Summer Children: Ready or Not for School

By James K. Uphoff

Book This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0961856106
• ISBN13: 9780961856106
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: J & J Crafts
• Length: 114 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.5" x 6.0"
• Age Range: 4 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 7

Customer Reviews

For parents who are unsure about holding kids back

Should you wait to start your child later in kindergarten? If you are open-minded and seeking the best decision for your child, you will LOVE the book. Written by 2 researchers who met by chance and discovered they were researching the same thing. There is lots of data and perspective. Plus they quote some of our favorite kids authors like Berry Brazelton and Louise Bates Ames (see also her books: 1) What Am I Doing in This Grade?: A Book for Parents About School Readiness 2) Don't push your preschooler 3) Your five-year-old : sunny and serene). The book really focuses on being emotionally, socially, physically and developmentally "ready" for kindergarten and the learning environment, as opposed to just intellectual, which is where parents get hung up. The authors stress that being developmentally ready might not be related to chronological age. They pretty much recommend that kids will be able to handle kindergarten after 5 years and 6 months of age. The 6-month gap between 5 and 5 1/2 is huge in terms of development. My husband and I have come full circle in the last week; he and I both have now talked to TONS of people about this. Never knew it was such a big issue! We are 98% certain we'll have my son "start late" and repeat his 3 year old class next year. If you believe that "success breeds success" and that an early and good start is important for your child's self esteem and ability to connect with other kids. Another thing I picked up from the book was that a sign that a child is struggling is that they are exhausted at the end of the day. Well, 3 times in the last week I have put my son down for a 3 pm nap and he has slept to the next morning! 14-15 hours! He is one tired boy and I never connected it to struggling in preschool until last night. Yup, it's an "old" book but things have only gotten more pressure-filled for kids in the last 20 years. Best of luck if you are struggling with this decision.

Somebody's

Looks like Kindergartener's Mom above started her child too early. I think this book is right on target and I'd love to see more books written like this. Too many people are screwing up their kids lives by starting them before they should. All kids are bright enough even at 4, but it sometimes doesn't catch up with them until they are teenagers. One thing is for sure, it does catch up with them...if not academically, then socially or emotionally. The research only looks at test scores to see if there is a difference between the older and younger children. Take a look at their social and emotional well being and you will find a larger incidence of the younger children not measuring up. Often times they do not fit in socially, struggle with relationships and display overall emotional immaturity. It's sad that parents put their egos ahead of what is best for their children. I live in CA where the cut-off is Dec. Ridiculous. There are 4-year olds starting kindergarten and parents ignorantly defending it. That cut-off was made for low-income families. It was set-up to solve a daycare issue, not what is best for the child. Maybe waiting an extra year on a child wouldn't end up making a big difference for them. If it does however...you've changed the course of their life for the better...if it's doesn't...it didn't hurt a thing. There are only advantages to waiting. I'd love to see more books on this debate, but I'd like school administrators to quit looking at only academic performance. Newsweek did their cover story on boys falling behind at every level of education. Why? Let's measure more on the effect this has on kids emotionally and socially...not just academically. What effect does all those years of struggling to keep up do to a child's self-esteem? That is what I'd like to see. Then maybe parents would listen. What does getting good grades matter if they hate school so much that they drop out or worse...burn the place to the ground? People need to wake up.

A must for anyone with kids!

This book puts research behind what we have always felt...some kids are ready for school and success, and others need to wait. When most parents make an emotional decision in this area, this gives you facts to make an informed decision. This is not just for school decisions, but has amazing information on just raising kids such as the spiral of equilibrium and disequalibrium from 0-18 years. This has been a real aid in understanding my 3 boys as they grew up. I have given this book to many many friends and educators, and all are impressed.My husband and I fully recommend this handbook to children and their educational success.