What age/grade is your girl born in the summer?

[Seeking Squirrels]

If you have a girl born in late spring-summer, what grade is she in for her age? If you don't label grades, then you can vote based on the majority of their work or on whatever you would label them if you did have to. Why did you go the way you did and do you ever wish you'd gone the other way? I allowed for choosing more than one. 

[PeachyDoodle]

DD12 was born on Memorial Day. We started her in kindergarten the fall after she turned 5. I wouldn't have considered holding her out another year; she would have been even more bored in ps than she was. If DS had had her birthday, I definitely would have considered red-shirting him, though. He just needed more time to mature.

[8filltheheart]

I have a ds with a late August birthday who started K at 5. I have a Dd with a late July birthday who started K when she turned 6. My Dd was delayed in a lot of minor things, nothing major, but just enough for me to decide to not push it. She functions perfectly on grade level for the red-shirted yr. It was a good decision for her.

 

All the rest are grade level by birthday but academic work is strictly based on ability. Some have been multiple grade levels ahead by high school graduation.

[Kassia]

My dd has an August bday and started kindergarten at 5.  She was definitely ready.  Her twin brothers have August birthdays and we started them at 6 because one was ready and one wasn't.  It was a tough decision, but my one who was ready says he was happy he waited.  Dd is happy she didn't wait.  For once, everyone is happy!  :)

[Seeking Squirrels]

My dd has an August bday and started kindergarten at 5.  She was definitely ready.  Her twin brothers have August birthdays and we started them at 6 because one was ready and one wasn't.  It was a tough decision, but my one who was ready says he was happy he waited.  Dd is happy she didn't wait.  For once, everyone is happy!  :)

My cousin did the same with her twins when one was ready and one wasn't. They're only in 2nd now, so probably too early to know if they're still happy they kept them together. Hers are B/G twins, though, and the girl was ready and the boy wasn't. 

[Wheres Toto]

DD10 has a late July birthday, she's doing 5th grade.

 

DS12 has a late August birthday, he's doing 7th grade.  The schools request that we red-shirt him after he graduated from Early Intervention is part of what led us to homeschool.

 

 

[Ellie]

Mine were late spring, but I know some people think that's a "late" birthday. I can't figure out why. Homeschooled children are not in age-segregated classrooms. They are not "young" or "old" for their "grades." They don't "start" kindergarten or first grade or any grade. I see no reason to hold them back a year on paper, ever, as that "grade level" has nothing to do with what the dc are actually learning. So the May my dc turned five in May, I would have enrolled them in kindergarten (and when I had to hang a grade-level label on them, I went with the grade they would have been in based on that. Is that "5 + age"?). Since I was hsing, I just taught them what they were ready to learn, when they were ready to learn it, regardless of the grade they would have been in if they'd gone to school.

[RootAnn]

My late June girl started K at 5. I can still give her an extra year if she needs or wants it. Still too early to decide for real. We'll decide whenever she hits Junior year.

 

To Ellie's point, we've always taught her at her level. But at some point, you have to give them a grade level designation.

 

(I have a summer boy, too. He didn't start K until 6. He could be a grade lower (K at 7!) and that would fit even better. Still waiting for my late bloomer to bloom.)

Edited October 13, 2017 by RootAnn

[courtney.byrum]

My DS with a July birthday started the year he turned 5 as the cutoff in our state was December at that time. My DD with an early September birthday started while still 4 (again Dec cutoff so not the youngest in the class). We have no regrets on starting either when we did as they were both ready academically and did fine socially as well. We might have had other opinions if we didn't switch to virutal school and then homeschool when DS was in 1st and partway through DDs K year.

 

Had we had a Sept cutoff we might have considered holding him out a year and sending him at 6 since DD would have had to wait as well (we weren't homeschooling at that point)

[reign]

Oldest was redshirted. Her birthday is October 31, but the cut off was December 1st that year. She has major attention issues which effect her education and social behavior.

 

Youngest was not held back and entered 'kindergarten' at almost 5. Her birthday is September 25 and the cut off was October 1st that year. She struggles a bit with writing but overall is doing great. Socially she is used to being the youngest and has always acted older than her age.

 

Oh and my kids were/are in plenty of age/grade segregated classes. They have 7 such classes this semester. I teach them at their own academic level irregardless of their stated grade.

