I am struggling with weather or not to send my daughter to kindergarten next year.?

Question

Her birthday is in late July and she will turn 5. Should we hold her back or send her next year. Does anyone have any experience in this?

Answer 1

I would have her screened and see if she is ready. If she is-then send her. I think it's better to have them repeat the earliest grades if needed, than to wait until 2nd or higher. If they say that she isn't ready, try enrolling her in preschool for this year. That way she can get the skills that she will need in kindergarten. All in all, it's totally up to you.

Answer 2

Many schools won't "screen" unless you are applying for early admission. I don't think it is a "mistake" holding them back, but it may not be necissary. Do you have reasons other than her age?

Kindergarten readiness has more to do with her emotional readiness than academic - as they can teach a child nearly anything if he/she is ready to be there. And a lot depends on if is 1/2 day or full day K.

My daughter's birthday is in late July too - but she is on the tall side for her age and is a fairly confident and independent child even at 3, so I'm going to assume she will be ready for K this time next year. My son started full-day K this year, and the teachers really do help them along. He has a Jan. birthday - so he's in the middle - and has done amazingly well.

My friend's child was in the same boat too - only if she had be born just 6 hours later, she would have missed the cut-off. I asked her "If her birthday was 1 day later, would you have her screened for admission even though she technically misses the cut-off?"

What I recommended, and she ultimately did, was to enroll her in a private Kindergarten's 1/2 day program (here many preschools have private 1/2 day and full day Ks). That gave her the option of then enrolling her the next year in either public K or 1st grade. If she seemed not ready, she could "repeat" K without feeling like she was being left behind by her classmates and like it was a step up because she would be going from 1/2 day to full day.

As it is, she is enrolling her in regular 1st grade next year and very very glad she didn't hold her back.

If she is small for her age, really shy, or easily intimidated, has severe seperation issues, or seems to have trouble with attention or learning, - I'd not enroll her in public K. I wouldn't worry too much about the "academic" readiness as I would her emotional.

Answer 3

My mom taught kindergarten for 22 years, and she would say to wait. I spent...decades...hearing about particular kids who were born in the SPRING who were too immature for kindergarten.

The other side of this is that my mom taught an academically rigorous kindergarten, and other teachers in her school taught more of a preschool kindergarten. So part of it would be the expectations of the school in which you would place your child. Would she learn to read in kindergarten? If so, she might do better to wait. I had a friend who enrolled her child in kinder and asked what the child would learn, and the teacher said, "By the end of the year she will know how to write her name." Well - personally I think that is a waste of a year in a child's life - and at the end of the year that was about right for what the child learned. I've lived in areas where kids learned to read well in first grade [so had a GOOD start in kinder] and where kids couldn't read well until 6th grade. The second was more common, by the way. I live in an area now where about half the kids go to transitional first [means they failed kindergarten] and there is no stigma attached, so about half the kids are in the wrong grade. I'd say it partly depends on your child and partly depends on the school system. If it is not very academically rigorous she would be just fine.

Answer 4

It sounds as if you are concerned because she would be a young 5 when beginning school in late Aug/early Sept.
This is a valid concern. My daughter's birthday is October 4, the cutoff in my state is October 15. She could have gone...but would have been very young.
I kept her back. She is a 10th grader now, and I can honestly say I have no regrets about holding her back.
My aunt on the other hand also faced this dilemma with my cousin. The school insisted she needed to cut the apron strings and send her son, that there was no reason to hold him back. I can tell you he struggled all through school, and she regretted not following her heart.
My advice to you...you know your daughter better than anyone...only you are qualified to make the decision. You are her best advocate...follow your heart. If you are concerned about pushing her...don't.

Answer 5

I am in the exact same boat with my son! His birthday is July 28th. He's been in preschool this year, and is one of the 2 youngest in all of the preschool's classes. He's doing well, but you can really see the difference between him and the older children.

There are so many issues about readiness to look at, fine motor control, gross motor control, letter/number recognition, attention span. Our preschool teacher holds conferences in March, and with her, we have made the decision to keep him in preschool for another year. Partially because we only have full day kindergarten classes here, if it were a 1/2 day class, we would probably consider admittance this year.

There is more harm possibly done by putting them in when they aren't ready than holding them back a year. Having just turned 6 when they start will not be a big deal, and being the oldest in class lets them also build leadership skills they otherwise may not.

Here are some quizzes you can look at to help you sort out your feelings, and I wish you good luck, it's a really hard decision to make! (The Canadian one is still helpful, since these questions are pretty universal)

http://www.scholastic.com/familymatters/parentguides/kindergarten/quiz_readiness/index.htm

http://canadaonline.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=canadaonline&cdn=newsissues&tm=7&f=00&tt=14&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.pcsb.k12.fl.us/prek/readiness.htm

Good luck!

Answer 6

My son will be 5 in august and we are sending him this next school year. If he has to many problems then we will have him repeat kindergarten. If he does really well we will most likely pass him to 1st. It really just depends on how well she does and it's your decision. If my son is not ready I'd rather have him in kindergarten for two years than to hold him back as he gets older and then it makes it harder on the child because all his/her friends would be advancing while he/she is being left behind. I'm sure you will make the right decision. You are her parent you know what's best for her.

Answer 7

Whether or not your child is ready for kindergarten is based on a few things. First, check the cutoff date for your local kindergarten to make sure they will allow your child in at that age. I think she'll be fine, since she's already going to be 5 before kindergarten even starts. Then, make sure she knows the basic things that children should know before going into kindergarten, namely how to write her first name, how to count to 10, and her address. If she knows all of these, there is no reason not to send her this year.

Answer 8

You could have her tested and see how she performs. Also, have a conference with some possible teachers for next year at the school she would attend. See what they think. Does she attend preschool? Ask her current teachers. It all depends on the student. I started when I was 4 and so did my brother. I did great in school but suffered a bit socially due to immaturity issues. I grew out of this by about 8th grade. However, my brother never really got over it and was always struggling to keep up and being picked on since he was so much more immature and smaller than the other boys. Girls also mature faster than boys. It depends on the child.

Answer 9

A lot depends on your child and her personality. Is she an outgoing little girl? Does she show signs of independence? Does she adjust well to change? Does she enjoy other people? Does she enjoy learning? Have you been doing any type of educational training with her at home? Also, if in holding her back will that cause her to be a year older than other students once she does enter school? Children can be very mean if they see differences in their classmates and the sadness your child will experience from teasing from her peers can break a mother's heart. What are your state or county rules on this? ~D

http://DCote2.successuniversity.com

Answer 10

A child as per schools in Delhi must be send to Kindergarten at the age of 4.