Suggestions Private K in Gainesville Area/Encouraged to hold son back (Manassas: how much, house) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

theBIGstep · 01-30-2012, 08:32 PM

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could provide suggestions on Private K in the Gainesville/Bristow/Manassas area. I had heard of high reviews of one place, attended their open house and was less than impressed. They had a great program but in the opening welcome to families not in their prek program was the statement "if you have a boy - you may want to wait another year an put him in the PreK program" since this area is so competetive. .I kid you not. This was before the lead even met any of the parents with boys or the boys present themselves. Look I understand that girls and boys develope at different rates but I did not expect this. So this person goes on to say that the parents of girls are also "catching on" to the advantages of holding back and that is the new trend. What?

Anyway - we hope to have our kids if possible in a private K and then they'll go to public...so I am not against public - was just looking for a smaller class size. Besides the rates in this area are beyond feasible for most people to have their children go private.

Any info would be great or any comments!

JfromReston · 01-30-2012, 09:45 PM

My understand is "Red Shirting" is getting to be the norm these days. A nephew has kids as much as 18 months older then him in his class. 18 months is a hugh difference!

Denton56 · 01-31-2012, 01:20 AM

The worst for my kids was 22 months difference between the youngest and the oldest. My pediatrician said ''no one ever regrets waiting a year but many regret not waiting". I waited a year with both my boys and never regretted it for a minute. School is hard enough for boys without being the youngest or smallest in the class. An extra year is a huge advantage. If you can afford to wait, do it. Give your child that gift of time.

HereinVA · 01-31-2012, 05:40 AM

My younger two children attended Winwood in Gainesville for pre-school and we we were very impressed. Winwood taught both of them to read, completely. My husband and I did not teach them anything

, it was all Winwood. Both of them are outstanding readers, and it was all what they learned at Winwood.

That was pre-school, but I would imagine that Winwood's Kindergarten would also be fabulous.

HereinVA · 01-31-2012, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HereinVA

My younger two children attended Winwood in Gainesville for pre-school and we we were very impressed. Winwood taught both of them to read, completely. My husband and I did not teach them anything

, it was all Winwood. Both of them are outstanding readers, and it was all what they learned at Winwood.

That was pre-school, but I would imagine that Winwood's Kindergarten would also be fabulous.

Oh, and about red shirting boys....I have 4 boys. None of have been red shirted, and it hasn't been a problem (but my oldest is only in 6th grade, not sure if that makes a difference) and haven't noticed any blatant "red shirting" among their classmates either. My sons have birthdays in March, May, June, and December--so the one who was my "oldest Kindergartner" turned 6 about 4 months into the school year.

Middlin · 01-31-2012, 08:51 AM

I don't see this as a one size fits all. My son was born in early November so he is one of the oldest in his class. This definitely lends itself (to my son) as a confidence booster. He was ready to attend (and eager) to take the bus, go to the big school with his friends. We debated on sending him to private for a smaller class size but given his personality we decided on the public elementary (at the time it was Victory ES) and he loved it, we loved his teacher and he made the most of it.

I would strongly encourage you to observe a class and take your child's personality/attitude into account before you make a decision.

theBIGstep · 01-31-2012, 08:50 PM

Thank you all for your comments I appreciate you answering the post. I tend to think more along the lines of you need to know your kid (like the last post). That is why I found it very off to hear "this is the trend and you should really do it" attitude before meeting my child. I am all for helping my child if they are weak in a area...but is waiting another year really helping him. What happens when he is 19 or even 20 graduating HS?

Drs/Peds are wonderful but they see your child (esp as they get older) for a block of time of scheduled visits - and good luck if you actually get your dr. in a practice of 5 drs. for your kid. Are they really in a position to say "maybe you'll regret it" with out some knowledge or the child..truly its based on what the parent provides and really parents are fiercy competitive. You give me a girl who is 5 and a boy and you can't compare their verbal skills - there in different places....does that mean that the boy by default is lacking? Why isn't there a readiness test for incoming kindergartners? I mean wouldn't that get rid of the "guesswork". I know there is the PALs testing but that is from what I understand mid-year. Isn't school suppose to challenge your child?? I think this is what I am not getting...kids develop at different rates....there is no guarentee...you can have girls wildly imature for their age...and then you throw in older boys....I don't know...quite confused how the educational system is beneficial if it advised you to red shirt your boys.

ChristineVA · 02-01-2012, 05:32 AM

I never redshirted my son, but luckily he had a December birthday and was of normal maturity. My daughter, well, she should have been red shirted but it never occurred to me. She was verbally advanced/precocious, smart as a whip, etc. Even was in preschool for many years. What happened is that she was fairly immature and I couldn't really tell. She had a late-July birthday which did not help. While she got along famously with her peers and was very popular, by 1st-4th grade, it was amazing how much more mature they were than her. I did not readily see it earlier (and neither did her teachers). What happned is that she lost confidence around 1st grade and started kind of struggling. I think being held back one year, in hindsight, would have made a world of difference for her. She even, to this, gets along with peers who are about a year younger than her. Add to that, that many of the kids in her class HAD been red shirted and some of them were closer to 2 years older than her. It was kind of weird. As a person myself who started Kindergarten at 4 years of age, many many times through my school years I felt a lot younger than my peers but it wasn't so dramatic as today because no one was red shirted in the 80s.

It's such an individual decision.

And, really there's nothing wrong with having a 19 year old graduating from high school.