Starting Kindergarten ??? What Age Is Best??

Personally? I would wait a year, but I would recommend that you get her in a Pre-K or preschool program to ease her into school.

That is an individual choice! You decide. However, shouldn't you have made this decision several months ago? Schools have/are started!! You would have needed to register in the spring. I guess you could get her in last minute? I don't know.

I have several kids with September birthdays. I started them all a year later. As a teacher I always hated it when parents sent their children to school when they were to young. It just seemed like they struggled and there just wasn't a need for it. Had they been kept home one more year they would have been just fine. Go with you Momma intuition.

Our daughter is starting this year at 6yrs 4 months of age...Best thing we ever did so far for her was wait to start her! Now we know she is ready! Our son on the other hand born just a few weeks from her two years later will definately go at 5 yrs of age as he is more then ready!

Many people told me I will never regret keeping her an extra year at home...And so far I have not and dont' think I will.

I started my daughter when she was 4, she turned 5 the first week of Kindergarten. Academically she has done just fine, and socially did great until last year in 3rd grade. There was a mean girl vibe going on and she just didn't handle it all that well. I think a year of age would help her in this area. Alot of the girls are into "tween" stuff and she still just wants to play with toys and do role playing games. Fortunately, she met a few new girls in 4th grade that seem to be on the same level so this year is already WAY better. I think I would re-think my decision if I had to do it over again. Just a thought.

Well with my two older kids ( both boys) their b days were Jan. and March so I don't think it was much of an issue. My youngest turned 5 yrs the beginning of June. She is ready.
Its a personal issue if you don't she is ready I would hold her back.

I would agree that maybe starting kindergarten next year would be better, but it would be helpful to have her assessed through the school and see what they say. Use this year to have her in pre-K class so she is better prepared and ready for next year.

most school districts offer KG screening. Did your child attend something like that? It's a good starting point! Contact the district & ask for the guidelines of the screening so you can better judge whether or not she's ready. When making this decision, look at several different aspects.... has she met all/most of the educational benchmarks? Is she socially ready? & can she stay "on task" for the recommended amount of time?

My older son was ready at age 5, but missed the cut-off by 5 weeks. In our district, there is NO option for early enrollment. He did a progressive preschool for that year & excelled. His early school years were a breeze, & I do believe it's because he was 6 when he started KG.

My younger son turned 5 just 4 days before the cut-off. He was academically & socially ready...but took twice the time to complete the screening due to his inability to stay on task. He was placed in the PreKG Bridges program in our district & also excelled. & again, doing KG at age 6 worked very well for him, & school has also been a breeze for him.

A very wise teacher told me the best criteria I've ever heard for making this decision: she said, "I've never known delaying entry not to work to the child's benefit". At that time, she'd been teaching primary grades for almost 20 years....& her words helped ease my mind.

I have no idea when your school starts....but planning such as this is usually completed well before the start of school. Lots of prep to do, both logistically for you & emotionally for both of you. Do you have time to properly prepared your daughter before school starts? Please don't rush thru it!

My kids were 6 when they started. It's amazing the things they have to know now-a-days in Kindergarten. I'm 110% glad we waited and would encourage you to also especially if that is how you're already feeling.

I started my boys out when they were 6. They have Aug and Sept birthdays. Now that they are in 9th, 6th and 5th grades Im glad I did. They seems to catch on better and easier. I will also start my younger two in kindergarten at 6. Plus its one more year with me :)

If you feel she would be better to start next year go with your gut feeling.

Both my boys were not yet 5 when they started kindergarten. They are now almost 19 and 17, have done extremely well academically, so in that way I'm glad I didn't wait.

However, if I HAD waited, I'd have them home one more year before they go away to college. So in hindsight, what's the big rush?

Maybe a couple days a week of a preschool program would be the best choice for this year for your girl?

Enjoy her, it goes so fast!!

:)

When my oldest son was 5, my gut told me he wasn't ready yet- he also has a summer birthday. We decided to send him for another year of pre-school that year, and he started kindergarten when he was 6. I never had any regrets :)

I think Adrienne gave you the best advice!
Some kids are mature enough to start K at 5 and others need more time,and they are ready at 6 (ready ..talking about maturity and of course the academic part)
Have a great day!

I would do preK for now, then Kindergarten. The other posters said it all 1) it's a personal choice 2) when she's ready (self control/can do circle time, basic ABC and 123's, use scissors, socially, doesn't need a nap, etc.
I had my son in PreK at her age, and he started Kinder when he was a few months shy of 6. The trend has been sending them later rather than sooner.

Hooray for you for making this very wise decision. This will benefit her so much. I was an early entry and suffered until 7th grade. I also taught k-1 and saw early entry kindergarten children suffer from this problem. So this is a good decision.

Kindergarten now requires children to sit for up to 30 minutes quietly and follow directions. The have to be able to recognize letters and numbers, recognize and write their name, and ready to write letters and numbers. They need good fine muscle skills.In addition to that they have to have good social skills, walk in line without disturbing others, and sit quietly in school assemblies. These skills are hardest for boys of course because the just mature later. Biology!

I honestly think kids should be 5 when they start kindergarten...for goodness sake. Why expect her to fail before you even give her a chance to succeed.

They should be 5 and turn 6 before 1st grade. And so on or they end up being the wrong age as a senior in high school and can't handle the dating and all that goes with going off to college.

Doing it this way, if she succeeded and went forward she'd be 18 before her senior year. What if she decides to just start staying out all night and if you don't let her she moves out, drops out, etc...I would say let her try and see if she can do it first.

I have two sons with summer birthdays and have started them both at age six. My oldest is now 12 and is in middle school. He has had a wonderful school experience, he has always been more self assured, at ease with himself, and academically it has been a plus, as well.

I have never come across a parent who has regretted starting their child at 6. On the flip side, I know quite a few parents who wish they had waited. Particularly if she has never been to daycare or prescholl, a pre k class in my opnion is perfect.

I think if you feel your daughter isn't ready, then holding her back is best. You know her best...make the choice based on her not her age.