5 year old boy - not following the directions

[perumal3]

Dear all,

My son is going to turn five soon. He is in kinder garden right now.  He is very good in academics and is a  very friendly boy. But, I got a note from his teacher saying that he is not following directions in class . She said that he gets distracted easily when he works in a group. Since he is  late Oct. born, she thinks he is not matured enough to come to kinder garden. So, what do you think I should do? Has anyone else been in this situation before? If so, what did you do?  How to make him do his work independently?

[benjimom]

My son has a May 1st birthday, it is hard decision. Also, there are probably other kids in the classroom that are having trouble with the directions too.  Ithink it's fairly common in kindergarten and 1st grade.  First, I would talk w/hte teacher more at length and see what she suggests and you two together could come up with a plan.

[specialmom]

Well, in my state, the cut off is a child must be five by end of September.  If I had a child with a summer or September birthday, I'd think long and hard about sending them into kindergarten as maturity is a huge factor at that age.  Your son is in class with some kids that are probably a full year older than him.  Our school says that whether a child is academically ready is not what they look at when deciding kindergarten readiness.  They look at social and developmental maturity.  This makes sense to me.  Your son will be a totally different kid a year from now.  Working independently and focusing may seem very difficult now and be a breeze when he is more mature.  

Don't feel alone.  My boys had birthdays that made it an easier decision when to send them.  But I even considered giving my son with an April birthday another year to mature before kindergarten.  Lots of families find that their kids just aren't ready and I think giving them the best start in school is so very important.

Is there a nice preschool in your area?  I'd really consider giving him one year to mature.  He may then start kindergarten off with a bang.  Good luck