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

[njmom47]

My ds's bday is 10/20 and my dcousin's son's bday is 7/21. My son is a freshman, hers is a sophomore. What a world of difference those 3 months made. She actually was considering keeping her son back, and now thinks she should have. He is immature and is having difficulties in school, whereas my son seems to be doing just fine as one of the oldest in his class.

 

[ldymcbth]

Thank you so much for this thread and for the honest replies.

My son will be 6 and one month when he starts school. He meets the cutoff (barely) but we have decided to hold him back due to emotional immaturity. It has nothing to do with sports (and it irritates me when that is the assumption people make).

I appreciate hearing all of these stories and experiences - it's been very helpful. We had already made the decision but occasionally another parent will question me (harshly) and it makes me doubt myself. This thread has been really helpful.

 

[Tiger926]

Here in Ontario, Canada we start earlier. My older DD was 4, but some kids are 3.5 when they start (as long as they turn 4 by the end of the year Dec 31).

This is for JK (Junior Kindergarten). Based on the responses in this thread of children being 5 or 6, I'm assuming that the posters are discussing SK (Senior Kindergarten).

Here in Ontario, you must be 4 by Dec. 31 for JK and 5 by Dec. 31 for SK. This would not work here, as by age 6, school is manadatory, so children are automatically placed in grade 1, as kindergarten is optional in our province.

As a teacher, I support student readiness, but I can't imagine children of age 5 or 6, not being in a kindergarten program. If one uses emotional maturity as the sole determination, then pretty much every child I know would not have been ready for kindergarten. That is what kindergarten programs are for, and that is why in our province, our government is moving to full day, every day paid for kindergarten programs for all children by the year 2013. We have many studies and stats that show us that kids who are in kindergarten programs show better school success, lower drop out rates, etc.

I also wanted to add that in my province, parents don't get to determine placement of children - it is solely based on age. It is not based on cognitive levels, maturity, etc. I'm a Spec Ed teacher, and very rarely, if ever (my board officially does not do it), hold kids back, nor skip kids, ever. Children are placed in age appropriate grades. There are pros and cons to each way, but having parents determine placement is way more problematic for us, so we don't do it. By age 6, all children must be in school, by law, and they are placed in grade 1, even if they have not attended kindergarten before.

My kids were in Montessori, so they started Casa level, which is a combination of JK and SK at 2.5 yrs for DD and 3 yrs. for DS.

Tiger

 

[MomRN]

After 2 years of preschool my son is ready for kindergarten, so he will be 5 and 2months when he goes. Preschool has been 4 days a week for 4 hours. So now the problem is this... we live on the divided line of 2 schools, so we can chose which school he goes to. There are pro's and cons to both, but the immediate consideration is full-day or half-day kindergarten. One offers full day, the other offers half. Still have several months to decide and it's giving me a headache.

 

[WantToGoNow]

My ds9 was 5 - turned 5 in May and started mid-August. Dd7 was also 5 but an older 5 - she started in mid-August and turned 6 in December (today is her birthday). Ds9 is the youngest kid in his 4th grade class. Dd7 said there is one boy in her 1st grade class that is still 5 so he had to start when he was 4.

There is no right or wrong - when you're child is ready, send them. If your child's preschool teacher says he's not ready, I would almost say to wait the year - it sure won't hurt him to be a year older.

 

[Leajess99]

How old is too old to start kindergarten? My daughter was born in February and the cut off date for our town is January 1st. By the time she starts Kindergarten she will be 6 years 7 months. With most of you saying your kids started at 4 or 5, this seems like it is wrong. Is it common to be that old when starting kindergarden as well?

Keith

Just wondering why she would not start at 5 years and 7months?? Why are you waiting a whole nother year to start her??

All of my kids started at age 5 with 2 having winter birthdays while 1 has a summer bday and is always one of the youngest in her classes. Our cutoff here is October 1st.

 

[Leajess99]

My DD was 4. The school put her in Kinder as she was too advanced for preschool. She is now in 6th grade and a year younger than all. The other girls are so mean! She is very small for her age and she gets picked on. The work is not the problem, it is her age/size. If I had to do over again, I would have waited. There are days she comes home in tears. Hang in there.

