tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394089008210300670.post5304844868728423493..comments2023-12-07T03:44:58.883-05:00Comments on Chois-R-Us: to redshirt or not to redshirt.Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13287678098879352533noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394089008210300670.post-4099261016301318762012-05-20T16:26:59.589-04:002012-05-20T16:26:59.589-04:00I don't have to face this...since D's birt...I don't have to face this...since D's birthday is in November...I actually worry about him being BORED with preschool and the "old kid" when he finally starts kindergarten. He will be in the same preschool room from before he turned 3 (at 33 mos old) until Kindergarten (when he'll be 5 going on 6). They do split his classroom in half for some things, but they went to this "mixed age" group a while ago because of all the benefits they see with the younger and older kids. I'll have to see where he is at to see if maybe he'll need a different kind of preschool that last year. Not sure. AND SO IT STARTS: worrying about school.Janethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13696325791099123617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394089008210300670.post-4345914144268832562012-05-19T18:53:05.558-04:002012-05-19T18:53:05.558-04:00Interesting issue. I haven't given it too muc...Interesting issue. I haven't given it too much thought because Max is a June birthday so he won't be THE youngest, just on the younger side. I read an article in the NYTimes a few months ago about this issue that made a big impression on me. It said studies showed that kids at age 4-5 should be in school period. Their minds are so open and ready to learn at that exact moment that keeping them out of school (even if they are young or slightly immature) is doing them a disservice. But I believe as long as those children are in some sort of school (preschool, pre-K), they are still learning. I think their advice was more toward kids who would otherwise stay home instead of going to K. I do believe that being in some sort of school is so important for our kids. Luckily you have some time to decide and being a kindergarten teacher yourself, you'll be in a unique position to judge - realistically - if CB is ready or not.<br />Just found the article- here it is: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/dont-delay-your-kindergartners-start.html?_r=1kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09076246183222152339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394089008210300670.post-55451349476834128502012-05-12T10:47:07.342-04:002012-05-12T10:47:07.342-04:00I find the differences between the US and here so ...I find the differences between the US and here so interesting! As far as I know, there is no cut off for enrolment (except for Dec 31). Alex will be starting Junior Kindergarten in September - when he is just under 4.5. I know a few kids that will be starting and they are just 3 - that's right, 3. The classes generally are every other day, but the province is moving to full day every day JK and SK. I'm really hoping Alex's speech will be 100% clear by September... Personally I would send him - it would put him one step ahead.Kristahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05061537765999855488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394089008210300670.post-10623282470686101692012-05-11T22:34:37.657-04:002012-05-11T22:34:37.657-04:00I think it's funny you are thinking about this...I think it's funny you are thinking about this because I have already had this conversation with my husband and C isn't even home yet. I think our little guys have the same birthday and since we are both teachers it makes sense we are planning this big decision ahead of time. In our state I don't think we'll have a choice of when C will start school, but I think we would have "redshirted" anyway because he is missing the first 2 years of English language development and is small for his age. Plus, my brother was a Sept birthday and always the youngest, and my Mom says it was one of the worst decisions she made pushing him ahead, not because he didn't succeed at school but he was the last to get his license, etc, and that was hard at times.Kortneyhttp://www.heartsandseoul.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394089008210300670.post-92027957907474544352012-05-09T20:42:42.127-04:002012-05-09T20:42:42.127-04:00Being and Australian this was a new concept for me...Being and Australian this was a new concept for me - never heard of red shiritng, but it rang true for me personally. I went to Kindgergarten when I was four and remained four for six months of the year! When I got to 6th grade (the end of our primary school in Australia), I was young, small, immature, not developing through puberty and scared to go to high school. I was academically the top of the class but not mature enough to move on. So I asked (told) my parents and teachers that I was staying back to do grade 6 again. It was the best thing I ever did. When I finally went to high school I was the same age, I could get my license the same time as everyone else, and eventually be licensed to drink at the same time too. I couldn't imagine doing high school being a year younger. Primary school wasn't a problem and I think I thrived for most of it, but I was glad to repeat the grade in year 6. I think if you put CB in early it doesn't matter, you can always change your mind years later on depending on how he is going.