Anonymous wrote:My apologies for just scanning this thread overall, but I wanted to add a dissenting voice that I am so glad my parents sent me to school (late December birthday with a 5 by 1/1 kindergarten cut off) instead of holding me. I did feel small and young in early elementary school, but it was a non-issue later on. Girls are developmentally ready earlier than boys, and I would have been frustrated and bored in class with boys a year younger than I was. I liked finishing college at 21, having my masters at 22, and buying a condo at 25. Getting launched early had financial and social benefits for me.

Anonymous wrote:My apologies for just scanning this thread overall, but I wanted to add a dissenting voice that I am so glad my parents sent me to school (late December birthday with a 5 by 1/1 kindergarten cut off) instead of holding me. I did feel small and young in early elementary school, but it was a non-issue later on. Girls are developmentally ready earlier than boys, and I would have been frustrated and bored in class with boys a year younger than I was. I liked finishing college at 21, having my masters at 22, and buying a condo at 25. Getting launched early had financial and social benefits for me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the issue is that kindergarten is too academic and it can be hard for kids to sit still. The research is so clear that play based curriculums are best for preschool, and it is a really abrupt shift to kindergarten, at least in most settings I am familiar with.

I don’t think you can decide now. I’d wait until it’s time to apply/register for K and decide based on what happens based on where your child is at that point. Although older kids often do better, plenty of young ones do fine too.

Its not too academic. Its school. Play based is not best for all kids. We removed our child from a play based preschool to a more academic one where they thrived and were prepared. People like you don't prepare their kids and then have all kinds of excuses.

Uh okay. My kids are doing great in school so I don’t need excuses. Nevertheless I thought most agreed that K these days has too much sitting, too much testing, too much pressure. I think it’s a shame but my kids have been fine thank you.

Then why not homeschool. You are making excuses and pushes others to hike back to justify your actions. Your kids are not age appropriate and that’s not healthy. I us not to much sitting and texting is necessary to make sure they are on target and don’t need extra help. How is k pressure? K is if anything very basic for those of us who worked with our kids and prepared them. I thought it was a huge waste of time as it was basically a holding grade so kids like yours could catch up to mine.

There are those of us who feel the kindergarten curriculum and structure is inappropriate for a 4 year old or just turned 5 year old, especially when the expectations are compared to kids who are an entire year older than they are. We don’t think it’s appropriate to have to “prepare” a 3 year old to enter kindergarten at 4 and sit all day.

+1, though not even from a redshirting perspective. My kid was 5.5 (so no question about the age cutoff) and she tested 98% for math, so she was academically more than ready and has been fine in school. That said, I disagree with the kindergarten curriculum. There should be more play. Sitting all day is hard at that age, and more time sitting does not actually improve their longterm academic performance. Unfortunately my daughter reported that they got a bunch of brain breaks that were screen time. It was disappointing to me to see my kid go from loving preK to being super bored in kindergarten.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for all the responses. Lots to think about.

To answer a few questions that have come up:
Why am I asking about this now when DD is only 3? The topic actually came up during DD’s preschool parent-teacher conference yesterday since it’s relevant to which Pre-K class she’ll be placed in next year. (There’s an “older” Pre-K and a “younger” Pre-K. All kids in the older class will go to K the following year. Most kids in the younger class will not. DD will likely be placed in the younger class with the other late summer birthdays, but if we know that we’ll be enrolling her in K the following year then they’d try to get her into the older class.)

Why not do K at public and then repeat K at private? This is a great idea in theory! Unfortunately I have heard from other families that the private school discourages this and will evaluate applicants currently in K for a spot in the 1st grade class unless there is a compelling reason for the child to repeat K. Most years there are no spots open in 1st grade so you are essentially applying for the wait list.

