Kindergarten Age Cut-off

Hi D.,

Our son turns 5 in October. We just went through this situation. Three months ago, we moved from Hawaii where the cut off is Sept., so up until our move, we thought he'd be almost 6 before entering Kinder.

We enrolled him in a great preschool and talked with the Director about a strategy to determine if he is ready or not. We placed him in a class that would have kept him in pre-school one more year. The Director and his teacher evaluated him regarding his readiness to move into Pre-K for three weeks - or until they had a pretty good idea.

They met with us to tell us that he is definitely ready to move into Pre-K. To hold him back would mean that he'd be worlds apart from the other kids in the class.

So, he transitioned (a one week transition - I love his preschool) into Pre-K and actually thinks he is the smartest kid because he skipped a grade! LOL. Hey, we're leveraging that a bit. He's become much more focused on writing and reading.

If he is in preschool, I'd talk with the director and his teacher. If not, I'd talk with the Kindergarten director at the school. My guess is that you will see that if we follow the general age groupings, our kids fall within that spectrum. And I agree with you, if he repeats Kinder, no big deal.

I think you have to go by the child, not a general statement that 4 is too early for kindergarten.

My son will be 4 and turn 5 one month after beginning kindergarten. He's done a summer and full school year of preschool in a really awesome preschool. He'll be attending the same school for kindergarten. They said he's ready-perhaps a bit immature but there is quite a ways until August, but academically he's ready.

As a parent, I think he's ready for kindergarten and I am very excited. So evaluate your child and IMO, if they are writing, spelling some and recognizing some words then Kindergarten could be the next step.

If all those things are still foreign to your child, then kindergarten would not be the best choice. And if your preschool is not teaching those things on a regular and consistent basis..change schools!

Dear D.,
I am a teacher and a mom. My school district has the same cutoff date. I think you need to think about your child and what you think he is ready for. Is he ready for sit down and learn type of school (kindergarten isn't what we remember, you know) or is he still just wanting to play. It's totally up to you when you start him. After all Kindergarten isn't actually required only HIGHLY recommended. If you do choose to start him because he is ready, most likely he will do just fine. If you have any doubt then trust your mommy instincts. There are advantages in being in the older group of the class especially with today's high expectations and challenging learning standards. Hope this helps.

Hi,

I'm a teacher and I've seen many 4 yr. olds in the kindergarten classroom. A few of them were ready - many of them were not. It depends on the individual child. There are three main factors for readiness: social skills, motor skills, and academic readiness. Do you feel your child will be able to recite and write the alphabet, say letter sounds, and connect the written letter to the phoneme (letter sound) by this fall? Many 4 year olds do grasp these concepts - it usually just takes a little longer - which means more parental involvement (it would really help if you could be in the classroom). Social skills, though, are a BIG hurdle for 4 year olds in the classroom. It's just hard to sit and focus for long periods of time at that age. Motor skills (using scissors, playing ball, holding a pencil, etc.) are important too - because your child will have an easier time with everything else if they have control over these skills. There are benefits to waiting a year for kindergarten - maturity is a major component in how successful a child is in the classroom. How high can frustration levels get before they hinder your child? With all of that said, remember that kindergarten is optional. Waiting a year could be very beneficial (and it's easier to wait a year than have him/her repeat a grade).

I was one of those children that started kindergarten when I was 4 and turned 5 a few months into the school year. While academically I was fine and in fact advanced, emotionally I don't think it was the right choice. My parents have said many times over when I got older that they wished they had waited. My niece also started at 4, turning 5 during the school year. In the end they held her back. My sister now wishes she'd waited as well.
It is better to wait that extra year then make them repeat the grade. Emotionally making them repeat a grade could be a horrible thing for them to have to handle.
My son falls only a few days after the cut off and I could technically ask to have him enter early but I don't plan to.
It really is less about academics and more about maturity of the child.
You can always start now teaching your child all the basics, alphabet and number recognition out of order, colors, shapes, days of the week, months of the year. I recommend going to Lakeshore which is an amazing teacher supply shop and pick up a couple things to play with at home.
Don't rush your child! They do learn. Being in a hurry to put them in a classroom doesn't speed things up.

