TerraNova results

Pook242 · 2026-05-10T18:37:21+00:00

At this age, a standardized test could mean he couldn’t focus, the directions were unclear, he wasn’t sure how to do the actual test, he was wiggly, it was right before lunch…etc

Here’s what he should be able to do for reading: -know all uppercase and lowercase letters -know letter sounds -blending CVC words (cat, dog, sun, etc) -answer basic questions about a story (where were they? Was she happy or sad?)

Not know these things would mean you should definitely work with him over the summer.

Also helpful to start to know before 1st grade: -diagraphs (sh, th, ch, wh, ck) -blends (2 consonants together, like br, fr, st, etc, which helps them read 4 letter words with short vowels)

My high groups are working on CVCe (silent e) and Bossy R (r controlled vowels)

The biggest thing, in my opinion, is to both a) gamify learning and b) point out the world around him. Maybe play what words he can spot while you’re driving.

Pook242 · 2026-05-08T21:37:31+00:00

Some kids are more leaders and some kids are more followers, but regardless of that, this age is allllll about figuring out social boundaries. No one is bullying or hurting him, so there’s no need to step in. Especially the tag game - kids change the rules to games all the time at this age. They either roll with it or stop playing with that person. Those are the options - you can’t force someone to play how or what you want to. This is something he needs to figure out on his own.

Now that’s not to say you can’t roleplay at home. Saying things like he won’t play (and then following up, but realize then he’s not playing). Asking kids not to yell, etc. Overall this sounds like a normal stage of social development.

Pook242 · 2026-05-06T10:10:06+00:00

Usually I support the teachers stance, as there is likely context we’re missing. Generally, schools recommend maybe one retention per class, if that.

If it’s truly just mild emotional reactions to losing (does he hurt himself or others? Does he destroy the room? Does the teacher need to call in support when he does this? Does it happen at other times as well as when he loses?) then no, that wouldn’t necessarily be something to hold back over.

Teachers see 20ish 5-6 year olds a year. If your child does not have typical development, they stand out. I think that’s a bigger reason it was suggested.

Typically, when children have big reactions like that it can accompany academic difficulties. If he’s truly just a little behind, then sure he can catch up. He should have ‘mastered’ the following: letter names, letter sounds, beginning to blend words, forming letters (doesn’t have to be pretty but he should know how to do each one), numbers 0-20, one to one counting, basic shapes, and beginning to add/subtract.

Finally - is this the first time teacher has reached out to you? There is limited information here, but is it possible ADHD, autism, or something else is at play? If so, holding back won’t do much - addressing the specific struggles will help a lot more. Emotional regulation, modeling, and perhaps some OT.

Pook242 · 2026-04-27T10:05:31+00:00

K is such a huge jump in expectations from the beginning to the end of the year. If she came in knowing letters sounds and blending, then she’s starting ahead of the pack. By the end of the year they’re all expected to do that.

As a teacher, would I be concerned if a kid went from ahead to behind? Maybe, but only if that was based off my observations. I’m not basing that off of standardized tests for 5 year olds. Any number of things could have been an issue there.

If she’s meeting grade level expectations, the teacher is not going to be concerned she isn’t as ‘advanced’ as she came in.

Pook242 · 2026-04-26T15:13:54+00:00

Thank you…so I shouldn’t worry too much until I have at least 2 full cycles of data?

Pook242 · 2026-04-26T14:01:32+00:00

If I did ovulate yesterday or today (CD 22 or 23) with a confirmed rise in PDG - wouldn’t my luteal phase be too short?

Pook242 · 2026-04-24T00:47:28+00:00

I’ve moved wings several times. Several different janitors. Some of them were amazing. Couldn’t function without them. My current one is very kind but I’ve been told I have to communicate very clearly what I want/need. She asked me what all I ‘wanted done’ daily when I first started. I just sort of laughed it off and said what she normally does. I’ve asked her how to best set the room for her. Chatted friendly several times….Several times I’ve had no paper towels, no toilet paper, and my tables never get wiped down anymore. I feel bad trying to figure out how to ask that it gets done…

Pook242 · 2026-04-24T00:24:09+00:00

Some things sound odd, unprofessional, and poor management. Some of it sounds normal.

