Starting Kindergarten for Boys with Summer Birthdays....??

I definitely believe in holding back! My daughter is a summer birthday and I was really torn about what to do. As most moms do, I began polling everyone I came into contact with. Many moms would make the comment, "she's ready, send her". I got really sick of the "ready" comment. What does that mean really? I didn't want my daughter entering school with being average, I wanted my daughter to be at the top of the class....and, not because I'm a driven or competitive parent but because I want my daughter to feel completely confident. They've done research studies of children's ages when they begin school and the research shows there are the highest percentage of valedictorians from the oldest children in the class. Children aren't really affected in early elementary but in upper elementary and high school is when the separation occurs. Finally, as I was polling everyone with this question, I felt that one person gave me some wise advice. She was graduated-degreed education person and she said that in all her years of experience, she had heard many parents say that they wish they would have held their child back but she had never heard anyone say that they wished they wouldn't have held their child back. That really struck a chord with me. So, after a year of anxiety, I decided to put my daughter in a 5-day/week pre-K 5-yr-old class. She's doing great and I know that she will be confident and prepared for Kindergarten next year. also, pray about this and ask for guidance from God on the matter. good luck with your decision.

Has your child been in preschool?? Does he have prior experiences with a classroom environment and what's expected in a classroom/from teachers?
If so, what does his preschool teacher suggest?

My son (Aug. 8 birthday) was in 2 yrs of preschool with Plano ISD early childhood school. So since 3 yrs old, he's been preparing for kindergarten. The classroom environment, schedule, getting up early for school, making friends, eating at school... none of that was new to him. So the transition was easy.
We had many meetings with his preschool teacher and teaching assistants about if he should go on to kindergarten. They all recommended kindergarten for him. They gave us specific reasons, they knew everything about my child - his behavior, his skills, etc... and based on that, they said he was ready - That a full day of education would really benefit him. They said he thrives in a fast-paced education environment. It's tough at first for him but he rises to the challenge.
So we decided to start him Kindergarten this year... and he loves it! And the teacher says he's doing well. If by the end of the year, we don't think he's ready to move on... he can repeat kindergarten at no harm to his record. He doesn't have to move on to first grade.

so that's an option to look at as well.... we decided that we should at least TRY kindergarten since the professionals were recommending it to us... and worst case scenario - he just repeats kindergarten.

Here's a guide from the Plano ISD website ...
http://k-12.pisd.edu/schools/hightower/KgChildReady.pdf

Hi C.,

My son has a birthday on Aug. 15 and we did not hold him back. He did/does have some maturity issues especially now that he is in high school. He also had some readjusting to rec sports. He was always either the youngest on a team or the oldest, depending on the sport. He's in football right now and he has a hard time keeping up weight wise and muscle wise with his friends.
I don't think that we would have changed anything since he has turned out to be a good kid overall. Whichever you decide I'm sure will have some obstacles but it won't be anything drastic.
Good luck with your son! I'm sure he'll do fine either way with a loving and caring mom like you!

I don't have personal experience, but my sister started her son at 5, with an August 27th birthday. It was all-day kidergarten, and he has some trouble adjusting to the time, and some trouble meeting new friends, but they were both resolved in the first 2 weeks of school. If you feel that he isn't ready, than don't send him, but I think it would be a shame to hold him back an entire year to avoid some minor adjustment problems. I would talk to your pediatrician about it.

Dear C.,
I have gone through this with my 2 older boys, with b-days in Aug. & Sept. Neither had been in daycare, (they did stay with a family member while I worked), but I felt they needed that extra year before entering public school. And now, at age 18 (SR.) and 14 (8th grader)they thank me for it. I also have a son with a Feb b-day. I homeschooled him since he was 2.5 at a pre-school level and he was 5.5 when he started K and has done extremely well in school and has been accepted in the Gifted and Talented program.
I wasn't following a trend back when I held my older sons back (that was back in 1996 & 2000)I just did what I felt was best for my boys and as for my youngest son who has a July b-day...I will more than likely hold him back as well. I think it's based on each individual child, and who knows your child better than you.
But remember, kindergarten introduces more than just ABC's & 123's...there are a lot of emotional situations involved (ie. separation from parent/younger sibling(s), friendships, bullies, descipline, rules, and schedules).
Think about it.
Good luck!
DS

Hi C.,

This was an issue with my daughter who has a June B-day. We thought she was more than ready for Kinder so we started her at 5 and even though things started out great, her teacher started pointing out things she noticed with my daughter that gave her some concern and suggested to us that we should put her in the Pre-K 5 class her school offered.
By the second semester we chose to do just that and put her in Pre-K 5. It was the best decision we ever made!
I had MANY sleepless nights over this issue and it was a very hard decision to make but I am now so glad we did.
She is now 7 and in 1st grade and still struggles with a few subjests but it's also her first year in "public" school so we knew she would need more time to adjust.
Anyhow, I think it's great you're keeping this option open for your child and you can always start him in Kinder this year and if he struggles, then it would be best to just repeat Kinder then for him to possibly fail a grade years later and be held back.
He will also still be considered "on time" in school if you start him at 6 because he'll still graduate at 18 and only be more ready for college as well.

Good luck to you with your decision...I know it's a tough one!

in Allen try a 5s program that can "buy" you one more year-- to decide...counts as a kinder but your kiddo can move to first or goto "reg." kinder the next year. FUMCA (First united Methodist Church in allen---creative playday) off of Greenville in Allen has a 5s program as well as St. Jude Rainbow days has a 5s program
My little boy will be 5 in Aug. and we're are going to do one of the two programs listed above...I am thinking of the advantages long term being the oldest vs. the dead youngest in the class as he is in middle/highschool-- not just is he "ready" now....but what would it be like later to be the VERY youngest...