Pre-K - Columbus,GA

I honestly don't know any boys that start kindergarten at 5. Red shirting has become the norm. I wish the schools would just be more developmentally appropriate in their expectations.

Here they have preshool for age 3 -4. They are usually 2 - 3 days a week. My kids were also in education based daycares, so they learned the basics while there.

My daughter turned 6 a few weeks after starting K. It's becoming the new norm and there is nothing wrong with it.

both of my sons started at age 6. BEST choice for active boys!
In my older son's case, his BD was 5 weeks past the cutoff & no exceptions were allowed in our district. He attended a very structured preschool which properly prepared him for KG.

With our younger son, his BD was 4 days before the cutoff. During the KG screening, his scores were at the top...but it took twice as long to complete the testing. This confirmed our fear of issues with focus/attention. He attended the district's PreKG program, & loved it!

I also find it interesting, that not only were most of the students boys, but that most of them were teachers' kids & 5yo too! All of these boys entered KG at age 6! Sooo, my sons & all these other boys are proof positive that waiting works wonders!

Both of my sons LOVED being the oldest in the class, especially when it comes to driving. (I love being able to set our own rules without having to battle other families' choices. It's great being able to lead & not have to fight peer pressure for my sons/us.)

I have several educator friends/family. Every single one of them swear by "waiting" & also state that when observing a class, they can immediately identify the younger vs the older kids. :)

I would look for a preschool option for him this year. Many smaller centers can either take a kid who will soon be 4 or can start a kid in a 3 yr old room and move him up later in the year.

My SS was almost 6 in K and did fine.

I've got one in 2nd grade in Georgia who has a birthday on September 11th. Your child will be one of the oldest in the class, but probably won't be the oldest. Red-shirting is very common in Georgia, especially with boys. So, it's likely that there will be some boys in your son's class that started Kindergarten after they turned 6 over the summer. Being the oldest doesn't hurt your child. They are usually more mature, better behaved, and ready for the routine of school. My second child is a July birthday, so he is one of the youngest in his class. I can see a huge difference in knowledge/performance between the two of them - after all the oldest had a whole other year in school (he did private K when he was turning 5 and went to public K when he was turning 6). The older one could follow directions better, sit still longer, knew how to read, was very advanced in math, had better penmanship. I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone to tell you that having an older child is a bad thing. But as they get older, I see the edge that my first son had over the second son by being the oldest in the class vs. the youngest is minimizing. There was a huge discrepancy in what each boy knew/was capable of in Kindergarten. Now in evaluating 1st grade, the gap isn't so large. I suspect by 3rd grade, there won't be any difference.

I remember when I was in school not knowing/caring who was oldest or youngest. It just didn't make a difference. We were all in the same grade. They only time I ever noticed (and hated being the youngest) when it was time to get a driver's license.

I have two September babies - one was always the oldest; the other always the youngest. The only problem we've EVER had is when it came time for them to drive! A lot of their friends were driving because other parents were letting their kids drive the minute they reached 16 - which meant they went through Driver's Education the minute they reached 15-1/2. Even though I think 16 is still too young to drive, I stood my ground and didn't let them even do Driver's Ed until they were 16. My kids were upset at first, but they understood and it's all good now!!!

So, as for the classroom through the years, we never had any problems. They fit in just fine either way.

Good luck!!

p.s. It's KINDERGARTEN!!

He'll be fine. It's good to be in class with kids your own age. He'll be fine especially since he'll be one of the oldest.

My son is the same way. He's going into 2nd grade and we haven't had any issues with it yet. We have to challenge him a little more at home and he's in the top level for reading and math, but fits in great with his classmates. We've been accused of red-shirting for sports, because he is tall though. I just explain that he's in the right grade for the cut-off. That said, he loves sports, so it's nice that he is bigger for that too. We thought about petitioning to get him into K a year earlier, but then I decided to see how it goes. I'm happy with my decision. I think he would have been fine either way though!

Your son will be one of the oldest, but not by much. October tends to have them most birthday of any month (not much else to do in January?). He's not going to stand out, and chances are he will actually be more mature and do very well.

It depends on the child but on a whole I think that being the oldest in the class is an advantage. They are typically more mature, can adjust better to the routine and generally are more perceptive. If my oldest had been born a month later than she was we would have held her back a year and she would have been 6 when she started kindergarten but she needs the structure of the classroom and did great being one of the youngest in her class.

it is good to be the oldest.. the youngest kids struggle in class.

put him in 3 year old preschool this year. he will have fun.. do crafts.. play games.. sing songs.. he gets an extra year to be a kid.

We started pre-k at age 2 but one of mine will be 6 starting kindergarten due to a birthday. Being too young, like an early 5, was awful.

My son is the oldest in his class and there are no issues, no worries, nothing to fear. In fact, the teachers often use the older aged students as the leaders in the class, this is a good self esteem builder. Do what you can at home to have a good time and learn things by going on outings and learning by doing. Now a days school is more sitting and less exploring, I think that type of an environment is better for older children anyhow.

Well in my State, per public school, Kindergarten is for 5 years old. Or those who will be turning 5, per the cut-offs.
Although yes, some parents have their son, start later. As is sometimes common with boys. So those boys, would be 5 when starting Kindergarten, but then, turning 6, at some point during their Kindergarten year.

I have a boy and girl.
Both born late.
Both made the cut-off to enter Kindergarten... and so at 4 they entered Kindergarten, and then turned 5, later in the Fall.
And both my kids, did perfectly fine. They had no problems.
Both my kids then, were 5 then turned 6, while in 1st grade.

Sorry but I don't think I understand your question. Your Subject line is "Pre-K." But you said that "he has to wait until he is almost 5 next year, to start school here in Ga."
So, why can't he start Kindergarten at 5 years old?

We were in a similar situation with my son. My son's birthday is 8/20, the cutoff for kindergarten is 8/31. School where we live starts the latter part of July. So he would have been 4 going on 5 when kindergarten started. They say boys have a harder time starting kindergarten when they are young. They do better when they are atleast 5.5. In the end, my husband and I felt we should wait an extra year and even though he met the cutoff by 9 days, we didn't want him to start kindergarten that young. Boy and I relieved we did this! He's in 3rd grade now and was diagnosed with ADHD in kindergarten. I feel we made the best decision for him.

Now my daughter shares his birthday (8/20). She just turned 4. We face the same dilemma next year with her. However, my husband does not feel she will need to wait the extra year. I am still undecided.

I have a friend that has 2 boys with birthdays in September and October and missed the cutoff by a few weeks. They purposely chose schools that allow kids that miss the cutoff to test early for kindergarten. She did the exact opposite and pushed her kids into school, even though they were young.

I really feel that especially boys, are better off waiting. Think about all the other things. He'll be one of the first kids driving, not being driven around by his older friends. He will be more developed to play sports. He won't be 17 graduating from High School. He won't be one of the youngest entering High School. Lot's of benefits to waiting and following the cutoff.