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ChrisDee
My Girls
Member since 11/06 9543 total posts
Name:
Christine
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
Posted by InShock
Personally, I think the cut off for school should be Sept. 1st, so all kids starting school are 5.
That said, in my 1st grade class this year, there are at least 5 kids (of 19) who are still 5, and they run the gamut in terms of maturity and academics.
ITA
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Posted 9/24/11 2:04 PM  |
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PatsBrat
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Member since 10/06 2326 total posts
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Ms. Brat
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
Posted by KennysMommy
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.
The word OFTEN in the first sentence is the most important word you wrote. Not every kid falls into the disadvantaged group you spoke of, which is why I and many others believe it is a kid by kid decision.
My son's birthday is 11/13. He's in third grade and is at the top of his grade academically, not just the top of his class. He is well liked, well rounded and content. If I had held him back I would have done him a huge disservice.
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| Posted 9/24/11 4:48 PM |
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munchkinbugs
My little loves!
Member since 1/06 8093 total posts
Name:
Lisa
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
I think it depends on the kid. DD's birthday is Nov 22, so she makes the cutoff by a little over a week. She got a great evaluation from her pre-school class last year and she seems to hang well with her pre-K class this year. I have no doubt that she will be ready for K next year.
ETA My birthday is mid-Dec and I was THE youngest in my class and I did fine. Noone would have known the difference.
Message edited 9/24/2011 4:54:21 PM.
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| Posted 9/24/11 4:48 PM |
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Sassyz75
Turning a new page
Member since 5/05 9731 total posts
Name:
Dina
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
not at all.
DD turns 5 10/28 and she is doing VERY well in kindergarten.
Of course, every child is different. If you don't think he is ready, then don't send him.. but if he IS ready, send him!
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| Posted 9/24/11 5:14 PM |
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waterspout4
My loves
Member since 5/06 19150 total posts
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Kelly
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
Posted by Janice
17 seems young to go off to college.
I was newly 18 and remember the mess.
If i stayed in NY, my Dec baby would spend his first semester away at 17
Not necessarily true. I went into college at 17. Only thing that stank was needing my NCAA forms to be sent home to be signed by my parents when everybody else got to sign theirs right at practice and hand them in.
As for the original question: I think every child is different. My brother and I were some of the youngest in our respective classes. When my brother went to enter kindergarten they wanted to hold him back a year because he would be the youngest. He was already so much larger than the other kids in his class that my mom knew the ridicule would be even worse if he was held back. It all worked out for him. He also went to college at 17 and became an astrophysicist. (Plus, he was 6 feet tall by the age of 12, so imagine if he were held back another year.  ) They also tried to hold me back a year to start and my mom said "If you want to do it, you tell her yourself." They let me enter at 4 and I was already in advanced classes when they offered them in first grade.
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| Posted 9/24/11 5:25 PM |
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
I think it depends on the child. My son just started kindergarten, he will be 5 November 29th.
I think he's too young. I really would have liked to keep him home another year. He loves it though and he's doing well so far, so maybe I'm wrong.
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| Posted 9/24/11 5:30 PM |
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itsbabytime
LIF Adult
Member since 11/05 9644 total posts
Name:
Me
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
No. I think it depends entirely on the child not the birthday.
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| Posted 9/24/11 6:40 PM |
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monkeybride
My Everything
Member since 5/05 20541 total posts
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
Here in Colorado you wouldn't have a choice. In most districts the cut off is Sept. 15th. Ours is Oct 1st.
I do think, especially for boys it's too young.
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| Posted 9/24/11 11:07 PM |
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laurabora
LIF Adult
Member since 4/07 2712 total posts
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Laura
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
My son was four when he started kindergarten last year (birthday early November) and he has done beautifully. He is very smart and has no trouble making friends. Absolutely no regrets about sending him.
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| Posted 9/24/11 11:50 PM |
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Xelindrya
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Member since 8/05 14470 total posts
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Veronica
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
If AJ started Kinder at 4, then she'd be 16 entering in as a senior. Maybe I'm confused by how is that possible?
