what age is your 4th grader?

[momtolgd]

What age is your 4th grader and when is their birthday? I'm struggling with what to call my oldest. He has an August birthday, so misses the August 1st cut off date for schools here...so if he went to public school, he would be a 4th grader this year. Because of the August birthday though, he would be one of the oldest. Or I could consider him a 5th grader and he would be one of the youngest. Which is better?

 

I'm trying to look ahead too...do we want him starting college as a newly turned 18 year old or 19 year old?

 

As for where he is academically...some things 4th, some things 5th.

 

I think I'm inclined to call him a 4th grader, but he has been telling people he is in 5th.

 

Anyone else in this situation? :confused:

[Medieval Mom]

Ds has a late June b-day. In July, we start the next year's work. At the time of going into 4th grade, he'll be just turning 9.

 

In general, I think many hsers choose to refer to their dc as the grade their public schooled peers would be, then teach them at the level appropriate to the child. :)

 

HTH!

 

FWIW, I come from a family of all late Sep. or early Oct. b-days. We were all the youngest in our class, entered college at 17, and had no problem academically. But, on the other hand, I've heard many people say they were thankful to have given their dc and extra year. In the whole scheme to of things, it may not matter too much. But, if your ds is saying he's in fifth, I may just agree with him ;-)

Edited January 17, 2011 by Medieval Mom

[MelissaMinNC]

DD is 9 with October birthday. At the time, she made the cut-off by just a few days. Since then, the cut-off has changed to August.

 

If I had it to do over again, I would have waited a year to start, or at least to make it official. We call her 4th grade, and she's on- or above-level with most things, but more 3rd grade level with math.

 

At this point, I am trying to scheme ways I can keep her from graduating till she's 18. :D

 

Melissa

[Crimson Wife]

My 2 oldest have fall birthdays and the cutoff here is 12/2.

 

My DD will be not quite 9 when she starts 4th grade in the fall. She may very well need a "gap" year between high school & college but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

 

My DS was ready to start K at not-quite-5 but he is most likely going to need a "transition" year between K & 1st. So he will presumably be not quite 10 when he starts 4th grade.

 

It is very common for boys to lag girls in maturity and fine motor skills. My DD could write full sentences at 5 1/4 while my DS can't even write his name.

[Homeschooling6]

My 10yr. old ds is in 4th grade. He has a Sept. birthday.

Next year my 4th son will also be a 10yr. 4th grader as well. His birthday in in Oct.

My dd was 10 too :glare: she has a Sept. birthday.

Lastly my Lance will be a 10yr. old 4th grader. His birthday is in Aug.

 

Out of my six children, four where or will be 10yrs. old for their 4th grade year. I actually prefer it that way. I get to keep them a little longer :D

[momto2Cs]

My 4th grader is 9 now, will be 10 in late May.

[Mommyfaithe]

Some of mine were 9 and some were 10. My last 2 will be 9 but have Febrary and May birthdays...so they will be fully 9 when they begin 4th grade.

 

And, I agree about using grade designation only as a peg for traditionally schooled people to grab onto...my kids are at different levels in different subjects. In our homeschool, we do not use a grade designation other than to file paperwork. We use levels and stages such as early grammar, late grammar, logic, rhetoric...which correspond more to ability and maturity than to age.

 

Faithe

[Hedgehogs4]

9 with an August b-day

[HeatherM2]

My 10 year old is in the 4th grade. She has a November birthday.

 

I had the same issues with my son when he started school (September birthday). He is 15 and in the 9th grade which means he'll turn 18 at the beginning of his senior year. I'm ok with that. :001_smile:

[catz]

My 4th grade son turned 10 on October 20 with a Sept 1st cut off here. That being said, he operates anywhere from 5th to 10th grade level+ academically depending on the topic. Socially he fits in well with kids his own age - either 4th or 5th would be fine. He's small for age too (60 lbs).

 

Anyway - I wouldn't accelerate you child officially until you have a need to do so. I'd cross that bridge when you get to it. The beauty of homeschooling is you can accommodate your child academically wherever they are and bide your time with width and depth. I personally am hoping to keep my kids under my own roof until age 18. We are lucky enough to have lots of post secondary education options local to us.

