Everything I never learned about kindergarten.

Now this is one I can really answer (though it may be different in Oregon).

First thing, you're right to be concerned -- definitely get moving on this. I contacted the local kindergarten in I think March, their paperwork was due last week, and we are leaving in an hour for some sort of assessment thingie.

I had to provide proof of residence (and not just a bill, they required a deed or purchase contract), birth certificate, and then a bunch of info filled out in forms they provided (emergency contact, doc's name and number, dentist's name and number, social security number, etc., etc.)

Then I have to have a form signed by dentist and pediatrician before school starts, and vaccinations up to date with a record.

Do you know which kindergarten you want to send him to? If so, call 'em, right away.

If you don't, start the research process.

Happy to provide any info along the way.

Good luck!

Yikes!

I'll call today!

Fill me in on the "assessment" thingy after you do it. Mo's a little behind of some stuff so I'm a bit concerned about that end of it.

I've decided to send him to the neighborhood public school mostly because I want him to know the other kids in the area. I have a few concerns about the principal of the school though so I'm going to be pretty nosy.

Don't worry too much (I wrote that fast and in re-reading it sounds alarmist), I'm sure that you'll still be able to get in and everything, and I don't know what Oregon's deadlines are like. Just that sooner is generally better.

The assessment seems to be mostly to identify high-need students, so the school can prepare to give them what they need (that's a good thing). For example, when I was asking about whether it would be better for sozlet to be in full-day or half-day kindergarten, the person I was talking to said that they give precedence to high-need students for full-day kindergarten. That's determined at the assessment thingie (I'm still not sure exactly what will be involved or how long it will take).

Will fill you in.

(Gotta finish getting ready!)

boomer, when you say next year, do you want Mo to go this September (next school year) in Kindergarten or in 2007?

I started 1,5 years ahead of time in two schools, and gladly so, as they had a waiting list of about one year. After you decided on a school and they accept your child, tons of paperwork needs to be filled out. Within the paperwork is a requirement for all the vaccinations needed. In CA it included chickenpox vaccination. Deadline for new enrollments is usually March/April (at least here in California).

In our case, my daughter was also tested if she's ready for kindergarten.
The teacher sat down (without the parents) and asked a few question, showed her several task, and had her draw something.

Later on, the Kindergarten teacher will decide if the child is ready or not.

That's interesting sozobe, we had no choice in that. Kindergarten for us
had set times 8:15 am to 2:00 pm. Preschool had an option of half day
or full day, but not Kindergarten.

I mean this fall, CJane. I've decided to go the public school route for starters but I'm keeping my options open about private schools.

I just called the school and they told me to stop by and pick up a packet. They didn't make it sound like there was a big time problem but I'll probably stop by this morning.

I need to find something that verifies his age though -- I'm hoping some of our court papers have his birthdate listed.

Kindergarten here is only a half day. That's entirely fine with me.

If it's a public school and you live in the district, they have to take him. Even if he just shows up on the first day of classes. (And they always have a few that don't pre-enroll, but just show up.) Don't worry about it. Pick up a packet, and it will tell you what you need to do. You have plenty of time.

Relax.

Cool!

We're moseying around getting ready to walk up and get the packet.

The guardianship papers do establish his birthdate as a "finding of fact" so I should be ready to go!

He's going to be so excited!

He'll be a BIG KID. (Make a big deal of it.)

Arggggghhhh.

I'm filling out the paperwork and I'm not really sure about some of this stuff -- like:

Siblings - do I need to list his half sisters that he has never lived with and who will most likely not be attending this particular school?

Concerns - yes, I have a few but I'm not sure how much detail I need to go into and I'm really not sure how much of it I want on his "permanant record".

Also, should the adoption proceed as planned for this summer some of this stuff will change - like his name and who Mr. B and I are (parents as opposed to guardians). Should I list this as a "concern"?

The court documents worked fine to establish his age.

I was in your same boat, boomer.

First, I'm positive just from your posting here that Mo is ready for kindergarten. The assessment my son went through was mostly for emotional readiness -- healthy detachment, verbal communication, things like that. My son didn't even know his abc's but that didn't matter.

