Need some advice from the smart minds of ATS!

My son was on that borderline b-day in September.
We decided to enroll him into kindergarten just before his 5th b-day.Same thing with my daughter.
My daughter flourished and did well,but my son struggled till finally we held him back in third grade.

My son's problem was not being smart enough,just not mature enough,if that makes since.
He starts 6th grade next year and is doing quite well now.

The choice is up to you gauging your child's abilities.

Good luck!

Peace,
K

I was the youngest in my class all thru school

It did not effect me much until Jr. High. It really sucked not being able to participate in some things with my classmates due to age restrictions.

It was extremely troubling to have to wait until a year after my classmates had their drivers license to get mine.

Let him wait a year.

reply to post by Rezlooper

I don't worry about him being the small kid in class...

I was speaking from his point of view. Kids don't care as much at that age about size as they do about age. Its a "bullying" point for them. I was large too and that had its own issues- with bigger kids. They didn't care how old I was.

My only worry is that if he already knows everything that's being taught if he waits a year then he may not be stimulated when he does go.

Thats "pre" worry. If you put him in he will learn right along with the others. If you teach him ahead of time yah, he will be bored. Its only one year. That isn't a big deal. Let him have his child hood. Don't push him from such an early age. You seem too worried about it.

He'll be fine. That was the the psychiatrist recommendation. Ask them. It will have to do with peer pressure and differences kids notice.

Younger kids get bullied. That should be the most important flag for you. Could derail his school experience.

I am speaking from experience. Real learning begins later anyway. If he loves to learn he will, regardless of when you start him.

reply to post by Rezlooper

There are a lot of smart minds here at ATS so I need a little advice on education for our son. He was born in late September and is three years old right now. We decided to have him screened to see if he was ready for Pre-Kindergarten class this fall. The way it works is that if your child is born after Sept. 1, they are too late for that class and must wait for the next year. That’s how it works here in Wisconsin. He is well-advanced for his age. I’m not saying a genius or anything like that, but definitely ready for Pre-K this fall, so the question isn’t whether he could go to school yet, just whether he should.

Since kindergarten is for age 5, wouldn't pre-k be for 4 year olds?
Which is what he would be very shortly after the school year starts?
That sounds age appropriate

Originally posted by kdog1982
My son was on that borderline b-day in September.
We decided to enroll him into kindergarten just before his 5th b-day.Same thing with my daughter.
My daughter flourished and did well,but my son struggled till finally we held him back in third grade.

My son's problem was not being smart enough,just not mature enough,if that makes since.
He starts 6th grade next year and is doing quite well now.

The choice is up to you gauging your child's abilities.

Good luck!

Peace,
K

We held our son back in kindergarten.

Little boys mature more slowly than little girls. And a year of maturity can make an amazing difference.

Originally posted by undo
reply to post by smyleegrl

 

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Originally posted by kdog1982
My son was on that borderline b-day in September.
We decided to enroll him into kindergarten just before his 5th b-day.Same thing with my daughter.
My daughter flourished and did well,but my son struggled till finally we held him back in third grade.

My son's problem was not being smart enough,just not mature enough,if that makes since.
He starts 6th grade next year and is doing quite well now.

The choice is up to you gauging your child's abilities.

Good luck!

Peace,
K

Thanks Kdog for the post. So, it worked for your daughter but not the son. They say that girls mature faster than boys and this may have been a perfect example of that, hey.

Another reason we wanted to get him into school was to develop or improve his social skills, so one former pre-school teacher who I work with suggested we run him through Pre-K twice. Not a bad idea.

reply to post by intrptr

Thats "pre" worry. If you put him in he will learn right along with the others. If you teach him ahead of time yah, he will be bored. Its only one year. That isn't a big deal. Let him have his child hood. Don't push him from such an early age. You seem too worried about it.

Thing is, it's not a year, it's only a month. One month behind kids his own age. Do you have kids? I don't think it's "being too worried about it" when it comes to the future of your child.

reply to post by Rezlooper

did you ask your kid what he would like to do?
allowing him to make a desicion (give him some time) could do wonders for real self-confidence.

I'd say wait. There are many more problems and issues that develop from being the youngest in a class than issues that develop from being the oldest in the class. Being the oldest allows him to be a bit more advanced socially as well as physically.

Academic-wise, he will have the additional mental development to embrace his learning activities more effectively. This will give him the opportunity to excel and possibly earn academic scholarships.

Physically, he will also have the upper hand. If he is into sports, he will have the additional year of growth which can make a big difference in high school sports and could also lead to scholarships.

Think of this as a bit of a blessing in that he has the best opportunity to excel due to when his birthday falls. You could start him early and present many difficulties for him both socially and physically or you can wait another year and put him at the head of the class at an early stage and set him up for future success.

reply to post by kthxbai


Very good points, thanks. Adds to us having something to think about here.

reply to post by Rezlooper

Thing is, it's not a year, it's only a month. One month behind kids his own age. Do you have kids? I don't think it's "being too worried about it" when it comes to the future of your child.

I was forced to grow up too fast. Thats all I meant. When he is 8 or 9 you will see how you fretted so over nothing. Just my two cents.

I see that others recommend the same thing.

Wait.

PS: Of course I raised kids (not my own). I was a kid once too. Have you ever been a kid before? How did you feel in a room of older kids?

I had one daughter that graduated at 16 and one at 18. The little difference in age did not seem to make a difference to either of them. You and your wife do what you think is best. Trust your judgment.

S

reply to post by Rezlooper


I would listen to smyleegrl's advice, I think she teaches young children.

I have not read the entire thread because i want to reply directly to your OP question. So, here goes:
I was put into kindergarten at 4 years old which resulted in my graduating high school ar 17. That's problemantic because I couldn't get into junior college till I was 18.
My daughter's birthday was such that we could go either way with her: kindergarten at 4 or 5. We opted for age 5 because we gambled that her being older in her class wouild give her an edge among her peers based on my experience being among the youngest in my class. ( By me starting at 4 put me in a situation in high school that freshmen were my age when I was a sopmore or junior). An aggresive or assertive personality could've handled that. My personality...well....did not.
You need to think about the age the child will be as graduating from high school, the type of personality your child has, and the State's legal limit for enrolling a kid into school. My opinopn? Keep them home as long as you can, and if I had to do it over again, I would've home schooled my kids.

Originally posted by kthxbai
You could start him early and present many difficulties for him both socially and physically or you can wait another year and put him at the head of the class at an early stage and set him up for future success.

Great advice.

In the meantime OP, you can always go to the school and see what the curriculum/lesson plans are for that class and you and your wife can mirror those while he's still at home. It's pre-k learning, it's shouldn't take a lot on the part of either of you to keep your son at the same academic level as his peers at that age. You don't have to do it for 4 or 5 hours straight either. Whatever you're doing during the course of the day, incorporate what he would be learning at school into your everyday routines as best as you can.

At that age it's more important that a child forms a bond with his/her parents.