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394089008210300670.post-66716879720926796162012-05-08T13:50:12.406-04:002012-05-08T13:50:12.406-04:00I'd ask his teacher in the spring of next year...I'd ask his teacher in the spring of next year what she thinks and kind of go from there.Mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11729173011570307377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394089008210300670.post-6420043085968868572012-05-07T20:30:24.876-04:002012-05-07T20:30:24.876-04:00Oh! I know this dilemma well... I wrestle with it ...Oh! I know this dilemma well... I wrestle with it on a weekly basis! After seeing how well S has done in "preschool," I'm leaning towards enrolling him on time.(He's a mid July birthday, and the cut-off here is September 1) I do worry about his ability to *sit* and *focus* but I have no worries about his intellectual or social level. (My kid is no wall flower, although like CB, he is small... which does scare me. And clearly I have some concerns about his emotional level.) Our school system leaves a lot to be desired as well, which adds another level of stress...So we are actually looking at Montessori and Charter school options currently. Which actually alleviates a lot of the stress because of how they function. Maybe that's why I'm all over the "on-time" aspect?! Like you said, it's a child by child situation. And it's really hard to balance all the different factors. We're actually really lucky in that our daycare center has a "preschool program" that he's currently in, and that's what we will keep him in until kindergarten. Six months before he moves over, he'll enter their "pre-k prep course" which is where they make sure he knows his letters and numbers, etc. But we aren't doing traditional pre-k here. I feel like I make no sense here. But that's probably because I have talked to myself about this over and over. ;-)Christine @ 12,450miles https://www.blogger.com/profile/06593782429987800305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394089008210300670.post-52012028268173796552012-05-07T20:05:36.610-04:002012-05-07T20:05:36.610-04:00We have had the same discussion around our house t...We have had the same discussion around our house too....although Paul is an end of April birthday. He will likely be 5-1/2 when starting kindergarten. Sort of falls in the middle I guess but such an important decision that I don't take it lightly. I think we all have to follow our hearts as we know our kids better than anyone else.Katiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16275975526251392460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394089008210300670.post-14571457615963907392012-05-07T11:18:28.835-04:002012-05-07T11:18:28.835-04:00I didn't realize you were a kindergarten teach...I didn't realize you were a kindergarten teacher! Fun! I was a K teacher too, until taking this year off to stay home with Beau. This is such a hard decision and also one we will be faced with in a few years. It looks like you are totally on the right track, weighing all of the pros and cons. Beau has a late June birthday, and school here in GA starts the first week of August, with the cut off being Sept. 1. Our plan is to wait until Beau has just turned 6 to start kindergarten, rather than sending him as a new 5 year old. While I have seen plenty of young kiddos succeed in kindergarten, I have also seen what a hard year it can be for the young ones who just were not quite ready for the long day and rigorous academics of kindergarten. It is so sad to see kids struggle the whole year, when they really just needed an extra year of preschool. From the teacher's perspective, it has gotten SO hard here in my area to retain K students who need an additional year of K for social/maturity reasons, if they did ok academically. However, it was hard sending them on to 1st grade knowing they were probably going to struggle. It is such a hard decision and one that I'm sure you will be prepared to make when the time comes. I would prefer to wait a to send Beau to K, and then hopefully he will not need to repeat a grade later on. Praying you'll have peace about the decision when the time comes!Bridgettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15499312256921269448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394089008210300670.post-35417492005849538172012-05-07T10:36:30.544-04:002012-05-07T10:36:30.544-04:00Ah yes, this plagues us too, for all of the reason...Ah yes, this plagues us too, for all of the reasons you've expressed, but also because I have two boys entering kindergarten TOGETHER!!<br />We always assumed we'd keep Matthew out of kindergarten for an extra year (his birthday is May 4th and he has many factors working against him including small size, social/emotional immaturity, and having learned English late). However, he has attended and excelled at his public preschool. They basically told me that there isn't anything else he can gain from going to preschool for another year. I think if we wanted to do it, we'd have to switch him to a private preschool, which would be fine. But the educators really pushed us to start him in kindergarten and then repeat if necessary. I can confidently say we will have him repeat kindergarten for many reasons, one of which is that I don't want the boys to be in the same grade, and I just know Matthew could use the time to catch up. As a kindergarten teacher, how do you feel about that?