Starting Kindergarten

Nicole - posted on 03/25/2009

Thanks Nicole...great to hear that from you!

Nicole - posted on 03/25/2009

I see you made your decision already, but I wanted to go ahead and post to say I think you made the right one!

My oldest son is in 2nd grade and a July birthday. He's currently actually in a 2/3 blend which means he's one of the youngest 2nd graders in a class of 2nd and 3rd graders. He's doing great academically, but there are times when you can tell he's young for his class.

My youngest's birthday is Sept. 8th and the cut off here is Sept 1st, so we don't have a choice. They don't test in anymore and I wouldn't want to if they did, so he'll start next year. Wtih my oldest son being the youngest in his class, I can't imagine starting my youngest basically 2 months younger. Boys especially, I think the extra year will be a good thing. Same as yours, I think academically he'd do fine. We work on letters and numbers and all that. But I do think, especially in kindergarten, being ready socially (able to sit still, follow directions, work independantly at times) is almost more important and a 4 year old just isn't as ready as a 5 year old.

So, I agree with you...it can be exciting to want to get them started as soon as possible, but I think the pros to waiting far outweigh the cons. I think you made a good choice!

Nicole - posted on 03/24/2009

Well, I made the decision to wait and send him to preschool this fall, and kindergarten next year. I asked a few teachers, and looked alot on the internet and the overall response was to wait. I kind of felt that in my gut anyway. I figure if I wait a year, he'll have alot of extra time to learn and be prepare and I can't really see a down side. However, if I send him too early, I can see a lot of potential problems. To me, the pros of waiting outweigh the cons.

Julie - posted on 03/20/2009

I will tell you that I am going through the same dilemma. I live in MO and here the cut off is Aug 1. My daughter is going to turn 5 in July, but sometimes I think she's a bit behind and I don't know if I shsould wait a year or not. I had the same problem with my oldest son (he is a Senior this year) and he is the youngest in his class of 400+ students and he hated being the last to date, the last to drive, etc... but he is loving that he is done with school this year and he will be younger than everyone at graduation.