Is your child has a late summer/fall birthday, when did you start Kindergarten?

[ama223]

DS' birthday is September 3. Where we live, cut-off is Dec 1, so technically he can start Kindergarten just as he's turning 5 (which will be 2011 for us).

I have heard so many conflicting things about whether I should hold him back. Some say that boys aren't always ready at that age.

I'm obviously going to see what his 4yo preschool teacher thinks at the end of this year, but I'm curious what other parents have decided and why.

 

[gem21]

Here the cut-off is Oct 1st... but you can get your child "derogated" into kindergarden if they have a birthday after the cut-off date, it requires some sort of evaluation by a psychologist.

Honestly, only you and the people/teachers who work with your child know for sure if he is ready. But yes, boys tend to need that extra time to mature... my mom tells of how when my brother was 4 she could not imagine how he would go to K, but when he was 5 she saw a huge difference in him.

As an example, in the K class I worked part-time in we had one little boy who was born early November and had been derogated into K early. Academically he was one of the smartest kids in the class, but maturity wise it was very evident he was still young (he was only 4 for the first two months of school). At the begining of the year he was still very impulsive and hyper... it did get better as the year went on, but he always seemed about 6 months behind.

Whatever you chose, I'm sure it will be the right decision for your child.

 

[ashleyasiegel]

If it was me I would wait the year. Why rush it? It's an extra year that you get to spend with him. If you look at it down the road would you rather send your child off the college at 17 turning 18 or 18 turning 19?

My husband birthday is September 1st and wishes that his parents would have started 5 going on 6 instead of 4 going on 5. He feels from a sports stand point that if he would have had that extra year he would have had more opportunity to get a sports scholarship or at least play in college as he would have had an extra year to develop and get bigger.

I was an older one in my class with a November birthday and there were kids in my class that were a FULL YEAR or more younger than me. Right now it may not be that big of deal but that difference will show down the road.

Those summer birthdays are always a hard one, but anything past mid-july I would wait until the following year.

good luck in your decision
Ashley

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

Our cut off is Dec 1 too, our DD15's b-day is October 13. We sent her, we figured if it wasn't a good fit we could pull her and try again the next year, or have her repeat, or it would be fine. She was fine. The part she hates is now, all ehr friends are driving and she isn't (she will be soon enough!) But we never regretted sending her and she is happy we did as well and she is doing great (taking 3 AP classes this year.) She will be only 17 when she goes to college, so that makes me a little nervous, but we will cross that bridge when we get to it, she is leaning towards starting at CC and staying home for the first couple years.

ETA- I shouldn't have said we never regretted it, in fact anytime an issue comes up I do wonder if we made the right choice, but I am sure I would have done that either way. Looking at the big picture, I am happy with our choice, but it easy to wonder if yo umade the right decision. It was easier with our next 2, we didn't have a choice, May and January birthdays.

 

[stichy]

My son's bday is Aug 4th. I think our cut off for entering is in September. We put him in at 5. He keeps up academically no problem. He has trouble concentrating sometimes. He is always the youngest kid in the class. Last year there was a kid who was an entire year older than him. They have the same bday just a year apart.

 

[squirrel]

It seems more common down in the US to hold kids back.

Here in BC the cut off is Dec. 31. I have seen kids that were born in Jan. that I felt were ready for Kindergarten. There really isn't a way to get them in the year before (maybe a private school). They are really strict. One of the parents had her daughter evaluated before the end of the school year (May or June) and her daughter scored well at only 4 and a half, but the school still can't allow children into Kindergarten unless they turn 5 by Dec. 31. She had to wait a year and was the oldest in the class.

 

[disneyandme]

Academically, most kids are fine, though some younger ones struggle with the pace, but socially/emotionally, it can get difficult as they get older. Imagine a 13 yr old girl wanting to date the 15 yr old boys in her class. (not that I would let my 13yr old date)

 

[bigmama67]

The cutoff where we used to live was October 31. DS' birthday is December 4th so we had no choice; he was one of the oldest in his class.

In the town where we live now, it's October 1. He's going into second grade now and last year one of his two good friends turned 7 in August and the other close friend did not turn 6 until late September...so the three of them had a big age gap!

My DD's birthday is October 17 - she's only turning 2 this year but we have pretty much accustomed ourselves to the idea of her being the oldest in her class when the time comes. At least she and her brother will have that in common, and she won't be the last to develop (which is hard on girls!) I am concerned about her being bored but I will advocate with the teachers to keep her motivated and challenged. (In our prior town the principal had told me it would be our choice but here they enforce the cutoff strictly.)

At any rate, DH's birthday is late August and he said he always hated being one of the youngest so I think we will not push the issue. Good luck with your choice.

