Starting kindergarten at 6 1/2?

ilovedookie · January 2011

Has anyone started their typical developing child in K after their sixth birthday? Wondering your thoughts/experiences on this type of "academic redshirtting". It is a great debate in our house. THANKS

neverblushed · February 2011

The cutoff for K in my state is that kids have to turn 5 by Sept 1. My son turned 5 on August 25. Although he was reading well at the time, he was not ready for full-day kindergarten at just-barely-five, so we waited a year and started when he had just turned 6.

This has turned out to be the best decision EVER!

First of all, he's not even the oldest kid in the class. There are a few boys who have even earlier birthdays than him who were not ready at age 5 for one reason or another.

Secondly, although he was ready academically at age 5, it has not put him out of sync with his class. There are enough kids in his class to make both a reading and math group that are more than a year above grade level.

Finally, his teacher reports that kids in the class really look up to my son as a role model and a leader. No one ever said that about him when he was the youngest kid in class.

Now, my daughter also had a birthday close to the cutoff. But she had the maturity and independence to start kindergarten at age 5. She's done fine, and it's never caused problems that she's among the youngest in her class.

I've heard some dads in my area talking about holding their boys back so that they'll have an age advantage later on, for high school sports. I think that's ridiculous, and I would never base such an important decision on something as fleeting as high school sports.

Anyway, hope this helps your discussion at home.

shouldbworkin · February 2011

I think it depends on when your cut off is. Ours is 12/1 here and it would be really odd for a child to be 6.5 in KG. Most turn 6 sometime during the year and only a few are 5 or turning 5 at the beginning of KG. I don't know anyone who is 6.5 in DS's class, but a couple will be before the end of the year.

I know that it is not uncommon in areas with earlier cut offs to hold back boys with spring/summer birthdays, making them almost 6.5 when they start KG. It's the same as holding back kids my DS's age. He is born 3+mos before the cut off, our cutoff is just later.

ilovedookie · February 2011

The cut-off here is Sept 1. My son will be 5 this week, so it would make sense for him to start K in the fall of this year (at 5 1/2) not next fall at 6 1/2 right!?

You know what side I am on now

Angela814 · February 2011

ilovedookie:
The cut-off here is Sept 1. My son will be 5 this week, so it would make sense for him to start K in the fall of this year (at 5 1/2) not next fall at 6 1/2 right!? You know what side I am on now

I'm with you. My DD turns 5 in May. She'll start 5K in September at 5y3m.

I understand redshirting if the child is still 4 years when school starts, but to me it doesn't make sense to hold back a 5 1/2 yo an extra year.

ccm1203 · February 2011

Angela814:
ilovedookie:
The cut-off here is Sept 1. My son will be 5 this week, so it would make sense for him to start K in the fall of this year (at 5 1/2) not next fall at 6 1/2 right!? You know what side I am on now

I'm with you. My DD turns 5 in May. She'll start 5K in September at 5y3m.

I understand redshirting if the child is still 4 years when school starts, but to me it doesn't make sense to hold back a 5 1/2 yo an extra year.

This

Surfinbride · February 2011

It depends on the child and the school's program. I'm not sure of the exact date in our district ~ Aug 31ish. It is common that boys in our area that meet the deadline are still not going to K. There are several with July birthdays that go the next year. The choice is the parents. If I were in that situation, I would at least try half-day K. I had a friend who had a July boy. He did not do well adjusting to the schedule. He had a hard time following directions. The structure did not suit him. They felt like it was hard on his self-esteem b/c he was not able to meet expectations. After a couple of months, his parents pulled him out and put him back in Montessori preK. You know your child the best. What seems like the best fit?

NandN2005 · February 2011

I'm 95% sure that all of our kids will be 6 or turning 6 within the month of school starting (1 will more than likely be almost 6.5). Our oldest has a BD in Sept. and would have made the cutoff this year by a couple of weeks, but I knew she wasn't ready, academically maybe, but not socially. She'll start next year at almost 6. The rest of the kids will meet the cutoff to start school when they are 5 (2 will turn 5 within 1/1.5 months of the cutoff and the other has a March birthday so will make the cutoff by several months. However, he's a boy and since there is a strong family history of the boys in the family having at least some learning difficulties and boys generally maturing slower, I'm going to guess we'll hold him as well. I have a whole slew of reasons why I feel this is best for us, but I need to desperately get my butt of the couch and get to work so I'm not going to go into them. As a PP has stated you know your kids best and you know your family best. What do you think would work best for your child. Also, some districts still offer only .5 day K programs which might play into your decision as well. I know that our district does not and that is something we've considered when discussing when to enroll them.

