UPDATE in OP: Starting Kindergarten Early

[preppy]

DD1 is 4 and has a mid September birthday and therefore misses the K cutoff for our state. She is currently repeating the preschool year as our daycare also follows the Sept 1 cutoff to start in their pre-K class. At the start of the year she had 2 other kids who also had Sept bdays in her class but one moved and the other switched to a private school. The rest of DDs class is 3 and the next oldest person will be 4 in January. She is complaining of being bored and being in class with “little kids” and says she misses her friends (kids she was with the other years of daycare are in the preK) and while she used to love going to school hadn’t been excited to go at all lately.

We met with the teacher and the schools education coordinator and they have been doing supplemental things for her in class since she’s starting to read and just due to her age is on a different level for a number of things than her classmates. I’ve inquired on if they are expecting new students in her class for next term but it doesn’t seem to be the case. Last week the teacher mentioned that she thinks DD should be in Pre K and I should petition for early Kindergarten this Sept and that would place her in Pre K for the rest of this school year. I talked to a friend who works in the public schools and it seems that you can do this but she would have to pass a “test” to be admitted early.

DH wants to try this but I am not so sure. She is bright and I think would be fine but at the same time she’s missed half of pre K plus she’s 4, she could have a new kid join her class tomorrow that is more on her level and then be fine with school again. I don’t know if it makes sense to switch it all up due to just these next 5 months.

Has anyone done this? Would anyone consider this?

PDQ I will DD later due to all the details:)

Update: So we met with DD1s teacher and the education coordinator/pre-K teacher and came up with a plan we all seem happy with. We decided we aren't going to pursue starting K early for a variety of reasons but they agreed that she could use some enrichment for this school year. The pre-K class at our school is full MWF but has spaces on T/Th. So we are going to have DD1 in the preschool class she is currently in on MWF and join the pre-K class for lessons on T/Th. We will do drop off/pick up all in her current class and the pre-K teacher will pull her in for those days. They also offered to have her pulled in on days where people are absent but for the sake of consistency and keeping a schedule we declined that. I think it will be good to have her learning new things on those days and be with kids closer to her age but I want her schedule to be consistent as I really think kids (or my kids at least) thrive on consistency. We are starting this after the break in January and have talked to DD1 about it and she seems very excited! 

[mccallister84]

I would at least call your school district to see what the process is. Here they have to have a birthday within 6 weeks of the cut off and they have to pass a test. Rumor has it that in order to be admitted early to K they basically need to have mastered the kindergarten curriculum - that the test is based on end of K standards. Very, very few kids pass it - like maybe one a year (and some years none) and our district is very large. Knowing that, for my district I wouldn’t bother. If it’s an easier process in your district I may consider it but truly I’m a proponent of just send your kid when they are supposed to go to school, according to your state guidelines.

[simpsongal]

My niece has a late oct birthday and she started kindergarten at 4. She’s extremely bright and it just felt right. But it’s catholic school so they’re pretty flexible on admissions. All that to say, I think your right to consider it. It’s a shame preschool is so lock step in kid division. Ours has lots of classes with age groups not necessarily by school year. So my dd has lots of 3+ in her class that will be a year ahead of her in school.

[countthestars]

I would inquire about it for sure. An acquaintance sent her early Oct daughter to K at 4 and she’s a thriving second grader.

Are there other Pre-K options for next year? Maybe a change of programs will help keep her engaged? We considered that for our 4 year old (he’s in year 2 at the same preschool program and I still wonder if we should have switched him). I know you have another DD so it may not be easy to get two slots.

ETA: just reread your post and I see we are in the same situation with repeating Preschool. It’s frustrating.

[humpforfree]

We are doing this with E in the fall. Our cut off is 9/1 and her birthday is 9/25. She is 110% socially ready and right on schedule academically. Her preschool teacher has her doing the pre-k stuff and both she and the pediatrician think it’s crazy for her to not be in K next year.

I have to register her in feb-March and then they do assessments in March-May. Regular K assessments are nbd and they just use them to make the classes. I’ve been told that early entry k assessments are harder and they are supposed to know more. That seems crazy to me bc then not only will she be on track for K, but she will be ahead and bored (which is what we are trying to avoid)... I am checking into what exactly the early K assessments are here and who does them, etc.

[keh2oblue]

My son is a September birthday, but we decided not to test out of early K, and I’m glad we did. He has been so successful in K and now First where a lot of his peers are struggling with reading, comprehension, and other totally abnormally difficult things they make 6-7 yo know these days.

[dcn]

It won’t hurt to have her test. My sister is a k teacher and over the past 20
Years has only had a handful of kids actually start early.

