Starting School Early

Coming from a teacher i would go ahead and wait. If you wanted to you could try a private kindergarten. Many preschool centers have a private kindergarden for children to attend. Then if she does really well then you could see about her going into 1st grade next year.

Hi D. - Jennifer C. hit it right on - I think Montessories (sp??) would be the best thing. My nieces (3 & 7 yrs old) are in it and they are very advanced. They work with each child and don't go by grades (K, 1, 2, etc.)

Hi there!
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I have a very structured curriculum for children. Please feel free to visit my facility anytime.Call ###-###-####
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Hello, at first I was for her going to k but now I see her b-day is may so I double thought what I was going to say. My situation is a little different my son will be 5 in November shortly after school starts, and we have a DK which is early 5's. I have gone back and forth with it and decided to put him into k anyway despite his age. His preschool teacher thinks he will be ok although we are woried about him sitting still. Like your daughter my son is borred and won't sit still and gets in trouble because he knows so much. It is a gamble to make sure he can keep up with the others behaviorly but from what I have been told from other mothers the pre-k class only plays and has a good time. It doesn't make any sense to me to put him there to get borred and get in trouble what I was trying to avoid in the first place. Some of the prices you all pay for preschool and kindergarden man I would go broke. Our school system is awesome and they provide a universal preschool program free of charge to all coleman residents. Me personally I would just keep her home for a year work with her at home go to museums parks and teach her yourself. I did that with my oldest child she went to preschool at 3 and the year before kindergarden I kept her home she had learned all she could from them. She went on to do great in school and going into 8th grade she is an A-B student and an athlete. Sometimes the best education a child can get is from us and hands on activities. Good Luck

C.

Hi D.,
Just my opinion but I wouldn't rush her. I would look at different preschools maybe. My son is going to preschool this year and I looked at probably 7 or 8 different programs. They all were different. Some were more structed where some were more artistic. There was one that was on a farm and had less of a school room structure. If you have her go early she will be younger than other kids. It doesn't sound like much now but my brother hated being younger than all of his friends. He turned 18 at the end of July and when he graduated wasn't 18. They are young for only so long so don't rush it. Good luck.
Chris

I can second Jennifer T's sentiments. My son (5 this month) was very mad that he didn't get to go off to Kindergarten last year with his friends who are a year older. Intellectually, as he was on the level of the kids a year older in his preschool - his emotional level, however, was right on target for a 4-yr-old.
Get her involved with something outside of school to engage her interest and then encourage her to talk about her interests to her schoolmates. That way she's not holding herself apart from kids her age and yet exploring non-academic interests as well.

Hi D.,
I would recommend trying a different school. If she is in a preschool program at a daycare, they tend to not be as structured as a preschool program through your school district. I checked your profile and you live just a town over from me so you might consider Fenton's preschool program in the fall. The one I like the best is at North Rd. Ele. in the units behind the school. Call Southern Lakes park and rec and request info on the Wood St. preschool. It's not really pricy (around $350 a semester) and the teachers are great. It's very structured and is only 2-3 hours a few days a week. It sounds like the school she's in isn't very structured with activities if she's getting bored. You might also consider enrolling her in some of Southern Lakes other programs for kids. (No I don't work for them, just love the stuff they offer.) Also, Genesee county parks and rec has activities at the park in Linden south of town that are usually free or a very small fee (under $10). Good luck!

Perhaps you might look at getting her in a more challenging program. I am a former early childhood teacher and I found that when the kids were bored, they just did not have enough things to do that challenged their learning. Perhaps you could speak to the preschool director to find out what is going on. Perhaps you might need to do some research to find a more challenging program in your area. www.naeyc.org has the list of all the area accreditated preschools. This is the highest rating an early childhood program can get. There are several great ones in the area. My daughter goes to John Knox Presbyterian Preschool. It is NAEYC accredited and christian. My daughter loves it and is definitely not bored. Please give their director, Angel, a call at ###-###-#### if you'd like more info. Best of Luck, J. F.

You might see if they have a young 5's program that they would place her in or a different preschool program that is a bit more challenging for her. I would not recommend starting her at 4, even if she is advanced. I have been on both ends of it - I was 4 turning 5 when I started school and even though I was ready academically for it, it was not a good thing. My mom then made all my brothers be a full 5 before they started. As a teacher, I have had those young 5's in class and even though they were smart enough to handle the curriculum, socially and emotionally they had a hard time handling it.

If I were you, I'd not push her into K. See what other programs they have to offer and if they don't have any, ask to see what they would recommend.

J.

Hi D.~
Speaking ONLY from personal opinion (I was a young K) I wish my mom had waited the extra year. Not that I wasn't smart enough, I handled the load just fine. What I didn't like was always being younger than the rest of my class (dont mind it so much now...lol) I didn't get my license until my Jr. year while the rest of my friends were driving around. Not really a big deal, but worth saying.
~L.

Have you considered a Montessori preschool?
I used to work at a Montessori School in Ann Arbor. I must say that I was very impressed by the structure and set up and how learning seemed to happen effortlessly in that environment.