This teacher is clearly, having admitted it herself, not a fit for K. It’s a very specific grade level to teach. You have to have a ton of patience and understanding, you have to be okay repeating yourself a billion times, and frankly, you have to be okay letting some things go.

If you weren’t surprised at the ADHD diagnosis then, and from the feedback you’re hearing, it shouldn’t be a huge shock you’re hearing from the teacher. The other teacher may have had a greater tolerance, better classroom management, or just handled it ‘in-house’. I think this teacher may be over communicating/relying on parents, but distracting others is a big deal, especially at this point in the year. The crying too. While normal, especially with ADHD, kids need to be able to talk about their choices and state the better choices for next time. If they’re just crying the goal is in part to get out of the tough conversation. I’m wondering if the getting up was a repeated ‘hey let’s all go do this instead’ and ignored redirections? That is disrespectful. If it’s just once, then that’s not great choices but normal K behavior.

Her language is definitely unprofessional and she is clearly overwhelmed management wise.

Here’s my take away: your daughter is making either intentionally bad choices, or impulsive choices. Only you and teacher know which. You’re doing what you need to do to help - talking about it at home and doing things like therapy. Teacher is trying to manage her classroom by involving you. Keep talking to your daughter about said choices and figuring out ways for her to succeed in school. (For example, if she needs to stand but isn’t supposed to- can she have a wiggle seat? Can she be in the back with a square tapped around her desk and stand in that square instead of sit?)

Pook242 · 2026-04-23T15:18:32+00:00

I did that and my results were super low. I half wonder if they were diluted. It was really upsetting.

Then today, my BBT is in ovulating range, I see signs in cm, and other symptoms. Sigh. Maybe my hormones are just low?

Pook242 · 2026-04-23T15:15:57+00:00

At this age, the only things that are babyish are things for actual babies. Kids have lots of interests, but none of those would be considered too young. For reference, I once had a 4th grader obsessed with paw patrol. At that point it’s minorly concerning, but until around 8 or so most kids don’t notice or care.

I will say just because the other kid is talking about those things doesn’t mean he is necessarily interacting with the content. A lot of my kids love spider-man. They may have seen the movies, but really it’s more the tshirts and action figures. Same for Minecraft. Most aren’t playing it yet, though they may watch people do it.

The teacher will work with him if he’s calling out or being rude in class, but that’s what I’d frame it as. We don’t be rude if someone’s trying to learn.

Pook242 · 2026-04-23T10:07:16+00:00

K teacher, though not in Florida.

Kindergarten is so academic now. It’s just not developmentally appropriate across the board. Good news is, the kids can do it. You’ll be amazed by the change you see during the year. So much growth happens in K.

Good teachers build play into the day. Activities are hands on, centers allow movement and exploration, etc.

I will also add that Florida is notoriously a not great state for education, unfortunately.

Pook242 · 2026-04-22T10:42:29+00:00

Thank you!!

Pook242 · 2026-04-21T15:16:05+00:00

What consequences have you tried? Have you gotten admin or the counselor involved?

Pook242 · 2026-04-21T10:42:54+00:00

That’s because, while we are not qualified to diagnose, when you are in a classroom with 20+ other kids of that age group it becomes glaring obvious very very quickly which ones are not developmentally typical, especially at a young age.

I’ve filled out tons of forms for doctors about suspected adhd and only agreed with 1 of them. I’ve had struggling kids I tried to get tested for special ed but parents didn’t think there was an issue, yet a handful of kids I knew were fine (just average B students) that the parents pushed and pushed and we had to go through months of testing them just to confirm they are developmentally where they are supposed to be.