Ds1 is older bc of the cutoff and it has been a challenge this year in first grade bc he’s pretty bored and keeps getting in trouble for not sitting quietly after he finishes his work. Kindergarten honestly wasn’t a problem, the teachers were great at finding ways to challenge him and keep him engaged. This year it’s a lot of sitting and doing work and he flies through it and they just....don’t do anything to help him.

So all that to say she will likely be fine either way, and ime it depends on the teacher.

[magpie]

We considered it for our DD, but opted not to. While she reads at a very high level for her age, her social skills are right in line with her peers. That was a big part of our decision, but we also considered that, while she's academically way ahead now, that might not remain the same. Also, we thought about her starting college a year early and didn't love the idea of essentially losing one of our 18 years with her, lol. I'm sure it'd be fine, but it just wasn't necessary for us to push it. We did have an excellent Pre-K program where her teacher kept her learning and engaged all year though. She's in k now and doing great socially and academically. Are there any other Pre-K programs available to you? It sounds like your preschool isn't meeting her needs and maybe it's possible that another program would?

[icedcoffee]

One of my big hesitations would be that red shirting in my area is so rampant that it would mean she's almost 2 years younger than some kids. I mean--this will also be the case with my August baby who I plan to send on time, but I don't think I would purposely CHOOSE it.

Regardless, I'd get her tested and then decide from there. Just because she passes the test doesn't mean you need to pursue. Her already missing half a year of preschool does give me pause. Maybe they can move her up to pre-K and then you can look for a different pre-k program for next fall?

[Velar Fricative]

Dec 2, 2019 9:00:04 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

One of my big hesitations would be that red shirting in my area is so rampant that it would mean she's almost 2 years younger than some kids. I mean--this will also be the case with my August baby who I plan to send on time, but I don't think I would purposely CHOOSE it.

I was going to say this. I don't think it's a bad idea to at least check to see what's required before making a decision, but I'd be concerned about the age range in future classes if redshirting is rampant in your area even though she barely missed the cutoff. 

Having said that, if you decide to do this and she starts K at age 4, I'm sure she will be fine. NYC's cutoff is 12/31 so my 10/1 DD1 started K at 4 and now in first grade and having just turned 6 two months ago, she is thriving. But, she's also not dealing with being more than a year younger than her oldest peers or anything because NYC public schools don't allow redshirting even if you try to do it, so that also helps. But I also don't think it's bad to just wait until she can start per the cutoff either. 

[gummybear]

Lurker chiming in. Our older daughter has a mid-September birthday and missed the cut off by a couple weeks. She's extremely bright and mature and would have tested in easily but we decided against it. I can tell you now that she's 12 it was absolutely the right decision and I would make it again 100% of the time. Even with her being extremely mature the social pressures these kids face are no joke, and like pp mentioned there's a whole host of kids that are older than her in her grade because of redshirting. I see almost every day with her friends - the ones that are older (fall birthdays) handle things SO much better regardless of intellect and school performance. She's a natural leader now and at the top of her class. I also have my younger daughter to compare to - she's a late July birthday and one of the youngest in her class. She is definitely on a whole other level than the older kids and I often wonder if we should have redshirted her. It has nothing to do with her school performance either, she's just YOUNG and it shows. And it's getting more apparent every year as the older kids get more interested in more advanced and socially risky things.

What we chose to do was send my older daughter to a 5-day program at preschool that was specifically for redshirted kids. So she was the youngest in that program and had to test in but it was not setting her down the path of always being the youngest. It was extremely targeted for K prep. It was a nice mix of keeping the preschool vibe and more challenging learning.

[abs]

There is no way I would test in early. Around 2nd-3rd grade school gets really hard really fast. They ask kids to do things they aren't developmentally ready to do. DD is one of the older ones in her grade and is still struggling with some skills this year in 3rd after breezing through K-2. I can't imagine having asked her to do some of this stuff any earlier.

At 3 and 4 you should still be learning through play. Things like early reading skills or math skills will all even out later. She is only a few months older than some of her classmates. This is not really a huge gap.

[minzy]

I went back and forth on this for years with my Sept baby.  Here she is in the 45 day window where she could have tested early and been pulled up.  We did private Montessori K last year and then started her in public K again this year "on time" rather than first early.  Academically she is reading really well but both we and her preschool/K teacher felt socially/personality-wise it would benefit her to be the oldest and most mature rather than the youngest.  She scored great for behavior for her first quarter and she has friends running up to her all the time to say hi.  She has complained as recently as an hour ago that she wishes she were in first grade since she's so old, but I still think it was the right call for her.  I also heard from some friends recently that they regret pushing their just turned nine year old fourth grader ahead, and now it's "too late" to do much about it.   

On the other hand, another friend's daughter is four days younger than mine and they pushed her ahead, so she's in first now.  She's also doing great.  It's such an arbitrary line.  I would spend some time investigating both options and make your best guess, while realizing at the end of the day the kid will probably be okay either way.

