Poll: What school option would you take for starting a September child?

[praisefor3]

Our last child was born September 2, 2004. She has two older siblings (10 and 17!) She will be 4 this September and I'm starting to try to get my ducks in a row about starting school for her. In your experience (your own or others you have known) what do you think you would do (in general since obviously every situation could be different)?

[JFSinIL]

Gently start some basic kindergarten stuff and see it it "takes". If not - back to more play and wait six months. Do not worry about having to start formal school until the kidlet is ready.

[GraceinMD]

Wish I had waited for my 9-23 ds!

[Pamela H in Texas]

It's really tough to say. I'll tell you that had we gone with the public school options for each kiddo they would have looked like this:

 

Kid 1, late Sept bday, would have turned 4 a month after kindergarten started

Kid 2, APRIL bday, would have started 1st grade at almost 7.5 (wasn't ready for any school before that).

 

My brother was held back because of a summer bday and not being particularly academic. By 2nd grade, surpassed the elementary curriculum.

 

My sister had an Oct bday and waited so did high school in 3 years.

 

I've seen MANY April - August kids who should have waiting. ANd I've seen SO many fall bday kids who should have been allowed to move on. It just so is dependant on the student in question.

 

The good thing is that you almost always have a choice to tweak it later.

Pamela

[Parrothead]

My dd is an October baby. She was ready for pre K/K work the September before she turned 4. In all reality we started school when she was 3.

 

Take your cues from your dd. If she acts like she is ready or if she shows an interest then start here.

 

One thing I'd suggest is not pushing too terribly hard when she doesn't "get" something. My dd wasn't ready to learn to read in September, but by April she was. I tried for two weeks for lessons from 100 Easy Lessons to sink in. Since it didn't click I put it up for a while. When I tried again six months later it all clicked for her immediately.

[Dayle in Guatemala]

Both my dds were born in September. My oldest was also on the 2nd. I hadn't planned on starting her in K until she was 6, but, her preschool teacher (at the time I wasn't home schooling) was also the K teacher in the small Christian school she was attending said she was more than ready for K and I should just enroll her. The cutoff for K was Sept. 1st, though.

 

My other dd was born on the 28th. She was reading fluently at 4 and I hadn't taught her anything. So, I started home schooling her in K/1 at 4. She was just ready. I don't really worry about grade, we just work and finish. When we need to sign them up for something that requires their grade, we go with what their age is and what grade that would make them.

[PrairieAir]

Oldest ds' b-day is September 25th. We started him in kindergarten (homeschool) the fall he turned 5. It has always been a good fit for him. The only benefit I can see now in keeping him back one more year would be that he'd have had to wait another year before enlisting in the Marines;)

 

Oldest dd's b-day is July 1. We started her in kindergarten the fall after she turned 4 because she was begging to do school work with her older brother. I wish I would have just done school with her and not called it kindergarten. She has done okay with school, but may have done even better if she was the same age as others in her grade level. She will graduate next year just before her 17th birthday and wants to go to college at K-State. Dh and I are a little concerned about that because we see a slight lack in maturity that another year might have helped straighten out. By lack of maturity, I mean that all the kids in her class are 1-2 years older than her and sometimes she seems as though she is trying to keep up with them socially to the detriment of academics. Her priorities are a little off and she's not quite as serious as she ought to be for the competitive veterinary program she hopes to get into. She is very serious about her goals and gets decent grades, but she should be working harder to achieve those goals and just isn't seeing that.

 

It's difficult to tell when they are only 4 or 5 what challenges you'll face down the road, though. It really could go many different ways. I think the best you can do is decide what is best for right now and tackle any future problems as they arise.

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

My DD is a Sept baby. I started her in K when she was 4. It took. Grade 1 at 5 somewhat took (math was a problem). Grade 2 at 6 didn't! She redid grade 2 at 7 and it went without a glitch. I also switched her from the Quebec grade 2 to the French grade 2, so she didn't redo the exact same year.

 

Still, I'm glad I started her early. At least I had the opportunity to make mistakes and correct them. When the child is started "late", you have no more leeway.

[momofkhm]

My ds has a late birthday so he should be in 1st grade. BUT he was ready to learn to read when he was 4. So I got 100 EZ lessons and went from there. Actual K started after he turned 5, but he sped through the program. He is now in the same grade as all his friends at church so it woks out well.

 

Talk to the Sunday School director if you put her into K now. There are enough homeschoolers out there that she should be willing to work with you. After all, they do work with families who hold their kids back right?

[Danestress]

I am an August birthday and a younger sister, and I hated being the youngest in my class. I would wait.

 

If you are homeschooling, then I would start kindergarten in a really fun way - teach her things she desires to know, do a lot of nature study and reading.

[Krista in LA]

She was already reading and asking questions about negative numbers, etc. It seemed rather silly to wait when she was so hungry to learn. Now she is finishing 7th grade a year ahead of where the school system would have her and she fits in just fine. However, I know lots of kids who would benefit from an extra year before starting so it really does depend on the child.

[8filltheheart]

My oldest ds (now 18) has an Aug 17 bday. Our 9 yod bday is 9/29.

 

We did not wait with our oldest. He has done well overall, though I think he is overly stressed b/c of some lacking in his maturity. (Don't get me wrong, he is extremely responsible, etc, but his coping skills are more along the adolescent side than adult)

 

With our 9 yod, I did wait. She is academically advanced and is doing all 4th grade or higher level work. However, she is a 3rd grader. I will not bump up her grade level. Our oldest graduated with 18 credit hours. Our dd will probably have more than double that b/c she will dual enroll earlier.

