No, I do not feel this way, but I heard these words uttered yesterday from another mom. Let me vent for a second. The other moms at Colm’s KM class drive me NUTS! All they do the entire time we are there is talk about how smart their kids are. Seriously! Yesterday, I got up and moved myself down the hallway so I wouldn’t have to listen to them go on and on. Now, I know that everyone thinks their first child is a genius, but these are moms who have at least two to three kids and have at least one in elementary school. They were going on and on about how their child could read when he/she was four and how kindergarten was such a waste. Have they ever sat in a kinder classroom? I have. I go and help in Liam’s class every Tuesday and there is a lot going on that 99.9999999% of kinders would benefit from. Should they tell the teacher their child can read? You bet. Parents should always talk to the teacher if they think there is something the teacher should know about their child. But, to say kindergarten is a waste…I think not. Kindergarten is so many other things than JUST reading or learning how to read. They are learning how to navigate their way through a larger social network, sharing, listening, following directions, completing work, working together, becoming more independent, solving problems and the list goes on and on.
Liam has a great kindergarten teacher. They sing all the time about everything. How can you not be happy in a classroom where you sing all the time? They sing about the weather, the calendar, colors, letters, numbers, patterns and on and on. She even had the kids sing two songs and voicemailed all the parents so we could hear them singing. It was great! I think the singing part I like the best is that after the pledge each day they sing You’re a Grand Old Flag, This Land is Your Land or some other patriotic song that reminds me of music class when I was in elementary school.
To say kindergarten is a waste is completely false. As with any grade, talk to the teacher if you feel like your kid’s needs aren’t being met. Most good teachers can come up with some sort of creative solution and chances are your little genius is right up there with all the other little geniuses in the class and nothing special will have to be done at all.
Hold on, I’m not done yet. There is one mom there in particular that drives me SUPER nuts! She is a former teacher like me and seems to think she is God’s gift to the education world. When she isn’t talking about how smart her kids are she is talking about what a great teacher she is, even though she hasn’t taught in a number of years. She is also not short on giving out advice to anyone who will listen on how to teach your child to read. It is NON-STOP, people, she is driving me NUTS! If there was another class we could go to at a different time, I would go. Seriously. It is that bad. It takes everything I have to keep my mouth shut.
Okay, I am done venting now.