[preppy]

I would have to check on redshirting but I don't think its very high in our district since of the socio-economics of the school system we are in.

magpie, icedcoffee, I am going to look at other pre-K options outside of our daycare. I don't love the idea of two drop offs (I would keep DD2 at our current daycare) but its def something to look into.

I did briefly chat with the education coordinator who is also the pre K teacher at the school during drop off and she is going to send me times to set something up to talk about getting her over to the pre K class for certain lessons each week. I plan to ask about if its possible to do pre K full time starting in January which would buy more time to figure out what we should do.

[minniemouse]

I would not do it. She would likely be fine either way, but I think in a few years you will be glad she went on time.
My dd has a late October birthday with a 12/1 cutoff. She started k at 4 turning 5 the next month. Academically it’s been fine. She’s in 5th grade/middle school now. Socially it was fine in the lower grades,but getting tougher now. Middle school can be difficult for anyone but being the youngest doesn’t help!
I was the same, as our birthdays are a week apart, and I turned out great (lol) but we also didn’t face the same pressures this generation has. I also didn’t start middle school until 6th grade, which made a difference.

[brooke77]

I think it’s worth getting her tested. Friends of ours started their twins at 4 and I admit I was skeptical. The kids are 8 now and still absolutely excelling academically. They also do well socially and have never had any problems making friends. The boy twin is more outgoing than the girl twin, but that’s just his personality. She’s much more shy and reserved and I think would still be like that if she started K a year later.

[imojoebunny]

We live in a district with a high percentage of kids in gifted. Kids who are older for their grade seem more likely to get in in the younger grades, which is beneficial to their confidence, and also, gives them opportunities they would not have otherwise, like access to considerably smaller classes for math and language arts. I have issues with the way the selection process is done, but it is what it is, so something to consider, if your district has a similar model. I would keep her in pre-k/kinder the extra year, if I could afford to do so, and maybe find a program that had a different model, either more play (proven to help kids long term with self regulation), or with kids more similar to her age. By middle and high school, it will be an advantage to be one of the older kids, and if she continues to excel, the options for advancing well above grade level are numerous. My DD is a younger 8th grader and a lot of the 7th graders in her math and english classes (advanced for 7th grade) are only 1-4 months different in age from her, but because they are considered advance level, they will get more credit on their transcripts next year, when they go to high school, for example.

[minzy]

I'll just add that if you think she will need more challenge eventually, that here our accelerated stuff starts in third grade (they don't call it "gifted" but that's what it is).  My older (spring born) kid is in that, and her two best friends in class were born in October and August (nearly a year apart).  So they are still "catching" those kids, regardless of birth date.

[MDmomof2]

We had DD tested for early entry to K with an early October birthday and a Sept 1 cut off. Our district only takes HIGHLY skilled pre-K kids early. As an OP stated, they are basically looking for kids who have already mastered end of K skills. They just don't have the capacity to take many kids "off timeline." In hindsight, we are glad DD didn't get in early. She is now 12 and in 6th grade. All her classes are GT and she does well, but she's developmentally appropriate for her age and grade. It's hard to picture where she might be if she were in 7th grade now! I know that it's tough to see them bored and out of place at this age, but consider the long game. It will be harder to see them out of place as middle schoolers.

[seaturtle]

I would test her. I was born on my district cut off date (10/1) and started K at 4. I was even bored then and tested into 1st grade math so I can't imagine being held back another year. I was on the mature side then and throughout school so I never had any social issues. Yes there were kids over a year older than me and kids in lower grades older, but honestly my biggest issues were driving and drinking later than my peers (lol). I'm pretty anti-redshirt but for a September birthday, especially for a girl, I'd at least start the process.

[sent]

My DD is early December and I had a choice to do another year of preschool/pre-K or put her in K at her daycare. I opted for K because the 9 - 3 academic schedule fit her personality better than the 9 - 1 academic schedule followed by forced nap from 1 - 3 in the pre-K room. She did so well. I had to find and pay for private first grade and she is doing fine there too (my public school district would make her repeat K if I tried to enroll her in first). She will be entering public school for 2nd grade and I’m not worried. I believe age is just a number because I too went through school with a December birthday as the youngest in my class. I did fine academically and socially. Any social issues I had were because I had immigrant parents suspicious of everything “American” and not because I wasn’t older. DD won’t have that battle. I’ve said this before. It’s not the end of the world when everyone will get their license before her (an argument I often see about why kids near the cutoff should be held back). That’s called life and life is unfair. Not having your license in 11th grade has almost nothing to do with being academically prepared in school.

