APS - October Birthday

[Anonymous]

My son is an October 1st birthday. Misses the cutoff to start kindergarten by a few hours. Has anyone successfully been able to get their October birthday child into APS "early?"

[Anonymous]

I have a friend that did private K and then enrolled in APS for her first grade for her October kid. APS evaluated the child and she was permitted to enroll as first grader.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend that did private K and then enrolled in APS for her first grade for her October kid. APS evaluated the child and she was permitted to enroll as first grader.

This is the way. Unless your kid is significantly advanced or the cost will break you, your kid will not benefit from being in a huge APS kindergarten class at age 4. I am not a proponent of red shirting or any of that, but it is very easy to get discouraged from learning at this age if you’re branded the troublemaker or a problem student. Compared to the six year olds, your kid will be behind in almost every way. Private school for a year is the way to go.

[Anonymous]

Unless your kid is super super advanced, it doesn’t make sense to push ahead - consider high school (last one to drive) or college (going to college needing parents to sign for anything). It’s better to wait unless the kid in question is extremely advanced, imo.

[Anonymous]

There was just a really long thread about this.

You're nuts if you do this, especially with a boy. You'll regret it in middle school and high school big time.

[Anonymous]

Send him on time, meaning next year. He won't be the oldest.

[Anonymous]

+1 to all of this. You don't want to push forward OP. Take the gift you've been given of a kid who will be on the older end.

[Anonymous]

Unless your kid is super super advanced, it doesn’t make sense to push ahead - consider high school (last one to drive)

Kids these days drag their feet on getting a driver's license. It's not a big deal like it used to be.

or college (going to college needing parents to sign for anything).

This will be a thing for like a month and a half?

I have a November birthday (youngest in class), and was always top of my class, and never felt different from the "older" kids in the class. OP, you know your kid -- if he's ready for school, see what you can do to send him. If he could benefit from an extra year of maturity, then don't.

[Anonymous]

Don’t do this OP. I have kids in elementary in APS with late July and Early November BDs. It’s so much easier to be the older kid. Red shirting is not prevalent in our elementary, but there are 1-2 boys in each class.

My July kid is gifted. He scores 1-2 grades ahead on the assessments and in the top 1% of things like CogAT. 3rd grade was the first school year I didn’t worry he was behind his peers until after winter break - when he was chronically the same age as most of his peers were back in September. Every year I hear complaints starting in March about how “everyone has had a birthday but me!”

School and friendships are so much easier socially for my “older” child. He is also very bright academically and he is not bored.

You don’t know what sport your child will play yet, but you can look at the lacrosse and swimming threads on DCUM to read about parents having an absolute fit over cutoff dates and age verification. There is no perfect BD for sports because each sport has its own date (school year, calendar year, June, September, December - it’s all over the place).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Unless your kid is super super advanced, it doesn’t make sense to push ahead - consider high school (last one to drive)

Kids these days drag their feet on getting a driver's license. It's not a big deal like it used to be.

or college (going to college needing parents to sign for anything).

This will be a thing for like a month and a half?

I have a November birthday (youngest in class), and was always top of my class, and never felt different from the "older" kids in the class. OP, you know your kid -- if he's ready for school, see what you can do to send him. If he could benefit from an extra year of maturity, then don't.

Not true in my experience. Kids coddled by their parents who get driven everywhere and are afraid of their own shadow definitely drag their feet. Plenty of them get their license right away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Unless your kid is super super advanced, it doesn’t make sense to push ahead - consider high school (last one to drive)

Kids these days drag their feet on getting a driver's license. It's not a big deal like it used to be.

or college (going to college needing parents to sign for anything).

This will be a thing for like a month and a half?

I have a November birthday (youngest in class), and was always top of my class, and never felt different from the "older" kids in the class. OP, you know your kid -- if he's ready for school, see what you can do to send him. If he could benefit from an extra year of maturity, then don't.

Not true in my experience. Kids coddled by their parents who get driven everywhere and are afraid of their own shadow definitely drag their feet. Plenty of them get their license right away.

LOL -- or they learn to use buses/trains, schedule their own rides with friends, walk/bike... funny how there are different definitions of "coddled".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is an October 1st birthday. Misses the cutoff to start kindergarten by a few hours. Has anyone successfully been able to get their October birthday child into APS "early?"

Don’t push him ahead. Now with the mid August start time, your kid will be 4 for almost 2 months in K. Modern K is NOT designed for young boys, it’s just not. There’s so much sitting and waiting and being quiet. It’s hard for kids, harder for boys, and basically impossible for young for K boys. If you said your daughter, I might feel differently. But there’s no way you should be trying to get your too young son into K early. It won’t do him any favors. Let him be the oldest, it’s a benefit. Wish my September boy was an October bday!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend that did private K and then enrolled in APS for her first grade for her October kid. APS evaluated the child and she was permitted to enroll as first grader.

It is difficult for find a private K program that does not follow the Sept 30th cutoff.

[Anonymous]

Wait and send on time. I don’t know anyone who has regretted this decision (my kids are now in HS).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Unless your kid is super super advanced, it doesn’t make sense to push ahead - consider high school (last one to drive)

Kids these days drag their feet on getting a driver's license. It's not a big deal like it used to be.

or college (going to college needing parents to sign for anything).

This will be a thing for like a month and a half?

I have a November birthday (youngest in class), and was always top of my class, and never felt different from the "older" kids in the class. OP, you know your kid -- if he's ready for school, see what you can do to send him. If he could benefit from an extra year of maturity, then don't.

+1 to all of this from another November baby who was youngest in the class, top of the class, and never felt different.