We had our identical twin girls tested for Kindergarten readiness. They will be 5 September 2nd 2008 and we were told they are "Kindergarten Ready". I've heard a lot about starting kids too early who were not developmentally ready but what about delaying Kindergarten a year for kids who are developmentally ready? Is there some negative consequence to doing that? Will they be bored? I've been at home with them since they were born and they will have had one year of preschool (two days a week for three hours a day).
Girls do better when they start early than boys do. They are more social and mature. It will be fine! Plus, who wants to be turning 18 at the VERY beginning of your senior year! I was 4 when I started K and it was awesome, and so was graduating at 17!! They will be fine! I think the harder decision is if you're going to split them into two classes or keep them together :~) They'll be just fine!
I say try it, as everyone else has said, it depends on your children. If you feel they are not ready and doing well, then have them do 2 years of K. That is waht we did with my son, he was and is one of the smartest, but maturity wise was not so much. He is now the oldest in his class and still excels in academics and bordom has never been a problem.
my sons bday is aug 31 and my school teacher mom wanted me to wait a year to start him in school. he had been in preschool and was shy but very smart. he also wanted to do homework with his sister who is just a year ahead of him in school.
against my moms wishes i started him at 5, well actually a couple weeks before his 5th bday. he is now in 7th grade and i dont regret my decision. like you mentioned i think he would have been bored and not stimulated enough. (he is in honors eng, algebra and stays on the honor roll)
you are the best judge of your children, go with your instinct. also remember that if you wait they will be some of the oldest kids in there class and i think that can be a negative, too.
My son's birthday is in July so he had just turned 5 before school started. Being a boy as well - they arent as mature as girls so when the first parent teacher conferences came around his teacher said he was having a little difficulty - maturity wise and couldnt sit still. Well that never changed (even today being 14) but teachers especially in Kindergarten really watch kids to see if they have the basics and will be okay moving on - that is why they have kindergarten - to have them get to know how school works and get them ready. My son by the end of the school year thrived and did have some difficulties in grade school but he is in honors classes now and will graduate at 17. His sister was the opposite - born in December - she was almost 6 starting Kindergarten and she loves being the oldest and it was an advantage to her to have her wait......I personally would enroll them and keep in contact with the teacher to see how they progress and adjust. Worst thing would be for them to repeat.......
my birthday is sept 18th and i was 5 turning 6 right away. i think it worked out great, i wasn't even aware at the time of course.
i would totally disagree with the poster who said "who wants to be turning 18 right when school starts..." i liked it! and i wasn't even close to the oldest kid in my class either. a couple of my friends turned 18 before the school year even started since they have late summer birthdays.
my daughter's birthday is oct 6 and i'll have her wait if at all possible.
you can always do a 5-full day preschool program and have her be very ready next year.
good luck!
A.
My son was born in November and missed the cut off to start Kindergarten when he was 5 so he turned 6 shortly after starting K. For him, this was good because he wasn't emotionally ready at 5 although academically he was fine.
If they were deemed ready and you think they can handle it (which having been in preschool, they probably can) then send them. Girls do develop emotionally quicker than boys do too.
If they tested ready, chances are that they are. It's amazing how much kids can learn and retain at such a young age. If they need to, they can always do kindergarten again next year or a junior first (if your school has that option). but it sounds like they are ready. If you hold them back, they may not be able to skip a whole grade, but may feel bored with the one they are in if you keep them at home another year.