[redheadk]

This like a self-solving problem, honestly. She’s in a class right now with kids on the other end of the birthdate spectrum just be chance but that will not be the case in a larger public school setting. Something to consider: is she truly in line, maturity-wise, with kids in the grade level above (not just the younger ones but as a whole)? Or is it that she’s just more mature than her very young class?

It won’t hurt to have her tested. I’m surprised your current school doesn’t offer a transitional K program or something similar, unless it’s an anomaly that there is nobody closer to her birthdate in her current class.

[preppy]

To be clear I don't think she is "gifted" or wildly advanced - I just think she is more on par with peers closer to her age or a little ahead. I am going to look into options and have the sit down with the education coordinator and see what they say/think. You guys have given me a lot of great ideas as well as a lot to think about.

[preppy]

Dec 2, 2019 10:05:20 GMT -5 redheadk said:

This like a self-solving problem, honestly. She’s in a class right now with kids on the other end of the birthdate spectrum just be chance but that will not be the case in a larger public school setting. Something to consider: is she truly in line, maturity-wise, with kids in the grade level above (not just the younger ones but as a whole)? Or is it that she’s just more mature than her very young class?

It won’t hurt to have her tested. I’m surprised your current school doesn’t offer a transitional K program or something similar, unless it’s an anomaly that there is nobody closer to her birthdate in her current class.

Her school is our daycare - there are 4 classes, Infant, toddler, pre-school and pre-K. There are no public pre K options in our district and my other options would be to move to a different school/daycare which is something I will look into:) 

Its hard to say if she is totally on par maturity with the class ahead right now since I am not in the school but she was in the same infant/toddler/preschool(last year) as those children and was on par with them for those years. We got the option to repeat the toddler year or the preschool year and chose preschool for education reasons and also cause our kids are very close in age and would have been in the same class which I reallllllyyyyy wanted to avoid. 

ETA: I also def agree its a self solving prob and in K there would likely be more kids with early fall bdays.

[gummybear]

Dec 2, 2019 10:07:21 GMT -5 preppy said:

To be clear I don't think she is "gifted" or wildly advanced - I just think she is more on par with peers closer to her age or a little ahead. I am going to look into options and have the sit down with the education coordinator and see what they say/think. You guys have given me a lot of great ideas as well as a lot to think about.

This is how my older daughter is too. They put her in the preschool room when she was 2-3 at daycare because she was more socially advanced (extremely verbal, could read and plusalso wouldn't nap ), and her best friends from age 2-6 were both 2 years older. Now that she's 12 it's evened out.  On one side, she has a much easier time than her peers making friends in the older grades (she is in 6th and has several friends in 7th - especially because in sports she ages up in CYO because they go by birth year and not grade for things like track and xc) and she can def. "hang" with them whereas her younger friends are more intimidated or just go along for the ride. But at the same time, I thank God every day she's not in 7th hanging with the "could have been 8th graders". It's just a bit much and so pronounced as they get older.  But her social maturity has allowed her to be a leader (this is also a double edged sword) in her peer group. 

Likewise, my 8 year old does much better playing with younger kids. Her little bestie is 14 months younger (and ironically 2 years below her in school). I worry about her later. 

All in all, I am MUCH more comfortable with the older for her grade scenario. 

ETA: This is also very child-specific and there's really no way to tell when they're 4 but my daughter is a full-grown woman and could easily pass for 16 with makeup and clothing. I shudder at the thought of her being influenced to look older/act older by a peer group that socially more mature than she is. So this factors into my relief that she's where she is.

[minniemouse]

Can she repeat the pre-k year instead of the preschool year?

[jeaniebueller]

I would look into it. I started K early in the sense that my birth date was two weeks past the deadline and it was fine.

[preppy]

Dec 2, 2019 10:35:17 GMT -5 minniemouse said:

Can she repeat the pre-k year instead of the preschool year?

Originally we asked but they said no, but I am going to ask again if she can move into PreK in Jan for the second half of the year as an option then repeat that year in the 2020/2021 school year?

[kershnic]

I would seriously consider it. Our deadline isn’t until October 31 and one of my girls close friends just turned 5 in October of kindergarten. She’s doing fine. A few days difference and waiting a whole year is a long time if you think she’s ready.

My sister has a mid-Sept birthday and my parents pushed her ahead and she did great academically, and my best friend from college was a December baby who started k at 4 and graduated valedictorian.

My kids were ‘kindergarten ready’ at 3.. we’re Feb birthday so there was no debate about when they would start. But I cant imagine if we had had to wait a whole other year until almost 6 to start K.

[MDmomof2]

My daughter went to a preschool/daycare with a private Kindy program. She could have gone right into 1st grade from there, but given her age we still sent her to public K. It was a good transition year for her. I know it's a pain to move preschools, but that might be an option in your area.