K'er and 1st grader...

[4kiddies]

How old is your k'er and 1st grade boys...My husband and I are trying to decide what grade we should call our son. I'm talking just on paper, not what level work he is at.

 

I know, strange question.

 

Thank you!

[Ellie]

IMHO--my very strong opinion--when you have to put a grade level label on a child, it should be the grade he would be in according to his birthday and the cut-off in the state you live in. It will be much less complicated and messy that way, at all points over the next 12 years.

[i.love.lucy]

My son is 5, he has an 8/29 b.day. He makes the cutoff by ONE day. But, he was a preemie and ntot supposed to be here until mid-Nov. If he were to have been in ps, there was no way I would have sent him, so we called this his pre-k year. So on 8/29 this year he will turn 6 and be in K. I just went by his maturity level.

[4kiddies]

IMHO--my very strong opinion--when you have to put a grade level label on a child, it should be the grade he would be in according to his birthday and the cut-off in the state you live in. It will be much less complicated and messy that way, at all points over the next 12 years.

 

Ellie, I agree with what you are saying but in my area many people don't send their boys to k when they are 5 but rather 6. I'm trying to decide if/when I send my son to school do I want him to be one of the younger ones or one of the older ones.

 

ETA: My son has a late April birthday.

Edited May 10, 2010 by 4kiddies

[Wheres Toto]

My son also has a late August birthday. When he "graduated" from Early Intervention (at the public school) they said not to send him for kindergarten until he was 6. That's very common around here, especially for boys. So, an older 5 to younger 6 to me would be starting kindergarten; an older 6 to young 7 would be starting first grade.

[wapiti]

If it's just on paper, why hold him back on paper now? Why not decide later, if/when you send him to school? It may be far easier to "hold him back" on paper later than it would be to have him "skip a grade" on paper later if you change your mind (i.e., it's hard to get schools to allow grade skips but you can always go the other way). Put him at the grade he should be according to his birthday to allow the most flexibility.

[Melissa B]

My son has a late April birthday. We are holding him back. He just turned 5 and will be in PreK again this year. For me, it would depend on what state I was in and how long I planned to homeschool. For our family there were no penalties and several benefits to holding our son back.

[Dandelion]

Since it's just on paper and for the purpose of aligning his "assumed grade level" with that of the public schools, I would go with K for a 5-6 yo and 1st grade for a 6-7 yo.

 

This is what we've done with our 6yo son (I've told him he would be in 1st grade if he were in school). In our area, it's common to hold boys back as well (mainly from a social and emotional maturity perspective).

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

Ellie, I agree with what you are saying but in my area many people don't send their boys to k when they are 5 but rather 6. I'm trying to decide if/when I send my son to school do I want him to be one of the younger ones or one of the older ones.

 

ETA: My son has a late April birthday.

 

I would consider basing it on your son's abilities. I think that if there is any doubt as to whether he is ready, then I would have him be 6 in kindergarten I think. I think grade skipping later versus repeating a grade is better IMHO. Is that a possibility in homeschooling? I admit I do not know all the rules since we use public school at home. My ds has a December birthday and he turned 8 this year in 2nd grade if that helps:)

[4kiddies]

I would consider basing it on your son's abilities. I think that if there is any doubt as to whether he is ready, then I would have him be 6 in kindergarten I think. I think grade skipping later versus repeating a grade is better IMHO. Is that a possibility in homeschooling? I admit I do not know all the rules since we use public school at home. My ds has a December birthday and he turned 8 this year in 2nd grade if that helps:)

 

Priscilla, do you find that to be pretty typical of the boys your son's age? Most of them are in 2nd grade?

[Lightly Salted]

How old is your k'er and 1st grade boys...My husband and I are trying to decide what grade we should call our son. I'm talking just on paper, not what level work he is at.

 

I know, strange question.

 

Thank you!