[Terabith]

My younger daughter's birthday is April 27.  Originally, our plan was for age-5, but by the time we were going to enroll her in brick and mortar school, it was obvious she had some pretty significant learning disabilities, severe anxiety, and most relevant of all, is just emotionally young.  I think it was the right call for her, but I'm glad we didn't have to make it when she was five.

[TinaBlue]

My 10yo girl has an early August birthday and started K at 5. She was very ready for K, but the state where we lived had a cutoff of July 31 -- no exceptions. This was one of the main reasons we chose to homeschool. Academically, she's doing great, and I have no regrets.

Edited October 13, 2017 by TinaBlue

[Junie]

Five of my six children have late summer birthdays.   :blink:

 

I started teaching them "preschool" when they were about 4 and we moved on to kindergarten when they were ready.

 

For my winter baby, we officially started the day after her birthday.  Yes, in the middle of winter.

 

We school year round and just do the next thing.

 

 

[rebbyribs]

My daughter who was born in early August started K soon after turning 5.  So did her twin brother.  I've had zero regrets about their grade placement academically, and outside activities usually seem to be based on age rather than grade level, so no problems there either.  

 

My daughter with a late November birthday started K at 4 (cutoff was December 2 so she beat it by a few days, but wouldn't have if she'd been born on her due date). We chose a non-academic kindergarten for her and she did great.  First grade was tough though and she was having trouble with reading and math. When I pulled her out to homeschool the following year, we were using first grade materials through the summer and about halfway through her "2nd grade" year.  I think at this point she's more or less caught up to where she should be for starting 6th grade.  I go back and forth about how I feel about her grade level.  I'm glad that I could adjust her grade by a year if I need to at this point, and I'm glad we were able to catch the reading difficulties and work on them at 6 years old rather than 7.  So while I might adjust her grade later on, I think I'm glad we started her when we did.

[Kassia]

My 10yo girl has an early August birthday and started K at 5. She was very ready for K, but the state where we lived had a cutoff of July 31 -- no exceptions. This was one of the main reasons we chose to homeschool. Academically, she's doing great, and I have no regrets.

 

We had the same issue with my dd.  The cutoff changed from 9/30 to 7/31 and dd has an August birthday.  Even though she was obviously ready in every way, the district wouldn't allow her to attend kindergarten.  At the time, we didn't want to homeschool so we used a virtual public school for kindergarten and then put her in first grade the following year.  She was still bored in ps (can't imagine if we had waited a year like the district wanted) so we ended up homeschooling and she's very happy.  

[Chelli]

My early July birthday girl started when she was 5. It was the right decision for her because she was totally ready for academic work. She had already been begging for school work since she was three and four. Out of all my kids she's the most academic so waiting for her would have been torture.

[momtofive]

I have a child who has a June birthday, and we started her in K at 5. She's now 11 in 6th grade. We've always determined official start time based on readiness, and challenged each where they are at. :)

Edited October 13, 2017 by momtofive

[shawthorne44]

As homeschoolers, it didn't particularly matter, but DD was totally ready for age - 5.   She is a July birthday.  

[AMJ]

I have one of each of the two choices you specified.  One child basically did an optional pre-first grade between kindergarten and first grade, and this was good for her due to LDs and needing more time to mature.  The other child didn't need this and has always done well, so while being 3 years younger than her sister she is only 2 years behind her in school.

 

 

[bethben]

Dd with late May birthday. I redshirted her mostly because she was adopted at 2 1/2 and there was no way I would have put her in kindergarten in public school so we started K a year later. She’s in public school 4th grade now and is very much in the right grade.

 

My friend with 6 graduated kids always told me it’s easier to graduate a child earlier than try to hold them back one more year when they’re not ready. She always redshirted her summer birthday kids.

 

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Edited October 13, 2017 by bethben

[wapiti]

My July girl started K on time at 5 y.o. in the same Montessori classroom as for preschool.  Early in 1st grade, she was a bit behind, to a point where the teacher was ready to call in the school reading specialist.  (It's been a couple of years so I can't recall, but she may have actually done so.)  Nor did dd know basic math facts, which is rather different from where her math-gifted siblings were in 1st gr.  Fortunately her school allows flexibility to work at one's own pace, be at different places in the sequence, etc., which is why we chose the school to begin with - not as custom-fit as homeschooling but as close as one will find in a school setting.  As is usual for Montessori, dd has had the same teacher for gr 1-3 and just loves her.  Two years later, dd is at least a year ahead in both math and reading.  I have been very hands-off compared to her older siblings (who were having 2e-ish issues at that age) and I have no regrets.

