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There are many opinions here. Why not list the pros and cons, talk to the pre-K teacher and then make a decision based on your instincts and informed knowledge of what would be best for them.
Hello, I have twin girls with an August birthday in a Sept. 1st cut-off state. Maturity wise I think they are already ready as young 4's. They listen very well in preschool, at camp, dance, etc... They play better with 5 year olds than 3 years old. My hesitation in the academic pressure in kindergarten now, and the lack of play at school. I've done a ton of research about the pros and cons of delaying until 6 and I'm still torn. If kindergarten were how it was 20 years ago I would definitely send them. Another thing is that I've read multiple places that the average age to beginning age to read is age 6.5. However, now children must be reading by the end of kindergarten to pass. My girls would be 5 years 10 months at the end of kindergarten...I do not want to be in a position where it was recommended that they be retained as they would definitely be aware and embarrassed by this. Worst scenario would be retention for one and then having twins in different grades...so my question is has anyone delayed for a summer birthday not because of social/emotional immaturity, but for concern over the academic pressure in kindergarten? If we do wait a year they would go to a private transitional kindergarten program that is is a mix of play and academics. Thank you!
Where does this "academic pressure" come from? Parents are voters are they not? Parents can influence how their schools are administered. One sad thing is that the percentage of VOTERS that decide how things will be done in elections DO NOT have school age kids or even Grandkids. I am a 70 Year Old man with no kids or grandkids. I always try to vote for School Board members and School Bonds in a way that I think will insure a quality education for ALL the kids in the local Public Schools. You younger folks with kids need to be involved and then WHEN and Old Phart like me asks you "what do you think of your kids school?" You can give me an informed answer.
Re: the question. It's such an individual thing. I'd talk to the preschool teacher and see what she thinks. Our cutoff date is September 1st- I sent my late August birthday on time (as a young 5 year old) and it was just fine. She is entering her senior year of college and has never had any major issues in school, academically or socially, but I also think she would have done just fine had we waited a year, too.
I think it depends on your area, too. Around here, it seems like July and August boys almost always start K as young 6s, as opposed to young 5s. (June to a lesser extent.) So, a boy with a late summer birthday really would be quite young for his class compared to the other boys if he went "on-time", but not that much older if he went at 6. I think in a lot of cases, it's not necessarily the academics themselves, but things like sitting quietly at a desk, raising hands, etc. are not quite there, so an extra year can help.
Not garbage. If you look at Finland, Germany, etc., formal reading teaching does not begin at 5, but at 7. It's not that you can't allow kids to read, but that we should not be pushing them so early. No data exists yet, but an emerging body of research indicates that attempts to accelerate intellectual development are in fact counterproductive.
Note, I was reading at 4. My dd was reading at 4 or 4.5, but my son was not reading until after he was 6. Note all of us have college degrees and were not held back by not learning to read in kindergarten. Children are different. Hands on learning is actually the best thing at this age. I would not hold a child back from learning, but I would want that child to have plenty of time for play and being a kid.
What's garbage to me is creating policy 100% one way or the other without taking kids' individual needs and skills into account.
So THIS lady in the article wants kindergarten to be glorified daycare. What about all the other kids who are ready for more?
And these stupid tests that force kids who aren't ready for reading...we just gonna jam it down their throat?
Hell, if I have to pick one, I'd pick the more rigorous curriculum.
But the solution has to be better than repress learning for some or shove unprepared kids forward.
Talk to their preschool teacher and their potential kindergarten teacher. If they are ready, don't hold them back based on their birthday. You can always repeat kindergarten!
Where does this "academic pressure" come from? Parents are voters are they not? Parents can influence how their schools are administered. One sad thing is that the percentage of VOTERS that decide how things will be done in elections DO NOT have school age kids or even Grandkids. I am a 70 Year Old man with no kids or grandkids. I always try to vote for School Board members and School Bonds in a way that I think will insure a quality education for ALL the kids in the local Public Schools. You younger folks with kids need to be involved and then WHEN and Old Phart like me asks you "what do you think of your kids school?" You can give me an informed answer.
Parents have very little say in how schools are run. School boards have adopted curriculum that is tied to federal dollars. Once they accept the money, the parents have ZERO say in the curriculum used. Teachers have signed confidentiality agreements with the manufacturers of the standardized testing and are not permitted to talk about anything related to the testing that the kids are forced to take.
Education is VERY different than it was 10, 20, 30 years ago. Parents really have two options: enroll in public school and understand that they have no say in how the kids are educated, or find another option.
June 25th birthday for my son with a September 1 cutoff. He's intelligent, but he is sensitive. It was a no brainer...... we waited to start him at 6. I don't think it matters in the long run that he is a little older as opposed to being on of the youngest in his class. There are still kids older than him, and a bunch with birthdays the same year.
We were always told by a lot of teachers that a lot of people regretted not doing, but no one really regretted holding theirs back.
In my ten years teaching in public schools (including a year of kindergarten), I have never met a parent that wished they hadn't waited. I have, however, met many that wished they had waited the extra year. A lot of the time, problems don't show up until around 3rd grade, when the difficulty jumps tremendously. Most of my career was in 5th grade and I had a lot of parents tell me they wished they had waited a year or retained them in kindergarten.
The year I worked Kindergarten Round Up, my principal made a great point to one parent (their child wouldn't be 5 until October)- do you want to send your 17 year old off to college? OP, I know your children will be 18 due to their August birthday, but that is another thing to think about.
My sister has an August birthday. My mom started her in kindergarten and within two weeks, she had her moved to the Young 5's program our district had. Over half her class had attended it the year before and the other half was at least 6 months older than her. While she met or exceeded all the kindergarten recommendations, in comparison to her classmates, she needed the extra year.
The school district I went to as a kid used to have a September 1 cutoff. Flash forward 40 years later, and it is now June 1. The trend they saw was kids with the summer Birthdays struggled.
I was a late July kid, and I did all right, but things would have been a lot better I think if I had graduated with the later class, mostly from a social and athletic standpoint.
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