 

Mine started PreK at the local CS last year at 4.25 (April birthday) so this year in HS Kinder he was 5.25 yrs.

 

His sister, however, had a birthday just 2 weeks before the school cut-off, and we had recently made an international move leaving her feeling overwhelmed, so we held her back. She started PreK at CS at 5, Kinder at CS at 6, and first grade at 7. Yes, she's older than all the kids in her church classes, but she's also still the smallest in the class and is a bit emotionally immature, so we're confident in her placing.

[SproutMamaK]

My son has an April (2004) birthday. I'm saying he's in Grade 1 next year. But in our area, the cutoff for a grade isn't August/September, it's December/January, so he's actually one of the older kids in his current K class.

[Ellie]

Ellie, I agree with what you are saying but in my area many people don't send their boys to k when they are 5 but rather 6. I'm trying to decide if/when I send my son to school do I want him to be one of the younger ones or one of the older ones.

 

ETA: My son has a late April birthday.

With a late April bday, that's even more reason not to hold him back on paper. I'd be more sympathetic if his birthday were closer to the cut-off in your state, e.g. a November 30 bday when the cut-off is December 2. But April? No.

 

Imagine the conversation you might be having in 12 years, when he'll be 19 at graduation instead of 18.

[musicianmom]

I'm of the strong opinion that legal adults do not belong in a high school classroom, shuffled around by a bell schedule, having to raise their hand for permission to go to the bathroom.

 

(Of course I don't want my kids doing that when they're kids, that's why I homeschool, but definitely not when they're adults.)

[Wheres Toto]

I'm of the strong opinion that legal adults do not belong in a high school classroom, shuffled around by a bell schedule, having to raise their hand for permission to go to the bathroom.

 

(Of course I don't want my kids doing that when they're kids, that's why I homeschool, but definitely not when they're adults.)

 

Most kids who go to school at 5 years old will spend at least part of their Senior year after their 18th birthday. My oldest started school at 5 - the first year she was eligible - and will turn 18 April of her Senior year. She is actually younger than many of the kids she's at school with.

 

I was a young 5 when I started school (many, many, many years ago). Holding back was very uncommon then but I was a very young 18 going away to college and didn't really have the maturity to handle it.

 

Even at college you often have to raise your hand to leave the classroom and are shuffled around by a bell schedule.

[Guest CarolineUK]

"I'm of the strong opinion that legal adults do not belong in a high school classroom, shuffled around by a bell schedule, having to raise their hand for permission to go to the bathroom.

 

(Of course I don't want my kids doing that when they're kids, that's why I homeschool, but definitely not when they're adults.)"

 

 

???

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

Priscilla, do you find that to be pretty typical of the boys your son's age? Most of them are in 2nd grade?

 

I think so since we just went by the school cut offs and did not consciously hold him back:) I have heard of plenty holding their kids back for kindergarten and I think they usually base it on their child's needs:) I did not do so in my son's case. I think seat work is hard for boys until about 2nd to 3rd grade, but with homeschooling you have a lot of flexibility to give breaks and to spread things out;) If you think that they may not return to school till after 3rd grade or so then I would not worry so much in my opinion since you will have plenty of time to get them geared up for seat work by then IMHO depending upon your child.

 

I hope that helps:)

Edited May 10, 2010 by priscilla
grammar

[Mommee & Baba]

My K4er is 5 and my 1st is 6.5

 

However my K4er will be in K5 next year just to give her some more time to get penmanship and reading down before she's bumped to 1st.

[4kiddies]

Thanks everyone for your imput. Lots to mull over.

[chiguirre]

If he might need an IEP in the future, hold him back on paper now. Public schools will refuse to place a child in a lower grade even with a birthday within 10 days of the cutoff and profound disabilities. It's one of the many, many reasons my oldest is in a private school.

[Tabrett]

My ds turned 5 April 30th. He will start k this coming school year. He is imature, but no more immature that other 5 yo boys. Pretty much a typical 5 yo boy!

