‘My toddler does not go to group 3 and my husband does not agree’

Saar, the 5-year-old daughter of Kirsten and Felix, will not be going to group 3 this year. The school has decided that she is not ready socially and emotionally. Felix disagrees, to put it mildly. “Felix is ​​stamping on letters and numbers with her every day,” Kirsten tells our big sister Y/M Parents.

“My daughter Saar is from December, which means she is right on the transition line. The children up to and including December go to group 3 and the children born in January stay in group 2 for another year.

Group 3

That limit has moved, because it used to be in October. You could therefore call Saar a doubtful case. In this case, the teacher doubted whether she could handle going to group 3 and she suggested that Saar should continue kindergarten for another year.

Sarah is smart. She knows the letters and is interested in writing and words, she is only emotionally still a toddler. For example, she immediately starts crying if she doesn’t get her way. She also only really plays with children who are younger. All her friends are going to group 2 next year.

Do not agree with

Since she is so on the border, I thought it was a wise decision. She can then stay with her friends in class. I think it’s especially important that she has a good time at school. Unfortunately, my husband strongly disagrees with the decision.

Since we got the advice a few weeks ago, he has been stomping on letters and numbers with her every day. He makes her do maths and every afternoon they write words.

Way too smart

He thinks it’s ridiculous that she can’t transfer to group 3, because he thinks she is way too smart and gets bored in group 2. I explained that it is a combination. They must also be mentally ready for the transition to group 3. According to him, it is about the opinion of one teacher that determines her future.

Last week he had another conversation with the kindergarten teacher. He told her what Saar can do and that she is ready to go to group 3. He thought she should give group 3 a try before being told she wasn’t ready.

Setback

The teacher explained that this is not pedagogically sound, because staying put is a huge setback for a child. You can better prevent this by doing kindergarten for another year. Felix still disagrees.

We still have a few months left, so hopefully we will get out of this together as a family and together with the school.”

An extra year of kindergarten or on to group 3? Here are the pros and cons