How old was ur son or daughter when they started Kindergarten?

[KelsiesMommy]

First DD was 5- bday in Feb

Second DD is in K now- she turned 6 on Dec 4...

I'm an instructional aide for K-2 at my kids' school- we have some 1st graders who are way behind now b/c they started K against the recommendations of the preschool- they did "ok" in K, but are having to catch up a LOT in 1st grade.

I always tell parents, if you're not sure- then WAIT a year- especially with boys. You will be helping them succeed in the long run!

 

[RMulieri]

My daughter was 5

 

[MickeyHereWeCome!]

My three older kids started K when they were days away from turning 6 (they all have early fall b'days).

My youngest ds started K this year, and was 5 years and a month. I really debated waiting a year, but he was accepted into the public pre-k at 4 (they wouldn't let him do that at 5), so we went with the flow since he was in the system. I knew that the public pre-k was the best place for him because he has some developmental issues, and this would allow him to receive services on a regular basis.

I am really regretting my decision now. He is really struggling. He knows his letters, but can't produce the very specific sounds (ie. saying "b" instead of "ba"), so he has "failed" many tests, as well. I'm already toying with having him held back next year. Kids in kindergarten are expected to do a LOT more now than they used to. There isn't nearly as much play time (that they so strongly still need at that age). In another year, he will be ready (hopefully), developmentally, to handle the tasks required in K.

It's never bad to wait a year!!. I remember being a tad upset when my dd missed the K cut-off by 3 days. She was ready for K. BUT, she entered K a year later and is/still is one of the strongest in most areas. My other boys also had that extra year to mature. It's really hard to sit back and know my little guy is having such a hard time at school. Luckily, I know the teacher well, and we're on the same page

 

[DisneyMomma81]

My B-day is 8/8 - school was never hard I just hated being the youngest in H.S. - having to wait to drive/date *I chose not to date *one one one* till I was 16.

DD's B-day is 7/3 ~ she started K the year she turned 5 - she's doing fine, if she was a he I might have had him wait - boys are usually slower to grow *she is pretty teeny, but that's not such a big deal for girls. But I work Mon-Fri *luckily just 9am-3pm* so I wanted her to start school as soon as she could.

ETA ~ DS was also 5 - his B-day is 4/20 ~ even he is kinda young *age wise* for his grade, but he's very mature and smart. Those kids with fall and early winter B-days are old *they were the ones I was jealous of in H.S.

Around here I'm fairly sure as long as you have turned 5 by the time the school year starts *late Aug* you can start K

 

[Chee Chick]

My son started Kindergarten this year. He was 5 1/2 years old at the start of school. He was in a private pre-K program that was pretty advanced. He is bored with the work he is getting now in public K.

 

[cerberus]

My DD was 4 years old (August 29th birthday; cut off for Catholic school Aug 31st; cut off for our public school system Aug 1st)). We decided to send her rather than hold her back because she did do well in testing and both her preschool and kindergarten school felt she was ready. She is very mature for her age, now if it was the same store for my other daughter, I would have held her back the extra year!

I will say that my DD has struggled with being the youngest in her classs and she is frustrated that she does not know how to read yet and most of the other kids have already started.

It is a hard decision to make, good luck!

 

[herdtoDisney]

I ask this question bc my DS 4 is in a pre-k like class and I was handed a paper today with some results of a test that was given in Nov regarding kindergarten readiness. My sons bday is Aug 19 so he is a younger 4 I guess. Well the results were that he failed miserably. His teacher would like to address some concerns she has of him. No he does not know all the letters and numbers and really he will tell u what he knows when he wants to.
Just curious as to how old ur children were when they went to kindergarten. If I hold him back he will be 6 going into kindergarten.

I'm suprised they give a k readiness test so early-Nov-that is 10 months from the start of K! Seems like they have enough time to learn letters before then.

Three of my 5 kids were 4 (for at least a few weeks) when they started K. We have a Dec 31 cutoff here. My now 18 yo has a Dec birthday in fact. I have not experienced ANY problems in regards to their age, and in fact, my only kid who ever struggled at the K level was the one born in March, making him one of the oldest! (he matured and now in middle school is an A student)

My oldest son was the youngest in his class, and he also graduated Salutatorian He played sports, was in Student Govt, and had many friends. Yes, he had to wait longer to drive-and really, that's a GOOD thing IMO. He is in college (yes, you can enroll at 17) and doing really well!

