When do you send your child to school?

My oldest daughter's birthday is August 30th. She will turn 5 in 2008, and technically, she could start Kindergarten, even though she will have just turned 5 years old. I think I have decided to wait an extra year, and give her an extra year at home with us. Not that I do not think she would be ready, but we also have all day Kindergarten here, and I do not think she would be quite ready for that. All the preschool teachers I speak to around here, they all say, 'The extra year is the best thing you can do for your child'.
My mom held me back, but I would not have turned 5 until December. I did so much better than my sister and brother, who turned 5 right as they started Kindergarten.
Any thoughts or suggestions? I know, I am still even a year before I can even send her, but I think about this so much! I do not want her to be bored if I wait to send her when she turns 6, but I can't help but feel that giving her an extra year at home and being an older child would be better than being the youngest child.

 

I kept my oldest dd out of kindergarden until she was 6 - it was a great decision. She had a wonderful school experience. She was always #1 in her class & at her high school graduation, she won every award & scholarship except the music ones. She was 19 when she graduated from high school & much more mature than the others who were mostly 17. She went to Australia her first year of college & had a wonderful experience - she could never have pulled that off if she had been younger. She is in her 3rd year of a PhD - she will be 28 when she finishes & mature enough to make goo decisions in her career & life. What's the hurry - let them be babies a little longer!

 

My boys turned 5 in June and will go to Kindergarten in the fall. All of their teachers, as well as I agree they are ready to go. I work in camp this summer with this age group. I have one boy who will turn 5 in Sept., and a boy who will turn 6 in Sept. The older boy is actually repeating K, and you know what, the one who is just turning 5 is more mature and ready for K than the one turning 6.

I think it depends on the child. One of my boys was in the special needs preschool program, and is going to K without any services. He also reads and does math at a second grade level--at least that is where he tested last March. I can't imagine not sending him, and all his teachers agree. My other boy is "typical" although bright, he has also been a class leader since he was in his 3 year old preschool class.

My point is that you shouldn't make a decision based on a birthday, but rather make it based on the child. Your daughter may be VERY ready for K by this time next year, and then again, maybe she won't. I would re-evaluate as the time gets closer.

 

I agree with the others, you know your child do what you think is best. I was one of the youngest kids in the class. I did not like, but not one person recommanded that I repeat any grade. My mother was a teacher and if someone that had suggested that I repeat a grade then I am sure she would have done it.

 

My oldest DD is Oct. 11 and the year she turned 5 the cut off was Sept. 30, it is now Sept. 1 though. Being a former teacher myself, I had already decided I would start her late, the cut off used to be Dec. 31 in Maryland, but they started moving it back once they started implementing all day K. I am so glad she started late. She started K last Aug. and then turned 6, 6 weeks into K. She was the oldest student in her class. All day K is very academic and I'm glad she had that extra year to mature before entering school. If the cut off was later I would have started her late anyway. I have seen a lot of children with the "later b-days" and some of them have really struggled and it is not always academically, it's socially and maturity too, sometimes those are the biggest issues.

Personally if you feel she is better off waiting the extra year than that is what is best for her. My opinion is it won't hurt her. She will have a whole extra year to grow socially and maturity wise before entering a school setting and she won't be the youngest kid in the class.

I don't think she will be bored. I was a former teacher (10 years) and my oldest DD is not bored at all. I did not drill her at home, yes we worked on things, but not rigorously. Schools now have so many ways of differentiating that they should be able to handle a child who is a brighter than the others. Plus like I said all day K is very academic and you may find that extra year was good. I have seen such change in curriculum in the 10 years that I taught. It much more academic now than it was 10 years ago and with all day K now, it's even more so.

ETA: I have a late Aug. b-day and I was always the youngest of all my friends. I have 2 siblings who have Nov. and Dec. b-days and my mom chose to start them both late (one sister and one brother) and she does not regret the decision at all.

 

My girls will face the same thing w/ an Oct birthday (cut off here is Dec 1), I will see what I will do when the time comes. As a teacher, I tell parents to evaluate each child differently- social , emotional, and mentally if they are ready. Also a K- round up ( ore readiness evaluation) is usually offered and that can give you an idea if your daughter is ready or not.

It is a hard choice and it would be much easier if there was a steadfast day across the nation.

That said, my 2 siblings and I were all between Aug and Nov.- we were all the younger of our grades and started K at 4 or 5. We all did wonderfully and I never minded being younger- even when we moved around alot and cut off dates differed by state, it was not a problem.

 

I agree with others who say it depends on the child. I started K at 4 (turned 5 in October), and I was successful throughout school. Being the youngest in class caused no problems for me. In fact, because I was so tall, it was probably a good thing I started early. It was hard enough being the tallest girl -- I would have felt really self-conscious being taller than all the boys, too.

My boys have April and May birthdays, so they are usually some of the younger kids in class. Jackson has done very well in school. I will say, he tends to make friends more with kids a grade or two behind him, but he has plenty of friends in his same grade as well. I have no qualms about sending Hayden and Brady to K in the fall, to be 5 years old through almost the whole school year. Academically, they are beyond K now, so to hold them back another year would mean they'd be awfully bored by the time they got there.