I hate how mean some kids can be. My daughter is picked on as well because she is so smart. I hate how some kids are and wish the schools would do more to put a stop to the bully type behavior. They are probably just jealous of your daughter because she is cuter and smarter than they are.

 

[brymolmom]

How old is too old to start kindergarten? My daughter was born in February and the cut off date for our town is January 1st. By the time she starts Kindergarten she will be 6 years 7 months. With most of you saying your kids started at 4 or 5, this seems like it is wrong. Is it common to be that old when starting kindergarden as well?

Keith

OK - not understanding this....Every cutoff I am aware of (around me at least) is that "if you are 5 by this date, you go...If you are not 5 by that date...you wait". So given your cutoff of Jan 1st....If your child was 5 by Jan 1st they would start K in the Sept before they turn 5. Since your dd will turn 5 AFTER the cutoff, by my understanding she would start the year in Sept of the year when she turns 5 (or 5 years 7 months) not the following year.

At least that's how it's done around me....Our cutoff is Dec 1st and the above applies to us. My dd is Oct 21 so she started K when she was 4 years 10 months old.

 

[Leajess99]

After 2 years of preschool my son is ready for kindergarten, so he will be 5 and 2months when he goes. Preschool has been 4 days a week for 4 hours. So now the problem is this... we live on the divided line of 2 schools, so we can chose which school he goes to. There are pro's and cons to both, but the immediate consideration is full-day or half-day kindergarten. One offers full day, the other offers half. Still have several months to decide and it's giving me a headache.

Honestly, I would recommend going with the full day as there is more time for them to teach the necessities than there is with half day. All of my kids have done full day but I was a teacher's aid in a half day class after my son had already completed kindergarten. I felt so bad for the kids because they did not have any free time or wiggle room in their schedules. It was rougher on many of the kids than full day was on my son. If you have a chance maybe see if you can observe both for a day and then you may better understand.

 

[ice cube]

Our first DD turned 5...7 weeks after kinder started and our other DD was 5 yrs 4 months when she started.They both were advanced as they were in a private daycare fulltime starting from age 2 for the first DD and age 1 for the other DD...it killed us as we had no choice to put them in daycare as we are a 2 income family to survive.I noticed that even though we didn't have a choice it worked out for the best as I saw the difference from the other children in both of their classes.
You still have plenty of pre-k time to see a change in learning and also spend time at home helping your child with the abc and 123.You won't believe the difference a little attention will do....best wishes.....

 

[hmacmahony]

where in NJ are you?
I recommend, going to your school (the school where kindergarten is), and ask to speak to the kindergarten teachers, and the principal. Ask what the majority of parents in your district do.
Our district leans toward red shirting, our school actually recommends it. My kids all started late, as they all have late birthdays. I wasn't worried about kindergarten, its college that I was worried about. I didn't want my 17 year old at college.
We did a lot of research, and a lot of talking to people and asking around. 99% of the time, espically for boys it was recommended to wait.
Our district,they expect a lot out of kids. My daughter is in kindergarten now, and her class started reading clubs this week.
Plus, from what I hear, NJ is changing the cutoff date until sept 1. For my kids, that would of kept them all out of kindergarten until the following year (like we did anyway).
My opinion, and its mine alone. That extra year home will never hurt my kids....they have the rest of their life to go to school, what was that year going to do. Nothing. I liked having that extra year with them anyway.

 

[Singleminnie]

My oldest daughter was 6 when she started (she had some speech delays due to multiple ear infections, she was attending a specialized Pre-K), my middle DD turned 5 in early Aug. before entering K later that month, then my youngest DD turned 5 three weeks after school started. All girls went to pre-school over a year and I consulted with their teachers about whether they were ready. I have had no regrets so far!

