Am I the only one considering tweaking this...

[MaryElizabeth]

I'm considering tweaking when I start our hs year (every year from hence forth) so I can make my son "the eldest" in his "class". He's 4 now, so this is all in the nearing future.

 

With all the research on how males born after March have some inherent disadvantages in the early school years (and my son's a July birthday), I'm thinking about just starting our school year in January so he'll be a 6.5 year old and not so young. I've heard that the young ones "catch up" in about 3rd grade and that they even out (research can't detect disadvantages based on birth month anymore by about 3rd gr).

 

So..am I the only one considering/doing such?

[rootsnwings]

My ds (3) is an August birthday so I've just decided to wilait until he's 6 to officially start with him. He & my little girl are 20 months apart so I would LOVE to school them together & waiting until January, when he's 6.5 will mean they will be even closer in school. I hadn't thought of that option before!

[Ellie]

I feel very strongly about this.

 

I think you should follow the cut-off date of your state as far as what your ds's official grade level is, while teaching him whatever he is capable of learning. "Grade level" varies from state to state and is irrelevant for anything really useful; it's just less messy to stick with go whatever your state does than to do otherwise.

[cathmom]

I don't think it matters. Several of my sons have early fall birthdays and since they homeschool, they just do whatever academics they are capable of. One of them would have been an extremely young five year old in kindergarten, and was probably not emotionally mature enough to have gone. However, he was ready for K level academics and went ahead with them since we homeschool.

[Rosie_0801]

I'll be doing the same with my kids so they'll be the more mature of their year level when they are (possibly) applying for traineeships or other programs available for year eleven or twelves. Both dh and I were late bloomers, so I feel I should prepare for our kids to be too. At least it won't hurt. Of course, being homeschoolers, they'll do academics at whatever level they have. The only time their grade level will matter while they are young is for Saturday School, and the extra year before they start that can be used in other positive, preparatory ways.

 

Rosie

Edited October 12, 2010 by Rosie_0801

[NanceXToo]

I started my son with our Kindergarten curriculum on Labor Day, about two months before he turns 5 (which will be in early November).

 

I only did this because Oak Meadow K is not very academic- it's much more gentle and hands on in the earliest years, so I thought we would enjoy doing it together this year.

 

1st Grade will be a lot more gentle and laid back than a more academic curriculum usually is, too... and my plan is to stretch 1st grade out over two years. So by the time we get to 2nd grade he'll be at the age he is "supposed" to be as per school cutoff dates and will then be one of the 'older' ones from that grade on.

 

Not that he'll be in public school but I think (based on some of the writing assignments my daughter has done in OM4 and OM5) that he'll be more mature and get more out of the assignments we do in later grades if he has that extra year to mature.

[Carrie12345]

I think it completely depends on the child.

 

My oldest son has an August birthday, and I sent him to public K just weeks after his 5th birthday. For the record, 3 of his classmates lived in our apartment complex and were even younger, so he really wasn't out of place. Today, he's pretty advanced in some areas, but it can be difficult to get him in on certain opportunities that enroll based on grade level. If I had officially held him back, it would be even more difficult. Right now, we're considering "skipping" a grade so his outside classes will be able to match up with his ability.

 

My 3yo ds has a May birthday. My plan has been to hold off on "formal" academics until his "normal" first grade year (which would be 6y4m), but doubts are creeping in when I see how much he's soaking in without any direct instruction.

 

Our daughters also have summer birthdays, and are very asynchronous. They're working both ahead and behind, depending on the subject, and we consider them to be the grade levels they would be in school (2nd and 3rd).

 

Regardless, I think a child should be taught to their ability. Our school district tends to slap a grade level onto the kids for testing purposes (3rd, 5th, and 8th), but they're legally registered by birth date (after age 8). As long as testing is done in those three years, not much else matters until it comes to activities outside of the house.

 

As long as your following whatever regulations you need to adhere to, go with what works best for YOUR child, who may or may not fit in to the statistics.

[Jennifer in MI]

We opted to wait on our August child and I'm SO glad we did! He didn't start reading until he was 7. If we'd started him at 5, that would've been 2nd grade. I know that's still within normal, but I wanted to give him every advantage I could. So, he's now fully 10 and in 4th grade. Many people in my neighborhood are waiting to send August birthdays until they are 6.

 

The other thing I thought of is that this gives him an extra year at the other end. He will be 19 when he moves away from home now.

 

Also, it's much easier to have a child skip a grade than it is to have him repeat it.

 

An added advantage that we didn't expect - he's big for his grade. When he gets together with kids in his grade (Cub Scouts, Sunday School), he's looked up to (literally and figuratively!). Plus, for sports, he's one of the biggest kids which gives him an advantage.

 

We also waited with our current 12 yo. He's a November birthday. So, he was almost 6 when he started K. I wish we'd waited for our oldest. He's a May birthday and we started him when he was 5. I'd prefer to have that extra year. He can handle the work, but I'd like to have all the advantages I listed above for him!

[snickelfritz]

I'm not really so formal as to change our start date around birthdays. But, the nice thing about homeschooling is you can wait if they aren't ready.

 

We sent my younger dd ahead at church, which is about the only grade designated place we go. She missed the kindergarten cutoff by 3 weeks and her friends were all promoted. She's already 5. She calls herself kindy. She's doing Kindy work. Technically, she's a pre-K.

 

Plus, for sports, he's one of the biggest kids which gives him an advantage.

Our community sports are age divided, with a birth certificate required to prove age on September 1. So the grade we put them in makes no difference. Except, they would be a grade lower than all of their team-mates if they were held back a year.

