would you put your 4 yr old into kindergarten?

Question

I have a daughter whos three, shell be four next August. Shes extremely bright, and amture for her age. She can already count to 15 in spanish, tell you are name and ask you how you are. I try to teach them (her and my son) by telling them things and just looking for learning opportunities. I believe shes board in her current 3yr old class and this will worsen the older she gets. Would it be wise to put her into kindergarten a year early?

im not pushing her! she is bored to death and the teacher is having a hard time keeping her occupied. they send her to the 4yr old class 3 days a week. i have asked the administrator and about 3 teachers and they all believe she will be fine socially, but i guess maybe the effects might show up later in high school?

Answer 1

I'm assuming she is in pre-school? I would ask the teacher what she thinks, as well as asking the kindergarten. Some schools require a certain age, like the one I work at. They don't accept kindergarteners until they are 5.
You can also look at what the requirements are for her to graduate kindergarten. If you think these are realistic for her and she socializes well I would say go ahead.

Answer 2

No. My daughter was also very advanced in academics and wanted to go to school at 4 years old. She wasn't able to because the cutoff date was 6 weeks earlier and the only way she could go early was if the Preschool Director approved it, and she blocked it.

I realized after she was in school that even though she was very intelligent and was able to grasp subject matter 2 to 3 years ahead of the other children she wasn't more mature socially.

Social skills are so important. If she wasn't socially at the same general level she would have been singled out and teased way more than normal. I'm very glad we waited.

And I can see now that if she had been two years younger than a lot of the other kids she would have been physically less mature as well. Its hard to be the only child entering puberty or not entering puberty in a class of peers. I don't know about your geographic area but a lot of kids in kindergarten at the time were already 6 and turning 7! She would have only turned 5 at the time. Kindergarten wouldn't have been too much trouble but in 7th-9th grade it would have been a huge issue for her.

Teach her as much as you want at home. The school might assign her to Kindergarten based on her age, but allow her to go to a 1st or 2nd grade class for math or reading. But she would still be with kids her own age and that will make it easier for her socially.

Good luck. I know very intelligent children can be draining because they always want to know more! Their thirst for knowledge is never quenched.

Just my opinion. Always go with your instincts!

Answer 3

That is something your probably going to want to consult several kindergarten teachers about.

From there they will probably test your childs ability and tell you for sure if your child is ready to be in kindergarten a year early.

If your child truly is smart enough to be a year ahead of her age group you definitely want to put her in a more advanced class. You cannot and should not waste her talents if she is advanced for her age group.

But if she is not ready for an advanced class you do not want to put her in just yet because she might get behind and the effect could get worse over time (the same thing you are concerned about right now where she is)

So the best thing to do is consult kindergarten teachers and go from there.

Answer 4

You should look into a ECE Center or Montessori, these would better fit her needs and each child is looked at on as a individual. She may be a mature 4 year old (almost :) ) but she is still 4. I woudl wait a year and if anything take her out of pre-k and let her do somethings she wants to do for a year. If you are not home with her than you can find a Nanny who has the time to do those and you could find someone witha ECE degree who could better equip her with the knowledge that she thirst, :)
Hope that helps.

Answer 5

Speaking as someone who as a 4 year old son I would say wait and let her enjoy being a child. He's in an excellent family daycare where he's learning everything you would in school but without the restrictions and requirements that come along once you start school. I just feel like children should be children as long as possible. Maybe check around at other daycares/preschool or consider enrolling in other classes to expound on what she's learning so when she does go to school she'll really be ready. I hope this helps.

Answer 6

I wouldn't put her in kindergarten at that age. Our son went to pre K. When he ,an Oct 1st B day, was almost 5 we put him in Kindergarten. He did very well academically all through his school years. However, graduating at age 17, he was younger than the other graduates. He should have started school a year later so as not to miss the social life of children his age. He is now 19, already has a year in the Air National Guard and is going to college. But, he is more comfortable with young adults one and two years younger. Don't send children to school ahead of their time, let them enjoy their childhood! They grow up fast enough!

Answer 7

My daughter was 4 at the beginning of her kindergarten year. She turned 5 in September of that same year. She done very well. Will your school accept a 4 year old into kindergarten? My daughter was allowed to go at 4 because her b-day was before the cut off date.
edit I agree with the person above me! If there is a montesorri school in your district, she would greatly benefit from it! They are amazing schools, and teach all aspects of life.

Answer 8

My daughter is very smart as well, but I would NOT put her in kindergarten until 5. She needs to be with children her age and she is still developing her social skills and other tasks she will need to know before 5. My daughter knows 30 + signs, counts to 20, and talks extremely well, but like I said I would NOT push the issue. It would be different if she was in the 5th grade skipping to 6th. she is still too little and has a lot of growing to do.

change preschools and see how that goes

Answer 9

My 2 cents, you can spend them how you want to:

1-Find a more challenging pre-k curriculum, like the Abeka Curriculum. We teach that at my preschool, and it really is awesome, just watching how much they learn, and how beyond prepared for Kindergarten they are.....especially the K-4 program
2-Emotionally/Socially she may not be ready. She will be the littlest (maybe) and the youngest in her class. Last to develop, last to get drivers license, that kind of stuff......not a big deal, and not enough to say NO, but something to think about
3- Are her fine motor skills in line for Kindergarten? Can she tie her shoes, write her name, write her letters, etc, play with lacings, color neatly, thread beads?

ok....end result: Try to find a center that uses the Abeka Curriculum when she turns 4-they teach writing/phonics, and by the end of the year, they can read simple books, count to 100, count object to 100, write all their letters/numbers, etc.. It would be better to have her over-prepared, than to have her held back for any reason.

Answer 10

I have to agree with AFRET73 I was put into kindergarten a year early, I did very well academically but I was always the youngest & smallest kid. When I graduated I was 17 and had a hard time renting an apartment for college because I could not get a lease agreement with out my Dad signing for me. I am fine and happy now but highschool was probably harder then it really needed to be for me.