Private school wants to move 4yr old to K

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to K with a "next April" birthday. I.e., I didn't turn 5 until the end of the K school year.

I was gifted and went to gifted programs 4-12.

I... I don't think "1st grade level" is all that advanced. It's advanced! Maybe gifted! But it's not prima facie evidence that someone should be started early.

For the record it was the right decision for me in terms of academics, but probably not socially.

Same. I actually skipped second grade in a small, independent private school forty years ago. Why second and not first? No idea. I was fine academically but woefully behind socially. It was painfully obvious in middle school and high school. I would think with social media things are much worse now and navigating the various platforms requires a skill set I would have lacked. I wouldn’t do it for my kids but in the interest of full disclosure, no one has offered.

[Anonymous]

If you’re willing to consider a different school, you might look into Montessori. She could stay with her age cohort but be working many grades ahead. My 4 year old was adding 3 digit numbers and reading fluently thanks to their structure allowing him to move on. In K he did multiplication/division/fractions/decimals.

We had always planned to put him into public school eventually, but it was shocking how little he was challenged when we swapped him in 1st grade. That said, the social/emotional piece was brutal, so I think all his mental effort went to navigating social dynamics at a new school.

He’s now in 5th grade and I’m glad I didn’t skip him. It’s not a race.

[Anonymous]

I was a January birthday who skipped first grade. I strongly advise against moving her up. Like others, I found it ok academically but challenging socially.

[Anonymous]

I was started early then skipped a year in high school, so ended up graduating at 16. It was * fine * for me, but I did struggle socially. I would keep her with her age cohort and find a program with a strong G&T program. If you have gifted kids, not all schools are going to be a good fit for your kids.

[Anonymous]

Bossy, anxious and rigid? Nope, I’d leave here where she is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would do it. If your daughter is really bright it would be better for her to be the youngest than the oldest. December would be one of the oldest.

Omg, please stop basing this outlook on dated opinion pieces.

Actually if it’s a sept 1st cutoff sept bdays will be the oldest. And there will be more of them than you think.

I said “one“ of the oldest. And I say that as a parent of a DD who barely missed cutoff and I‘m going to “greenshirt“. All these people who redshirt have no clue how slow our education system is for even remotely bright children who ought to be challenged.

LOL. So your kid isn’t even in school yet. Trust me, the young kids struggle socially.-Parent of college kids

[Anonymous]

We said no to this with our precocious Fall birthday kids, and now as we approach sending a kid off to college, we are so, so, so glad we didn't cave and start school too early. I would not be happy with a 16YO high school senior in class with 18YO boys, or having a kid in college who is at risk for underaged drinking violations until second semester senior year.

If your school cannot differentiate instruction well, then you need a new school. Don't make your child the victim of the school's inability to teach to a range of students. Our kids were in a public school that did in class differentiation very well, so academic and social needs were met in the same place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We said no to this with our precocious Fall birthday kids, and now as we approach sending a kid off to college, we are so, so, so glad we didn't cave and start school too early. I would not be happy with a 16YO high school senior in class with 18YO boys, or having a kid in college who is at risk for underaged drinking violations until second semester senior year.

If your school cannot differentiate instruction well, then you need a new school. Don't make your child the victim of the school's inability to teach to a range of students. Our kids were in a public school that did in class differentiation very well, so academic and social needs were met in the same place.

Where did your kid go to school where they were age grouped in high school? Other than home room it's mixed ages and 16 year olds an 18 year olds are often in class together.

And as for underage drinking, that's really up to your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would do it. If your daughter is really bright it would be better for her to be the youngest than the oldest. December would be one of the oldest.

Omg, please stop basing this outlook on dated opinion pieces.

Actually if it’s a sept 1st cutoff sept bdays will be the oldest. And there will be more of them than you think.

I said “one“ of the oldest. And I say that as a parent of a DD who barely missed cutoff and I‘m going to “greenshirt“. All these people who redshirt have no clue how slow our education system is for even remotely bright children who ought to be challenged.

LOL. So your kid isn’t even in school yet. Trust me, the young kids struggle socially.-Parent of college kids

NP. Not always, social maturity is not always a function of calendar age.

[Anonymous]

Is there a way for you to try her in the K class for 2 weeks or so, and move her back if it's not working?

I was like you hesitant to move my daughter to the next class at the director's suggestion. I assumed she was just bumping her to makes space, and my daughter wasn't socially ready.

Now, our director offered to let her try the older class, turns out I was wrong, and my daughter really did well. The social behavior I was worried about, also improved having older examples around her.


So I would ask the director, if she tries the older class , and is struggling could she move back without a problem?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We said no to this with our precocious Fall birthday kids, and now as we approach sending a kid off to college, we are so, so, so glad we didn't cave and start school too early. I would not be happy with a 16YO high school senior in class with 18YO boys, or having a kid in college who is at risk for underaged drinking violations until second semester senior year.

If your school cannot differentiate instruction well, then you need a new school. Don't make your child the victim of the school's inability to teach to a range of students. Our kids were in a public school that did in class differentiation very well, so academic and social needs were met in the same place.

Let me burst your bubble: there were 18yo senior boys in my 14yo daughter’s freshman art class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would do it. If your daughter is really bright it would be better for her to be the youngest than the oldest. December would be one of the oldest.

Omg, please stop basing this outlook on dated opinion pieces.

Actually if it’s a sept 1st cutoff sept bdays will be the oldest. And there will be more of them than you think.

I said “one“ of the oldest. And I say that as a parent of a DD who barely missed cutoff and I‘m going to “greenshirt“. All these people who redshirt have no clue how slow our education system is for even remotely bright children who ought to be challenged.

LOL. So your kid isn’t even in school yet. Trust me, the young kids struggle socially.-Parent of college kids

NP. Not always, social maturity is not always a function of calendar age.

Ok, you do you. When a kid is 12-18 months younger than everyone else...

[Anonymous]

This is a different situation but when my daughter was 2, they asked to move her to the 3s class and I just said no thanks. I already have one young for the grade kid (august bday & I sent him on time) - & just based on my experience with him, I don't need any of the others to be young for the grade unless that's naturally where they fall with their bdays. (And he's in FCPS AAP for what it's worth).

To each his own - and I don't know your kid. That's just my two cents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would do it. If your daughter is really bright it would be better for her to be the youngest than the oldest. December would be one of the oldest.

Omg, please stop basing this outlook on dated opinion pieces.

Actually if it’s a sept 1st cutoff sept bdays will be the oldest. And there will be more of them than you think.

I said “one“ of the oldest. And I say that as a parent of a DD who barely missed cutoff and I‘m going to “greenshirt“. All these people who redshirt have no clue how slow our education system is for even remotely bright children who ought to be challenged.

LOL. So your kid isn’t even in school yet. Trust me, the young kids struggle socially.-Parent of college kids

NP. Not always, social maturity is not always a function of calendar age.

Ok, you do you. When a kid is 12-18 months younger than everyone else...

What? I said my kid barely missed the cutoff date. Had she been born two days earlier, she would be in K. She will not struggle socially because she share the same birth month as other students in her class. My eldest was offered a grade skip, but he is a summer birthday and we opted not to for maturity reasons. Greenshirting is not the same as grade skipping and is very sensible for bright children in schools today.

[Anonymous]

i'm not sure why some people think having their kid moved to an older class in preschool means that they're skipping a grade.