1st grade 5
12th grade 16
I am a Late August kid myself so I was 16 when my Senior year started, only for a few days then I turned 17. I was still by far one of the youngest in my grade (obviously). While I sorta hated that peer thing.. i have to say, holding back a year would have killed me. I was already in AP/GT by then and they had disallowed me skipping my junior year  .
I thought you HAD to be 5 to start kindergarten.
or...
maybe I shouldn't post at midnight when trying to think of math figures and future grades? Hahha 
Circling back.. 4 just sounds young. Guess it depends on the kid but AJ would be a no way.
I need sleep 
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| Posted 9/25/11 1:24 AM |
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Kissy331
My two miracles!
Member since 5/06 17826 total posts
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Kristen
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
I think it depends on the child. My nephew will be 5 next week & my SIL held him back last year based on the same fears you had. My nephew is a very intelligent little big & now says he is bored in kindergarten. The teachers told my SIL (she is also a teacher) that he scored extremely high on his prescreening & that whenever at recess is always wuth the older kids. my SIL now feels she shoukd have sent him last yr opposed to this year.
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| Posted 9/25/11 7:54 AM |
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iluvmynutty
Mom to E&M
Member since 12/08 1762 total posts
Name:
D
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
I'm an occupational therapist and work mostly in a Kindergarten-1st grade building of a school district. The cutoff is December 1 and all of the September through December 1 birthday students end up doing just fine. I always check on them and follow them just incase, but so far starting kindergarten as a 4 year old hasn't been a problem for any of them.
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| Posted 9/25/11 8:04 AM |
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
Posted by Xelindrya
If AJ started Kinder at 4, then she'd be 16 entering in as a senior. Maybe I'm confused by how is that possible?
1st grade 5
12th grade 16
I am a Late August kid myself so I was 16 when my Senior year started, only for a few days then I turned 17. I was still by far one of the youngest in my grade (obviously). While I sorta hated that peer thing.. i have to say, holding back a year would have killed me. I was already in AP/GT by then and they had disallowed me skipping my junior year .
I thought you HAD to be 5 to start kindergarten.
or...
maybe I shouldn't post at midnight when trying to think of math figures and future grades? Hahha
Circling back.. 4 just sounds young. Guess it depends on the kid but AJ would be a no way.
I need sleep
DC has to be 5 by the cut off date in the district.
I was 4 when I started k and 16 when I started my senior year of high school. It's not that uncommon
ETA-The cut off is in the fall, usually December 1, so all kids have to be 5 by then.
Message edited 9/25/2011 8:47:11 AM.
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| Posted 9/25/11 8:46 AM |
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TheDivineMrsM
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Member since 8/08 7878 total posts
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Mama mama mama....
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
I think it depends on the child. I have an October birthday, and I was always one of the youngest in my grade. It was ok in kindergarten, but when my friends got AF or their driver's license almost a year before me, it was hard. I was 17 in the college dorms.
I have to make this call for my DD in a few years. Her birthday is the day before my district's cutoff. 
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| Posted 9/25/11 9:56 AM |
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Porrruss
Nya nya nya
Member since 5/05 11618 total posts
Name:
Amy
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
Posted by ChrisDee
Posted by InShock
Personally, I think the cut off for school should be Sept. 1st, so all kids starting school are 5.
That said, in my 1st grade class this year, there are at least 5 kids (of 19) who are still 5, and they run the gamut in terms of maturity and academics.
ITA
I agree. We live in Md. and the cut-off in my county is Sept. 1.
I work in the schools as a speech pathologist and I cannot TELL you how many kids we (our whole SPED team) are often asked to screen in K. MANY times the reasons for the issues the teachers are noting are simply maturity level. Often times it's the kids who "just made" the cutoff (have August birthdays). They usually don't qualify, BTW. When we rescreen a few months later, the attention/communication/requisite learning issues are often resolved.
So yes, I feel that 4 is too young for K. Oftentimes I see that the "high flyers" in class are the older students- simply because they tend to me more confident. Eliza will not be 5 until Nov of 2012, so she won't start K until she's about to turn 6- and that's perfectly fine by me.
Message edited 9/25/2011 10:13:03 AM.
