If you have a child entering 8th grade this fall how old is he/she?

[Quiver0f10]

My son is turing 13 in July and will enter 8th this fall. I am thinking that is young for 8th, but I am not sure? Not sure it even matters, but I am curious :D

 

Thanks!

[jlovebaker]

My son is 12 and entering 7th grade ... yours is right where he should be according to the Calif public schools (where my son was until last year).

[senunk]

Sounds perfect to me. My dd's bday is in Dec. She is 13 and starting 9th grade. She is sort of in the middle and I wasn't sure what grade to put her in. We finally decided to bite the bullet and let start high school this fall.

[Kim in SouthGa]

My son turned 13 in May and he will be in 8th in the fall.

[carla36301]

I think you are right on target! My son has just turned 12 and will be in the seventh!

[Baseballmom]

My son turned 13 in January. He will be in 8th grade in the fall.

Dorothy

[Carol in Cal.]

I do consider her an 8th grader, but a young one. Out here it is not uncommon for kids that age to be in 7th grade--parents often keep their kids in kindergarten for two years, or insert a year of pre-kindergarten at the normal kindergarten age.

 

So since she will attend a brick and mortar school for high school, I am considering having her do two years of 8th grade--either two years of 8th at home or one year of 8th at home followed by one year of 8th at a school.

 

The decision is tricky because out here also, kids are supposed to complete Algebra 1 by the end of 8th grade, and I'm not completely sure that DD is ready to start Algebra 1.

[Sue G in PA]

My dd will be a "young" 8th grader. She won't turn 13 until the end of Nov. When we lived in MD, the cut-off for entering K was Dec. 30 so she entered K at age 4. For her...it was fine b/c she was advanced anyway. Now, socially, I'm worried that she will have difficulty in ps next year. Hmmm...

[Spock]

My son is turing 13 in July and will enter 8th this fall. I am thinking that is young for 8th, but I am not sure? Not sure it even matters, but I am curious :D

 

Thanks!

 

It depends on where you live. In our area, rising 8th grade students who started school here and haven't repeated a grade will turn 13 anytime between 10/12/08-10/11/09. So, for our state your son is a typical age for a soon-to-be 8th grader.

 

The cut-off date for starting 1st grade ranges from 6yo by early June(for the state with the oldest 1st graders) to 6yo by early December (for the state with the youngest 1st graders). So, students entering 8th grade range from everybody having been 13 since June or before (in the states requiring older students) to many students being 12 until October or November or December (in states allowing younger students).

[nutmeg]

I have one of those!

 

She is 13 now, will be 8th grade this fall. She'll turn 14 in mid-September, making her an 'old' 8th grader. (We follow our state's age/grade convention.)

[VBCaroline]

I have a son with a summer birthday, too. He's turning 10, and he will be in the 5th grade. I've noticed that many of the boys in his webelo den and on his baseball team are a whole year older than he is and in the same grade. I think it is not uncommon to hold boys, especially boys with a summer birthday, back a year.

 

As a homeschooler, I don't see that it makes much of a difference right now. I wonder, however, if he will be at a disadvantage in high school when it's time for testing. Every year I see him maturing by leaps and bounds, getting closer and closer to the level on which his sisters were working at the same age. I don't know whether to assume he'll "catch up" or to give him an extra year doing grammar stage work so that he has a bit more maturity when he has to tackle rhetoric work. Also, like many boys, writing is an issue for him.

 

Someone posted a similar thread about their 8th grader who was not ready for rhetoric work the next year. She decided to do an extra year of "advanced 8th grade". I don't know if it will fly with my son right now, but I'm thinking that advanced 4th grade might not be such a bad idea.

Caroline

[Haiku]

My daughter started 8th grade last year on 8/11 and turned 14 on 8/15.

 

Tara

[Ellie]

Both of my dds have May birthdays; mine is July. We were all 13 when we started 8th grade.

[razorbackmama]

My oldest son will turn 13 the March before he starts 8th grade.

 

My 2nd son will turn 14 in late Aug. before he starts 8th grade.

 

I turned 13 the Oct. after I started 8th grade.

[TraceyS/FL]

My son is 12 and entering 7th grade ... yours is right where he should be according to the Calif public schools (where my son was until last year).

