Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

IMO it depends on the child. You know your child best, but I will say I have a late Nov b-day so I was always one of the youngest in my class. It never effected me.

DS would not have been ready socially if it was full day. Half day no problem. he is shy in big groups and takes time to adjust to new situations. He only just turned 5 and had a horrible time adjusting to full day kindergarten. Plus, they expect a lot of independence in K and DS is NOT the independent type. On the other hand he would have done very well intellectually. He had all the necessary skills, knew all the colors of the rainbow plus at 18mos, he could write his name very well before 3, new all his letters at 3 and the sounds they made by 3.5. He has been counting to 20 since 3 and writing his numbers, adding and subtracting since 3.5. These are skills he would need for Kindergarten and he has had them all since less than 4 yrs old.

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

Generally yes. NEVER thought I would hold DS back (he is 10/18) because he is academically very advanced. Then he actually entered preschool and I realized he is socially immature. At this point, I'm planning to hold him back.

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

I think every kid is different. Only you will know if your child is ready.

One of my closest friends was born Dec 31 and she was younger than everyone in her grade. I also had another good friend who was Sept of the earlier year. For the longest time, I wondered why she was in my grade and not a higher grade.

DH is a Nov bday. He was held back in kindergarten because he was only 4. Eventually he skipped a grade. He is in his right calendar year with other people in his grade now. He does always seem like he is the youngest. He graduated hs when he was 17, graduated college when he was 21, graduated med school at age 25, etc.

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

My nephew is 10/24. He was 4 for over a month in Kindergarten.
It was a bit of a struggle at first, but, he "caught on" and did OK.
He's in 2nd grade now, one of the youngest in his class, but, is doing fine.

It depends on the child. If DS was born before the cut off, he'd be in Kindergarten right now and he is simply not ready. I'm so thankful for his Jan. Bday.

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

I agree it depends on the child. I think it also depends on whether they went to preschool/daycare. My son is 4 now and just started Kindergarten this year. He turns 5 in late November. He is doing great so far. He was in full time daycare and preschool so I knew he was OK with the long day and the classroom routine. I know that if I held him back a year, he would be so bored. But then we also have a friend with a son that is 6 months older than my DS and he started Kindergarten too and is having a really hard time. My DD was also born in late November and I will see how it goes with her but so far I plan on sending her to Kindergarten at age 4.

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

I don't

I teach 1st grade (In queens) and I just looked at my list and 10 of 28 students are 5 right now.

I really do not notice it being an issue, because most went to kindergarten (and most even Prek). Obviously, it also depends on your child. some children are just not mature enough.

Message edited 9/23/2011 10:00:16 PM.

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

I was 4 when I started k. My bday was end of December. The only trouble I had was when 2 boys got left back in the 6 th grade they were almost 2 years older than I was, certain things they spoke about was way over my head

My ds will also be 4 and he will be starting k on time.

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

Message edited 9/23/2011 9:59:46 PM.

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

Depends on the kid. Jaidy is 4 (will be 5 in Nov) and she was more than ready to start kindergarten

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

DD does not make the cutoff for our district (four weeks late). Academically and socially, she is beyond ready. Maturity-wise, we're on the fence. She is the class clown and extremely stubborn and independent. I almost feel that she could benefit from staying back a year.

A friend recently pointed out to me that you need to take puberty into consideration too. Ex. girls going through menstruation a year earlier, etc. It made me think!

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

Jacob just started Kindergarten. He will turn 5 at the end of November. DH and I felt that he was ready. He was also evaluated by the school psychologist and he thought that he was ready too. It really depends on the child.

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

Yes and No, My oldest DD is a late november birthday so she's always the youngest in her class. I debated for a while about sending for to K at 4 or not. She was 3 months into K when she turned 5.

What I did was I spoke with her teachers and voiced my concerns. While yes, my child was very smart some simple social skills she had yet to master due to her being the youngest in the class. So with my help and the teachers she made it through. up until she was half way through 1st grade i still continued to wonder if i made the right decision. then it just all seemed click for her. She's always been smart academically it was the social aspect of it for us. now with her being in 6th grade and being on the honor roll, I know that I made the right decision in putting her in, since if i waited she would have been the oldest in the class and probably bored.

Also, as i was told by the school, if you put them into K and it's really a struggle, you can always ask for them to be held back so they are on the right development track.

Defintly you have to keep in contact with the teachers/school to see where exactly your child is fitting in.

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

I feel, as a former 1st grade teacher, it's better to put them in and hold them back in k if it's necessary. I've known a few held back and the kids didn't even notice at that age. They make friends and they won't even remember. The Older they get the harder it is to hold back.

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

My DD is born in October like your DS and she just began Kindergarten. She is doing great academically but is having a hard time socially. She doesn't know how to break the ice with a group of kids the way an older child would. She is intimidated at recess with 70 Kindergarteners. From what she tells me, she sits out alone by herself at recess....that makes me sad. I am calling the teacher on Monday to see if she can facilitate some kind of connection with my DD and some other little girls in the class.

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

For my DS, yes. No way would he be ready at 4. In some areas academically he is very advanced, others he is far behind. And his social skills need a lot of work. His birthday is 4 days after the cut-off, and people tell me all the time I could fight to get him in a year early. But in his case, I don't think it's a good idea at all.

It depends upon the child though. If he's doing well in prek and there are no academic or social concerns about him starting next year, I would send him. I think his social development is what you need to think about as well as the academics. Can he mix well with kids who are older and bigger?

Message edited 9/24/2011 9:37:43 AM.

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

I'm another going with the thought that it really depends on your child. Growing up, I had 3 siblings with December birthdays (the 2nd, 4th and 12th) and the cutoff back then was December 15th. All started school at age 4 and all went off to college as 17 year olds. All did exceptionally well. My other brother was an August birthday and started school on time at age 5. Well, after his first year of K, my parents chose to have him repeat K again. It's what worked best for him. He would have been a candidate for waiting a year. So it really does depend.

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

It depends on the kid.

My oldest has a November birthday and I was on the fence for a LONG time whether or not to send him, even though I was a kindergarten teacher at that time and had been for 10+ years. It's really hard to be object when it's YOUR child! He was academically ready and his self help skills were better than average, but he was socially immature. I finally decided to send him, and I feel I made the right decision.

He is in 3rd grade now and the social stuff is completely caught up.

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

It depends on the child. I was November and one of the youngest kids in the class and it was never a problem.

Plus, nothing is permanent. You can always have them repeat K or pull them out and put them back into pre k. My cousin did that.

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

Once I knew I was pregnant and was having an October baby, I knew THEN that I would NOT put my child in kindergarten until he/she was 5. Children often don't have the readiness skills for a lot of what schools require them to do, so if they're younger, they're at a disadvantage. I've seen it first hand as a teacher. The fall babies are the ones who almost always had the most trouble in school both academically and socially.

I always ask, "What's the rush?" The extra year of waiting has SOOOOO many benefits from social ones, to physical, to developmental.

ETA: There are studies showing that children who are held back have more success than their peers who start at 4. I can't quote the exact study, but I did read about it while pregnant. My principal gave it to me to read.

Message edited 9/24/2011 12:39:41 PM.

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

My kids are younger, but being in the schools, I can say that kindergarten has a lot more expectations than it did when we were kids. I would wait and give him the opportunity to definitely be ready, when the time comes.

Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?

Thanks for all of the different perspectives. I'll know more in a few years.

I was the youngest in my grade (Dec 15th) and I didn't have a problem so I guess I'll wait and see.