 

[5stljayhawks]

the DD was 9, late bloomer started college at 15

 

[southern_redhead]

She had a couple of kids in her class that entered at 4, and turned 5 in the first couple of weeks, as well as a few who were 6 coming in. 2 of them turned 7 with in 2 months of school starting. They SHOULD NOT have been in K. The parents held them back abgainst the rcommendation of the school, becuase the felt the "weren't ready" (Which is actually code for "we want them to be the biggest/ fastest on the sports teams"). They were bored and were severe behavior problems. They hurt other children on a regular basis because they were the biggest and strongest and had been taught to use that to their advantage, and caused major disruptions in the room. I am a teacher, and I DO NOT favor holding a child back unless there are significant, obvious reasons for doing so. Children need to be with thier age peers. Two years is too much of an age spread in a classroom, IMO.

Well.... I guess based on the bolded my DS should NOT be in K. He has a November birthday which means he couldn't start at 5 anyway, he would have been nearly six going into K even had I started him on time....but I didn't. He is very small for his age (still smaller than some of the 5 year olds) and was immature and has "something" that isn't right with learning. I say something with air quotes because no one can tell us what. He doesn't process the way the government has decided all good kids should Anyway, the bottom line is that he turned 7 two months after starting K and it had nothing to do with wanting him to be bigger, faster, or on a sports team (I detest sports.) I do consider him with his peers, his emotional peers. I doubt he will ever be a "good" student. I could have held him out until he was 10, it wasn't happening for him. For the record, he started daycare at 8 months and was in a preschool program (which is held in our school and the teachers work specifically to get the kids ready for K) for three years, from 3 to age 6. My biggest concern is not that he is older NOW, it is when he is older later. He can drive when he is a freshman. He will be 18 his Junior year - what if he decides to quit? I can't force him if he is 18. OTOH, I doubt we make it to 18 in public school. My 2 boys learn differntly and, thus far, it hasn't been addressed very well. My DD is a good student but she is exposed to so many horrendous "troubled" children and so much stuff in class that would be censored from Prime Time television that I forsee homeschooling in our future.

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.

I was going to say the same thing. They have had him for basically 3 months or so and want to assess how ready he will be in 9 months? Many children have an "aha" moment - what if his happens in February? I would start assessing readiness around April.

As a teacher, I support student readiness, but I can't imagine children of age 5 or 6, not being in a kindergarten program. If one uses emotional maturity as the sole determination, then pretty much every child I know would not have been ready for kindergarten. That is what kindergarten programs are for, and that is why in our province, our government is moving to full day, every day paid for kindergarten programs for all children by the year 2013. We have many studies and stats that show us that kids who are in kindergarten programs show better school success, lower drop out rates, etc.

My kids were in Montessori, so they started Casa level, which is a combination of JK and SK at 2.5 yrs for DD and 3 yrs. for DS.

Tiger

That's wonderful. Maybe I should move to Ontario? It is sad that when they start K here they are "behind" if they can't tie their shoes, walk single file, know their letters and the sounds on sight, and write their names. When I went to K we learned to button, zip, tie, velcro.... We PLAYED on the playground (no Presidential fitness for us!) and, horror of horrors, our teachers had to TEACH us how to get in, and stay in, line. We weren't expected to read anything much less a chapter book. We have taken our exceptional students and made them the rule.

 

[emmmms]

My oldest will be 5 and 5 months and I could have sent my youngest the very next year when she was 4 and 9 months, as she was born exactly on the cutoff date. But I live in CA and they just changed the date earlier, so now she'll wait another year. I think I'm fine with that.

 

[miprender]

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 haven't read through any of the posts, but I can tell you my experience. DS5 is Aug 3rd birthday. In our state our cutoff is Sept 1st.

But last year when we tried preschool he was just not ready. We gave it two months but everyday he was so nervous he was throwing up. After a long decision we decided he was just not ready.

This year in preschool he is doing great and I don't regret my decision. He went from being the youngest to the oldest now when he starts Kindergarten next year, but he definately needed that extra year.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Tiger926]

That's wonderful. Maybe I should move to Ontario? It is sad that when they start K here they are "behind" if they can't tie their shoes, walk single file, know their letters and the sounds on sight, and write their names. When I went to K we learned to button, zip, tie, velcro.... We PLAYED on the playground (no Presidential fitness for us!) and, horror of horrors, our teachers had to TEACH us how to get in, and stay in, line. We weren't expected to read anything much less a chapter book. We have taken our exceptional students and made them the rule.

