Miami school cut-off date of Sept 1st. (homes, preschool) - Miami-Dade County - City-Data Forum

VERYLUCKY8 · 02-22-2008, 06:09 AM

My sons b-day is 9/24 he is currently 4yrs. old. He is currently in a pre-k 4 class. The private school that he is in right now wants him to go into an advanced pre-k 4 class next yr. as opposed to kindergarten. There are 20 kids in the class and only 4 will be moving onto to kinder. Some are 5 already and some are just mature and ready to move on (so they say). I am very distraught by this because where I am originally from the cut-off is Dec. 1st. Therefore I don't know what to do. Let him be a kid and takes things slow or try to push him to the way we completed school which was 17yrs old. I thought that if I worked with him I would be able to get him up to speed. But the school says I can't force him he has to mature into it. If I wanted him to go to kinder I would have to start looking for another school. Please help!!!!!

Momma_bear · 02-22-2008, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VERYLUCKY8

My sons b-day is 9/24 he is currently 4yrs. old. He is currently in a pre-k 4 class. The private school that he is in right now wants him to go into an advanced pre-k 4 class next yr. as opposed to kindergarten. There are 20 kids in the class and only 4 will be moving onto to kinder. Some are 5 already and some are just mature and ready to move on (so they say). I am very distraught by this because where I am originally from the cut-off is Dec. 1st. Therefore I don't know what to do. Let him be a kid and takes things slow or try to push him to the way we completed school which was 17yrs old. I thought that if I worked with him I would be able to get him up to speed. But the school says I can't force him he has to mature into it. If I wanted him to go to kinder I would have to start looking for another school. Please help!!!!!

I have a child who is very young for his grade. His birthday is in July and we did not push him AHEAD he just went when he was the age indicated by Broward County.

I wish I had let him stay home an EXTRA year instead of sending him when had just turned 5. He has a very high IQ (around 150) but he would have benefitted from being a little older when he started school. He is 11 and it still affects him. I wouldn't push him ahead. Why does he have to finish school at 17? What benefit is there to him?

Think about middle school and high school social lives. It's better for him to be the oldest alpha male, rather than the puny one who hasn't gone through puberty yet.

I wouldn't push him. Just let him go on time.

tallrick · 02-22-2008, 06:58 AM

I agree. As someone who was the puniest kid in every grade till high school, I would rather have a child start school as late as possible. In fact if I had kids of my own they would be homeschooled till they are big enough, and learn how to defend themselves. When I grew taller than everyone else (10th grade) school changed for the better, and became a very enjoyable experience!

mg83 · 02-22-2008, 08:29 AM

My bday's one day after the Florida cut off. My mom pushed hard for me to go. I thought it served me well. Graduated high school when I was 17, started college at 17, didn't turn 21 until my senior year in college... graduated with a Master's at 22. I'm SO glad my mom pushed to get me into school. But, I'm a girl... so it may be different for boys.

SoBe_ToBe? · 02-22-2008, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Momma_bear

I have a child who is very young for his grade. His birthday is in July and we did not push him AHEAD he just went when he was the age indicated by Broward County.

I wish I had let him stay home an EXTRA year instead of sending him when had just turned 5. He has a very high IQ (around 150) but he would have benefitted from being a little older when he started school. He is 11 and it still affects him. I wouldn't push him ahead. Why does he have to finish school at 17? What benefit is there to him?

Think about middle school and high school social lives. It's better for him to be the oldest alpha male, rather than the puny one who hasn't gone through puberty yet.

I wouldn't push him. Just let him go on time.

Very well said. I was in the same place as your son as a child.

nicsma2002 · 02-22-2008, 10:15 PM

No reason to be distraught at all, just let him go to the advanced pk4 class like he's supposed to, no big deal. The school is right, you can't teach maturity. Most boys need that extra time, you'll probably be doing him a favor. Relax and let him enjoy this part of his life a little longer. What difference does it make if he's 17 or 18 when he graduates. It's better to be one of the older boys than one of the younger boys, especially with the maturity issue with boys in general.

DoveDiva · 02-23-2008, 07:12 AM

Here's an article I read last year about this issue. Perhaps it will help you make your decision.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/ma...prod=permalink

VERYLUCKY8 · 03-03-2008, 08:23 PM

Thanks for the advice and the great article from the NYtimes. It gave me alot of insight in making my decision. I am all for waiting a year. You guys are right why do they have to graduate at 17. We always say they are growing up so fast. Well this way will prolong the process. I agree we should let them enjoy themselves. School needs to be educational but at the same time they should be able to have fun and enjoy it. I thought about tutoring him myself 1/2-1 hour each day. I had comments from the principal and director of the school on "why should you". At first I was appalled at there comments. But now from talking to other people and doing alot of research. They're right I could help them when its necessary but it shouldn't be a full time job. Thats what schools for. Thanks again for the great comments.

songgirl · 03-03-2008, 09:48 PM

What a great article in the NY Times. I had no idea so many people were "redshirting" their kids to keep them out of kindergarten for another year. I thought more people were trying to push their kids ahead than hold them back! In one way I think it's great because the demands on kindergarteners is too much for many little kids. On the other hand, it does seem like another way for parents to make their kids more "competitive" in both sports and academics by making sure they are the oldest in the class.

Because of these two very different scenarios, parents should have to ask for a waiver to hold their kids back a year to be reveiwed and decided by an impartial entity, IMO!

To the OP I have a little girl who just missed the cut off this year so she is in preschool. She is about a ft. taller than all her peers, is reading, writing, and everyone thinks she is about 7 instead of 5. I've actually lost sleep over this thinking that kindergarten might be horrible for her next year. I was thinking of putting her in a private school where she had the ability to skip kindergarten all together. But she appears very happy in her preschool class and after reading that article and everyones' comments, I'm looking at things differently. People are paying a lot of money to put their kids in the position our kids will be in! Obviously, there are some advantages to being one of the oldest in the class.

jcn47 · 03-04-2008, 04:50 AM

My son's birthday is September 12 and I was happy for the extra year in pre-K. School these days is very tough with standardized testing and more concentrated academics. Let him be a kid for another year. You won't regret it. There is no hurry to push him into academics. Mine is in 4th grade now and I miss those carefree pre-k and kindergarten days with no testing and homework to contend with. It can be very stressful for both kid and parents these days.