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| Posted 9/25/11 10:11 AM |
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Michelle1123
Baby #5 on the way!
Member since 9/05 7919 total posts
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
G's bday is November 19th. She started Kindergarten when she was 4 - bus came at 9:15 and she did not get home until 4. She was the youngest in her class, and her teacher actually told me at her conference that she was by far the brightest, and most attentive kid in class. She's in 1st grade now and already her teachers were raving about her.
It depends on the kid. I knew she'd be ok. She was bored with pre-k and wanted to go to school every day.
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| Posted 9/25/11 10:14 AM |
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BargainMama
LIF Adult
Member since 5/09 15657 total posts
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
Posted by Xelindrya
If AJ started Kinder at 4, then she'd be 16 entering in as a senior. Maybe I'm confused by how is that possible?
I started school at 4 (turned 5 a few months later), was a senior at 16 and had no issues at all.
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| Posted 9/25/11 10:15 AM |
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Xelindrya
Mommy's little YouTube Star!
Member since 8/05 14470 total posts
Name:
Veronica
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
Posted by BargainMama
Posted by Xelindrya
If AJ started Kinder at 4, then she'd be 16 entering in as a senior. Maybe I'm confused by how is that possible?
I started school at 4 (turned 5 a few months later), was a senior at 16 and had no issues at all.
Yeah, it was late.. what I was trying to say was if I was 4 at the beginning of school THESE days.. i'd be 4 all year long. Our birthdays are late August. so we'd be 16 starting our Senior year (like I was) but be 16 the whole year through. Which is why they declined my request to skip my junior year by doubling up English. My senior year was literally spent totally on electives (extra math, science, working in the office, history, art, language, etc) with only ONE required class - English.
Message edited 9/25/2011 5:53:35 PM.
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| Posted 9/25/11 5:53 PM |
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DiamondGirl
You are my I love you
Member since 7/09 18802 total posts
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DiamondMama
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
I agree it depends on the kid.
I am a December baby, was always the youngest, went away to college @ 17, it was never an issue.
I work with kids and plenty of my fall students are advanced and there are no issues. Sometimes you do see some immaturity but I think that it is when they are in elem. school.
Ultimately as the parent you are probably the best judge as to whether your child is ready 
Message edited 9/25/2011 6:50:04 PM.
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| Posted 9/25/11 6:49 PM |
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Goobster
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Member since 5/07 27557 total posts
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:)
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
I dont see the issue. There will ALWAYS be someone more mature, or less mature, or smaller or larger, etc. I always the youngest in my class, never even remotely posed on issue and I would never keep my child back from school to prevent something that I dont even know will be an issue. Worst case senario, you put them in and then hold them back the next year. But at least you tried to see what they are capable of and gave it a real deal shot.
Message edited 9/25/2011 6:59:55 PM.
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| Posted 9/25/11 6:57 PM |
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saraH
happy birthday sweet kate!
Member since 5/05 16555 total posts
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
Technically dd will be 4 when she starts next September. But she turns 5 on the 23rd, so I think she will be the "right" age for kindergarten. I wouldn't send her before then. I think she is really preparing now for kindergarten in her pre-k class.
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| Posted 9/25/11 8:15 PM |
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Lucky
Growing up fast!
Member since 4/07 12683 total posts
Name:
Dawn
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
Posted by PatsBrat
Posted by Lucky
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.
Ask if your school social worker has a "Friendship Group." The school SW I work with does and she works with 4 or 5 kids at a time who are shy or socially behind and fosters friendships at the same time as modeling and roll playing social scenerios to help the kids feel more confident. It's such a nice experience and it sounds like your daughter would flourish in it.
This is a great idea! I will check it out! Thanks!!
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| Posted 9/27/11 11:14 AM |
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Sweets13
Bella Bambini
Member since 5/05 9300 total posts
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Re: Kind of a spinoff - do you think a 4 year old is too young for Kindergarten?
It depends on the child.
DS was 4 when he staretd Kindergarten.
He turned 5 on 9/22.
He is doing awesome!!!!
Socially, emotionally and academically!
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| Posted 9/27/11 11:40 AM |
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