There have been issues with our current system, and I'm sure there will be issues with this new system. Not to mention that it's going to cost billions of dollars, but our government firmly believes (many tests, surveys, observations, drop out rates, and a whole lot of research) that early education is critical, and as a teacher, I agree. Kids really should have a certain amount of knowledge and skills by ages 5 - 6, but if they can't acquire those skills, for various reasons, why not provide those experiences for them?

Honestly, I see the fear that parents have, and it's mostly on their end. There isn't much of this where we live, as school is made to be a positive experience that most kids look forward to. Sure there are kids who very nervous, not ready, etc., but there might be other reasons for that? Kids are resilient, and much stronger than many parents give them credit for. If your child cries, he/she more than likely will work it out. If children are throwing up, then that more than likely is going to signify a greater anxiety issue. When I taught kindergarten, I didn't have any children who threw up or were so ill to attend school. School is something that children are taught at early ages is a positive experience, and it is mandatory by age 6, and so there are lots of preschools, private, daycare, playgroups, library, etc. around here in which many children can take advantage of. There is help for needy kids as social assistance will pay for daycare programs, free drop offs, etc. It really does serve them well. When parents are determining when kids are ready, it just sets up for many issues - how can a parent truly know if their child is ready? And, will children ever be totally ready? This is why my government is hoping to put all children on an equal footing by providing those programs for free.

I really do wish all of you parents luck, as it must make for hard decisions, Tiger

 

[Ar1el]

I haven't read through any of the posts, but I can tell you my experience. DS5 is Aug 3rd birthday. In our state our cutoff is Sept 1st.

But last year when we tried preschool he was just not ready. We gave it two months but everyday he was so nervous he was throwing up. After a long decision we decided he was just not ready.

This year in preschool he is doing great and I don't regret my decision. He went from being the youngest to the oldest now when he starts Kindergarten next year, but he definately needed that extra year.

Good luck with your decision.

At first when he started this "pre-k" program in September, he cried every morning. Around mid October he started to like to go. He enjoys his friends and playing. I do not think he pays attention when they may be trying to learn something. Yesterday he came home with the letter "H" on card stock and there was heart stickers on it. I asked what letter it was and he says "ha" for what the sound of that letter makes. He had no clue that it was an "H". He just is not getting it right now but maybe that light bulb will click soon, if not I am ok with that.
I wonder, now that this issue has come up, if I picked the wrong school for him. And I say that bc maybe he needs more time there. He goes Tue and Thrus from 9-1. When he is there they have a snack and also lunch and go outside 2 or 3 times. I am not sure how much can really get done with all of that and only having 4 hours. I am not sure that sounds very nice and maybe I am taking the teacher saying she has concerns as an attack on my child but this is what was going thru my head yesterday.
Anyhow, thanks all for the replies again. Your own personal experience has helped me realize that it is ok if he is one of the oldest in his class. I guess I had an issue before bc my DD who is now 7 is one of the youngest in her class but she does extremely well. She is in 2nd grade and is reading on a mid 3rd grade level which I feel is great and I am very proud of her. I guess I was just expecting my DS to be fine just like his sister considering their bdays are only 11 days apart but like they say, every child is different!

 

[4HppyCamprs]

My son was 5 years and 9 months He missed the cutoff date by a few months and it was fine with us. He was in preschool for two years and really enjoyed it and is doing well in kindergarten. I was in no hurry because as well all know once your in the school system your in for a long long time....

 

[crisi]

My son was six. In Minnesota the cutoff is September 1, his birthday was the end of August. So we had the option of "just turned five and the youngest in class" or "just turned six and the oldest." I was the youngest in my class and its really difficult - not intellectually, but in terms of physical maturity, athletic ability, social maturity...(i.e. being the last one to drive is horrible - also, my parents were not thrilled when I was 13 and there were 16 year old boys in my class who had been held back)......

My daughter is an early September birthday, so she started at five, but turned six within days.