 

[BABY_EINSTEIN'S_MOM]

I kind of wish we would have been able to send our ds to kindergarten last year. Our cut off is Oct.1st and his birthday is Oct.29. He is a very big, tall stocky boy and no one can believe he is 5. He also knows everything he needs to, plus a lot more. He has been reading entire books for a while now and does math problems in his head.

When he was evaluated for kindergarten, one of the teachers made a big deal about him and made the other teachers come listen to him read. Then she started asking him all kinds of random questions. They said that they didn't know what to do with him other than let him teach class. Very funny..this did not make me feel very good about the future.

When I met with his actual teacher, she said that we will have a meeting and talk about ways to keep him interested and challenged in class. I have to admit though that it worries me when he brings home worksheets that ask him to circle the animal or circle the right alphabet letter! Everyone tells me that I should see about him moving up a grade, but I just don't know. He does say that he loves school though, so I don't want to rock the boat!

Does anyone have any experience with this?

 

[mjejj]

My son just started Kindergarten at 6. His b-day is at the end of June and I think our cutoff is Sept. 1 for K but, there is absolutely no way he would have been ready. He is very shy and I think it was the right choice for us. He seems really happy so far and has adjusted a lot quicker to school this year than he did to pre-K last year.

I started 1st grade when I was 7. Back in the dark ages when I was in grade school, there was no public kindergarten so I went to private when I was 6. As a kid, I hated the fact that I was older than my friends (I'm not sure why exactly) but as I got into HS and college, it actually was an advantage. I could drive first and buy alcohol first (not that I did ). I was really shy too so I think it was all for the best.

It really depends on the kid. My niece is 3 weeks younger than my son and she was in K last year and did great. Everyone I asked told me that summer b-day boys probably do better starting later. I think it really depends on your child and his maturity and comfort level. Just go with your gut (I know, that's not really helpful). Good luck with your decision.

 

[kitsch4]

My son's b-day is Sept. 7, and the district's cutoff date is the end of September. The daycare that he attended has a kindergarten, so he started there when he was still four. After seeing how the year went, we planned on either enrolling him in K or 1st grade at our public school. Turns out he did great and would have been bored stiff in K, so he went on to 1st grade.

 

[dyna]

When my oldest was starting K the cut off was 5 by 1st of Sept she turned 5 Aug 7th looking back she was not ready an ended up being held back a year...actually I don't think she was socially ready at 8 or 9 either. Always very much a loner by choice an hated having to play with other kids an do group activities. Even with being held back ended up in special ed because she just could not keep up with her class.

My youngest another Aug birthday could not start K till she was 6 at that time the cut off was 5 by June 1st. She was more than ready for K at 4 an would have done wonderful but dh an I decided prolly better to be oldest in class than youngest. DD was BORED all thru elementary school an most of jr high an high school never had a challenging class.

I've came to the conclusion age does not have much to do with when kids are ready to start school...each one needs to be tested by age 4 to see where they are emotionally an academically base it more on that than age.

 

[Peanut Giggleface]

Both of my kids are August babies, so the cut off wasn't an issue for us. However what I did discover is that some kids (most) benefit emotionally from waiting an additional year. This is especially true for boys. I held my son back a year but allowed my daughter to start on schedule. They're both very smart, so the aptitude wasn't the issue, but now wish I had held my daughter back as well. As the kids get older they're going to be facing peer pressure and will be having to make choices that an additional year of maturity will help them with. My daughter starts middle school this year and academically she can handle it, but honestly don't think she'll be ready for the issues she's going to face. I think it will be stressful for her.

 

[JVL1018]

The cutoff here is Oct 1. My daughter is Oct 24 so she went when she was about to turn 6.
My son was born Sept 5th, so he could have gone, but there was no way he was ready. He is exactly where he should be socially and academically. I think he would have floundered if he started school at 4. It's the best decision we've made for him.
I asked his preschool teachers, friends who are teachers, parents of friends who are teachers(everyone I knew who had anything to do with education ) and every last one of them said they would absolutely not send a September baby on time if there is an October 1st cutoff like most towns around here are.
My kids are just about 2 years apart, but if we had sent our son on time, they would have been 1 year apart in school. That had no bearing on our decision to send him or not, but I am really glad they are the 2 grades apart and not the 1. It makes paying for college easier too. I'll only have 2 in at once for 2 years, not 3.
Vicki

 

[JVL1018]

I kind of wish we would have been able to send our ds to kindergarten last year. Our cut off is Oct.1st and his birthday is Oct.29. He is a very big, tall stocky boy and no one can believe he is 5. He also knows everything he needs to, plus a lot more. He has been reading entire books for a while now and does math problems in his head.

When he was evaluated for kindergarten, one of the teachers made a big deal about him and made the other teachers come listen to him read. Then she started asking him all kinds of random questions. They said that they didn't know what to do with him other than let him teach class. Very funny..this did not make me feel very good about the future.