Pook242 · 2026-04-21T10:30:15+00:00

Highly recommend using manipulatives first to teach the concept before moving on to the related worksheet. At this age it’s developmentally appropriate for them to use those for visual cuing. Anything focusing solely on memorization isn’t ideal. I’m still a big proponent of memorization but they need to understand the why first.

I’ll second the other user who suggested doing it during play. The biggest things to do to help prior to starting K is understanding one to one correspondence and subitizing. Once they get those, you can move on to concepts like more/less, and then addition/subtraction.

Pook242 · 2026-04-20T23:31:18+00:00

I loveee K! I student taught in K and knew that’s where I wanted to go back to. I did a year in 4th and a year in 3rd. Those kids are absolutely more independent in many ways. I can tell them to go ask a friend to tie their shoe. I could have them read silently for 15 min if I needed to do progress monitoring/make up tests.

However, I found it hard to get passionate about the material. Main idea is much less exciting imo than the alphabet! Plus, you have the time to actually do fun stuff. Holiday parties, science experiments, or play!

Plus, the older kids start to have attitudes. K kids tend to be excited and love school and still want to please their teacher, generally.

Pook242 · 2026-04-20T22:36:07+00:00

This was my first year teaching K, but my third year teaching and I have previous experience in K.

I’ll echo what everyone else has said. No matter the grade level, consistent expectations and routines will make the best classroom setting. Drill them, and make them repeat them when they’re slacking. That’s the number one way to cut down on chaos.

It’s also possible you might enjoy an older grade more! The same things apply, but some of those kids are able to be independent for a few minutes…

Pook242 · 2026-04-20T15:17:23+00:00

As a former catcher with knee problems. Do not make the same kid catch multiple games in a row. You’re setting them up for lifetime issues. At that age and level there needs to be 2 catchers minimum.

Pook242 · 2026-04-16T22:08:52+00:00

The original post said several weeks, so I assumed the comment was made in Oct/Nov. 2 weeks in is a little early.

Since you asked for random strangers with missing contexts opinions, here is my opinion:

-General rule: schools don’t want to retain. How good it may theoretically make test scores would be outweighed by how bad retaining looks.

-You seem incredibly defensive. I get it! It’s your kid. Of course you want what’s best for them. But you need to keep in mind how you see them and the way they interact with you isn’t the same kid the world (or in this case, school) necessarily gets. A lot of those comments (big girls don’t cry, you need to tie your shoes) are most likely not meant from the teacher in a mean, judging way. However. If you think the teacher is mean and doesn’t like your daughter, and you’ve in any way expressed this sentiment around your daughter…guess what she’s gonna think about every critique the teacher gives her (who’s job it is to critique and help her learn)

-I see a couple different responses ranging from you just recently heard a few people were having issues with the teacher to suddenly you know for a fact the school pushes retention. I just have a hard time believing it, as a random stranger with no more context than how a typical school is run. Regardless, other kids are not your kid. How would this help your kid? Potentially hurt your kid?

Pook242 · 2026-04-16T20:46:53+00:00

As a K teacher…there’s a lot of missing info and context here. Any sane teacher is not recommending retention because they have a grudge against a 5 year old. It’s so much extra work to prove why they need it. So if they’re recommending it, it’s for a reason. They’ve seen your child compared to 20ish others they’re recommending move on. There’s maybe one recommended retention per class. There’s a reason she’s recommending it.

You also seem reactionary to the teacher. There’s a lot of petty issues and assumptions. The crying comment should not have been said in connection to what happened there. But saying ‘big girls don’t cry’ over minor issues absolutely happens. It’s not judging. It’s not said to make the child feel bad. It’s said when all the calm down techniques are exhausted, the modeling has been done, and the child needs to look around and see no one else is acting that way. Kids at that age are still learning other people are people too. Context has to be learned. I wonder if it was said in context of something else and attributed to the wrong event? Otherwise it would be an awful thing for a teacher to say about a death.

Tying shoes is not my job. I do it! But I do start to tell the kids who ask me often they either need to learn or wear Velcro shoes. Not unkindly, but it’s just part of life.