Why do I want to send DD to this private school in the first place? I’m an alum, and I feel like I got a great education there. That being said, we always thought we’d send DD to our well-regarded public elementary and try to apply in to the private for middle school. (It’s a K-12 school.) However, as we’ve learned more about just how much Chromebooks and learning apps are used in the classroom in public starting in K, we’ve changed our minds. The private school does no laptops in the classroom until 3rd grade. Younger kids have “technology lab” once a week, and that’s it. Laptop use in the classroom is limited until the kids reach middle school. That fact alone makes going private for elementary worth it in my opinion.

OK what kind of a preK is this -- are most kids going to public or private? Just curious because I'm a little surprised it's not just a standard preK, but maybe it's beside the point....
I would ask the preschool more about her current "readiness" for the older class versus the current one and try to get her the right fit for right now. I understand your reasons for preferring private elementary school. We went public but felt that pull as well. I wonder if a different private would be an option if they want to redshirt her and you don't think it's necessary? This is all down to personal preference, of course, and may not be an issue if you decide you're happy delaying.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for all the responses. Lots to think about.

To answer a few questions that have come up:
Why am I asking about this now when DD is only 3? The topic actually came up during DD’s preschool parent-teacher conference yesterday since it’s relevant to which Pre-K class she’ll be placed in next year. (There’s an “older” Pre-K and a “younger” Pre-K. All kids in the older class will go to K the following year. Most kids in the younger class will not. DD will likely be placed in the younger class with the other late summer birthdays, but if we know that we’ll be enrolling her in K the following year then they’d try to get her into the older class.)

Why not do K at public and then repeat K at private? This is a great idea in theory! Unfortunately I have heard from other families that the private school discourages this and will evaluate applicants currently in K for a spot in the 1st grade class unless there is a compelling reason for the child to repeat K. Most years there are no spots open in 1st grade so you are essentially applying for the wait list.

Why do I want to send DD to this private school in the first place? I’m an alum, and I feel like I got a great education there. That being said, we always thought we’d send DD to our well-regarded public elementary and try to apply in to the private for middle school. (It’s a K-12 school.) However, as we’ve learned more about just how much Chromebooks and learning apps are used in the classroom in public starting in K, we’ve changed our minds. The private school does no laptops in the classroom until 3rd grade. Younger kids have “technology lab” once a week, and that’s it. Laptop use in the classroom is limited until the kids reach middle school. That fact alone makes going private for elementary worth it in my opinion.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for all the responses. Lots to think about.

To answer a few questions that have come up:
Why am I asking about this now when DD is only 3? The topic actually came up during DD’s preschool parent-teacher conference yesterday since it’s relevant to which Pre-K class she’ll be placed in next year. (There’s an “older” Pre-K and a “younger” Pre-K. All kids in the older class will go to K the following year. Most kids in the younger class will not. DD will likely be placed in the younger class with the other late summer birthdays, but if we know that we’ll be enrolling her in K the following year then they’d try to get her into the older class.)

Why not do K at public and then repeat K at private? This is a great idea in theory! Unfortunately I have heard from other families that the private school discourages this and will evaluate applicants currently in K for a spot in the 1st grade class unless there is a compelling reason for the child to repeat K. Most years there are no spots open in 1st grade so you are essentially applying for the wait list.

Why do I want to send DD to this private school in the first place? I’m an alum, and I feel like I got a great education there. That being said, we always thought we’d send DD to our well-regarded public elementary and try to apply in to the private for middle school. (It’s a K-12 school.) However, as we’ve learned more about just how much Chromebooks and learning apps are used in the classroom in public starting in K, we’ve changed our minds. The private school does no laptops in the classroom until 3rd grade. Younger kids have “technology lab” once a week, and that’s it. Laptop use in the classroom is limited until the kids reach middle school. That fact alone makes going private for elementary worth it in my opinion.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for all the responses. Lots to think about.

To answer a few questions that have come up:
Why am I asking about this now when DD is only 3? The topic actually came up during DD’s preschool parent-teacher conference yesterday since it’s relevant to which Pre-K class she’ll be placed in next year. (There’s an “older” Pre-K and a “younger” Pre-K. All kids in the older class will go to K the following year. Most kids in the younger class will not. DD will likely be placed in the younger class with the other late summer birthdays, but if we know that we’ll be enrolling her in K the following year then they’d try to get her into the older class.)