[Ellie]

Most kids who go to school at 5 years old will spend at least part of their Senior year after their 18th birthday.

That depends on when their birthdays are. Mine is in July; I wasn't 18 until almost a month after I graduated. Mr. Ellie's is in September; he wasn't 18 until 3 months after he graduated.

[mom2att]

Both of my boys have mid-August birthdays in a state with a Sept. 1 cut-off. Both started K (at home) at just-turned five, but it didn't take long to realize that the older one was NOT ready, so he did K twice. I had no qualms about doing this--if he were in a brick and mortar school they undoubtedly would have held him back as well. My younger one was fine with K at 5--he was definitely ready.

 

So for one K at 6, 1st at 7, and for the other K at 5, 1st at 6. It just depends on the kid . . . both are excelling at their appropriate grade level.

[iquilt]

My K'er is 5, my 1st grade is 6, but those are used most often at church where they have to know which age group to join for Sunday School. Otherwise my 1st grader is doing math at her "level" but reading above while her K'er brother is still really working on phonics at a preK level.

[RoughCollie]

IMHO--my very strong opinion--when you have to put a grade level label on a child, it should be the grade he would be in according to his birthday and the cut-off in the state you live in. It will be much less complicated and messy that way, at all points over the next 12 years.

 

:iagree:

[Wheres Toto]

That depends on when their birthdays are. Mine is in July; I wasn't 18 until almost a month after I graduated. Mr. Ellie's is in September; he wasn't 18 until 3 months after he graduated.

 

That's why I said "most" and also pointed out that I went to college a very young 18. Both DH and I had summer birthdays and went to school at 5 years old. But, that will only apply to kids who have birthdays between the end of the school year (June) and the cut-off (most of which are August/September). All the others will spend a least part of their senior year 18 years old.

[angela in ohio]

Most kids who go to school at 5 years old will spend at least part of their Senior year after their 18th birthday. My oldest started school at 5 - the first year she was eligible - and will turn 18 April of her Senior year. She is actually younger than many of the kids she's at school with.

 

I agree. Most young people, except for those with a June to whatever-the-fall-cut-off-is birthday, will turn 18 at some point during their senior year if you follow the school dates.

 

Ds has a summer birthday, and we are holding him back on paper, because we know he will go to school later.

 

If you hold back a pre-June (April, May) birthday child, he will actually turn 19 in his senior year.

[lisamarie]

I am struggling with the same decision myself. DS has an Oct birthday with a Dec 1 cut-off. We decided to delay his start and put him into PS Young 5s for summer/fall birthday kids who weren't quite ready for K. He did great in Y5s and I think it was the right decision at the time. Then he started PS K this past fall and it was very obvious that he was far beyond the level of his classmates to the point that he could already do every single skill that he needed to do to graduate K before he even started K. I let it go for a few weeks waiting to see if the teacher would do anything for him, give him harder work, pass him to 1st grade, something. I ended up sitting down with her and asking her about it and she told me that the only way he'd get harder work is if I went into school and worked with him. :confused:

 

It was a very easy decision to pull him and just HS him since I was already afterschooling him anyway. And now I have to decide what he will be for church program purposes. We pulled him out of K, but he's 1st grade age, and he's doing 1st grade work this year and is even onto some 2nd grade stuff. But all his church friends are in K, and he'd be the only boy in his grade if we had him be in 1st. There is no easy answer so I have just let it go and we'll decide when we get to a point that we have to.

 

Unless you have to report it for your state's HS requirements, I would just leave it and decide based on his maturity when you reach the point that a decision has to be made. I think this is where I'm at. When it comes time to send DS to church camp, if he's ready to go according to his age, we'll send him. If not, we'll wait a year. When we move to put him back in school, I'll have them test him and go from there. When it comes to when to graduate him, I am at a loss. I am hoping it all works out without my having to decide.:tongue_smilie: