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I would put her in Kinder again for the following reasons:
1)new surroundings in a new state, with a new house, new neighborhood, etc.
2)It will not really be a repeat because they probably teach things differently that it will only reinforce what she already knows
3)She can really focus on friendships if the academics are already there
Cons:
my daughter was one of the oldest in her pre-k class and I saw regressions in her so I had to "undo" those things.
Good luck!
I'd see if I couldn't get her into the 1st grade, even if it meant the private school route. At the end of the year, you will have another chance to gauge her progress, see how she's handled the move, etc. Plus, having your other children in the school will help you determine whether she is ready for 2nd grade, or needs another year.
I have a december birthday, and I did just fine. Of course, girls are often more mature, so if we were discussing a boy, my answer would probably be different.
Why make her go through kindergarten again? She will probably end up bored, understimulated and end up not doing her best because there will be no motivation to succeed since she has already done it!
I would put her in the Montessori school, if there is space.
If you choose Montessori, be sure your child is a self starter and independent. One of the philosophies is to encourage the child to master a subject and then, theoretically, the child should go on to a new subject to conquer. I have had a few friends whose children have mastered a subject and were a bit reluctant to go to the next subject... that is probably typical kid stuff though.
Good luck. Decisions about school are always scary!
We started our grils young and in third grade that had a friend who started late who used to carry them around, one under each arm. The girl was large as well as older and our girls are petite. It was embarrassing for them, but now they are fine. (At 16).
We have five kids and one thing that we learned, all of the ealry pushing and "better" schooling matters not one whit. Save your moeny for something meaningful. The kids all catch up and even out evnetually. More important, stay involved in their schooling and make homework an attention getting device. (i.e. make it pleasant).
We had a friend whose daughter went to all the fancy montesorri schools and started public school in second grade. She spoke three languages, could do fairly complex math and had been reading for years. Now she is behind our girls academically and no longer speaks any language (her english is typically terrible like most high school kids). Don't fret it, find somethig better to spend your moeny on or give it to me.
Have you considered homeschooling her even if just for one year?
In several states homeschools are considered to be private schools. She is young enough to go to day care if you have to work durring the day,so if you enrolled her in daycare it would take care of the socialization issue. In some states you do not even have to notify the school district. Then in a year you can see about enrolling her in public school. Curriculum can be free if you know the right websites to go to. Just make sure you have a good quality printer and a computer with internet.
I'd put her in kindergarten and allow her to be in class with same age peers. In elementary school it won't make much difference (socially), but by the time she's in middle school, you'll be glad she's among the older girls in her grade rather than the opposite.
Academically she will probably do fine either way.
My daughter is in a private kindergarten right now and will graduate in June. Right now she is reading and can add and subtract single digit numbers. Socially, she is good. She has a few friends in school and a lot of neighborhood girls she plays with. No behaviorial issues whatsoever. Just glowing reports from the teacher.
We are moving to a state where the age cutoff for first grade is you must be 6 by Sept 1st. My daughter will be 6 in November. The new school district has said that I can either put her in kindergarten again or stick her in private school for 1st grade and transfer her to public school for 2nd grade. There are no age waivers. I called around and none of the private schools in the area will take her as a 1st grader because they adhere to the public schools age cutoffs except a Montessori school. (They don't have grades).
Would you keep your kid in kindergarten another year even though your daughter is good to move up both academically and socially? Or would you try the Montessori school and then transfer her for second grade?
A little more info: her two brothers will be in 3rd grade and 2nd grade and will be going to the public school.
Any thoughts?
I would send her to a Montessori school. First, the fact they don't have grades I think is a good thing and the way they teach is to the individual and the type of learning the child responds to. We had sent my son to one this year because he wasn't old enough for kindergarten and he loved it! I would say she "might" get bored if she isn't challenged enough and bored kids start disliking school, at least from my experience. Good luck and remember, this is just my opinion. You KNOW what is best for daughter! Hope everyone's varied responses help you make a difficult decision. My son is 5 years old and turns 6 in November. He will be an older child in kindergarten, BUT he's a boy and they are generally speaking a little behind the girls. I can tell you he has very little interest in sitting down with Mommy to do his ABC's, BUT . . . helping build or take something apart and he's all over it. He's a lego kid, a mythbuster kid, etc. This is why I liked his Montessori experience. They saw that and they further developed it. He's smart just different from the normal sit down and learn type kid.
I would start her in Kindergarten and let her shine above the crowd with her being ahead of the majority!
I used to be in management in a child care program that had private Kindergarten and we took many students who turned 5 within a couple of months after the cut off. Every single one of them went to public school Kindergarten the next year and thrived greatly. They were top students and better equipped socially to handle being in a public school enviroment than those that came from home or other child care programs not geared towards prepping for Kindergarten.
My third daughter, now a 4th grader, has always been ahead of the pack academically from early on. In Kindergarten they would send her to the 1st grade classrooms for reading curriculum. There simply was nothing the K reading program had to offer her. She also went there to read to their classes.
I expect the same type accomodations for my son who turned 5 in January and is probably capable, academically, of going straight into 2nd grade. We'll see what Kindergarten brings to the table and go from there.
I think this points out that it depends on the child and only you can really make that decision. As I mentioned, I started school when I was 4 and I graduated high school at 17. I was always the youngest and I was still at the top of my class. I don't want to sound braggy, but if I was in the top of my class and a year younger, what would it have been like to hold me back a year? I LOVED it. I was also always in AP classes, graduated summa *** laude from college, and entered a PhD program. It didn't impact me negatively in any way and was only positive for me. Did it suck a bit when my friends got their licenses a year before me, of course, but hey, they could at least drive me around! I think the point is that both academically and socially, I was totally in line with the people a year a head of me. It would have been damaging to my progress to hold me back. Again, I think it depends on the child and you should ultimately go with your gut!
BTW, I think it's hilarious that city data is censoring me with **** when it's totally appropriate in this context!
I would put her in first grade. I've only heard of cutoffs for kindergarten (ours is 5 by Oct 1). If she gets bored repeating a grade, she won't be challenged. My older daughter went to Montessori and was way ahead of public school kids. Of course, every child is different. You know your child best. Good luck with your decision!
I would put her in Kindergarten again. My daughter is 13 and in 8th grade. When she started school our states cut off for kindergarten was Dec.1. She is an October b-day. We moved to a state that had a cut off of Sept. 1 and now she is almost a whole year younger than her classmates. When things really got hard was when she was in 4th and 5th grade. She still wanted to play with dolls and play house etc. Her friends were leaving the dolls behind and getting into hair, make up and boys. I really felt that she was peer pressured into growing up and especially in middle school when she was the last one to start wearing a bra, and to get her period. She also misses the cut off for her sports teams so she is always playing with kids in the grade below hers. If I had it to do over again I would have held her back and waited until the following year to have her start kindergarten so that she would be the same age as all her friends.
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