My first son is turning 5 in mid June. People have said I should "give him another year to be a kid", and "give him the benefit of another year" before starting kindergarten. He is a bright child, has gone to preschool for 2 years, and academically fits in with the rest of his preschool class. I am a little concerned if we wait a year to send him, he could become bored and then act out in school. He tends to want to make sure he does things correctly and is sometimes unsure of himself, maybe not quite as confident as he could be. However, I am not sure that another year will help him outgrow that, or if those are just his personality traits. I am curious to hear about your experiences sending your children to kindergarten vs. waiting an additional year.
My son's birthday is August 26th. We held him back and we are very glad we did. He completed PK at the daycare he was attending and then repeated PK at the PK-6 school he now attends. He didn't really realize what was happening (the repeating) but was able to get some much needed confidence. I have some teacher friends who recommended holding him back based on his birthday alone and it has worked out great for us.
My son was born June 13th (2002), my daughter on July 13th (2004). They both started K when they were 5 and finished when they were 5. My son is now 9 yr old and in 4th grade, he will turn 10 the last day of school. They will both graduate at 17 yrs old. So same situation as your son. We have never had any problems with this and I am so glad I did not wait a year. My son never even went to Pre K - I just taught him stuff at home and then off he went to Kindergarten. You know your son. If he has done well in Pre K, I see no reason in holding him back. Like you said, he'd probably be bored with another year of Pre K!!!!
Talk to your son's preschool teachers. They will really help you figure this one out, as they know him best.
In the meantime, here's something to consider:both my husband and I started kindergarten at age four, because of the age requirements in our states at the time. We both moved to schools in different states and were the youngest in our classes there. We both had NO problems because of this age difference or perceived lack of maturity.
Because redshirting is such a trend, it is very common for parents to be worried that their child won't be 'kindergarten ready'. If that is a concern, take a look at Kindergarten Preparedness online. I've done extensive research on this topic for my own work. From what you describe, it sounds like your son would be pretty on target to start K in Sept. He'll gain confidence with two things:one--the simple experience of actually attending kindergarten (a great many children are very fearful of this transition from their familiar home or preschool environment to the very unknown world of kindergarten-- and then they do fine... I have seen this!) Second: he'll gain confidence from YOUR confidence in him that he will be fine.
So again, his preschool teachers should be the greatest help for you.
I would say as long as he doesn't have any problems sitting still and following directions, send him! My son turned 5 in December and went to Pre-K in the fall of this year. However, after 8 weeks, the teacher pretty much told us that he wasn't mature enough to stay in pre-k, so we pulled him out, put him back in day care (where they have implimented a pre-k regimine) and he will start kindergarten next fall with the rest of his age group.
My son's birthday is June 3rd. I never even questioned sending him to Kindergarten the year he turned 5. I never had him in preschool either. He did just fine. The only thing we had problems with were behavior, which was due to maturity. But working with his teachers we were able to work with him. He's currently in 2nd grade and will be turning 8 in June and doing great. Talk to the preschool teachers if you're concerned.
There is starting to be some real evidence that holding kids back does NOT benefit them. It does however benefit the younger kids in the class to have older kids present. My son has a late December birthday and we have a September cut off so there is no way he could have started kindergarten the year he turned 5. I wish he had been able to. Kindergarten if for kids who are FIVE YEAR OLD. That is exactly the age your son will be. I see no reason at all to delay.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/dont-del...
Both my brother and I have summer birthdays and started kindergarten a few months after turning 5. We were right in the middle of our classes age wise (our cut off was December back then so LOTS of kids started at age 4). We both ended up skipping a grade (I skipped eighth grade, he skipped fourth grade). No problems with that either - either academically or socially.
My son is 5 in July and I am starting him in Kindergarten in August, I am not worried at all and he has never done any preschool. I think you are fine!! I know that when mine was like 2 ish I was at a friend's house who taught kindergarten and I asked my son to go and get something that was under a table and put it on top of the table. He walked over, got it and put it on the table. She was amazed that at such a young age he knew over and under on command and said he was ahead of most of her kindergarten kids. So especially with him having preschool, I bet he is on target or maybe even ahead of some of his classmates despite his summer bday. My bday is July and I went to school at 5 and graduated at 17, when I went to college to do all my pre-reqs for nursing I had a 4.0, so I guess I did alright ;) I say send him and he will do great!
He sounds ready to me. I would send him.
what is the cutoff date for your state?? in MIchigan the cutoffis December 1.. so june is in the middle of the age group.
My daughter is in kinder .. she is one of the oldest kids.. she is in the top reading group and kinder is easy for her.. I am pretty sure the 4 kids in the top reading group are the oldest in the class. -- there is chart of birthdays and also work hanging up in the room.. you can tell the oldest kids.. there drawings are better their printing is neater..