 

With my younger dd, it's not an issue. We could play her "up" a year, if she wants to play with friends from church, or keep her at her age if it will be a random team. The league just won't let you play "down" to a younger age bracket.

[unsinkable]

My son is a fall birthday and he is one of the youngest in his class.

 

DH & I regret it. I posted about this years (!!!) ago. I didn't want him to start HS (at boys Cath. school) I wanted him to wait a year. But he wanted to go.

 

He didn't get a scholarship (which was based totally on the entrance exam)

 

He has a average in the low 90s.

 

He is in no advanced classes.

 

Most of the fall birthdays that I know of the year older ones. The freshmen that he knows are turning 15 and the sophmores that he knows are turning 16. He is a sophmore and turned 15 this fall.

 

When you are in HS sports, there is no age cut-off. So he is playing sports with boys his age but who are grade lower than him. And many of the boys in his grade are a year to 9 months older than him.

 

It is not that he is doing badly...it's just that I think he'd be outstanding if he had another year of school at home with me. Cutoff in NY is Dec. 1st, BTW.

 

ETA: There are other times in childhood where spurts in mental and physical development can widen the gap between kids in the same grade. It is not just an issue in Kindergarten.

Edited October 12, 2010 by unsinkable

[Tenaj]

I feel very strongly about this.

 

I think you should follow the cut-off date of your state as far as what your ds's official grade level is, while teaching him whatever he is capable of learning. "Grade level" varies from state to state and is irrelevant for anything really useful; it's just less messy to stick with go whatever your state does than to do otherwise.

 

:iagree:

 

When you're homescholing the "grade" doesn't matter. I have a 9 yods who is officially in the third grade but really doing a lot of fourth grade work and I have a 6 yods who started K work at 4 and is now probably doing all 2nd grade work. According to the state he is only first grade but we just keep doing the next thing.

 

If you ever decide to place him in a brick and mortar school, just put him in the grade you want, either where he would normally be, or the grade he would have been "held back" to. They would probably test him into a grade level anyway.

 

By the way, all of our community sports go by date of birth, so it makes no difference in that aspect.

[Wheres Toto]

When my son was in Early Intervention they told us not to send him to kindergarten until he was 6. He has a late August birthday and this was definitely due to maturity, not ability since he was already keeping up with the older kids in his class as far as academics. Since we are homeschooling and I don't have to worry about how well he sits still and follows along with the group, we can do work that he is capable of. Currently that is a mix of kindergarten/first grade level. For outside activities, everything so far has had an age cut-off so we haven't had to worry about declaring a grade. If we do have to at any point, it will depend on what it is. If it's something requiring sitting quietly and paying attention, I'll probably go with a lower grade so he is on the older side.

[angela in ohio]

I'm not really so formal as to change our start date around birthdays. But, the nice thing about homeschooling is you can wait if they aren't ready.

 

The above would be my advice for you.

 

For my July birthday guy, we "held him back." Academically, he is all over the place, so I work with him where he is at anyway, as I have done with all my dc regardless of their official grade. But we know he will go to school in junior high or high school, and I didn't want him to be the youngest in his class.

[Kari C in SC]

My experience -

 

My dd has an October 2nd birthday. She is 12 now, but when she was still 4 - I started her in K that August. She has done okay with being a year ahead of "what she would be in public school". BUT... and this is a very BIG BUT... I really wish I wouldn't have done this. Not to blame somebody else, but my sil was starting my niece out then. We went to convention together and I just wanted to buy shiny new K stuff. Here is why I wish I hadn't started her early. It has nothing to do with academics. She is pretty average in that area. It is for social reasons. We didn't attend church back then, but now we do. I really didn't want her to be middle school a year early for youth group, etc. When my oldest ds graduated and went on to the Army - it hit me that by moving her up a year - it just makes it a year earlier that she may be moving out, etc. I find no good in having moved her up a year.

 

So... youngest ds has a September 30th birthday. I know you are not supposed to say this, but he is my smartest kid. I mean he has taught himself to read from computer games, etc. Really, other than handwriting, he is beyond K stuff. BUT... I waited until he was almost 6 to start a K program with him. Some of it we breeze through or even skip to do something harder. I could have easily labeled him 1st grade and he would do just fine. I am just thinking down the road to things that aren't academic and for that I will keep him right where he would be in public school.

[unsinkable]

My experience -

 

My dd has an October 2nd birthday. She is 12 now, but when she was still 4 - I started her in K that August. She has done okay with being a year ahead of "what she would be in public school". BUT... and this is a very BIG BUT... I really wish I wouldn't have done this. Not to blame somebody else, but my sil was starting my niece out then. We went to convention together and I just wanted to buy shiny new K stuff. Here is why I wish I hadn't started her early. It has nothing to do with academics. She is pretty average in that area. It is for social reasons. We didn't attend church back then, but now we do. I really didn't want her to be middle school a year early for youth group, etc. When my oldest ds graduated and went on to the Army - it hit me that by moving her up a year - it just makes it a year earlier that she may be moving out, etc. I find no good in having moved her up a year.

So... youngest ds has a September 30th birthday. I know you are not supposed to say this, but he is my smartest kid. I mean he has taught himself to read from computer games, etc. Really, other than handwriting, he is beyond K stuff. BUT... I waited until he was almost 6 to start a K program with him. Some of it we breeze through or even skip to do something harder. I could have easily labeled him 1st grade and he would do just fine. I am just thinking down the road to things that aren't academic and for that I will keep him right where he would be in public school.

 

What I bolded is true for me, too. Why did I do it? If I would have had him start K and then turn six, he would have been home with me another year. he still would have graduated from high school at 18.

 

Banging my head against a wall.

 

It is much easier to handle when they are 5 or 6 than when they are 12 or 13.