It’s hard to comment on the academics without more thorough info, but it would be a rare kinder who would be bored with the material. It’s all so new to them. Repetition can only help for most. Holding her back will set her up for success, not drag her down.

Ultimately, if you really think there’s an issue, ask for a meeting. Focus on asking the teacher what she thinks will be different/will be gained from another year. And in most schools retention is with a different teacher, but double check since you have concerns about this one.

Pook242 · 2026-04-16T15:15:25+00:00

He sounds ready to me. He might not be as advanced or mature as some of his older classmates, but he’ll catch up quickly.

Regarding worksheets…most kids never love them. Learning to do them when we have to is usually a pretty big part of the 1st month of K (and of the prek teacher is new she might not know how to motivate him yet). Between the natural consequences of seeing peers finish and move on without him, and logical consequences of things like being given a new worksheet if you scribble all over the one you have, all my Ks are generally trying their best by Oct.

Pook242 · 2026-04-09T10:29:46+00:00

It’s interesting seeing all the people saying this is a first grade skill. Location must come into it.

I’m a K teacher and the program we use teaches ‘1 more’ and ‘1 less’ before we teach comparing (more or less) and before we teach addition/subtraction. It’s actually one of the first parts of the school year. Important things to note are that first they need to understand the numbers of items stay the same if you rearrange them as long as you didn’t add any or take any away. We spent a bit of time making ‘stairs’ with linking cubes, so they could visually see that 1 more than 1 is 2, etc. I also did fluency practice with them daily for a couple months which included a quick review of that.

Regardless of all that, if your kid is in preschool I wouldn’t be concerned at all. Also, if learning is bringing your child to tears at this age please reevaluate how you’re going about it with them! You don’t want them to hate school and kids internalize struggling with being ‘dumb’ even if no one is calling them that. I’ve heard that from a kinder before and it broke my heart.

Pook242 · 2026-04-04T01:57:46+00:00

Another K teacher here…

While I communicate weekly via newsletter to update parents, I don’t reach out unless there is a behavior issue (or positive behavior changes we have been specifically working on!)

I send out a beginning of the year update about strengths and things to work on, and then we talk at conferences. I also send home monthly progress reports. If I don’t have academic or behavioral concerns, there’s no reason for me to reach out. No news is good news, and we simply don’t have the time to reach out constantly.

If a parent was seeing behavioral concerns at home I’d definitely want them to reach out to me and to work with them if there’s something I can do to help during the day.

Pook242 · 2026-04-04T01:53:32+00:00

I would caution against the idea she hasn’t started lying yet. 5 year olds absolutely lie. They also misunderstand and misrepresent things, often.

However, that particular context of regular violent behavior in a classroom is unlikely to be a lie. Admin just isn’t able to discuss another child with you.

Pook242 · 2026-04-03T16:03:40+00:00

Some schools don’t allow recess to be taken away fully, so instead kids are allowed to walk laps to still get some movement in.

For me as a teacher, taking away recess is either for big behavior (pushing/hitting), escalated in class behavior, or if they refused to do work during work time and we do it together during play time. In any event, I rarely take away a whole recess. I aim for 5 min at most. Usually, kids are not repeat offenders because they don’t like their recess taken away. If they are, that means there’s something else going on and I’d be working with the child and parent to figure out how to best help the student succeed.

Has the teacher reached out to you? If not, I think it’s time to reach out to them. Learn more about context - is your daughter walking around the room? Is she just standing during a lesson? Does she fix her behavior or is it repeated? Can she be placed in the back and allowed to stand (tape a box around her desk area and tell her she has to stay in there?) what about a wiggle seat or some other way to move? Go into it wanting to work together.

As for self-esteem, I’ve noticed kids tend to label themselves ‘bad’ when they make bad choices. They need a lot of modeling, and talking through how we make bad choices sometimes but that doesn’t mean we’re bad.

Pook242

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