Considering Half-day Private Kindergarten or Holding Back 5Year Old, Need Advice

This is a very common issue for boys. I would recommend holding him out of kinder for a year and keeping him in pre-k. Check with local churches and even the school district about different pre-k programs. Lots of kids are 6 when they start kinder- he won't be unusual. It is a better choice than having problems all year and possibly having the school hold him back. My neighbor went thru this and he is in kinder now and doing great. Extra pre-k was definitely the right choice for him.

Hi,
My daughter turns 5 in june and we had the option to send her to kindergarten or Prek-5. I really struggled with the decision. Most of the kids that would be in her kindergarten class would be 8-10 months older. Many moms kept telling me that she was "ready".....well, yes, she was extremely bright but I wanted her to be more than just "ready". I wanted her to be at the top of her class and to experience success early on developing that attitude. Also, an educator gave me the best advice...and this is for you also....she said that she hears alot of moms say they wish they would have held their child back a year and that she never hears a mom say that they wish they wouldn't have held their child back......That sealed the deal for me personally. So my daughter is attending Legacy Christian Academy preK-5 class this fall. good luck with your decision. don't worry about what other people think...do what is right for your son!

There is a great Kindergarten at Grace Evangelical Free Church in Allen. The school is a preschool & kindergarten program. Check out their website at www.grace-efc.org, then go to ministries and GEM Express Preschool & Kindergarten. My daughter goes there for preschool and it is a great atmosphere with a really great staff.

Good luck!

Hi, this is a hard decision to make. We struggled with the same question with our daughter. Her birthday is in August, so she is right on the border of eligibility. In the end, we decided another year of pre-school would be best for her. (At the time, we were in First Baptist pre-school program plus full day care. LOVED IT!)

With her Kindergarten year almost over, we are 100% certain it was the right decision for her. She has done fantastic this year! The extra year of "maturity" really made all the difference in the world.

Good luck with your decision, I'm sure whatever you decide will be the best thing for your child.

I didn't think my daughter was ready for a 7 hour a day class when Kindergarten sign-up came around. We couldn't afford any of the private schools which offer half-day kindergarten so we ended up choosing to homeschool, but I understand it's not for everyone.

I've recently heard lots about having children wait for kindergarten until they're six & it seems a really smart option. There's tons of information about it on the web & all the reasons to wait seem like great ones.

Good luck in making your decision!

Hi K.,
I'm also originally from california. I was born and raised in northern calif!! I do miss it but love texas too. Do you think that your son is acting out b/c of changes recently? If that's the case I don't know if I would hold him back. I know that typically boys mature slower than girls but perhaps going to kindergarten with a routine and schedule enforced by other adults would help him. Sometimes peer pressure does the trick too. Academically, is he on track or do you think that he could benefit from another year of pre-K? you said in your post that he is difficult to control. I don't know anything about your son or how he is acting so please don't take this the wrong way but have you spoken to your pediatrician about his behaviour? perhaps something medical or psychological is influencing his behavior. My daughter is in pre-k 3 days a week, 9am-2pm. its a perfect time for her. you could look into that option. there are alot of private schools around. we're in mckinney so that might be too far for you to drive. but if you're interested take a look at concordia christian academy. we love it! it is a very nuturing, warm learning environment. good luck to you.

as a former pre-k and k teacher i would say send him through pre-k for another year. these days kindergarten is a very important foundation and i would hate for him to miss valuable learning time dealing with behavior issues. i would not recommend keeping him home b/c he needs to get used to the structure, scheduling and socialization of school. if you plan to send him to a public school pre-k i would get in contact with them now and work together with the school counselor to try to make the year as successful as possible. she could give you ideas for helping him deal with transitions, control his impulses and maybe have a behavior plan developed before the year starts so he knows what to expect.