[2_girls_mommy]

We would be in the same boat. My dd has a mid Aug. bday, but the cut off is the day after her bday here, not Aug. 1

 

So she will be in 4th next year as a newly turned 9 yr old, will graduate high school at 17, and start college as a barely turned 18 yr old. I was the same way. My bday is actually after hers, but in school growing up, the cutoff was even later than it is now.

[Guest Cheryl in SoCal]

It took me a while to get out of the "level of work the student is doing = student's grade level" mode. And by a while, I mean years:lol: My students grade level is decided by their age. One of my most brilliant students has a fall birthday and is still on the "older side" despite being quite advanced in his studies. Instead of graduating him early he'll take more advanced courses. In 4th grade he was 9 years old and turned 10 years old shortly after school began. He'll graduate at 18 and even though he might be considered "older" because our cut-off is Dec 1 he's not the oldest in his "class" of 9th graders with my ISP. In fact, he's more the average age.

[NanceXToo]

My 4th grade son turned 10 on October 20 with a Sept 1st cut off here.

 

And my daughter turned 10 on October 1st and is in 5th grade... our district NOW has a Sept. 1st cut off, but when she started Kindergarten, they had a Oct. 1st cutoff. So she was THE youngest in her class when she started (she didn't start homeschooling til third grade).

 

The following year was when they decided to change the cutoff to 9/1.

 

So she's in 5th but came really close to being in 4th this year instead of she'd been born a day later or had come up on the school years a year later after the change.

 

Sometimes I think I should have kept her back a year before enrolling her in K, and I'm still toying with the idea of stretching 6th out over a two year period next year, because like you say, I'm not sure I want her "finished" with school and potentially considering going away from home so young!

 

But I don't know, I haven't really decided yet, and who knows what she's going to want to do with her life anyway (she's been saying since she was 5 that she wants to work with her dad in his tattoo shop and she's still saying that at 10. Who knows if she'll even want college lol).

[Goldilocks]

My DS has an August birthday as well. He is 10 and in 4th grade, just like his public school peers. When I sign him up for sports it is by birthdate, so he is placed not only with others his same age, but also his same grade. Doesn't matter a whole lot, but I am glad we chose to match the local school's designation of grades.

[Homeschooling6]

With regards to grade level, my kiddos are all over the place with their school but we still say they are in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and so on, with grades. It makes things so much easier for church or just when someone will ask us.

[cindergretta]

My dd's birthday is August 8th and I have no idea what the age cut - off is here. She is 10 and in 4th grade.

 

(My oldest dd is in 9th grade, 14, and her birthday is August 20th.)

 

Both of them are the oldest on their soccer teams. :D (Cut - off is August 1st.)

[boscopup]

I plan to go by the school system's cutoff dates for labeling grades. The cutoff here is Sept. 1. I have one child with a November birthday. He'll likely start K work well before he turns 6, but I won't report him as being in K until the year he turns 6 (so in 4th grade, he'd be starting 4th grade shortly before he turns 10).

 

My other sons are May/June birthdays, so they're pretty obvious, though the June birthday one was supposed to be September, and he really gets along better with kids a year/grade younger than him. Since he *did* go to school (private) for the first year and a half, it's good that I didn't hold him back, because he would have been even more incredibly bored than he already was. But if I'd homeschooled him from the beginning, I wouldn't have minded labeling him a different grade, except that I don't know that it would have mattered, since sports and such around here are done by age usually. So overall, I'm fine with labeling him what he's supposed to be for school system purposes. He'll likely be working a grade ahead before too long (now that he's able to move at his own pace), but that just means he can do more advanced courses in high school, get some dual enrollment college courses out of the way, etc. I can definitely see benefit to keeping the grade label a little behind the actual level of work.

[Angel]

Dd has an early Sept birthday. She is 10yo and in 4th grade.