Edited October 13, 2017 by wapiti

[Southern Ivy]

My younger daughter's birthday is April 27.  Originally, our plan was for age-5, but by the time we were going to enroll her in brick and mortar school, it was obvious she had some pretty significant learning disabilities, severe anxiety, and most relevant of all, is just emotionally young.  I think it was the right call for her, but I'm glad we didn't have to make it when she was five.

This is EXACTLY where we are right now. Her bday is April 26. :) 

We noticed that after 2 years of preschool, there was no alphabet retention whatsoever so we started testing. Dx with ADHD, but I felt like that wasn't totally accurate. We've since been dx with SPD and a language deficiency and we're waiting on testing for CAPD. 

 

I am SO glad I listened to my mommy gut and didn't send her to school. 

[alisoncooks]

I have an 11 yr old 6th grader and a 9 yr old 4th grader.

(Though FWIW, that's just a number. They work at whatever level they're on at any given point.)

[wathe]

June.  8 years old and in grade 3.  This is a non-issue here, as the cut off is Dec 31.  So he middle of the pack age-wise.  (Technically in the older half even.)

[2_girls_mommy]

Both of mine have late summer bdays. One started "K" 3 weeks after turning 5, and continues this same thing every year. One of mine turned 5, 2 weeks after starting K, and continues that every year. It has been fine. My one with some learning differences could have benefited from red shirting a year, but those weren't evident until later when it was time to read and write, so we had no way of knowing when we started. And it doesn't really matter because we have been able to customize each's education with homeschooling to fit their needs anyway. 

[sweet2ndchance]

Oldest dd has late July birthday. She had been tagging along with her older brothers' school work since she was a toddler so really all that happened when she was 5 was that I had to officially start reporting her as a homeschooled student where we lived. No regrets even when she went to public school in late middle school. She did fine and excelled in math even more than she did at home with me.
 
Younger dd has an early May birthday. She had also been tagging along since she was an infant/toddler. Her sister played school with her and taught her "lessons" in reading and math since she was two. She could read on a 2nd grade level when she started kindergarten at age 5. She ended up in the gifted program in public school. No regrets starting her at age 5 either.

[AimeeM]

My daughter is 16, born in mid-August. Our state's cutoff birthdate for registration is end of August. We were advised by the principal of a local private school to "hold her back" years ago, but only did last year -- and I regret not doing it sooner. She is working at grade level more consistently "one below" where she would be, legally, in school. 

So, she's in 10th grade this year at home. If she were in public, she'd be in 11th, but I'm pretty happy with our decision. She's working at about a 9th/10th grade level.

 

We've done similar with our boys, who are also late spring and mid-summer kiddos.

[LMD]

Well we school jan-dec here in Australia so it's probably less relevant.

 

But, the cut off was April and dd is a July bday, she was ready and started homeschool k at 4.5. She was reading by age 5. However around grades 4/5 we had some upheaval and a new baby and we kind of used the extra year. We don't have to report grades so we did a year of grade 4.5/5ish. Now she's finishing up 6th as a 12.5 year old and I'm happy with that.

Edited October 14, 2017 by LMD

[BlsdMama]

If you have a girl born in late spring-summer, what grade is she in for her age? If you don't label grades, then you can vote based on the majority of their work or on whatever you would label them if you did have to. Why did you go the way you did and do you ever wish you'd gone the other way? I allowed for choosing more than one. 

 

 

This just switched for us.  We had her in the lower grade level for her age initially, knowing we could always change it when we figured out how academically inclined she was.

 

She's now 11, we have a good grasp on it, we've moved her up a grade.

 

It's always encouraging to skip a grade - but can be demoralizing to go down, kwim?  This has worked well for us.

 

 

For the one that is 6.5?  We have her in K.  

[scbusf]

My DD was born June 1. Cutoff for public schools here is Sept 30. I have her in the grade based on her age, which would be minus 5. But we don't care too much about "grades".

[scoutingmom]

We have to declare a grade level. My July child is 7 and in grade 2. My May child is 9 and grade 4.

 

But we have a December 31 Cut-off here, so you are more interested in my Fall/Winter kids...

 

My October child is 14 and grade 9.