Why not do K at public and then repeat K at private? This is a great idea in theory! Unfortunately I have heard from other families that the private school discourages this and will evaluate applicants currently in K for a spot in the 1st grade class unless there is a compelling reason for the child to repeat K. Most years there are no spots open in 1st grade so you are essentially applying for the wait list.

Why do I want to send DD to this private school in the first place? I’m an alum, and I feel like I got a great education there. That being said, we always thought we’d send DD to our well-regarded public elementary and try to apply in to the private for middle school. (It’s a K-12 school.) However, as we’ve learned more about just how much Chromebooks and learning apps are used in the classroom in public starting in K, we’ve changed our minds. The private school does no laptops in the classroom until 3rd grade. Younger kids have “technology lab” once a week, and that’s it. Laptop use in the classroom is limited until the kids reach middle school. That fact alone makes going private for elementary worth it in my opinion.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the issue is that kindergarten is too academic and it can be hard for kids to sit still. The research is so clear that play based curriculums are best for preschool, and it is a really abrupt shift to kindergarten, at least in most settings I am familiar with.

I don’t think you can decide now. I’d wait until it’s time to apply/register for K and decide based on what happens based on where your child is at that point. Although older kids often do better, plenty of young ones do fine too.

Its not too academic. Its school. Play based is not best for all kids. We removed our child from a play based preschool to a more academic one where they thrived and were prepared. People like you don't prepare their kids and then have all kinds of excuses.

Uh okay. My kids are doing great in school so I don’t need excuses. Nevertheless I thought most agreed that K these days has too much sitting, too much testing, too much pressure. I think it’s a shame but my kids have been fine thank you.

Then why not homeschool. You are making excuses and pushes others to hike back to justify your actions. Your kids are not age appropriate and that’s not healthy. I us not to much sitting and texting is necessary to make sure they are on target and don’t need extra help. How is k pressure? K is if anything very basic for those of us who worked with our kids and prepared them. I thought it was a huge waste of time as it was basically a holding grade so kids like yours could catch up to mine.

There are those of us who feel the kindergarten curriculum and structure is inappropriate for a 4 year old or just turned 5 year old, especially when the expectations are compared to kids who are an entire year older than they are. We don’t think it’s appropriate to have to “prepare” a 3 year old to enter kindergarten at 4 and sit all day.

+1, though not even from a redshirting perspective. My kid was 5.5 (so no question about the age cutoff) and she tested 98% for math, so she was academically more than ready and has been fine in school. That said, I disagree with the kindergarten curriculum. There should be more play. Sitting all day is hard at that age, and more time sitting does not actually improve their longterm academic performance. Unfortunately my daughter reported that they got a bunch of brain breaks that were screen time. It was disappointing to me to see my kid go from loving preK to being super bored in kindergarten.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the issue is that kindergarten is too academic and it can be hard for kids to sit still. The research is so clear that play based curriculums are best for preschool, and it is a really abrupt shift to kindergarten, at least in most settings I am familiar with.

I don’t think you can decide now. I’d wait until it’s time to apply/register for K and decide based on what happens based on where your child is at that point. Although older kids often do better, plenty of young ones do fine too.

Its not too academic. Its school. Play based is not best for all kids. We removed our child from a play based preschool to a more academic one where they thrived and were prepared. People like you don't prepare their kids and then have all kinds of excuses.

Uh okay. My kids are doing great in school so I don’t need excuses. Nevertheless I thought most agreed that K these days has too much sitting, too much testing, too much pressure. I think it’s a shame but my kids have been fine thank you.

Dp. That's what most people say but my kid's FCPS kinder didn't feel that way. They had gym three times a week, "choice time" which was another play time everyday and did work often with manipulatives, in addition to recess.

Add in all the transition time between getting up for lunch and electives, and it wasn't that much sitting time. His teacher was good, but I do wonder how many people just assume kinder is the same as it was back in our day.