Should my 5 yr old girl go to Kindergarten now or next year? Birthday is in September.?

Answer 1

Sooner is better but if you do not think that she should go this year, enroll her into early child care so she will be able to keep up with the school year.

Answer 2

As a kindergarten teacher, here are a few things you should look into before sending your daughter to kindergarten. The first thing you should review is your states law on kindergarten. In the state which I teach in, the cut off date is the child's birthday must be before September 1. This would mean your daughter would not be eligible this coming year. She would have to wait a year. But as I said, every state varies. The best thing to do is to contact your school district and find out the birthday requirements.

The second and most important aspect to evaluate is a child's maturity. Kindergarten in most places in no longer a go to school, eat snacks and play type of environment. The district I teach in, by the end of kindergarten, expects students to be writing 3 complete sentences, and reading books that are 10-12 pages long with 3 to 4 sentences on a page. Not to mention writing numbers 1-100 and being able to count by 1s, 5's,10's to 100. This is an enormous task for immature students to handle.

If you have any doubt in your mind, wait. The extra year of preschool and more time practicing social skills normally allow students to excel in this fast pace environment.

Answer 3

I take it you are american because in Australia she should be half way through it already. That's assuming your kindy is our pre primary, before starting yr 1. Here it is compulsory to start at a certain age.. there is no option of waiting. I'm assuming you start school in sept.. so she'll either be the oldest and no problem or the youngest, in which case the teachers will keep an eye on her. Our school year is from February to December, but the age cut off is June 30.. my son is the youngest with his June 24 birthday, but he is the most advanced in his class so it's not just age that's the deciding factor, it's the child's overall development. So don't stress, just send her to kindy now. She will benefit from being with peers the same age as her!! Once she has started, usually within a few weeks the teacher should call for parent interviews. At that time you can voice your concerns and the teacher will inform you of the initial assessment made from your daughter. Teachers work one on one with children that need extra help or attention, so there should be nothing to worry about.

Answer 4

will she be 5 in September or 6? If just turning 5 then she should do pre-k, if turning 6 then definitely she needs to go to kindergarten this fall. My son has an october birthday and just 2 months after starting kindergarten he turned 6. He will just be an older one in his class, which is always better.

Answer 5

My kids are both October babies, so they were both after the cut off date in the states we have lived in. My son did not attend a preschool and he was able to start in a pre-K at a private school at the age of 4 almost 5. I asked about moving him up because he was way farther academically but he had no social skills and would not have been able to handle the different amount of learning time. My daughter went to Head Start for two years (I fought to get her into Kinder a year early but there were no provisions for doing so at the time) However, she was so academically and socially ready, she was put into a K/1 class and will skip the first grade because she has already done the first grade work. So most likely, either way you decide, the teachers will be able to see how your daughter works in school and help you to work with the school and get her placed in the appropriate grade level.

Answer 6

Our daughter's birthday is early September. She never went to preschool, she stayed home with me. Her school has a young fives program for kids her age and she tested out of it which meant she was too smart for young fives and ready for kindergarten. She was socially and physically ready for school. We had a very hard time with this just because of the age thing. We were thinking of the future...her being the youngest in her class, other kids driving before her, dating before her and college at 17. So we decided to keep her home another year to give her the age advantage when she is older. It has worked out good so far!! Also Jill is wrong, My daughter started school at 5 and turned 6 the first week at school. You won't get in trouble for keeping your child home for another year, we did.

Answer 7

that depends. In california where we live now, as long as they turn 5 by December 3, she can enroll in kindergarten. But in Iowa, where we moved from your child had to be 5 by the time school started in August. So call the school district and they will tell you the rule for your state. And if you don't think she is mature enough it is fine to wait another year.

Answer 8

If she turns 5 in September, it would depend on if she is ready. Did she go to preschool? Can she hold a pencil and draw or scribble with it? Does she know her ABC's and 123's? It would not hurt to put her in regardless, but if she is not ready, don't have too high expectations for her. My son started Kindergarten when he was 4 1/2 and we had to hold him back, but he did not have the opportunity to go to preschool either.
If she is already 5, definately.
Either way, I would put her in, she will learn lots of great stuff.

Answer 9

If your child is already 5 and going to be 6 in september then you have to enroll your child...it's the law. If a child does not enter school by age 6 you could get in alot of trouble. If your child is 4 and going to be 5 in september, then it is your choice. Is your child on the slower side?? That is what you need to be asking yourself. If your child is capable of catching on and absorbing information well, then I say put her in kindergarten this year, why wait if your child is ready. I put my daughter in kindergarten this year when she was 4 (turned 5 in october) she's top of her class!! 2nd grade reading level :) It all depends on child and parent confidence. Good Luck!!

Answer 10

Only you can really answer this question. If she is emotionally ready, physcially able to do things like balance, hop and jump, and can use sissors, knows her alphabet, and numbers by rote, go ahead and send her...you can't really fail kindergarten. If you don't feel she's ready on any level keep her out another year. It's not like they'll put a note in her permanent record saying she waiting to enter kindergarten for a whole year. LOL

Answer 11

The cutoff date for kindergarten is December 1st. (at least in NYS) if a child is going to be 5 BEFORE December 1st, he or she is supposed to be going to kindergarten THIS September. If the child is born December 1st (like my brother was).... it would depend on the ability of the child---anything AFTER December 1st and the child waits until September 2008 for kindergarten