Amelia's first day of Pre-K
This week Amelia moved up into the Pre-Kindergarten class at her school. I feel old. I can't believe she's already in Pre-K! She is very excited about her new class and teacher. She knows Ms. Vicky (she's seen her around school before) and almost all the kids in her class were also in her Preschool class at some point, so it's nice that there's not a ton of new stuff all at once. Anyway, the classroom activities are all much more school-prep-oriented than last year's, so it'll be fun to watch her learn. We are almost positive that we won't put her in kindergarten next year (she'll turn 5 on Nov. 15, 2009 and to enroll in kindergarten here, you have to be 5 by Dec. 1, so we could start her next year if we wanted), but it's still hard to believe the school years are already upon us. Those of you out there: what's your opinion on the age deadline? What do you see as the pros and cons of starting her in kindergarten next year or waiting a year? I've heard several people's opinions both ways, but I'm always interested to hear people's reasons. Thanks!
This week Amelia moved up into the Pre-Kindergarten class at her school. I feel old. I can't believe she's already in Pre-K! She is very excited about her new class and teacher. She knows Ms. Vicky (she's seen her around school before) and almost all the kids in her class were also in her Preschool class at some point, so it's nice that there's not a ton of new stuff all at once. Anyway, the classroom activities are all much more school-prep-oriented than last year's, so it'll be fun to watch her learn. We are almost positive that we won't put her in kindergarten next year (she'll turn 5 on Nov. 15, 2009 and to enroll in kindergarten here, you have to be 5 by Dec. 1, so we could start her next year if we wanted), but it's still hard to believe the school years are already upon us. Those of you out there: what's your opinion on the age deadline? What do you see as the pros and cons of starting her in kindergarten next year or waiting a year? I've heard several people's opinions both ways, but I'm always interested to hear people's reasons. Thanks!
9 comments:
Wow, December 1 seems really late! We're thinking about this issue with Johnathan, too. He has a June birthday. I have no doubt that he'll be smart enough for kindergarten next year, so it will come down to whether or not he's emotionally ready. Hopefully his teacher this year will help us determine that. I've never heard anyone say that they regretted holding a child back due to age.
The age cutoff in AR is September 15. Next year they are moving it up to Sept. 1st with plans, I believe, to eventually move it up into August. December 1st is a much later cutoff. Girls are more mature than boys for sure. In the classroom it's obvious. We held Derek back b/c he's a July birthday. Of course, he reminds me almost daily that he could be in 3rd grade this year :) I did not want him to be 17 when he graduated and to always be the "baby" of the class. It had nothing to do with intelligence. Since Austin is a Feb. b-day, he will start K next year. In my opinion, I wouldn't start her until fall '10. Another year of Pre-K wouldn't be too bad and you could work on teaching her reading at home. I have a book that I used with Derek that you can have. There's my 2 cents for what it's worth. Call me if you want to talk more about it. Love ya!
We will almost certainly hold Keynan back. His birthday is in August. I am a "don't push it" sort of person. Kids have long enough to grow up. I don't think keeping her back would hurt her at all, but if she's ready, she's ready. I think you'll know.
Well, I don't have kids, so I have a different perspective, but I can speak from my own experience. I have an August birthday, and my parents started me right after I turned 5. Their theory was that I was smart enough, and played well with others, so why wait. I turned out fine, right?
Watching Amelia grow up, she'll certainly be more than smart enough, but it probably all depends on how you feel about it.
I think I was precocious enough that my mom just wanted me out of the house!! :)
Megan's b-day is in Dec. and she won't be five until '09. We could file an appeal and have her tested and accepted into kindergarten in '09, but we decided to wait. If we put her in early, she'd be 16 for half of her senior year. We figured that wouldn't be much fun.
i don't know when amelia should go to kindergarten, but she sure is cute!
Hi Emily! Well, obviously I don't have kids either but here are some other anecdotes. Mark's family (he's the 4th of 5 brothers) did it both ways, with some brothers starting early, some later. It all seemed to be a wash in the end, and the brothers who were on the younger end of their peers from starting "early" didn't seem to mind being younger. I also remember my friend Erin (mark's sis-in-law) wondering last year about when to start Alice, who has an October birthday. They decided to start her in kindergarten at 4, and kindergarten was fine. She didn't have any real adjustments until she hit first grade, but that was a change from half days to full days (every day). Plus, it was probably just Alice's personality. Also, the teacher suggested holding her back a year and repeating first grade (she was fidgety, forgot homework, etc.), but she's near the top of her class and would have ended up bored--which would be worse. She's mellowed a lot :-), but her behavioral issues were more a matter of a lousy first grade teacher for the first half of the year who actually picked on her a bit (does anyone seriously expect a 5/6-year old not to fidget for an entire day?), and after being moved to another teacher, she excelled. Anyway, you've got a year to see how she grows and changes!
Our age cutoff is Sept. 1 and we are both upset Ava will miss it by 13 days when the time comes. Emelia will meet the criteria, so Mike and I would definitely be taking advantage. Let's be honest: Our kids have great genes. They're ready for school. They're ready for life. They're ready for challenges. We'd rather Ava be the youngest in her class (almost 5) than almost 6 when she starts kindergarten. We are already searching for a way around the Sept. 1 rule..... We think she'll have to attend K and 1 in a private school and then transfer to public. Since Kinder's not a requirement in Texas, attending Kinder in a private school doesn't automatically let her into 1st the next year, but 1st in a private school will let her into 2nd in public.
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