpful feedback equally to whether your child is set.

You also tin ask friends and relatives, but remember, you know your kid best. Don't let side-by-side comparisons inspire undue competition and put pressure on your kid to perform.

6. If at commencement you don't succeed ...

No ane says simply because you put your child in kindergarten he or she has to stay there.

Examination it out.

"A lot of parents have started kindergarten and and so come back and realized, 'This isn't going to be a good fit,' and end upwards taking the twelvemonth back," Thornton said. "I don't think that's a negative thing. Teachers tin can pinpoint it within the first calendar week. Definitely listen to your child'due south teacher considering they know quickly."

Making this decision can be better than forcing a child to stay. Research advises against having a kid repeat a full year of kindergarten, Prichard said.

"As a teacher and a mom, I know it's important that they not be frustrated, and that their first feel in school be positive," Prichard said.

And so, she said, if they demand another year, give information technology to them.

"Childhood's a journey, not a race," she said. "Let them play."

DOCUMENTS NEEDED TO ENROLL

Each school system has its own requirements, just here is a general list of documents needed:

• Nativity certificate or acceptable proof of age
• Immunization (vaccination record) on a Tennessee Certificate of Immunization grade*
• Proof of residency (current utility nib, lease, etc. with homeowner'southward name and accost)
• Proof of custody (if parents are separated/divorced)
• Social security card (in some districts)

* To go a Tennessee immunization certificate, parents should contact their child'southward md or the health department and schedule an appointment for a concrete. At the time of the physical, the Tennessee School Immunization Certificate will be issued.

AGE REQUIREMENT

To be eligible for kindergarten in 2014-xv, your child must exist v years of age on or before Aug. 15, 2014.

WHEN TO ENROLL

• Metro Nashville Public Schools

When: 7 a.k.-iv:30 p.m., March 31-April 4

More info: http://www.mnps.org/Page109325.aspx

• Williamson County Schools

When: March 31-April 4

More than info: http://schools.wcs.edu/infocus/InFocus1314/Issue_15/kindergarten.htm

• Wilson Canton Schools

When: Apr 3

More info: world wide web.wcschools.com

• Sumner County Schools

When: April 25

More than info: http://www.sumnerschools.org/index.php/enrollment-data

• Rutherford County Schools

When: May 12-xvi

More than info: www.rcs.k12.tn.usa

SCHOOL READINESS RESOURCES

• world wide web.parentsknowkidsgrow.org/schoolreadiness

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Source: https://www.tennessean.com/story/life/family/2014/03/25/child-ready-kindergarten-helpful-tips/6890015/

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