[arstephia]

My son has the same kind of deal. He is now 12 and in 6th grade. He started K just after his 5th birthday. For us we put him in the grade his peers are in but planned to teach to his level. He was very ready to read at age 5 so it was time for us to start him. If we were not homeschooling I would have waited just for maturity. However, now that he is 12yo and towers over his peers at 5'11", we are glad we did start him when we did so he is in activities like Sunday school, 4-H and other things with kids his age or a year older because he is SO tall. If he was in 5th grade, he would look quite silly and it would be an esteem issue. Granted we had no idea he would be so tall when he was just 5yo, but we are glad we made the decision we did. As far as starting college, we plan on him attending the highly rated community college in our town his first year to get general ed credits done regardless, so his graduation age is less of an issue.

[Sheila in OK]

My 4th grade ds turned 10 in November. Cutoff for ps here is 9/1, so that makes him an 'older' 4th grader. I just go by what someone else said--the ps calendar for his grade level, but tailor his curriculum to fit where he is academically.

[JudoMom]

My ds10 has a September birthday, and he is a 5th grader in our state.

[kalanamak]

Kiddo will be 9 in late july, and we start 4th grade on 1 Aug (we year-round). I'll keep doing that unless he is doing under-grade work in half his subjects. Then I'll backtrack to a Jan-Jan year. HTH.

[deeinfl]

My fourth grader turned 10 in October. We started our fourth grade year in August when he was almost 10, but not quite. :) He is definitely a fourth grader, not a fifth grader. I didn't start him in kindergarten until he was almost 6. He was just not ready. Most boys aren't ready until about that age.

[kokotg]

Mine is 9 with an early June b-day. Here the cut-off is September 1.

[littlebug42]

If my 9 year old dd were in ps here, she would be in 3rd grade, because she has an October birthday and the cutoff is September 30. Her abilities are on par (and in some cases higher than) with 4th grade level, so I bumped her into 4th grade. She will be getting ready to turn 10 when she starts 5th grade.

[5Wizards]

My 4th grader is 9 with a mid August birthday.

[woolybear]

I consider my 10 yo a fourth grader, though I do see it as arbitrary. He has a July birthday. I think the cutoff here is Dec. 1, though I'm not really sure. Ds doesn't love this and the issue rarely comes up, but when it does he insists he is in fifth, because that is what he probably would be if he were in ps. Of course, that is probably, there are a variety of factors in ps. His work is kind of all over the place, level wise. I prefer to have a little lee way on the earlier side. It's always easier to bump up, than down.

[EKS]

One son turned 9 in June prior to fourth grade.

 

The other will turn 10 in January of fourth grade.

 

I turned 9 in October of fourth grade and my husband turned 9 in February of fourth grade.

[foxbridgeacademy]

DS is 4th with a mid July bday, DD also is a Summer baby. They will Graduate HS at 17 yrs old (if they attend PS for High school). But they won't be going straight to College come fall. My plan is for themto take a semester or two off. As long as they are doing something productive, i.e. volunteering, traveling, working, I will be happy. Also takes care of the worry that at, just turned 18, they're to young for college. My true hope/plan is that we'll be done with High school aroung 16 or so then they can take college classes at the local community college for a year or two and get a head start. That way they can take time off or take lighter loads so they don't burn out (like I did).

Edited January 18, 2011 by foxbridgeacademy

[SilverMoon]

My oldest turned 9 the fall he was in fourth grade. My second turned 9 the summer before ninth grade (June birthday). My next two will follow the same pattern. Kiddo #3 will turn 9 the fall he is in fourth grade, and kiddo #4 will turn 9 the month she starts fourth grade (September birthday).

[Matryoshka]

I have a dd who turned 10 in Dec. I actually report her as 5th because that's where she is on most academics, but if she were in school she'd be in 4th. I always put her in as 4th for any extracurriculars - I've really seen over time that that's where she's socially most comfortable. If she ever went to school (which would be high school if ever), I'd put her in her grade-age.

[texasmama]

My 4th grader turned 10 years old in October.

[LisaKinVA]

It really, really depends upon your son.

 

There are some children that being in the 5th grade would be fine. There are others, not so much. Sometimes it's evident before K. Sometimes it's not evident until 5th/6th grade, or even 8th/9th grade. There are some developmental leaps that take place around 6th grade, and again around 9th grade.

