School Questions

My online friend Jen asked some questions that I thought I'd just answer here, in case they might be helpful to others as well...

Could [William] have gone to kindergarten when you got home last winter? Did you do any research on the requirements of school attendance in your state? I am not sure if we will be required by the state to put our child in school when we arrive home (if she is school age) since it will be late winter or early spring. We haven't gotten any answers. I researched our state's education website but not sure where to go next.

William was technically kindergarten age when we brought him home. We could have put him right into kindergarten, but we chose a different route. He'd never been in school before, so this was totally new for him.

Had we done public school, he would have gone for full days and we KNEW he wasn't ready for that. We could have put him in private half-day kindergarten, but he would have been one of the youngest in his class with his late-May birthday. And we would have been putting him in the class in January, half-way through the school year. There was enough to adjust to and we didn't want to make it any harder than it already was. I'm sure you've heard... kindergarten is the new first grade :)

Our decision? In early January we enrolled him in a private, 4-day-a-week, half day Pre-K. It was an older 4's, younger 5's class, designed for kids who just missed the kindergarten birthday cutoff or kids who just weren't quite ready for kindergarten yet. It gave him the opportunity to get used to the idea of school, improve his social skills, and get on the fast track with his language skills. All without too much academic pressure. And it created routine which he was desperate for. It was a perfect fit for him.

Before going to Ukraine, we said we'd wait several months before putting our child in any kind of preschool or kindergarten. But we quickly realized that it would be the best thing for him. The name of the game at the orphanage was ROUTINE. Everything happened at specific times, and the children knew what to expect. You can click HERE and read a post I did several months ago about William's need for routine.

We tried to explain to him (through our limited Russian & the help of a friend of the family who is fluent) that we would take him in the mornings and pick him up right after lunch. We took him twice in December to meet the teachers and kids. Both times he shed some silent tears. But by Day 2 of school in January, he was fine with it. (We'd also been taking him to church each Sunday, and I think that helped him understand that we'd always come back) By the second week, he was excited to go each day.

As for your 'legal' questions, we honestly didn't check other than seeing if we could get him in the Pre-K class. No harm no foul at this point, I guess. If you are concerned, I would suggest calling the local school district, stopping by your local elementary school, and also maybe visiting a private school, and just asking these questions.