For conerns, put any concerns you may have about Mo's ability to learn. It might be good to put something there about his situation if you think it would be helpful for them to know. I wouldn't mention anything about his name changing if/when the adoption goes through this summer. That's something you can take care of when it happens though it would be great if he could start school with his new name.

Good luck, boomer!

I wouldn't list his biological siblings, as he's the only child
living in your household. Do mention that you're in the process of
adopting Mo, that will give them more sensitivity towards Mo when talking about certain family issues in class (and they do come up).

Yeah, I agree that something basic about your family situation would be good to put in there. I'm not sure if it would go in "concerns", unless that's the only slot -- we had something like, "What else would you like us to know about your child?"

So, my report:

It was really fun, actually! The structure was that the kids (about 8 I think) were dropped off at the assessment area, while we parents went to another area to get a presentation from various staff -- the principal, one of the teachers, the school nurse, etc. The kids were assessed individually. Sozlet got a name tag with four things listed under her name (Speech/ Language, Gross Motor, Fine Motor, and Cognitive) that were checked by different pens in different styles -- I think each kid was shepherded to each station by one person, then someone at that station did the assessment. Not completely sure. (She filled me in on most of it but then got bored and I'm lacking some details.)

One of the activities she told me about was going to the gym and doing stuff like walking on a line backwards, jumping over two lines, etc. (Gross motor skills.) Someplace else she had to copy pictures of a triangle, square, square with specific lines in it, etc. (Fine motor + cognitive, probably.) I couldn't get out of her where speech/ language came into it, specifically, though she said she was talking to the people the whole time.

I'll get the results in the mail after (some time period, not sure).

The parent gathering/ presentation was a bit of a surprise, well mitigated by the fact that the principal is fluent in ASL!!! SO awesome. Really nice guy. He offered to sign and voice his whole presentation (!!!), I know that's tough so I said he could go ahead and just voice and if I got stuck I'd let him know. That only happened twice, he signed it really well and I got it immediately. So so so fun. What I absolutely hate is being caught in between the rock and the hard place of knowing I have the right to an interpreter and not wanting to antagonize the person/ institution who is supposed to provide it. My doctor in Naperville was downright rude to me after I pressed that issue. Anyway, I'm so impressed with this school.

I really don't think any of the assessment was to see if the child is READY for kindergarten -- just to get an idea of his/ her current skill level. To be able to personalize things a bit from day one, as well as what I mentioned before about the higher-needs kids getting preference for the all-day class, etc. But I don't think that anyone can "fail" the assessment, just a matter of getting the child the resources he or she needs if those resources are needed.

wow, that sounds great, sozobe. I have a question though, pertaining
to ASL: does the school need to provide an interpreter for you, if requested?
Good, the principal knew ASL, but how about with teachers later on?

I think it must vary state by state. In PA, where kindergarten is optional, they actually sent the results of the assessment and all it said was "we believe your son is ready for kindergarten". I don't know what it would mean to not be ready for kindergarten. What would they do about it? Tell him to come back next year for 1st grade? Doesn't make a lot of sense. Other than that, our experience was a lot like your assessment experience.

Here it is similar, FreeDuck. We immediately got the results right then and there.

One thing I liked very much though - all the little kindergarten kids
came into the room (while I was there with little Jane) and came over,
shook hands and said their names. That was so cute.

Boomer, I would include something such as adoption pending, or adoption anticipated summer 2006, somewhere on the form. If the only place you have for it is under concerns then that's where I'd put it.

You don't need to go into any details that aren't in Mo's best interest to express, but it will probably be helpful if the school has at least a minimal understanding of his background.

Skip anyone who doesn't live in your household. They want to know who else is coming down the line from your address for future planning purposes.

Requesting that Mo meet his teacher sometime prior to the first day of school (late summer) is a good idea. Our schools are used to it, particularly for kids who might have attachment issues. It gives the kids and the teachers a chance to meet one-on-one before he's facing who knows what.

Also, from my own experience with a child who does not do well in new situations, if you think Mo might have some difficulties adjusting then it is in everyone's best interest to request a teacher that is more tolerant (perhaps nurturing) than one who wants a roomful of clones. You will get letters from the school telling you that they don't allow parents to choose their child's teacher, but they do make certain placements based on best fit.

Is Mo excited about kindergarten?