kindergarten?

[rainbabies]

soooo......dh just hit me with "ds NEEDS to go next year" he is NOT bending on it.

i dont think he is ready! he didnt do too well in preschool and he doesnt poop on the potty yet. i say wait until he is 6, dh says 4.5 is good.

ds will be 4 in feb.

dh want to re enroll him in preschool this spring and then start kindergarten!!!

[mommax3]

Based on what you have said, I would have to say NO WAY.

What are the laws regarding starting kindergarten in your state?

He needs to have a year of preschool or pre K under his belt before kindergarten, imo, especially if kindergarten is all day where you are.

Try again with the preschool in the spring, maybe, and then preK in the fall.

Sally

Totally agree w/Sally. Plus - he may not even be allowed yet. Quinn is 4 but has a late September birthday. Here the cut off is August 1, so he is not allowed to go next year, even though he'd turn 5 1.5 months into the year.

Jacob had such a bumpy transition to kindergarten, and he had 2 years of preschool under his belt. I wouldn't go in there cold turkey -- especially at a young start age. Jacob is even young for this class - so many people are waiting until 6 to start them now.

It might not even be an issue for you because the school won't take him. Where we used to live, they extended the birthdate deadline into November and that was a big deal.

I don't think it's a great idea. Let him (and you!) have a successful year of preschool first, IMO.

[Flynn]

I agree with everyone so far.

Check into what the rules say before it becomes an issue with you and DH.

Chances are, he won't have a leg to stand on.

[rainbabies]

thanks all.

we just talked about it more....i think i have made a tiny bit of headway. i brought up the state guidlines argument (which i dont know yet) and the fact that im not ready.

his response, "im the man of this house and the CEO"

my response...."you're the silent partner that is never here, and i have to take care of this schooling issue....so cool it."

he laughed at me and is thinking more about it.

updates to come, im sure.

Something that might be an option -- some districts offer pre-k through the elementary school. If you feel like that is a good option for everyone, it might be a place to look for pre-k.

[Phoebe]

ITA with everyone. My oldest has a birthday like Jesher's son and not able to start kindergarten until next fall and turning 6 three weeks later. She wouldn't have been mature enough this year. I am glad to wait.

Jennifer

[rainbabies]

well, i think this issue is put to rest. when our company came for T-day.....one is a ped resident.....she does exams and such for kids going to school, so whe would know, right??? i asked her. they HAVE to be 5.

Well, that settles that!

[ellie]

I was going to weigh in with my two cents, but I guess it's all settled! But if you ever need more backup, you can tell your dh that from the perspective of a former kindergarten teacher, your ds sounds like he wouldn't be ready, regardless of the age cutoff for kindergarten.

[DCJenn]

Good job of deflection there Sylvia! I so love those opportunities to be 'right' without having to prove it. (and they're so rare, at least in my house)

and of course, I completely agree with you. We're battling the "he can't move to the 3yo classroom unless he's potty trained" to which my initial reponse was, "well, he'll be with the 2yos until he's 15 at this rate."

I went to kindergarten at four. I was VERY socially immature even though academically I already 'knew' everything there was to know. In fact, by the time I was in 4th grade, my teacher knew that I needed a chance to be the Big Girl on Campus so she kept me for 5th grade (this was back in the failed "open classroom" experiments that had 4th and 5th graders together on one side of the ginormous cavernous space and the 5th and 6th graders on the other). I think it made all the difference in the way that the rest of my educational experiences went (maybe that's why I went to such a small college, now that I think about it!)

Jenn

[Stella]

I went at 4 yrs old and SO went at 5 and repeated. We ended up graduating in the same class and we're about a year and a half apart in age.

Go figure.

ETA: Point being, I think it just depends on the circumstances.