If your son is ready you should send him.. kindergarden is for 5 year olds..
we waited but for good reasons..that was with our first and their birthday is in May...I wouldn't hold just because....but that would be my decision
My daughter turns 5 in June. We were offered "begindergarten" or kindergarten because of her age. I asked her preschool teacher (my daughter has also been attending for 2 years) what she thought and she said kindergarten all the way which was what I was thinking as well. The determining factor, for us, was that if she were to do begindergarten and was then found to be ready for 1st grade next school year she would still have to be enrolled in kindergarten. My daughter is bright and socially comfortable/friendly so we feel she is ready for kindergarten (and if it ends up that she has to repeat it, so be it, but if she doesn't then we want the option of having her move on next year).
My son turned 5 in July. We debated it for a little while, for much of the same reasons you are. Ultimately, we decided to go ahead and put him in school. It went perfect. The first couple of weeks were a little rocky, but once he got into the routine of school, it wasn't an issue anymore. There hasn't been anything yet that he can't handle, although there are still a few things he likes having the extra help with.
In the end, you know your child better than anybody here. Think about his strengths and weaknesses, and do what you think is best. Also keep in mind that you have 4-5 more months before kindergarten starts, and kids can come a long way in a very short amount of time.
I was in the same situation with my daughter a few years ago. I spoke to several educators who suggested I send her to Kindergarten for 2 years. We did and it turned out great. She is a little bit older than most of the kids in her class but she is always at the top of her class because she started out with a good foundation. The last thing I wanted was for her to be struggling to keep up (a year makes a big difference in a kid's life). I went ito the schoool before the first day of Kindergarten and I explained to the administration what I wanted to do regardless of her grades or her eligibility to move up to First grade. They were receptive and looking back, it was a good decision.
Both of my girls are among the youngest in their respective classes, and it has been absolutely fine. It doesn't sound to me like you have any reason to delay sending your son to kindergarten.
You may find this article interesting, written by a Princeton Neuroscientist. To sum it up, needlessly delaying your child's entrance to kindergarten will do him no long-term favors: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/dont-del...
My son has a June 17 birthday, and I sent him this past fall when he was 5. He LOVES school and has made a lot of friends. And it is full-day kindergarten in my district and it was no problem.
I think that if your son seems ready to go - which mostly means that he has the maturity to follow directions from the teacher - then you should send him. If he can listen to the teacher, then he can learn. If the preschool teachers are saying no way, he's not ready, he can't sit still for circle time, etc, then I would say you might consider holding him back. But I don't see any of that in your post.
He needs to be with the kids his age. I just don't get it. Why do people expect kids with Summer birthdays to flunk kindergarten? There have to be thousands of them.
If he was not very smart then I'd say put him in Kindergarten and then if they want to allow him to do a transitional class before first grade.
But truly, I would let him be with kids his own age. There will be kids his age and even younger in this class. In California they only have to be 4 to enter with a birthday soon following. My friend has a late September birthday and she went to kindergarten at age 4. She graduated at 17 and could not go to college for a full year unless she lived at home and only took certain classes since she was still a legal minor. She could not take any science classes where they discussed the human body or anything without a parents consent.
If you hold your son back he will be 18 his Jr. year. What are you going to do if he decides he's done with school? What if he wants to drop out and be in a boy band...lol? Just joking but still funny.
I think he would do much better with kids his own age.
My two oldest boys have birthdays end of July and beginning of September so they both turned five very close to the first day of school. Never had problems. With my second one who turned five in September, our pediatrician recommended we wait based on his small size while his preschool teacher said he was more than ready for kindergarten. I couldn't hold him back purely on being small since he will always be small so I sent him. At his first parent teacher conference the kindergarten teacher told me she was glad I hadn't waited to start him b/c he was doing so well. Every kid is different, I would trust the preschool teachers and your own gut.
Do not listen to them. Put him in school.
I always suggest holding the boys back but if the girls are ready, to send them. I taught in high school and the boys who were the youngest often had issues with self-esteem, especially if they were physically smaller. The maturity of boys is already behind the girls in high school. If they are some of the younger ones, it can be more pronounced. If they are socially awkward or don't have the maturity of knowing how to act, they can really have a hard time fitting in. It is so painful to watch.
If your son will be competing in sports, he will have a greater opportunity to be successful or at least confident in his abilities if he is older. It's not so much a problem if he is big for his age. Getting your license is a huge milestone in high school. If you are one of the last to get one, it can be demoralizing as it is a very obvious label.
When I have subbed in elementary schools, the only really hard thing is dealing with immature kids for their grade. I never knew their ages, so I don't know if it was personality or age. In P.E. the smaller boys always seemed to try to act "bigger" than they were, which meant they were trying to "act" bigger, not realizing that they were showing their immaturity.
I would ask yourself where you see your son size-wise in the next few years in comparison to those around him, as well as your family genes for future size estimates. It already sounds like he might struggle a bit with his confidence.