 

I held my son back (late Aug birthday, Sept 1 cut off) and he'll start kindergarten this year a few weeks before he turns 6. I am so glad I didn't send him last year. He has matured so much this year and I know he'll be more prepared for the classroom setting now. He also really did not want to go last year, so that helped my decision. Another consideration I had was that in the future, I did not want him to be the youngest boy in his class when everyone is starting puberty and I didn't want him entering college at 17 (even though I did!).

My parents held me back because my birthday was late and I was very small for my age and I resented it. I was so ready to go to school when I was 4 and used to cry when my brother left on the bus without me. I was extremely bored in school and although I was always at the top of my class, I never had to put effort into anything. I know things have changed, but I think I would have been better off being younger and maybe having to work a little so I wasn't so bored. I ended up taking extra classes so I could graduate early so I definitely think it depends a lot on your child's personality too.

My son is so different from me that I didn't even struggle with the decision. He's bright but very unmotivated and while I was the perfect following directions do what I'm told kind of child, he is more of the type to get in trouble by insisting on doing things his own way. I think if you consider your child's personality, what she wants to do, and her age as a full package, you'll know what the best choice for her is.

 

My girls will be 5 when they start, but turn 6 a couple of months afterwards. They are supposed to be 5 by Sept 15 to be able to register and the girls' birthday isn't until October, so we'll be late starters.

 

My son will go at 5 1/2 which is this fall term. He's been ready for long time. I am afraid that he will be very bored if they don't provide him with enrichment activities. He's already reading, knows his states and state capitols, all K math, can print on K paper, etc. I was a teacher for 9 years so I've already worked with him quite a bit. He's a little sponge about picking up things.
I went to K at age 4 and ended up in college at age 17. I wish that my parents would have held me back. I am planning on putting my girls in the PreK program when they turn 4.

 

We do it all so differently here n the UK.

They start Nursery (based inside the school but it is not compulsery that they attend) at the age of 3. This is 5 half days, either mornings (9.00am - 11.00am) or afternoons (1:25 pm - 3.25pm).
Then after 12 months of this they start Reception which is the first class of school. They do a week of half day sessions the same as Nursery and then go right into a full school day (9.00am - 3.25pm). They stay at school for Lunch aswell. They have 3 recreational break times. 10.15am - 10.45am, 12.00pm - 1.30pm and 2.45pm - 3.00pm.
There are then 2 Key Stage 1 classes, Year 1 & 2 infants. After this they move to Key Stage 2 Juniors and there are 4 classes, Years 3, 4, 5 and 6. KS 2 don't have the afternoon recreation. Once they have finished Year 6 they start High school at age 11 and leave school at 16.

 

All I can say is what ever you decide will be the right time. I myself got my son Trent into school a month after he had turned 3 because he only said 2 ?'s, Is it blue? or Is it bird?. Anything else he couldn't be understood or he would grunt and point. And Ty he was in a birth to three program since july/97 so when he was 3 he automacially started school to keep up his therapies. He is very delayed.

 

I agree with those who say you need to base the decision on your child's readiness rather than age. I was always one of the youngest in my class, and always did well academic and socially (well, up until 7th grade anyways ). I know a pair of twins in my town who started kindergarten at a private school, because the teachers there (where they had been going to preschool) said they were ready (they had not yet turned 5) . . . they both ended up repeating a second year of kindergarten. There were other children who started at that age who did fabulously well. I think it's probably too early to be making any decisions about what to do a year from now - your daughter may mature a huge amount over the next year and be completely ready to make the jump, or she may not.

It might be worthwhile starting her in a preschool program (if you haven't already), even if it's just a few half-days, to get a sense of how she does in that environment. Then if you decide she is ready to start K next year, the transition won't be as difficult (hopefully!)

My twins' birthday is in February (we have a Sept. 1 cutoff) so they'll be almost exactly 5 1/2 when they begin kindergarten. Seems perfect to me, since I probably won't have to worry so much about deciding when to start them.

-Rachel

 

I've always thought that in the long run it's better for girls to start early than guys. If a girl starts physically maturing early for her peer group, then jr high can be very difficult socially. but only you can make that decision. I think you will know for sure when it's closer to the time. a lot of maturing can happen in a year.

 

I didn't read all of the replies...but I am speaking as a teacher and as a mother of 5yo twins.
I would enroll her in K and see how she does. I am kinda opposed to the stringent cut offs that have been in place for so long. Waiting until 6 to start formal schooling seems like TOO long to me. Kids need to learn routines and get started...the sooner the better. My dds were in a preschool/daycare from age 19 months. It was the best thing for them. They learned social skills, songs, routines, etc. I was blown away but what they are capable of. I think that a lot of parents baby their children today thinking they're NOT ready...kids can handle a lot more than we realize. If she struggles...fine. Let her repeat...but if she's 5 right when school starts...she should be FINE!
:0)

 

Last year and this year I taught Deaf/Hard of hearing kindergarten. I know that the girls are generally more ready to start early than the boys. I think she would be fine if she started now. I also know that one girl in my class turned 6 in July and started kindergarten that August. She did great! I had a boy who turned 6 in November but he was a 26 weeker and he is VERY immature. I really think it depends on the individual child!

Good luck in your decision.

Bridget