<br />Like Melissa said, he may be ready for kindergarten now, but can he be TOO mature in middle school? or high school? or college? Nope. All we can do is pray about it and hope we made the right decision!everythingismeowsomehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06671155513531459483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394089008210300670.post-31835330108841417342012-05-07T08:37:47.280-04:002012-05-07T08:37:47.280-04:00Hi, Grace. Oh, this darn issue used to stress me o...Hi, Grace. Oh, this darn issue used to stress me out, too! My two boys are Nov. and Oct. My oldest is the Nov birthday (and it's the 19th) and I just always assumed he would wait until he was 5 almost 6 to start kinder. His preschool teacher told me that he was ready so we started him when he was 4 and he has done so well. I can't imagine what it would be like had we waited. We did start him with the full understanding he may need to repeat a grade around 2nd or 3rd grade as I had heard that sometimes the "early" start won't show signs until this time, but it's just not the case with him (and just a note that we attend a homeschool-at school hybrid school with mixed grade classrooms so "repeating" a grade wouldn't be as big of a deal.) My younger son is Oct. 24th and we opted to wait a year before sending him for a couple of reasons. I totally think he would have been fine starting last year, but he's a little brother and always trying to play catch-up with his big bro. We thought an extra year's space might give him some room to be his own person and that it might be good for his little psyche to go into school being one of the older kids--give him a place where he wouldn't have to play catch up but potentially could be a leader. So far, he has done wonderfully this year. All this to say, that I totally think it depends on your child and you guys will know as the time gets closer. Plus, as much as it can be messy later, it's not a decision that is set in stone. I have a friend with a daughter with a May bday (pretty cut and dry bday) who repeated 2nd grade and it has been so great for her. Hope this loooong post is somewhat encouraging! JoyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394089008210300670.post-53514042079932722382012-05-07T07:50:28.682-04:002012-05-07T07:50:28.682-04:00Can you believe I've already been asked about ...Can you believe I've already been asked about this--twice--and E isn't even a year old yet. I keep thinking we can't send him until he's sleeping thru the night. Lol! But in all seriousness, I have given it a little bit of thought. E's birthday is early July, and currently my state's cut-off is 12/1, but it will be changing to 8/1 over the next few years (supposedly), so e coud be very close to the cut-off. I started K when I was 4 and was NOT ready socially, but my mom pushed it and I ended a being a very stressed out kid for two years and repeated the second grade. pushing me so hard at that age is one of her biggest regrets in life. So I'm a huge fan of waiting until a child is ready socially rather than academically. I never minded being one of the older kids in the class and I'm sure I would not have had nearly as successful academic career if I had continued along the path I started.Heatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11568731053148296398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394089008210300670.post-22413225885290124122012-05-07T07:13:06.404-04:002012-05-07T07:13:06.404-04:00Well, both of my kiddos are summer babies (July an...Well, both of my kiddos are summer babies (July and September) and we red shirted both of them. Camden completely would have been fine in kindergarten, but we didn't do it for kindergarten. We did it for middle school, high school. Etc. not wanting him to always be the youngest. Brian teaches 4th grade and has had some bad experiences with summer babies in his class who started on time and we also have some family and friends who started on time, but they've regretted it. Rory was definitely not ready for kindergarten, but the same reasons for holding Camden back apply to her as well. The extra year just gives her a bit more maturity. Definitely just a matter of opinion, because, obviously, children can be perfectly fine going to kindergarten as a 4 or young 5.Melissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08325898729203111520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394089008210300670.post-86363328810959583032012-05-07T01:01:30.736-04:002012-05-07T01:01:30.736-04:00We have two spring babes, so I haven't had to...We have two spring babes, so I haven't had to worry about it from a mom's perspective. But. I was an October baby who went to school "on time." (Not sure how much my mom agonized over this, but we certainly didn't have the resources to pay for another year of daycare for me.) I do wonder sometimes how things might have been different if I had been held back. I did fine academically, but I was super shy, and just always felt a little overwhelmed by the social scene that is school. It is hard to know if being older would have given me more confidence; I might have just been shy no matter what. I think you're smart to wait and feel things out and would agree it is a kid-specific decision. Anyway, good luck with your decision, and I think you *do* have a little time to sort it out :)Annie Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00851156767173316716noreply@blogger.com