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Pre-School and Daycare
kindergarten cut-off missed by 1 week
DD4 will miss our state's kindergarten cut-off by one week. Cut off is July 31st & her b-day is August 5th. She is ready socially & academically but due to the state's cut off will have to wait an extra year. Should I fight the state? School district? Home school next year or have her start a year later than she needs? I still have a year to figure this all out but I am stressed about what we should do. I want to the best thing for her & start her school career off on a good note. Anyone else have any issues with this? Any ideas of what to do?
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Re: kindergarten cut-off missed by 1 week
Don't fight them. I tried because here in WI, the cut off is Sept. 1st and DS1's birthday is Sept. 3rd! They wouldn't let me do it and he goes to a private school!
So, he is in his second year of prek (turned 5 today). Next year, he'll start Kindergarden and he'll be 6. Not a big deal though. It's just extra time he has to prepare.
DS2 will be able to start in prek-4 on time cause his b-day is July 13th. He could've started this year with prek-3's, but he's not ready. Meaning he's not potty trained yet.
I was always a year older then my friends and it wasn't a big deal.
considering how many kids get redshirted these days- I wouldn't worry about it one bit. She'll be on the older to average end of the age spectrum and do well in school...
it is what it is. I wouldn't fight it. I WISH my boys were at that spot... instead they make the cutoff and will be on the young side. I don't believe in redshirting unless there is a TRUE need - so they'll be going when it's time- and be young, etc... .oh well.
My sister missed the cut-off by a week. For her, it ended up being better.
Whereas, her BFF turned 5 a few weeks before (making the cut-off), and she got held back in 1st. I don't think she was emotionally ready for school.
For DH, he was one of the youngest in the grade. ILs always say they wished they held him back as he could've excelled more academically. They felt as if they were playing catch up.
I agree. I wouldn't sweat this one esp if you live in an area with a lot of redshirting. I'd talk to local moms or post on your local board to see what the trends are in your area but honestly, I wouldn't fight it. If you want more professional input, talk to your DD's preschool teachers (if she went).
I have one child 9 days before the cut off and went on time (currently went on time) and one 3 weeks after the cut off (but is only in PreK3). I don't live in an area with a lot of redshirting and DD was ready, I sent her and she is doing awesome. DS1 was 3 weeks after the cut off and MH wanted him to go earlier. I am so thankful he didn't, he is having a rough transition to PreK3 and he is on the small side.
I think it depends on why you're disappointed that she's not going next year. Is it as simple as you think she can handle it, that she's ready for the challenge and if she doesn't go she'll be bored in pre-school and then super bored in kinder? Or are there things that she's showing you that indicate an advanced level of learning, does she tackle problems and rebuild them in a way that demonstrates what would be considered "upper level" thinking for her age group. This may sound a bit crude, but what is her intelligence stock like? Do you have a lot of family members with extremely high, if not genius, IQ'd
If she does appear to be more advanced, not just she's learned her letters and numbers but is she starting to read (on her own, not a skill pushed upon her) is she learning basic math concepts and science concepts because as she builds forts or hotels or firestations is she insistent on learning why walls work better in certain positions and why lighter things make better roofs ( does she question that info or just accept that a lighter roof is a better roof). Is her speech advanced, not just can she use a lot of words and be well understood but basically is she using big words. Does she speak in grammatically correct sentences, understanding word agreement ect. If she does all of those types of things I would push. In CA it's a little known fact that no matter what the cut off date your child can enroll in kindergarten as soon as they turn 5. So maybe school is in session for a month already and little susey turns 5, most of the time she'd be held back but she could just join in right along with what ever else is going on.
We have a similar dilemma with DD - I don't know if it's a dilemma, really, because it is what it is. DD's birthday is October 10; she's about to turn four. In most New York state districts the cutoff is Dec. 1, so we started her in preschool last year at almost three and she did great, despite being the youngest kid at both preschools (she went to two schools, two days a week each). She behaves really well in a classroom setting - better than some kids who are two years older than her (and were redshirted) - and she's grown a lot socially and academically. I have no doubt she'd be ready for kindergarten in a year. But in January we're moving to Utah, and the cutoff date is Sept. 1, with no exceptions as far as I can tell - even if there were, I assume her birthdate would be pushing it. So, I'll just try to find her a preschool that will challenge her for the next year and a half. I've considered homeschooling, but I'm not sure it's for us and I'd like to work; besides, if we stay in Utah I think they maintain the cutoff for first grade as well, and I want homeschooling to be a stop-gap, not a long-term thing.
To be honest I think this is really an ego thing for me. DH and I were both on the young side for our grade and both did well academically. I was always eager to get high school over with and start college already, so it bugs me to think DD would be almost 19 when she finally gets to start college. I am skeptical of redshirting for a lot of reasons anyway, not that this is the same thing, but except maybe for a slight social advantage I can't imagine why would even consider it for DD if we were staying here.
But one way of looking at it is, based on what I know from a lot of parents, especially of gifted children (I'm not saying DD definitely is, but I think it's definitely possible), the struggle to make sure your child is being taught at an appropriate level goes far beyond getting them in the right grade. I told DH I was worried DD would be bored in kindergarten if she started when she was almost six, and he said, "She'll be bored no matter what." So whatever happens, making sure she's being challenged in school is going to be our job for thirteen years, it's just a question of when those years begin.
This.
The other problem with keeping her out for a year is we live in a very small rural town. We have one preschool (one class) & at the end of this year she will have already had a year & a half in preschool. She loves to learn & absorbs thing like a sponge & I know she does not need another year before kindergarten. I am looking into both homeschooling & a private school about 30 minutes away.