Every teacher I spoke to said keep your son at home an extra year. So I did and it was a good decision. He has many many male friends who turned 6 after September-December. If it's a boy, keep him hme-girls are a different story.

Hi, I dont know what school district you go to, but in the Poway Unified- they have something called PEPP- Poway extended preparedeness geared only for summer through fall birthdays. My son is a November birthday and i put him thru pepp, its like a 2 year kindergarden. He is now in first grade and is at the top of his class. He goes to Garden Road School in Poway, you can check out the website under pepp and it will give you more information. See if your school offers anything like that or maybe he can go to a poway school for a year or so. I also have a 2 year old October birthday which i plan on putting in pepp also. Its like a gift of time. I highly reccomend it.

I have several friends who started their kids on the earlier side and now they say they wish they would have started them later. One is a girl now in the 4th grade (her bday is in October so she turned 5 in Kindergarten). Her mom is wondering if she should now hold her back because she is just emotionally younger than the others and struggling a bit more. My other friend has a boy who is now in high school - he does fine, but she said most of the other boys his year are older and that has made it tougher for him in sports.
I think the tendancy is leaning towards waiting. My daughter's birthday is in November and I plan on having her do 3 years of preschool so she will be turning 6 in the start of kindergarten.
Trust your instincts.
Hope this helps.
M.

I have to tell you that I was glad that I did not have to decide your difficult decision. My son went to 2 1/2 years of preschool and was already 5 when he started kindergarten. I see quite a few 4 year olds turning 5 in his class when I volunteer there and they do seem to struggle a bit. Sorry to say I also see the boys having a much harder time than the girls. I am glad that we waited and his growth has been amazing. I just know he would not be doing as well had we pushed to have him in school last year. We are going to do the same with my younger son whose birthday falls in July. My older son just loved the nuturing environment in preschool and now gets excellent report cards home from school. If you can wait, I would, especially in a public school where the student/teacher ratio is higher. good luck!

My daughter has an October birthday. We decided to put her into kindergarten at 4 because she seemed to us that to be ready and her preschool teachers reassured us that she was capable of the work/social requirements. I feel very fortunate, we were able to enroll her in kindergarten offered through her preschool (small class of 11 kids) and almost every other child is in the same boat with a late birthday. This fall she will join the other kids in the neighborhood public school and I think she will be ready.

This is a really difficult decision, and I know other people who decided not to send their kids until they were older. I would say, find other moms that are making the same decision in your neighborhood. And if you love your preschool teacher, trust what he/she is telling you about your child. They see so many kids, I think they will be fair in their assessments.

The age cutoff exists for a reason. If you stick with it, there will be other children turning 5 in the early part of the year. If your son has been to preschool, especially one with a "Pre-kindergarten" class for 4yo, he should be ready. If everyone delays their children so they can be the "smartest" in the class, we'll have 7yo in kindergarten instead of second grade. My niece is in a second grade class with 8.5-9yo kids and she is 7 (the correct age for second grade). It makes no sense in the end. Another factor is cost - one more year of preschool instead of no-cost public kindergarten. However, if you do not send your son to preschool, he will not be any better prepared at 6 than he is at 5. Talk to your school about requirements for kindergarten (generally knows all letters, numbers to 20, phone number, address, first and last name, sits for 5-15minutes, writes at least first name). The enrollment process starts 6mo in advance (now for fall). If your son does not meet the requirements, work with him and think hard about starting him at the school official recommended time. He'll only be 4 for about 2 weeks!

No, do not start your child so early. Every case I have seen resulted in stress for the child later...as in having to repeat a great when his/her friends kept moving forward -very traumatic. You have control when your kid starts school...use it well. Good luck. Ali

Hi D.,
As a former kingergarten teacher and now sah mom, I would suggest waiting if you have any doubts. Kindergarten has changed alot in recent years. The kids are asked to read by the end of the year. If they struggle at all, it makes the first grade year difficult. Boys also tend to mature later than girls so he may not be ready to sit still for as long as is required. I kept my youngest son home for the extra year and it was a great decission. He is now at the top of his class and has no trouble listening. I hope this helps.