I was really apprehensive with how my daughter would handle kindergarten. She's now flourishing in 1st grade and I feel that she knows more than me sometimes. :)
My younger son (now 8) has an end of July birthday. When he was in preschool alot of my friends were keeping their boys back (I've heard this is more common with the boys--more immature). I went ahead and sent mine on to kindergarten. The first two years were the hardest. In both kindergarten and first grade, up until the first reporting period, he was basically failing. But by the middle of the school year, he was right up with his classmates. Now that he is in the third grade, he has had no trouble staying up with the other kids. My son was also very shy and slow to warm up to new situations (he still is, sort of, but much better.) I think this whole thing depends on your daughters' maturity levels. The younger girls I see in both of my boys classes seem to do just fine. They mature a lot quicker than the boys and don't seem to experience the same issues that I did. Just thought I'd share my story with you. Go with your heart. They will do fine with whatever you ultimately decide. I thought I would regret it(when we were having trouble) but I feel I made a good decision in his case. Just don't panic if you decide to send them and it doesn't feel like it's working out. Things always seem to work out in the long haul. Plus how wonderful that they have each other to fall back on. Good luck.
Some parents have deliberately delayed sending their children to Kindergarten until they were six so that they would have an advantage over other children that were younger and they would get better grades later on. This probably works for boys who are slower to develop verbal and social skills than girls. As an alternative, have you considered home schooling? If you want to socialize the girls have you considered organizations such as Camp Fire Girls and Girl Scouts, sports (soccer, softball, martial arts), dance (ballet and tap), group music lessons? Kindergarten of today was like first grade when I was in school in the fifties. It is an academic Kindergarten now with emphasis on letters, numbers, words, and is usually just one hour shorter that regular classes. If you want the best education for them and you are self-disciplined, then I would recommend home schooling. If not, then if your girls have good social skills and are ready, let them go to school. If you can afford it, many private schools offer Kindergarten and some day care centers also offer a full Kindergarten class. If you can, sit in on a Kindergarten class and see what goes on during a class. It might give you a better idea of what that school can offer and if you think your girls are ready. Good luck.
Ditto to what the other respondents said. Also, it depends on emotional readiness and maturity. Each child is different. My girl started Kindergarten at 4 almost 5 years old. She turned 5 a couple months after she started Kindergarten. She was ready brain wise and emotionally and tested for it and was approved to go to Kindergarten. In her class, there are 5 year olds AND 6 year olds. The older ones are not necessarily better than the younger ones....I've asked my daughter's teacher. It's all about development and maturity. My daughter performs well for being late-born and younger in "age." She is not at a loss or ability or for learning what they are being taught. Socially, she is fine too compared with the older ones. It all depends on what you think is appropriate for your child. For my daughter, we went ahead and put her in Kindergarten because she would have gotten bored in Preschool. Her teacher also echoed the same viewpoint, and in MY daughter's case, she needed to be challenged more and was eager to learn more on a different level. Yes, I home-schooled her too, even if she was in preschool....I actively taught her other things at home too. Still, I believe she benefits by being in Kindergarten at her age, and she is happy. That is what is most important as well. In comparison to her/our friends who have children the same age as my girl, but who are still in Preschool....my daughter has developed more and has gained more skills/academic ability than those who were still in Preschool.
Keep in mind also, that in Kindergarten they will be learning other things not gained in Preschool...it is a different "routine", different expectations, different levels of "listening and following direction" and in a more organized fashion. Kindergarten is a "prep" for 1st grade. At least in my daughter's school. Thus, Kindergarten is not the "same" as Preschool. But Pre-K or Jr.-K may be more similar to Preschool.
As an alternative, perhaps send your girls to Preschool on an everyday basis and for more than just 3 hours per day, versus only twice a week. They would benefit from this I'm sure, as Kindergarten is "everyday" and this would serve to get them used to the "daily" schedule. Twice a week is fine... but if you want to prep them for more, and for Kindergarten, then going to preschool everyday would allow them and you, to adjust to this and prep them for later. This is what we did with our daughter, and in fact she wanted to go to Preschool everyday and she really enjoyed it and she got more out of it than if she were going only twice a week. Then also, she understood what "going to school everyday" was like, and by the time she started Kindergarten, she was ready for that schedule.
Again, each child is different... just do what you think is best in your family, for your children. Just wanted to share what we have done. Good luck,