When I met with his actual teacher, she said that we will have a meeting and talk about ways to keep him interested and challenged in class. I have to admit though that it worries me when he brings home worksheets that ask him to circle the animal or circle the right alphabet letter! Everyone tells me that I should see about him moving up a grade, but I just don't know. He does say that he loves school though, so I don't want to rock the boat!

Does anyone have any experience with this?

My daugher was reading chapter books and doing 1st and 2nd grade math in K. Everything came easily for her.
She is starting 5th this year, gets straight As and loves school.

Every teacher she's had said the same thing the teacher said about your son "she could have taught the class".
Could she have skipped K and gone right to 1st? Academically? Sure! But why bother? She loved/loves school, wasn't bored, enjoyed all the aspects of it, and once she started 1st they had G&T to challenge her a little more(For the record, I do not think she is "gifted' I think she is a smart kid who works hard).

This past year in 4th she has had to actually start making more of a real effort, so that ease most likely will not last forever. Eventually the other kids catch up.

Come middle school and high school I think being the youngest could be a problem, whereas being the oldest will be an advantage as they mature.
Just my opinion.

 

[StephMK]

I kind of wish we would have been able to send our ds to kindergarten last year. Our cut off is Oct.1st and his birthday is Oct.29. He is a very big, tall stocky boy and no one can believe he is 5. He also knows everything he needs to, plus a lot more. He has been reading entire books for a while now and does math problems in his head.

When he was evaluated for kindergarten, one of the teachers made a big deal about him and made the other teachers come listen to him read. Then she started asking him all kinds of random questions. They said that they didn't know what to do with him other than let him teach class. Very funny..this did not make me feel very good about the future.

When I met with his actual teacher, she said that we will have a meeting and talk about ways to keep him interested and challenged in class. I have to admit though that it worries me when he brings home worksheets that ask him to circle the animal or circle the right alphabet letter! Everyone tells me that I should see about him moving up a grade, but I just don't know. He does say that he loves school though, so I don't want to rock the boat!

Does anyone have any experience with this?

I'll answer OP & this in my reply. DS has a late June bday & started K when he was just 5. He was a blurter (sometimes still is) and bouncy. Also very outgoing, confident and mature in many ways. He went into K reading books & knowing basic math. He learned to raise his hand to share & always joined discussions. The school came to us at the end of the yr & suggested skipping him. He skipped 1st & had no major transition issues other than it took a month or two to make some good friends since he was the "new" kid.

He's now in 4th & still doing great. None of the kids really remember that he skipped & I don't see his maturity level as significantly different than his friends. His sis is 2 yrs older & 1 grade older in school - a few people this summer have guessed him as the older sibling. For social groups - scouts, etc. he goes with grade age peers. Sports is usually grouped by age in his leagues so he plays w/similar aged kids.

You know your kid. We didn't follow the hold back for boys because academically he was more than ready & figured he was going to have to deal with the social stuff. He is happy when he is busy and challenged & I felt staying in his age grade would probably cause class clown & disruptive behavior when bored.

He missed 2 days last week due to illness. He came right home today & finished all his make up worksheets, without being asked. He enjoys work and likes to learn. If he were a different type of kid, we might have made a different decision. I just wanted to post to show the other side, it can be positive to let them go on time. Plus someone always has to be the youngest.

Good luck, we agonized over the choice but feel we made the right decision for him.

 

[stacy6552]

We held our son back, and while he is exactly where he needs to be headed into 5th grade, if I had it to do again, I'd have sent him on time and repeated Kindergarten. We have an excellent school system and I think he would have gotten better resources in Kindergarten the first year and then been more mainstream the second. The actual year of preschool was wasted.

 

[herdtoDisney]

In my state, the cutoff age for K is Dec 31st, so three of my kids were 4 when they started K. I felt they were ready and they all did well.

In fact, my oldest (who just graduated HS) b-day is in Dec and he was the youngest in his class. He did well in school and graduated Salutatorian, and is leaving for college next week! The only thing we have run into, as far as his age-was that he had to wait longer to drive to school (till senior year) and I had to sign all his college paperwork since he's still 17. Other than that...he's always been mature, and the age thing really made no difference. Some kids he graduated with were 19, and not so mature.

 

[acomasdiaz]

Here the cutoff is September 1st. My DS's birthday is Aug. 20th. School starts around the 3rd week of August here, so he will probably start kindergarten the week after he turns 5.

 

[skysmom99]

Just a comment from a person who has taught jr. high kids for fifteen years...

It is usually very easy to pick out the boys who are the youngest in their class just by their maturity levels. However, this doesn't normally apply to girls. I've seen more 'young' boys do poorly in classes than the 'older' boys. Again, it isn't normally the same for girls. Does this mean you need to wait a year if your son's b-day is close to the cutoff date? I guess that is up to you.