In my state, starting K at 4 is not 'faster placement'. We've had completely positive experiences with it. My oldest son has even told me he's glad we did that, looking back now that he's grown.

 

[MSSANDRA]

DS was 6 by about 6 weeks. Held him back and best decision we ever made. Was already reading when he started kindergarten. Graduates with honors this year and heading off to college. SOOO glad we had the extra year. No regrets here.

 

[PEANUT1]

We are in NJ and the cut off date is Oct 1. I know it is still early to decide but I am just not sure I should send him to Kindergarten next year or hold him back. As of right now he knows very little. This is his 1st year in any type of school environment. Even at home, he would just rather play then do any type of what letter is this and what number is this, etc.

HI..We are in NJ too. My daughter's bday is Sept 29 so she makes the cutoff by 2 days. She is in prek now and will start K 3 weeks before her 5th birthday.
My oldest started at 5 yrs 9 months. She turned 6 in December of her K year.
I don't think you can decide now. I would wait to see how the rest of the year turns out. My daughter could care less about her letters in the beginning of the year...but now she surprised me yesterday with knowing all but 3.

Kids learn quick..it is more about how you feel they are doing socially and if they are ready to be in school full day. I plan to send my daughter to K next year as long as the rest of the year goes well. Good luck!!

 

[lucyem]

Seems awfully soon to be testing for K.

Mine were 5 1/2 and my second an August baby so had just turned 5. Our town cut off is Oct 1st.

 

[canadianjovigirl]

My oldest has a birthday at the end of November so she was 4 years old and i was concerned but she has done extremely well in school and is now 16 and will be graduating in June as she did an accelerated high school program.

My middle boy has an Aug birthday so he was 5 when starting kindergarten.

My youngest daughter was also 4 when starting kindergarten and turned 5 at the end of Sept that same year.

My girls were the younger ones in their classes, but all turned out well for them and if kindergarten was a struggle i would have just had them do it again the following year. Our cutoff is Dec 31 for Kindergarten, so they can be 4, but must turn 5 before Dec 31 of that year..........

 

[Fyrefly]

I think you know your child best and go with your instincts. If you do what feels right, you'll be fine.

I'm an only child, born November 15th, and I was supposed to do 2 years of pre-K because my parents wanted me in an environment where I could be with other kids (at that point there weren't many children my age in my neighborhood except some really nasty girls, and I didn't relate well to kids at all). Six months in the teacher said "Get her to kindergarten next year, I can't do a thing for her and she'll be bored to tears!"

We had a December 1st cut-off, so I was allowed in, no problem. Now my school district says 5 by the time school starts. I think I'm better for it. I ended up missing a lot of stupid school policies which happened a year after me (I'm sure mine wasn't the only system that had lots of changes in the 90s-early 00s), and got better teachers as a result, before they resigned out of protest . I was more mature than most kids in my class even being younger than them, and sure I was bullied in middle school (like every other kid who isn't a sheep) but it was for being smart and my own person, not for being half a year younger than most of the class.

Funny thing is, my boyfriend is a fall baby a year older than me, and his district wouldn't let him go. If I hadn't gone ahead and he hadn't been barred from attending, we would be two years apart instead of in the same year and wouldn't have met...

Only major thing is it was irritating missing the 2006 elections by a week. Some kids may be annoyed at driving and drinking later than their peers too, but they'll get over that.

 

[Ar1el]

Thanks for all the replies . I really appreciate them. I do agree that it is early to test for Kindergarten but the only thing I can think of is why they would do this is to see what the weakness is.

 

[jeepgirl30]

I turned 5 in Aug the year i went to school. I was always one of the younger kids. I was an excellent student.

My DD was 5 in June and went to school that fall. She has struggled up until this year, she is now in 5th. Kgarten, 2nd and 3rd all recommended considering holding her back but couldn't give me a solid reason. Kept saying "she is young". I got so upset and said I thought the rule is 5 by Sept 1?? They said "well we really want them to be 6 before starting.

DS was 5 but turned 6 just after school started. He has been a very good student. He is now in 2nd grade. He is right in the middle age wise, I thought he'd be one of the oldest.