 

CA child here, she's a Feb 2 child - so she is 13 now. She is on the old end because of the 12/1 cut off when she started school - and would have been ready to go to K at 4, but they wouldn't/couldn't bend at her private school.

[jibaker103]

My son will turn 14 at the end of December and is entering 8th grade this fall.

 

Jennifer

[Rose in BC]

Actually my 11 yr (who turns 12 in November) generally does all the same work the older two do.

[Mama Lynx]

My son has a January birthday, and will start 8th grade this fall, when he is 13 1/2.

[In The Great White North]

Dd will turn 13 in October and be in 7th. The school she started in used Sep as the cutoff.

 

The school her older siblings started in used June.

[Jenny in Atl]

My son has a January birthday, and will start 8th grade this fall, when he is 13 1/2.

 

Ditto, except replace the he with a she. :D

[LizzyBee]

My daughter just turned 13 and is starting 8th grade.

[Julie in MN]

I think it is not uncommon to hold boys, especially boys with a summer birthday, back a year.

 

I agree. Although the popularity of doing this has waxed and waned over the years since I've been having kids.

 

My oldest has a July birthday and started K at age 6 (public school). He is now an engineer, & I think it was great for him. Once in a while, he'd ask me why I put him in "the wrong grade," but overall he had many friends in various grades and was just more excited and fully ready to tackle whatever came his way over the years.

[elegantlion]

My ds will turn 14 right after we start 8th grade in a few years. He has a September birthday and turned 6 right after starting K in private school.

[Staci in MO]

So he would have missed the cut-off here by less than a month. So he would be a very young 8th grader, here.

 

My ds will be 13 in November, and he's in 7th.

[Garga]

Take the grade and add 5. That's how old they should be. (According to the school system--not necessarily academically, however.)

 

8th grade + 5 = 13 years old.

 

8+5=13

 

Or do it the other way, 13 year old minus 5 years = 8th grade.

 

It works right from the beginning:

1st grade + 5 = 6 yo

12th grade + 5 = 17 yo

[LanaTron]

He is one of the older kids in his grade level.

 

My dd has a summer birthday, though, and would technically be starting 7th grade if she was in school; she is one of the young ones for her grade level. Socially and emotionally, she is at or above the level of her same-aged peers, but academically, she is more like 5th/6th grade. Unless there is some huge improvement in her skills the next two years, she will probably do 8th and then a "pre-high school" year before actually starting 9th grade.

 

I don't think it matters what grade you call him at this point, but it does matter that there is a certain skill set and maturity in place before beginning high school level work. At least, that's how I see it.

[5ray2006]

My ds will turn 14 right after we start 8th grade in a few years. He has a September birthday and turned 6 right after starting K in private school.

 

Exact situation here. My ds turned six a few weeks after starting Kinder in private school. He is finishing up 2nd grade in public school. He will turn nine in September and will be in the 3rd grade. He has always been one of the oldest in his classes.

[hose]

Mine will be 13 in August.

[Pamela H in Texas]

It's only young because many kids with summer bdays are held back a year to start with. Summer bday kids often are already 14 when they start 8th grade. But the majority of kids are 13 to some degree or another when they start 8th :)

[mitraces]

Okay - you're right, your son probably does seem young. Based on research from a reading specialist, boys should be 5 by May 31 of the year they enter Kindergarten, so your son could easily be just a bit young and better suited as a 7th grader.

 

My daughter turns 13 June 10 and enters 8th grade, but she has friends who are 18 months younger that are more advanced academically than she. For girls I hear that puberty has a lot to do with their mental abilities and when they enter the "dialetic" stage after the "grammar" stage (http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/trivium.html#dialectic.) Has anyone else heard that? I don't know how that works for boys.

[Quiver0f10]

Thank you everyone! It appears he is right on target. I was just thinking down the road. My 17 yo was young and graduated this year. He will turn 18 two weeks before entering college, which I feel is young! Thankfully he is going to the CC for two years while living at home. I wouldn't want a barely 18 yo dorming far away from home.

Edited May 29, 2009 by Quiver0f10

[SheilaZ]

Thank you everyone! It apears he is right on target. I was just thinking down the road. My 17 yo was young and graduated this year. He will turn 18 two weeks before entering college, which I feel is young! Thankfully he is going to the CC for two years while living at home. I wouldn't want a barely 18 yo dorming far away from home.