azsheena · February 2011

I would put him in. I always tell moms of boys with August b-days to wait (and most July boys). Boys mature slower and it makes a huge difference. Like a pp said, the older kids are leaders, usually. I teach 3rd grade and I can tell the young ones right away! I try to tell parents just because they are "smart" enough, think of this kid as a young 3rd grader, 7th grader, HS Senior etc. That said- for a typical kid with a February birthday, I think there is no reason to start him late. He'll be smack in the middle of the kids age wise. I actually think starting late may hurt later on. If he hits puberty a whole year before his classmates, this could be really awkward. If he is really tall (now or later), that could be hard. Or maybe not. It sort of depends on the kid! But, if he is a typical kid- I would start him.

jlw2505 · February 2011

A lot of the kids with summer birthdays in my area turn 6 the summer before they start - we have a Sept 1 cut-off. I am holding my DD back for a few reasons - she will turn 5 this June and will repeat her PreK program next year and then turn 6 in JUne 2012 and start K that fall. There is another boy in her class doing the same thing and this year, one of her friends was held back last year, just turned 6 last month and will start K in the fall at 6 1/2. I really think you need to look at your child and decide based on how you think he will do. Being socially ready is so important.

jlw2505 · February 2011

ccm1203:
Angela814:

ilovedookie:
The cut-off here is Sept 1. My son will be 5 this week, so it would make sense for him to start K in the fall of this year (at 5 1/2) not next fall at 6 1/2 right!? You know what side I am on now

I'm with you. My DD turns 5 in May. She'll start 5K in September at 5y3m.

I understand redshirting if the child is still 4 years when school starts, but to me it doesn't make sense to hold back a 5 1/2 yo an extra year.

This

When you start school has to do with so much more than just age. My DD has a June birthday with a Sept 1 cut-off but trust me, she would not do well in kindergarten in the fall. SHe is emotionally and socially not ready. How do I know this - she is in an excellent FT preK program at the elementary school where she will attend and all 3 of her teachers agree that she will benefit greatly by being a year older before she starts Kindergarten. Holding a child is not a bad thing, it gives the kids a year to mature and become more ready for school. Many kids are ready at the time they are slotted to go but there are many kids who for a variety of reason, are just not ready and, There is not a right or wrong answer to this and anyone who blankly answers that they would not hold a child back simple because of age, is not looking at the big picture. School is many years long and a very young or socially challenged child might be OK in Kindergarten but that same child might really struggle in a higher grade and with peer pressure and with a million other things. It is a personally decision that needs to be looked at with each and every child.

GingerSB · February 2011

Well, the cut-off here is not until March 1st. So that would never happen. DD's birthday is Dec 16th so she started kindergarten at 4 3/4. It bugs me that parents do this when they don't have a valid reason.

taggiecb · February 2011

I don't really understand what "cut off" means. My son was born Aug. 13th. He started school in 2009 a couple of weeks after he turned 5. The way it works here is that every child born in the year of 2004 (for example) goes to kindergarden in 2009. If you had a child born between end of Nov-end of Dec, you have the option to keep them till the next school year. DS #2 was born in January 2007, he will be starting kindergarden 2012 at 5 1/2, but DS #3 was born Dec 2010, so he can start school 2015 at 4 3/4, or wait until 2016 at 5 3/4. Unless he has serious developmental issues, he will be starting 2015.

katieisawesome · March 2011

ilovedookie:
Has anyone started their typical developing child in K after their sixth birthday? Wondering your thoughts/experiences on this type of "academic redshirtting". It is a great debate in our house. THANKS

I started kindergarten at 6 (my birthday is August 10th).

I was one of the oldest kids in my graduating class, but other than that it didn't cause any issues.

emiliemadison · March 2011

laceyjean1:
I don't really understand what "cut off" means. My son was born Aug. 13th. He started school in 2009 a couple of weeks after he turned 5. The way it works here is that every child born in the year of 2004 (for example) goes to kindergarden in 2009. If you had a child born between end of Nov-end of Dec, you have the option to keep them till the next school year. DS #2 was born in January 2007, he will be starting kindergarden 2012 at 5 1/2, but DS #3 was born Dec 2010, so he can start school 2015 at 4 3/4, or wait until 2016 at 5 3/4. Unless he has serious developmental issues, he will be starting 2015.

"Cutoff" means that your child has to be a certain age by a specific date in order to start school. In my area, children must be 5 years old BY Sept 1st of that school year to start Kindergarten. Because many kids are not truly ready (academically or maturity wise) to be in school until age 5, they have determined that it's just easier to make sure that all kids ARE at least 5.

notkateanymore · April 2011

ilovedookie:
The cut-off here is Sept 1. My son will be 5 this week, so it would make sense for him to start K in the fall of this year (at 5 1/2) not next fall at 6 1/2 right!? You know what side I am on now

As a mother of a 6 and a half year old 1str grader, I thank you. It's so hard being the youngest kid in her class. She has a set of twins that turn 8 the week before she turns 7 this summer...grrrr.

ETA- I love this set of twins and they've been nothing but wonderful, but they're older, bigger, faster, smarter...everything and it sometimes gets her down. Ok, maybe not smarter.

Starting kindergarten at 6 1/2?

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