I was amazed at what they were to know before going to school and what they learned by 1st grade. They do fractions in 2nd! My DS is multiply and dividing already.

Given the opportunity knowing what I know now, DD would have waited a year and gone at 6.

 

[Familyof4lovesDW]

My DS was 6y 3m and DD was 5y 6m. DD is in K now and DS is in 1st. My DS will turn 8 in 1st. He has an April birthday and is still one of the smaller kids. I heard they held a lot of first graders back last year.

When he started at 6 two or three of the kids were still 4. I do not regret holding him back at all. He has not realized he has been held back yet, but I am sure he will figure it out soon because his cousin and my BFF's DD are the same age as him but in 2nd. The live in a different town.

Our cutoff is Sept 30. You have the option if your child is 5 by Sept 30. You are required if your child is 6 by Sept 30. This was wording sent home by our district. We test in March for K starting in August.

The way I look at it is I would rather start him late than hold him back later where he and his peers realize he was held back.

If your gut feeling is telling you to hold him back and the preschool teacher is also reccommending it, I would do it with no regrets.

 

[aaronella]

I ask this question bc my DS 4 is in a pre-k like class and I was handed a paper today with some results of a test that was given in Nov regarding kindergarten readiness. My sons bday is Aug 19 so he is a younger 4 I guess. Well the results were that he failed miserably. His teacher would like to address some concerns she has of him. No he does not know all the letters and numbers and really he will tell u what he knows when he wants to.
Just curious as to how old ur children were when they went to kindergarten. If I hold him back he will be 6 going into kindergarten.

My son started when he was 5. He shares the same birthday with your son. He ended up being retained in first grade but never really struggled academically, it was more of a maturity issue. No one notices that he is now one of the older kids in 7th grade and he has made the honor roll ever since.

 

[MinnieGi]

LOL, My DS's birthday is also AUgust 19th!! He turned 6 on August 19th and he started K the next week. We are SOOOOOO glad we did!! He is doing GREAT and a leader in the classroom. I do not think he would have adapted as well if we had pushed him for the year before. Our cutoff here is Aug. 31st.

Actually with full day K I think he would have been very tired at the end of his day if we had pushed him to the year earlier. This year not only is he able to do very well at all day K, but played soccer, ice hockey and did one karate class a week.

Just FYI, he's not even the oldest or in the top 5 oldest in his class! Two children were held back from last year but there are three others in his class who like him have summer birthdays and turned 6 before they entered.

 

[LisaNJ25]

Thanks for all the replies . I really appreciate them. I do agree that it is early to test for Kindergarten but the only thing I can think of is why they would do this is to see what the weakness is.

Maybe to let you know where he could use improvement?

Is he going to a private pre-k (Our public school provides 1/2 day p-k, NJ here also).

There don't even do K testing anymore. The only one of my kids who had to go in was my oldest.

I can share you some of my concerns.. with now having an 18yo high school senior.. I have to remind him watch who he dates.. since most of the girls are underage. Also he just got his license last month.. he is now an 18yo Adult... which will have different consequences than being a 17yo high school senior if god forbid their was an accident. At 18 they can also sign themselves out of school without your permission.

I also have an August birthday and graduated at 17. When I was in school there was no holding back when they were close to the cut off.

Its crazy when I see people doing it for sports reasons... how do you know your kids will even enjoy the sport?

 

[gr8leg8]

His teacher would like to address some concerns she has of him.

This is the most important sentence in your post.

I noticed in your signature that your DS is a Star Wars fan.
Would he be interested in a Star Wars ABC book?
A is for Anakin, B is for B-Wing fighter, C is for Chewbaca
Find a helper to write the word and he can add the drawing.

I also noticed that you have a newborn.
Congratulations!

 

[Ar1el]

This is the most important sentence in your post.

I noticed in your signature that your DS is a Star Wars fan.
Would he be interested in a Star Wars ABC book?
A is for Anakin, B is for B-Wing fighter, C is for Chewbaca
Find a helper to write the word and he can add the drawing.

I also noticed that you have a newborn.
Congratulations!

Thanks for the congrats. And I am sure he would love that kind of book and thanks for the suggestion.
Funny thing about him is that he can tell you the sound the letter makes but not always know what the letter name is............if that makes sense.