 

I was 18 for one week before moving into my college dorm. I was just thrilled to be at college and finally 18.

 

My rising 8th grader is 13. He'll be 14 in January.

Edited May 29, 2009 by SheilaZ

[Mary in MN]

My ds turns 14 mid-August. He's in his 10th year ("9th" grade) homeschooling, but when he started taking some classes at the local school in 6th grade, we placed him in the earlier class. So, currently he's a rising 8th grader at the junior high school (band and either science or Algebra next year) and a ninth grader at home.

 

We're mostly happy with this decision. However, he's gone through puberty much earlier than other boys his age, and he towers over both the seventh and eighth graders, so he does tend to stick out a bit. He has always looked older than his actual age.

 

Bottom line, for us, is that we don't want him going to college as a young 18 yo.

[LanaTron]

For girls I hear that puberty has a lot to do with their mental abilities and when they enter the "dialetic" stage after the "grammar" stage (http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/trivium.html#dialectic.) Has anyone else heard that? I don't know how that works for boys.

 

But it seems true here at my house. My 11 yo dd is in puberty, and her logic skills and ability to understand things like Latin are improving greatly. Still, she is probably the most right-brained out of all my dc. And I love that about her because I am not.

 

My 13 yo son has always been logical. I think I gave birth to Spock. :D

[Ravin]

It sounds about right. I was 13 when I started high school, with a September birthday, because I skipped 8th. I would have been one of the oldest in 8th; instead I was the youngest in 9th by a few weeks.

[Katiebug_1976]

My dd turned 13 in March and will be starting 8th grade this fall.

[Elm in NJ]

My ds will be 14 in July and starts grade 8 in the fall. The other 3 will all be 13 and a half when they start.

[Katiebug_1976]

Thank you everyone! It appears he is right on target. I was just thinking down the road. My 17 yo was young and graduated this year. He will turn 18 two weeks before entering college, which I feel is young! Thankfully he is going to the CC for two years while living at home. I wouldn't want a barely 18 yo dorming far away from home.

 

I graduated highschool at 17 and began college (clear across the country) 1 week before I turned 18. I was ready and prepared for it, but I can't imagine what my parents went through. I don't think I would be able to send my child 3000 miles away to college at 17. Thankfully my oldest dd will be 18 before she graduates highschool.

[Lizzie in Ma]

Mine was 13 this month, going into 8th

[sagira]

I graduated highschool at 17 and began college (clear across the country) 1 week before I turned 18. I was ready and prepared for it, but I can't imagine what my parents went through. I don't think I would be able to send my child 3000 miles away to college at 17. Thankfully my oldest dd will be 18 before she graduates highschool.

 

This is my SIL. She's starting college in September, a week before she turns 18. We all live in South Florida and she's heading to Stanford :001_smile:

[Brindee]

My oldest just turned 18 a few days ago and will be graduating from highschool next weekend.

 

The younger two shot ahead in K-4, so were doing one to two grade levels ahead. At first we thought we'd be advancing them one grade, but decided to keep them (by name if someone asked) in the grade they'd be in if they were in school. So ds15 would've started 8th grade at 12, turning 13 in September, and graduate at 17. No, he needs the extra year to mature, so we're happy he started 8th at 13, turning 14 in September, and will graduate when he's 18! DD would've been going into 8th graade next year, and she just turned 12! Then would've graduated at just turned 17. I know many kids do that, but dd prefers to be where she's at, grade-wise, and graduate at 18 as well, and I prefer she be home that extra year!!!

[Emma]

My dd will be 13 in Aug. and will be an 8th grader this fall.

[atozmom]

Our dd will turn 14 in Sept. She had attended a private school for K and missed the cut off date by 10 days. So we had to wait for the following year. The majority of her class was 5. She came home to school after fourth grade. (one of the best decisions we ever made). I am so thankful we have started from the beginning with our son. :)

[AngieW in Texas]

In Texas, the cutoff date is September 1st, so your ds should be 13yo by September 1st to be in 8th grade for the 2009-2010 schoolyear. My middle dd's birthday is at the end of September, but I have her in the higher grade. It's a much better fit for her than 7th grade would be. She will be 13 on September 1st, so should be in 8th grade, but we will have her in 9th.

 

If my youngest dd had her birthday in September, I would definitely have her in the lower grade. They are two completely different kids.