Starting preschool when still 3, not 4

Angela - posted on 05/09/2011

hallo
my son was born on 5th December and when he turned three i put him in baby class. at first the principle was hesitant but i insisted. i have seen kids go to school when two years old.
just find a school that will accept him.

Esther - posted on 04/24/2011

I once read a book by Malcolm Gladwell in which he said that research had shown that kids that are the older ones in a class tend to do better in life than kids that are at the younger end because being the bigger/stronger/socially more adept/"smarter" (i.e more advanced academically) kid boosts their confidence in a way that has long term consequences. Something to consider. I consider my son very smart too (don't we all) but I will not be pushing him ahead at an advanced pace but rather let him enjoy another year of preschool/kindergarten. Childhood goes by fast enough as it is.

Laurie - posted on 04/16/2011

My son started preschool last September when he was 2.5 - his birthday is Dec 11. The cut off for the three year program was the end of December. He will have another year of preschool starting next september and then can start kindergarden in the fall of 2012 if we think he is socially and emotionally ready. He probably will be but my brother was started early as well (Jan 15th birthday) and he was simply not ready for kindergarden. My brother is very bright and is a gifted lawyer today but at 4.5 he was not yet ready for school socially and emotionally. You as the parent will know whether he is ready and don't let the teachers bully you in to starting early or late if it is not what is right for your child.

Emer - posted on 04/12/2011

im in ireland & its quite common to start them in pre school at 3,my son is starting this sept, hes a wise little owl so i no he be fine :)

Michelle - posted on 04/12/2011

Talk to the local school about early entry testing!

Jen - posted on 03/24/2011

We have the same issue with Savannah. She's been in day care since she was 4 months old, but they always kept her with her age level. However, she was very bored because she was WAY beyond the other kids' level of thinking. She is currently functioning at the level of a kindergartner. Because of the fact that she's in day care, they finely saw her potential and moved her to the 3 year old preschool class in January. Because of the free 4 year old pre-k that they have in Florida she is unable to move to the 4 year old class. The class that she was moved into was one that she wouldn't have been age eligible until August of this year when the next school year starts.
My husband and I have always debated on whether or not we should start her in kindergarten early. The Florida cut off is 5 years old by September 1st. I have found that there is a test that we can have her take to start early, but the only reason we don't think we'll start her early is because of her best friend. They have been together since they were infants and her friend has a February birthday and wouldn't be eligible to start early anyway. When she does start school we will be talking with the school and have her tested for gifted classes. When a child takes and passes the gifted test they are eligible to be pulled from class to work on harder activities that are more geared towards their level of thinking.
So my advice would be to look at getting him in a 3 year old preschool program over the summer or in the fall when school starts again and see how he does. He'll probably love it and the teacher would be able to give you advice on things that you can do with him at home to stimulate his learning. I have a pre-school workbook that Savannah works out of that essentially has a whole 2 years worth of preschool curriculum in it. She's pretty much completed the book and I will be getting her the kindergarten book soon.

Katie - posted on 03/19/2011

I have a son who turned 3 on dec 10 and he is in preschool right now. As of right now he is the youngest child in the class and the only one in potty training, which is stressing him out. in addition all of the older girls treat him like a baby which upset him. If i h ad to do it over again i would have waited until he was four and at the same level as his class mates. i hope this helps

Andrea - posted on 02/26/2011

My daughter just started preschool, yes halfway thru. She will be in preschool again in September and b/c of her bday (12/26) she will then go pre-k and then Kindergarten. But they always advance kids if they think they are smart enough and need more of a challenge. Talk to your schools about it.

Nicole - posted on 02/10/2011

Thank you.
I don't think my son would be behind at all if he started on time. When people hear him talk and stuff and they ask me his age, everyone is SHOCKED that he's only 3. And where I am, I was told the cut off day is December 1st but my son was born December 27th.
Thanks for the advice though, I'll definitely look into it.

Darlene - posted on 02/10/2011

Oh, btw, different schools have different cut off times for birthdays. Where my friend lives, the cut off is the end of December. Here it's the end of August.

Darlene - posted on 02/10/2011

I'm not sure if it applies to pre-schools. I know you can test them for kindergarten here.
I haven't decided what I want to do. My son is also doing great with 'academic' things, but I'm not sure if he'll be ready maturity wise. My sister is a teacher and she finds that kids do better when they are a bit ahead, rather than behind.
I'd call the preschool you are intersted in and check their policies. I'd also check with the school because they may not let him in even though he started preschool early.
Good luck!