 

A child who seemed "just fine" in the higher grade as a K-4th grader suddenly seems "young" or shows evidence of not being "quite ready" later on.

 

In my experience, if you have the option of keeping them in the lower grade, I'd keep them in the lower grade (officially), but meet them wherever they are academically. It's always easier to have them "skip a grade" later, than "be held back" later.

[mom2att]

Mine's an Aug. 15 birthday, so he makes our state's Sept. 1 cut-off, but he's a 4th grader (he was 10 on his last birthday). That makes him older than most kids, but since he's gotta be either one of the oldest or one of the youngest, with this kid I voted for oldest.

 

My younger son also has an Aug. birthday, but he's in the "correct" grade according to the cut-off here. He's one of the youngest, but he can handle it.

 

The funny thing is for the sports that they play (baseball and soccer) the cut-off is late April, so both of them tend to be the oldest ones on the team.

[Mom0012]

It sounds like he would be better off as a 4th grader if that's where he's working in some areas. Better to be at least at grade level in all areas and then ahead in a few than to be on grade level in a some areas and behind in a few.

 

Lisa

[GypsieFamily]

I figure that

 

grade = age - five

 

This means that they go into the next grade whenever their birthday is. I figure this way I have an expectation of grade = actual age. Much more practical given the two year age range you can find in a grade. Practically, it doesn't matter.

 

Both dc have decided to tell people that they are in a year above where they are, and swear it black and blue.

 

It doesn't really matter most of the time; lately people have been asking what grade the kids are in and they answer "We're homeschooled."

[Alison in KY]

I went with older on all of mine, who have spring birthdays...so they had pre-k at 5 and then k at 6. So 10 in 4th grade. I really want my son to be a 12 year old 6th grader...the age our youth group starts, plus give him time to mature. I did the girls the same way. Academically, they are placed in the right grade. I figure if they want to move up a grade in middle school, then they could do that (with really hard work of course). Otherwise, I'm more comfortable having an 18/19 year old graduate than a 17/18 year old graduate.

 

Alison

[Lizzie in Ma]

My 4th grader is 10, born September 2000

[mryann]

My 4th grader was born Sept, 2000. My state's cut off is Sept 30th. Most private schools have a cut off in Aug. I struggled with where to put him. He is bright but much more creative than my older son. My 10 yr old enjoys playing more than learning and is just now working hard. I decided that I could always move him up a year but that it would be painful for both of us to move him back.

[momtolgd]

Thank you all for the replies! I really appreciate it! I think I feel that he would be better off being called a 4th grader this year for a lot of reasons. I never really worried about it much before, but now that the kids are older, the question of what grade they are in comes up a lot more than it did when they were younger.

 

Our other 2 kids have October and November birthdays, so are on the older end of their grade levels, and I think I feel comfortable with the oldest being the same.

 

Thanks so much! :001_smile:

[talexand]

My 4th grader also has an August birthday but is maybe a year younger than yours? He is 9. We have a Spet 1 cut-off. Academically he is a mix of 4th and 5th which is why I elected to have him be one of the youngest rather than one of the oldest. Of the kids I have spoken to around here, its pretty well known that those with summer birthdays get to pick which grade is a better fit. My friend's son is two days older than mine and he is in 3rd grade. Neither of them are concerned about it. They take things in stride.

 

If my son isn't emotionally or socially ready for college I'll have him take a growth year. This may well be the case but I don't like to take on problems too early.

[Ellie]

My "4th graders" were 9. Their birthdays are in May; they would have had their 10th bdays at the end of the school year.

 

A friend's 4th grader, who is in public school in Texas, is 10, because her bday is in October and the cut-off date is September 1. In California, she'd 9, because the cut-off date is December.

 

IMHO, when you must use a grade level label, it should be the one according to your dc's bday and the cut-off date in your state. How old he'd be when he graduates is irrelevant (unless you held him back a year for some reason). He won't be the only young man who just misses the cut-off date.

[Mama Lynx]

Same here. My son has a Sept. birthday, and is 10 in the 4th grade.

[Halcyon]

mine will be 9 in July and will be in 4th grade in September.