 

My January child is 11 and grade 7. If she had attended PS all along, in our school division, she would be grade 6. If she had attended PS all along, in the school division across the rivef (about 2 miles away at most), she would have been started early and in grade 7. She is gifted with LD's... and might fit better being called grade 6. But Scouting here is based on grade and she fits in with they higher grade. So I am keeping her at the higher grade.... may decide different once we hit grade 9, or suggest a 4.5 year high school... we shall see.

 

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[deerforest]

When DD was in pre-K 4 (which she attended briefly in a local private school), the cut-off for K was Oct. 15, but the year she was due to start K, they changed it to Aug. 31. Her birthday is just a few days later. The private school would have just moved her up to K with the rest of her pre-K class so I just kept that momentum. In 4th, we briefly considered another charter school, and they said to just keep her in the grade she had been in rather than change it based on birth date.

 

So, she's in 8th at 13 with early Sept birthday. It's pretty irrelevant to us because much of her work is high school level, and she's mature for her age.

[J-rap]

We have two kids born in late July, and as is common in our area, we waited until they turned 6 to start them in kindergarten.

 

Most of the time it wasn't even an issue because when they were very young they didn't know the difference, and then they were homeschooled.  But, as they got to be teens they both seemed ready to move at a faster pace and move on.  They seemed more mature than their peers and sometimes felt awkward I think.  In their situations, I think it would have been better if we'd started them in kindergarten at 5.

 

It all worked out okay, but if I did it again I wouldn't hold them back.

[Joyofsixreboot]

Cut off here has changed from before June 1st to before July 1st to before August 1. That means my August girls were almost a year older than most in their grade which I think is an advantage.

 

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[Targhee]

I have a LATE summer baby (Aug 28) and school here starts aug 12-15th ish every year, but the cut off is Sep 1. I debated about starting her in public K at 4 then turning 5 right before the cut off, but decided to wait until 5 (she turned 6 in the third week of school). The neighbor girl across the street is three weeks older than her but in the next grade. Both girls are doing great with school. For my girl I think it was a good choice. I have 2 March babies and never even considered red shirting them (even the boy with ADHD). I would have to have a real compelling reason to red shirt a child with a May or June birthday.

[featherhead]

I have two June babies. One started K at 5, and the other will as well. My November and October babies will at 4. My April baby started at 4 as well, I just didn't actually call her K that year. We have a December 31st cut off here.

 

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[luuknam]

I didn't vote since mine are boys, but my Aug birthday is age minus 5, and my Nov birthday is age minus 4 (so, by the end of Nov, it'll be age minus 5). Both are at the grade NY would put them in by their Dec 1st cut-off. The Aug birthday kid actually was in school from just barely 3yo to the end of 2nd grade. 

[shawthorne44]

...Her sister played school with her and taught her "lessons" in reading and math since she was two. She could read on a 2nd grade level when she started kindergarten at age 5. She ended up in the gifted program in public school. No regrets starting her at age 5 either.

 

I have a theory that 'playing school' is the absolute best way to do early education.   Older sibling is infinitely patient since they are just playing.   Younger sibling is unusually patient since they are just patient, and have the attention of the older sibling.   It is Play, so the mind is open.   That is how my DH learned.  His older sister/teacher was rewarded with someone to read her all her assigned school reading even though DH is 8 years younger.   

[SilverMoon]

All my girls started K the year they turned 5, with winter, early summer, and late summer birthdays. The skill level they were working at was more like kindy for one, preschool for another, and second grade for the other. LOL They worked at whatever level they were ready for.

[katilac]

Mid-July and late August, both age minus 5. 

 

We did it at the time because that is what's typical in my mind, and they were more than ready. 

 

I would not change it, it worked out very well. 

[musicianmom]

*

Edited May 21, 2022 by musicianmom

[SporkUK]

My August born daughter is Year 4 and is 8, so age minus 4. Most of her current work is mid-3rd grade I would estimate (almost halfway through 3A maths and her reading is at that level though is using a Year 4 list for spelling). 

 

England is very fixed on this - one can delay a child's entry until the term after one turns 5, but still goes in just having missed that time with everyone else who turns 5 between 1st of September and 31st of August so if she was sent to school I could technically wait until Year 1 to legally put her in but very few do that. Delayed entry and holding back are very rare and have to be agreed individually with the school. It doesn't matter much unless they choose to go into one of the school programmes like my eldest who want to go the tech school for Year 10 as everything else is moving towards being aged-based rather than year-based. My 8 year old was one of the last in SJA to enter as 'in Year 1', now it's a fixed age of 7 so now she's barely 8 with 3 years of badges  :lol:. 