When i was in school I was a young 5 ... i turned 5 in sept. I didn't feel that i had any problems, yes i was younger but i didn't figure it out until like 7th grade lol but actually all through junior high and high school i didn't have a problem with it. I gradutated when i was 17 and i had friends from all ages that kept me busy. There was even some freshmen when i was a senior. I don't think friends stick around when it comes to age it seems like they stick around and form certain groups. Remember the farmers and the stuck ups lol Anyways back to my daughter ...... her birthday day is in nov. so she has a very late birthday... She started preschool when she was 2 in a 3 year old program then went onto another year of preschool. (headstart) She was very smart for her age and still is. When i went to go sign her up for kindergarten.... the teacher talked about puttin her into young 5's because of her age. I thought about it but i also thought she would be in trouble all the time cause she was smart for her age and she would be taught the same things over again. She is now goin in the fourth grade and oh boy has it been a struggle especially third grade. She seems to be finding herself more concern about making friends instead of ... her work. Her report card was still filled with x's in needs improvement on classroom behavior and all that stuff. Where my first grader (last year) had none and she is in the normal age limit for her. So now i sit here and wonder was it tooo early. I think it depends on the child and the parents. We all know what she has to do to apply herself at stuff she already knows. It just depends on how much ur involved with ur child in school. Some parents work alot and jsut don't have the time. I found myself working the past 2 years but in first grade i had all the time in the world with her. So this coming year ... i will be sittin down with her in the evening time more to talk with her about school. And see what happens No matter what the decision u make..... sometimes it just takes alot more work to reach where u want ur child to be. good luck

I have a now 4th grader who has had similar issues. He learned to read in preschool and memorized the multiplication table in Kindergarden...my best advice would be to talk to the preschool teacher (and future teachers) and make sure they are doing things to keep your daughter challenged. There are little things they can do to tweak projects, assignments, etc. that can challenge her. For example, in Kindergarden sometimes my son would read a book to class instead of the teacher reading the book, or starting in Kindergarden and each year thereafter he has a different list of spelling words that the rest of the class, or he did harder worksheets than the rest of the class. It can be very frustrating at times, but just make sure you stay involved in what she's doing in the class and it'll be okay. Don't be afraid to be an advocate for your child. If need be, talk to the principal and school counselor. As she gets older it'll get better. One thing you have to watch out for though is that they aren't excluding her from the other kids in order to keep her challenged because you want her to feel as if she's just a regular kid and fits in with everyone else - for example don't let them put her in the hallway to work by herself (they tried doing that with my son, but we told them they weren't allowed to do that).

One last thought I have (and sorry my response is so long) is try getting her involved in other things too besides just school. Our son takes piano lessons (he started right before he turned 4), he's on the school chess club (most schools have chess club starting in Kindergarden) and he's on a competitive gymnastics team.

GOOD LUCK!

I have had the same problem with public school. I have found a few school options that address her needs:

1) Montessori schools - the curriculum is personally geared towards your child's learning passions and caters to an inquisitive child

2) Warren Woods Christian School - has an academically challenging environment. My daughter is in the 4 year old preschool program this year. She can read at almost a 2nd grade level and they figured it out themselves. They are meeting her needs well. The kindergarten will offer her a challenge as well. It is pretty close to a public school 1st grade classroom academically, but less formal.

There are two public schools I checked out that I would recommend:

Messmore elementary in Utica or Mt. Clemens Montessori Academy in Mt. Clemens. Both use a Montessori type curriculum that is combined with some traditional schooling as well.

I would also have to recommend Montessori schools. Not only am a Montessori teacher, but my 3 children attend Montessori as well. The philosophy is great for many reasons - one being that the children are allowed to progress at his/her own rate. My 4 year old was reading this year, and her teachers encouraged this and continued to help her learn more. In fact, many of the 4 yr olds were reading by the end of the year. Many preschools are primarily play based with a goal of teaching children social skills. This is VERY important, but young children are capable of much more than the average preschool seems to give them credit for.
I would encourage you to look at some schools, and ask many questions to understand the school's philosophy. Unfortunately, not all Montessori schools are the same - some bear the name, but not entirely the philosophy.
Good luck.

Try looking into Montissouri (I can never spell it correctly) schools. My youngest went to one for awhile when he was 3 & 4 yrs old and loved it. The programs have a different way of teaching the kids and they work with each child's individual strengths and weaknesses instead of a set curricular for all of the kids like most public preschools, at least that was my experience anyway. Unfortunately, Montissouri schools aren't free programs, but, in my opinion, well worth the tuition, especially if your daughter is bored with regular preschool.

My son is now 7, going into 3rd grade, and he was actually bored with the 2nd grade work because it was too simple for him. He was doing basic Multiplication facts when he was just 6 years old. Most 6 year olds are still trying to figure out basic Addition and Subtraction.

Granted that his birthday is in October, but he was the youngest in his Kindergarten class and he was tested first, because they originally wanted to put him into the "young 5's" class (they called it Begindergarten)

It really depends on the child. You have to see where she is socially as well as academically. I started preschool at 3 and went on to Kindergarten at 4. I graduated a month after I turned 17 and college a week after turning 21. I have always been ounger than everyone and the only time it really had an effect on me is when it came to going out and partying in college. Everyone else was able to go to clubs and I wasn't because most the clubs were 21 and up. All this said, you have to determine if your daughter is ready socially and academically. I was also looking to put my son up a grade he is 3 turning 4 next week and has already gone through preschool once so I'm not really excited about him repeating hte same material when he could move up and learn new things. I think montessori may be the best way to go, unfortunaltely I can't aford it.