kindergarden year early?

[Anonymous]

My end of September kid went as the youngest and it was the best decision. The child is still top of the class and socially doing well. I think you know your child best.

[Anonymous]

If you're spelling Kindergarten with a D....your child should wait another year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD turns 5 in October missing the end of September deadline, any way around this rule? She has to wait the extra year no ifs and buts about it? Thank you.

Yes, she will have to wait.

—FCPS principal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD turns 5 in October missing the end of September deadline, any way around this rule? She has to wait the extra year no ifs and buts about it? Thank you.

Unless your kid is a genius, You're just looking to $ave on a year of Pre-K. Just do it why fight the system. Don't be cheap with your kid's education.

[Anonymous]

Unsolicited advice here, just ignore if you like:

Don’t send your child to K early, even if they miss the cutoff by a few days. It’s not like it was when we were growing up, especially for those of us who didn’t grow up here. Many people redshirt their kids for K here, often on a flimsy pretext (sorry, DCUM). So if you send your child early, they will be with a cohort that is on time or older, and that isn’t great for kids, IME.

- Parent who wishes we had redshirted our summer birthday boy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My end of September kid went as the youngest and it was the best decision. The child is still top of the class and socially doing well. I think you know your child best.

Mine too...currently in college at an Ivy. There is no one way to do it and really no one knows what would happen if they made the other choice.

[Anonymous]

In FCPS, if your kid has a fall birthday and is way ahead, it's possible for your child to take K on time, and then skip 1st grade. I know a few kids who have taken this path. K is great for learning the rules and socializing, even if the kid is ahead. First grade is a lot of sitting down and working on the basics. It's a better grade to skip if your kid is far ahead.

[Anonymous]

Take the extra year. You will be so thankful for an extra year when she’s older. Once they are in school, you hardly see them.

[Anonymous]

Professionally, I am in risk management -- ask yourself looking at your kid, how much risk is there is sending them when they'd be the youngest vs oldest. How much risk are you willing to take to get to your goal.

We have a DS with a November birthday and one with a late August birthday. After seeing older son (now finishing his Freshman in HS year) be one of the oldest, wasn't a question about holding our other DC. He did K in a Montessori and then K at the neighborhood elementary school. He's "graduating" 6th grade this week and while definitely advanced academically, socially, and physically, I am still so so glad we gave him an extra year. Between the pandemic and everything else in life, I'm glad that he will be starting 7th in 10 1/2 weeks instead of 8th.

It's not really K readiness -- as other posters have said -- it's 4th grade, it's 7th, it's HS and beyond. We are in such a race to nowhere, if you can give your kid the gift of time, do it.

[Anonymous]

We have a fall kid. We sent to a private, small no name one for two years and transferred in 2nd. Glad we did it. But, it was MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Professionally, I am in risk management -- ask yourself looking at your kid, how much risk is there is sending them when they'd be the youngest vs oldest. How much risk are you willing to take to get to your goal.

We have a DS with a November birthday and one with a late August birthday. After seeing older son (now finishing his Freshman in HS year) be one of the oldest, wasn't a question about holding our other DC. He did K in a Montessori and then K at the neighborhood elementary school. He's "graduating" 6th grade this week and while definitely advanced academically, socially, and physically, I am still so so glad we gave him an extra year. Between the pandemic and everything else in life, I'm glad that he will be starting 7th in 10 1/2 weeks instead of 8th.

It's not really K readiness -- as other posters have said -- it's 4th grade, it's 7th, it's HS and beyond. We are in such a race to nowhere, if you can give your kid the gift of time, do it.

Your child isn't advanced, he's older. I don't get why people pretend their kid is advanced when they aren't. My kid started Algebra in 6th with a fall birthday (so started a year before yours did). That is advanced. So glad we helped with academics early on and saw his potential vs. holding him back. However, for the November child, no place would take your child early so its a non-issue but if you held back the August one, that would mean they aren't advanced and they are actually behind their real peers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Professionally, I am in risk management -- ask yourself looking at your kid, how much risk is there is sending them when they'd be the youngest vs oldest. How much risk are you willing to take to get to your goal.

We have a DS with a November birthday and one with a late August birthday. After seeing older son (now finishing his Freshman in HS year) be one of the oldest, wasn't a question about holding our other DC. He did K in a Montessori and then K at the neighborhood elementary school. He's "graduating" 6th grade this week and while definitely advanced academically, socially, and physically, I am still so so glad we gave him an extra year. Between the pandemic and everything else in life, I'm glad that he will be starting 7th in 10 1/2 weeks instead of 8th.

It's not really K readiness -- as other posters have said -- it's 4th grade, it's 7th, it's HS and beyond. We are in such a race to nowhere, if you can give your kid the gift of time, do it.

Your child isn't advanced, he's older. I don't get why people pretend their kid is advanced when they aren't. My kid started Algebra in 6th with a fall birthday (so started a year before yours did). That is advanced. So glad we helped with academics early on and saw his potential vs. holding him back. However, for the November child, no place would take your child early so its a non-issue but if you held back the August one, that would mean they aren't advanced and they are actually behind their real peers.

DP - I get what you're saying about older vs advanced, but in the school setting they aren't constantly adjusting the curve for when the kids' birthdays are. The older kid who appears to be advanced compared to the kid that is a year younger gets the advantages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Professionally, I am in risk management -- ask yourself looking at your kid, how much risk is there is sending them when they'd be the youngest vs oldest. How much risk are you willing to take to get to your goal.

We have a DS with a November birthday and one with a late August birthday. After seeing older son (now finishing his Freshman in HS year) be one of the oldest, wasn't a question about holding our other DC. He did K in a Montessori and then K at the neighborhood elementary school. He's "graduating" 6th grade this week and while definitely advanced academically, socially, and physically, I am still so so glad we gave him an extra year. Between the pandemic and everything else in life, I'm glad that he will be starting 7th in 10 1/2 weeks instead of 8th.

It's not really K readiness -- as other posters have said -- it's 4th grade, it's 7th, it's HS and beyond. We are in such a race to nowhere, if you can give your kid the gift of time, do it.

Your child isn't advanced, he's older. I don't get why people pretend their kid is advanced when they aren't. My kid started Algebra in 6th with a fall birthday (so started a year before yours did). That is advanced. So glad we helped with academics early on and saw his potential vs. holding him back. However, for the November child, no place would take your child early so its a non-issue but if you held back the August one, that would mean they aren't advanced and they are actually behind their real peers.

DP - I get what you're saying about older vs advanced, but in the school setting they aren't constantly adjusting the curve for when the kids' birthdays are. The older kid who appears to be advanced compared to the kid that is a year younger gets the advantages.

No, they don’t appear more advanced and everyone knows that. A smart kid will be fine in either situation. Some testing is age normed.

[Anonymous]

Holding your kid back can potentially cost your kid a year of lost earnings (80k starting salary 15 yrs from now?) by getting to the workforce a year later.

[Anonymous]

Don’t do it. I started K at 4 (December birthday) in a private so I could do public 1st at 5. K was fine.

The real $hit$how was 4th-10th. Academically, I was fine. But it SUCKS when you’re behind physically and socially during adolescence. Stupid things like shaving legs, getting my period, going places alone, watching R rated movies, dating, driving, working... I was behind in all that stuff. My parents kept treating me like x years old and my peers were x+1 or for boys x+2. My parents would freak out when I was 13 in 9th and had a 16 yo boyfriend who had a job and a car. They didn’t think that far ahead when they decided I was “ready for k” at 4. I also think being 17 going away to college was fine but not something I’d repeat. I never felt fully “caught up” until I took a year off between junior & senior year of college.