 

I used to debate to myself a lot whether I would want to hold her back or request delayed entry for year 10 if she went the same route as her older brother - because I overthink a lot. She was a child who begged to learn to read from very small...but really struggled and didn't really click until last year. How much she has grown in the last year and a half has been amazing and she's worked very hard to get where she is, but she still struggles sometimes in ways I'm baffled by (like today she got all her multiplication word problems answers correct first try without help...but was unable to write the equation involved in the problem. Like it should have been ? x 3 = 15, she wrote 3-15=12 but wrote 5 in the answer box :confused1: ). Now I just have a list of a few local options for different paths and we'll see when she gets there (not that I still don't overthink and check those options now and then, but I' trying to be more relaxed about it). 

[Zinnia]

Mine is newly 5, and she will start kindergarten next year. She could have done it this year, but she has 3 older brothers, all with summer birthdays, all started at 6 (and they all needed the extra year), so I am keeping her in the pattern.

Edited October 19, 2017 by Zinnia

[Zinnia]

I used to be very, very pro red shirting (and I still thibk it was the right choice for my boys), but now I am in the camp that it all works out in the end.

 

I was young for my grade (July), and I have a dear friend that is 3 days older. She graduated the year after me. Our lives these days are very similar. It all worked out in the end. And I feel like that's generally what happens

[carriede]

I voted -5, but really it's -4. She has an October Birthday, just turned 6, but I'm calling her 1st. She's keeping up with her 3rd grade brother in all things but math, which she's still doing a grade up on that.

 

So yeah, I guess just teach the kid? :D

[shawthorne44]

I voted -5, but really it's -4. She has an October Birthday, just turned 6, but I'm calling her 1st. She's keeping up with her 3rd grade brother in all things but math, which she's still doing a grade up on that.

 

So yeah, I guess just teach the kid? :D

 

It is a shame that schools can't "just teach the kid"

[boscopup]

I voted even though I don't have a girl with a spring/summer birthday. 😂 My girl has a January birthday, two boys have May/June birthdays, one boy has Nov birthday. Everyone is in their age based grade determined by age on September 1, which is the cutoff in my state. So they were (or will be) called K when they're 5 by September 1. All of my homeschooled K'ers have done some or all K work prior to their official K year (on a when they asked basis - I don't require school until their K year).

 

Since I homeschool, I've never had need to redshirt anyone. The only one I would have seriously considered redshirting if placed in school was the November birthday, but I'm glad that didn't come up, because he's tall for his age and would look really out of place in the grade below. He's already on the older side of his age based grade. His math is ahead of grade level and LA is behind grade level. I meet him where he is and call him 5th grade. My two spring /summer birthday kids are advanced, so academically they've always been fine in their age based grade. My oldest went to K and 1st at private school. Some of the boys there were redshirted, and THAT caused my son some difficulty, because he really wasn't able to relate socially with the older boys as much. My younger kid would have had no issue with that. And he probably would have needed to be grade skipped (when he did virtual public school last year, he did all work one grade level above and got 98-99% in everything). He's more socially mature than the others as well.

 

Thankfully, I homeschool, so they can be where they are academically and socialize with whomever they want. Their age based grade is used for determining which Bible class they attend at church.

 

My Nov kid might need an extra year for high school, but we'll jump off that bridge when we get to it. :)

 

My January girl is not quite 3 yet, but she knows her alphabet, colors, shapes, and some numbers. I'm sure she'll easily be doing at least 1st grade work by her K year. Just gives us more time to get fun high school interests in at the end of her schooling. :)

 

Anyway, I don't see redshirting as typically being applicable in a homeschool setting, nor do I see it as a boy/girl thing. When my Nov boy wasn't ready to write at the beginning of K, I just didn't have him write until second half of the year when he was ready (well after turning 6). We did prewriting exercises instead. He didn't read well until 3rd grade and wasn't reading at grade level until end of 4th, but homeschooling... That just didn't matter. If we get to the end of 8th grade and determine he needs another year before doing high school level work, that's fine.

[mom31257]

Mine is a son, but we chose to go with the normally accepted grade for his age because of outside functions (church, sports, scouts, etc.). With homeschooling, I knew I could make his academics the level they needed to be regardless of the grade we called it. With high school and transitioning to college, I knew he can take a gap year if he needs it.