My son is an October birthday, as are several others in his PreK3 class. The teacher is doing a great job at keeping everyone engaged, and they break into groups for differentiation as needed. One of the virtues of PreK3 is that they have 15 kids with a teacher and an aide, so they can run parallel activities, and they can take the time to draw out a reluctant child.

I have an Oct boy in a mixed PK3 / PK4 classroom.

It has been good as it has enabled him to straddle both ages.

Anonymous wrote:Granted, with boys, I think you don't worry so much about them being the oldest because half the girls will always be more mature anyhow.

HA! So true. Even the most advanced boy is still a boy.

I have one son who is the oldest in his class and another son who is the youngest. Granted, with boys, I think you don't worry so much about them being the oldest because half the girls will always be more mature anyhow. That said, the son who is the oldest in his class loves school. The one who is the youngest does not like school at all and every day begs not to have to go. I think a lot has to do with feeling competent, both socially and academically, at school. I will say when my older son with the Oct. birthday was in PK3, I wished they focused a bit more on academics, because I knew he was ready for it. But we were also at a place that did not even teach the PK3 students how to write their names (extremely play-based). I would think a place with even a bit more academics would be fine for an older PK3-er.

Thanks PP - I'm glad your son is doing well! It's funny, people seem to think shy kids are drawn to other shy kids, but at least with our daughter, I'm finding that she does need the extroverts to draw her out - shy preschoolers just don't talk to each other! Sigh. She doesn't have any diagnosed delays, in language or otherwise, and she talks constantly at home and to adults she knows well. So it's very much a setting-based thing with her. Which is a longer story...

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks for the feedback! I should have said this in my post, but actually I'm less worried that she's "advanced" in some brilliant snowflake way, and more wondering about social stuff. She's actually incredibly shy, so on the one hand it seems like being around younger kids could make her more confident, but on the other hand if the other kids are not especially verbal or social yet, it could make it harder for her to engage. Does that make sense?

OP, are her verbal and social skills otherwise sharp? I have a very shy boy who has some speech issues that help contribute to his shyness. I'm secretly relieved that he's among the oldest and has a little bit of extra time to come into his own. And the other kids will be plenty verbal and social! In my son's day care, he's the only introvert and the other kids engage him constantly. He has no choice but to be social

Seems like a number of schools are turning to mixed-age classrooms for PK3 and PK4, which helps mitigate the problem. And Apple Tree divides the kids up by birthday, so all the older 3s are together, and all the younger 3s are together. Two very different solutions, but both of interest to parents of kids with October birthdays.

The ages will be all over the place, and I think kids worry about it far less than their parents do. She'll be fine!

OP here - thanks for the feedback! I should have said this in my post, but actually I'm less worried that she's "advanced" in some brilliant snowflake way, and more wondering about social stuff. She's actually incredibly shy, so on the one hand it seems like being around younger kids could make her more confident, but on the other hand if the other kids are not especially verbal or social yet, it could make it harder for her to engage. Does that make sense?

I think it really depends on the kid. My son is in PK3 now and is the 2nd youngest in his class but he loves school and is already reading (not memorizing books but actually reading words). I was worried he'd be left behind but that hasn't been the case.

There is a lot of info out there on this, but basically It depends on your kid. Some studies have found that older kids (like oct. Birthdays in dc) don't work as hard as younger kids because in early years they have better language/cognitive skills and as they age this habit sticks with them and hurts them in the long run. Basically I think there is little advantage and it all evens out.

I was you - I thought my daughter was going to be SO advanced. And then one child (who was 4 months younger than my daughter!) started reading before she did. Age is nothing but a number.

Now it's K and you just can't tell who is older and they pretty much have all caught up.

Anonymous wrote:Hi, I'm curious what others' experience has been with having kids who are the oldest in their PS3 class (both our daughters have October bdays). It seems to me that a kid who turns 4 in October is - ON AVERAGE - way more advanced in certain ways than a kid who just turned 3 in September. And maybe (I'm ambivalent) even more so when the older kid is a girl. Parents of kids with Oct/Nov bdays: How, if at all, did that affect your child's PS3 experience?

TIA

I think you should keep in mind that it's not like the whole class will have just turned 3 in September. The ages of the kids will be all over the board - from October to September. I wouldn't sweat it!

My kid was the oldest in her PS3 class (though in fairness, it was a private PS3 that didn't follow strict guidelines on PS3 age - that is, she was 3.5 and the rest of the kids were 2.5 when she started). I was worried about her being the oldest. But, it ended up being fine. The teachers have done a good job giving her more "advanced" things to do and she has been very very happy.

I think you should not worry. If you are worried, I guess I just wonder what alternative you have other than private school.

Hi, I'm curious what others' experience has been with having kids who are the oldest in their PS3 class (both our daughters have October bdays). It seems to me that a kid who turns 4 in October is - ON AVERAGE - way more advanced in certain ways than a kid who just turned 3 in September. And maybe (I'm ambivalent) even more so when the older kid is a girl. Parents of kids with Oct/Nov bdays: How, if at all, did that affect your child's PS3 experience?

TIA