XP: Teachers/mom's of school agers..... help

Sarah1116 · April 2012

Please help guide me... Maggie will be an early 5 year old, the cut off for kindergarten is Sept 30 and her birthday is Sept 7. I was leaning toward pre-K this year and kindergarten next year. A little background info: she is the oldest, currently she goes to preschool 4 days a week, half days. The pre-K and Kindergarten programs are all day everyday. Currently her preschool teacher says she is academically ready for kindergarten. However, I think she is a little immature. My husband wants to send her to kindergarten and I'm so confused. I've heard nothing but positives about starting her later in kindergarten.... help me please Smile

Sarah1116 · April 2012

Sorry posted on the wrong board and it won't let me erase.... sorry gals!!!

lnyeager · April 2012

I will still reply, even though you posted on the wrong board I am a 3rd grade teacher, but I've also taught 2nd and 1st. My daughter's bday is Sept 14th and the cut off is Sept. 1st. We went back and forth as to whether or not we should begin her in Kindergarten this year or keep her in pre-school for another year. We ended up enrolling her in Catholic school, where she "tested in" to Kindergarten. The teacher gaver her a test (letters, numbers, write her name, etc.) and said she is ready. I was also concerned about immaturity. She explained that if she stayed in preschool, she would continue to act like a preschooler. If she was around kindergarteners, she would begin to act like a kindergartener. My experience is that girls mature faster than boys. If she was a boy, we would NOT have put her in kindergarten. (She is also small for her age and I know it sounds trivial, but I feel like boys can get teased much more for being smaller.) Anyway, we are SOOOO pleased with our decision. She is not a behavior problem, is reading and writing, and absolutely loves school. I think she would have been bored if we kept her in preschool for another year.

Good luck with your decision!

WhitMN24 · April 2012

I'm a 5th grade teacher, and I've seen kids who have benefitted from parents waiting and kids who have benefitted from being challenged by older kids. With the teacher recommendations and since she is already managing long days of pre-k, I would probably feel comfortable moving her to kindergarten. Her maturity will develop; talk to the pre-k and kindergarten teachers for ideas on how you can support her development over the summer to help her prepare for the transition to kindergarten. Good luck in your decision!

Horsey322 · April 2012

I also taught for 10 yrs and 2 of them in K5. Girls usually mature faster than boys, so I would give it a try and then if she needs to repeat next year, what's the harm

. She will make an excellent "teacher helper" if she does need to repeat!

Sarah1116 · April 2012

Thanks ladies for your help!!!! It really has really put me at ease.

LottaLattes · April 2012

We ended up moving to a state with an earlier start date, but my decision would have been to hold my boys back. Starting college with another year of maturity, as well as (in the case of a girl more, honestly) being much younger when starting high school would also make me want to hold any kid back. Plus kids are held to a high expectation in school and they have the rest of their lives to have more responsibility.

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XP: Teachers/mom's of school agers..... help

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