In bed for the last two days, but now back at it....

I apologize to those of you who have been following my blog.  I have been MIA blog wise for the past two days, because I got some type of flu bug or something like it....It wasn't your typical flu bug with vomiting, but it had all of the other symptoms attachment...Chills, congestion, sneezing, coughing and others..I was very tired, so I was sent to my room and quarantined for two days....It's an awful feeling..  But I'm back at it now, thank goodness, just in time to go back to work tomorrow(FIGURES!!!!)  Not much of a weekend for me.

I wanted to write about my son's assessment results...They came back early, as we were told we probably wouldn't get them until March.  They normally show results in red, yellow or green.  Red,  had difficulty, yellow,  had some difficulty, and green,  no problems..

Here is what my son got.,...

I called the District to enquire as to what happened to the reds, greens and yellows......Turns out, he got two reds, a yellow and a green, and she said that the reason they didn't send it out that way, is because sometimes it is very overwhelming for a parent.    I don't know, I think the assessments as a whole are overwhelming PERIOD....For first time parents, as I was with my daughter, it was worrisome, because we always think it's our fault, that we did something wrong, didn't educate them well enough...When my daughter had her assessment, she got three greens and a yellow, and I panicked....Can you imagine how I was when I got the report about my son?....Now I know, they say that boys are slower learners, and he is what they call  "a late baby"...What they mean by that is, children are able to go into Kindergarten as long as they turn 5 in that school year, whether it is in January of that year or in December.....My son was born in November, so technically when he starts school, he is only 4, and his maturity level and the amount he has learned is different than that of a boy who has turned 5 in January, because they are almost a year older than him...

So, what they do is give parents the option of holding their child back..If the child is born in September through December, they have the option of holding the child back for another year.  Some say this is the right thing to do, because of the way the school system is these days...They don't retain children...what I mean is, they don't fail them anymore...So if your child isn't up to the same level as all the other kids, they just fall further and further behind....That's why they do these assessments to begin with, so parents know what their kids should know when they start Kindergarten...and if they don't know all of these things, then they are technically already behind when they start out...Some children catch up, while others don't....

I asked the woman at the School District, "So what about those children who are held back and then a few years down the road, they catch up maturity wise, and they become bored?"  She said, 'It is easier for the education system to add work for a child who is bored, than to try and assist a child who has fallen behind." 

So they give you until September to decide what you'd like to do....Send them off to school or keep them home for another year....My son is a very smart boy, but the School District says it is not about intelligence that leaves a child behind, it is their maturity level..If they are unable to do things independently, then they will not succeed....

It's hard to believe....Sometimes I think it's a lot of of pressure to put on these kids...They're five years old.....

Well, he's only 4 right now, but look at him..He's still wearing the chocolate ice cream on his face from supper...

To be completely honest, it's really not the kids who suffer the pressure..unless as parents we make apply the pressure on them to do well in school, to be the perfect kids....He doesn't know how his assessment went....As far as he is concerned, he did the best he could..But how do you hold a child back from  Kindergarten, who can't wait to go to school in September?  What would a parent tell them?  How do you explain that to them?

I've had a couple of people tell me that I should hold him back....and others who have said, "Send him...He'll be fine."   My husband and I want to send him, and hope for the best, but there's always that little part of me who worries, what if he does fall behind?  What if he's not ready?  How do you explain it to your child when they end up having difficulty in school because they weren't ready to begin with? 

Seems to me, we're kind of damned if we do, damned if we don't.....Guess we just have to make a decision and hope for the best...

This was his latest purchase...He was excited to find this one.....An oldie, but a goodie...I loved it too!