I’m currently homeschooling my Kindergartener, but she really wants to be in school. Should I send her even though the school year ends in August? Or should I wait and enroll her the beginning of her first grade year to start fresh?

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I’m also worried that somehow she will be behind starting first grade. I was new to homeschooling, so I’m still learning a lot. Over the months I’ve realized that it’s not as easy as people make it seem! I’m also pregnant, so I’ve been exhausted lately and worried that she’s not getting the proper education that she needs.  
Here’s what she’s learned so far:
She can write her first and last name.
She can write numbers 1-20.
She can write and recognize her ABC’s in uppercase and lowercase letters.
She can *almost* tell time.
She can recognize certain sight words.
We are still working on reading.

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I’d suggest seeing what school she’d enroll in and see if you can schedule a time to meet with someone on staff (possibly kindergarten or first grade teacher) and see what they deem necessary skills. I was surprised by the number of sight words kindergarteners were asked to know when I got into teaching.

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I am a special education teacher at our elementary and for sure at the kindergarten level she should be able to write her letters know sounds and recognize them as well. Phonics is a big part of reading. So de-coding words is a big part of it (which I personally am not a fan of) but all we cover is when to use the breve. Consonant blends such as fl, cl, Bl and so on. Sight words of course. Learning how to break down words and read. And math wise she should be able to count to 100 and 120 is even better. Adding and subtracting with a visual. Recognizing numbers. Those are pretty much just the absolute basics.

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I am homeschooling my son through Abeka Academy. It’s an accredited, college prep program on DVD. My son has learned his numbers 1-100, cursive writing, addition, subtraction, how to tell time, counting by 5’s and 10’s, how to read and more. The reading program is phonics. It’s really an awesome curriculum. You may want to check into it if you decide to homeschool next year. :)

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Sounds are extremely important. It’s ideal to know all sounds so she can write words and read (dog, quit, log, etc..) at least count to 75 and write to 25. Play here letter sounds videos (jack Hartmann is great) and cvc videos.

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Would she be going to a public or private school? From the comments, it seems as if there are some differences in the 2.
My son is currently in a daycare, which is more of a pre-school, that is affiliated with the private school he’ll be attending for kindergarten next year. While they do let them move at their own pace to an extent, my son needed to know/do all of the things you mentioned before being accepted into kindergarten... & I had to enroll him already, so it was going off of where he was mid school year. I’m not 100% positive on having to be able to read well b/c one day he suddenly could read full (short) books out of nowhere, so that might just be something he happened to do on his own & isn’t required.
I would definitely talk to the school you plan to send her to & tell them your concerns. They might think it’s best to go ahead & have her start now, in case she does have some catching up to do. I would personally wait until the beginning of the school year, if the school thinks she will be ready at the pace she’s going now.

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I homeschool both my 5 and 10 year olds. Both have said they want to go to school next year; my daughter because her best friend is in school and my son because he wants to play sports. I’m letting him because I think he is old enough to decide on his own. I don’t think a 5 year old should have a say in such an important decision.

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As a kindergarten teacher, it is way different than when I was in school! It’s more like first grade! My kids are reading books and counting money. They learn all the letters and sounds, long and short vowels and even diphthongs and digraphs by the end of kindergarten. It’s insane! I think it’s what’s in the best interest of your child. Can you fully commit to your time with her for learning? Is the public school a good option in terms of curriculum and demeanor? There are tons of things to consider. Maybe connect with the school district and see if your curriculum is correlating with theirs. Your reasons for homeschooling is another factor as well. Is it something you could let her try? You can always go back to homeschooling. It’s a hard choice. Even as a teacher I’m contemplating on what to do with my own child.

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You can look up your state standard ( common core for most states). I teach sped kinder, but we go by the same standards. 
-recognize all upper and lower case letters 
-sounds
-sight words 
-sounding out Cvc words 
-writing simple sentence with a model ( I like cats) 
-rhyming words 
- write, recognize numbers to 20.
-rote count to 100 by 1,’s 5’s, 10’s. 
-add and subtract numbers through 5 with manipulatives. 
-concepts of print- what the author and illustrator and parts of a book 
☺️👍🏻 hope this helps

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Get on tpt for resources. There are several list of sight words. Have her “lock” them in. Write in sand, white board.. and say A says (then sound).

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I remember that it was required for all of us to be able to write a complete sentence at the end of kindergarten. So, I’d say as long as she can do that, knows how to read, and can do simple addition, she should be fine.

I’m currently homeschooling my Kindergartener, but she really wants to be in school. Should I send her even though the school year ends in August? Or should I wait and enroll her the beginning of her first grade year to start fresh?

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