October Birthday: Starting Kindergarden "Early" in Arlington

[Anonymous]

Does it have to be both K and 1st or can you do just K in private and then transfer into FCPS for 1st grade?

Yes, it has to be both, otherwise they want you to do K again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New poster here. I teach in an APS elementary and have never heard of any school relaxing the deadline. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen, though. I'd love to know what the policy is.
It seems like everyone would be doing it, though, from what you hear from parents about how brilliant their kids are.

You sound charming.

[Anonymous]

I recommend against it. My son is a July baby and was one of the youngest ones in his class when he started first grade. I was shocked by how many kids were almost a full year older than he was, so your daughter would REALLY be on the young side. My son attended an amazing private K program at his daycare, and several of his K classmates with October birthdays ended up having to repeat Kindergarten in APS. Their parents were concerned that repeating Kindergarten would be hard on their kids because they were already reading and writing and in fact had already "done" Kindergarten, but the APS programs were so rich and varied that it turned out that those kids were not bored at all. There is more to it than just sitting around doing your ABCs all day--there is art and music and science and all kinds of projects, so there is no reason your daughter should be bored.

My parents skipped K for me and it was HELL when the other girls hit puberty and I still wanted to play Barbies, btw.

[Anonymous]

FWIW, I have a DD going into third who I started on time with an August birthday. I have a younger DD who has an October birthday who I think would benefit from starting school a year "early" so I am exploring various options.

Their parents were concerned that repeating Kindergarten would be hard on their kids because they were already reading and writing and in fact had already "done" Kindergarten, but the APS programs were so rich and varied that it turned out that those kids were not bored at all. There is more to it than just sitting around doing your ABCs all day--there is art and music and science and all kinds of projects, so there is no reason your daughter should be bored.

But I don't think the boredom starts in K. As you say, K is really a school readiness year, and still has a lot of fun activities. The boredom is really in first and second. First grade is very much the "serious learn to read" year and second is the "reinforcing reading" year. And if your kid is already a fluent reader, or picks up things quickly, then frankly the review can get very old, very fast. We are in FCPS, but I can't imagine APS is that different. I read all the time that schools have no trouble differentiating for advanced learners and that has simply not been my experience or the experience of the people I know whose kids were academically advanced.

My parents skipped K for me and it was HELL when the other girls hit puberty and I still wanted to play Barbies, btw.

And on the flip side, girls in my family tend to get their period early (age 10). I was in 5th grade. If I had held my August DD back, that means she would likely get her period in FOURTH grade. Not very much fun either.

[Anonymous]

Our son is about to go into first at an APS grade school. He has a summer b-day so he was among the younger kids in his class but there also don't appear to have been any kids held back a year in his class either. I would not jumpstart a child -- APS is wonderful and the curriculum, even in K, is quite demanding. One of our son's teachers told us back in January that the work they were doing at that point would've been done 18 months later (i.e., end of first grade) not too many years ago.

[Anonymous]

17:46 here. While I agree the boredom may set in later, wouldn't it be more appropriate to skip a grade when it becomes an actual problem, as opposed to anticipating that there may be one without any evidence? Also, my son started first grade reading at the third grade level and was put into an appropriate reading group based on that assessment (with 3 other kids in his class of 20, so hardly unique), so again, he was not bored at all. On the other hand, he struggles with writing and is just on target with math, and socially he fits right in, so first grade was the right place for him.

My only point is that based on my admittedly limited experience in APS so far, which includes conversations with other parents, they do a really good job of keeping kids challenged and busy. They draw from a pool of very academic, involved parents who value education so I wouldn't go into it assuming that my "bright" child is particularly extraordinary compared to his/her peers or that the schools won't know how to deal with him or her. Arlington also offers schools like ATS, Science Focus, Drew (arts focus/Montesssori) and spanish immersion schools (Key and Clarendon) which may offer additional stimulation/challenge.

[Anonymous]

OP - my DS's birthday also falls in October and he won't be starting K until Fall 2011 either. We are not trying to start him early. For us, this was a no-brainer as he is a pretty typical boy (very advanced socially/physically but less so when it comes to speech/grammar). If I had a girl with a very advanced vocabulary, maybe I'd feel the same way you do and worry about DC getting bored, but I really think you shouldn't push it and start your DD early.

This whole "my kid is going to get bored" is probably mostly in your head. Chances are your DD won't get bored and if so, she can eventually take more advanced classes. I'm not sure what your DD gains by being the youngest in her class, and there is the potential for her to lose a LOT. We all talk about how (in our day) there were kids born in the fall who had no problem with the older kids, but trust me - times have changed. School is much more competitive and kids just don't "skip" grades like they used to. Really think long and hard about whether you want to put your child through the testing (if that is even possible) and the potential social impact by being the youngest in the class.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure what your DD gains by being the youngest in her class, and there is the potential for her to lose a LOT

There are children for whom it is an advantage to be older and a disadvantage to be younger. There are also kids for whom the opposite is true. I would trust the OP to know what is best for their own child. There are many children who do well being advanced a grade and for whom it is a positive experience.