 

I simply dont' see huge advantages to rushing them out the door. One more yr of maturity is always a benefit. The advantage of homeschooling is that you aren't locked into a "grade" specific curriculum. Work with them where they are and the grade level identification is irrelevant.

[klmama]

If she's ready to learn, teach her. Don't worry about the grade level on her math book to determine her grade. Let her be "ahead" instead of possibly having to "catch up" with her same-grade peers that are much older. Even if she can handle it all academically, at some point it may make a huge difference socially. I know of several homeschoolers who started their kids early because they were ready to learn, and then had to put them in activities with kids in lower grades, just because that's where their kids belonged socially and age-wise. It was hard for the kids because they were used to thinking of themselves as being in higher levels.

 

Also, as far as college goes, that extra year of maturity can make a huge difference. Yes, some can handle it at 17, but socially, they may not be ready for it. That social component can have a huge impact on their academic success, too. I say, better to "skip" a grade or just adjust transcripts later if it becomes obvious the child will be ready socially, than to assume anything at age 5.

[WTMindy]

I would start doing school if she is ready, but I would just call it "pre-school" and make her in K when she would be there with her church friends. My ds was totally done with K work before I ever called him a K, because I didn't want to wait to start, but I didn't want to push him ahead. Just think of grade level as another way of describing age rather than a way of describing what level of academics they are doing.

[Plaid Dad]

In our district she would miss the cutoff by one day, so I suppose you could wait a year. My inclination (and my vote) would be to start her at age five unless you see that she is clearly not developmentally ready for the kind of K work you want to do.

 

Fwiw, I started K at age 4 (Nov. b-day with a Dec. 1 cutoff), as did a fair number of other kids where I grew up. I don't think anyone got left back along the way. ;) The nice thing is that, as a hs-er, you can tailor her education to her needs.

[JFSinIL]

I voted "other" since I think arbitrary start dates are meaningless. It all depends on the readiness of the child!

 

Friends have a dd who was born a couple weeks early. She therefore "made" our district's cut-off date (August 31) and is a year ahead of my twin boys, overdue, who came after the cut-off date. Had my boys been premature, as many twins are, they would have started kindergarten a year earlier than they did. I doubt that that would have been a good idea!!!!

 

Friend's dd has struggled in school - she would have benefited from another year before starting school. But she made the cut-off date....

 

On the other hand are kids like my kid sister, who just missed our California cut-off date, and had to wait an extra year before starting school. Gifted (IQ over 160) she was bored to tears and took her GED to get out of school as soon as possible.

 

it all depends on the kid!!! As a home schooler - start school when YOU know your child is ready! Not when some school district calender dictates.

[anewday]

If she's ready, I don't see why not to start her. I start mine in a phonics program at age 4ish and they've loved it. Granted, they were ready, so that made a difference. I add in light math at 5ish, and lots of books.

 

My first is an August baby and I started her in K at age 5. I was also born in August and started then in the ps - graduated at age 17.

[1bassoon]

I have 3, count 'em, THREE daughters born in September, including my eldest.

 

Here's what we do:

 

I start the kiddos with K work when they're "ready" - which, in our house, is usually the fall they turn 5. So for homeschool, we just call them (if we need to) whatever "grade" they're in. But when enrolling them in church activities, we put them with their age group.

 

We learned this the hard way moving to Alabama - here, the b'day cutoff is Sept. 1. When we first got here, we put our soon-to-be-5-year-old in a K5 class - BAD MOVE. All the girls were a year older, and she was socially a big misfit.

 

We're experiencing this a bit with eldest dd. She's going to be a Jr. by course work/credit status, but by AL dates should only be a Soph. It has caused some stress - mainly that she's the youngest in her ballet company, and that has a whole 'nother bunch of issues with driving, going out, etc. She's not a super-social kid, so it's not been a HUGE deal, but it wasn't expected, kwim?

 

So for our girls, we're going to "graduate" them when they turn 17, and then do a "super senior" year at home - for them to explore interests, do some local cc work, etc.

 

Hope this helps!

[Brindee]

Wish I had waited for my 9-23 ds!

Exactly. My ds14 has a 9-23 birthdate too! So he's going to be either older or younger no matter what! He's been a year younger, but we have decided we may stretch his 9th grade year (which is this year) through part of next year, then do tenth for longer too. Then he'll be older and wiser (more mature) by the time he's a junior.

 

My dd has a March b-day, so she'd graduate right after turning 17. We may have her do extra work, and some maturing, too and stay in 6th next year.

 

I dunno, I'm agreeing with what the others said about starting your child when YOU know they're ready. My two were VERY ready when they started and flew through all the work. They're still doing well enough, but I wonder if they'd do better by just giving tthem more depth this year????

[H.S. Burrow]

My DS's birthday is Aug 4 and he is a fourth grader - he will be 10 this year. He met the public school cut-off date (Aug 31) and was in public school until 2 years ago. He is a gifted student and has no problem with anything academic.

 

That said, my DH & I decided that he would have an extra year to prepare before going off to college. My DH (also gifted) has a June b-day and has said many times that he was not ready for college 2 months after his 18th b-day. So DS is definetly NOT going off to college 2 weeks after his 18th b-day!

 

We are taking the opportunity now to give him that extra time. When my DD starts the ancient cycle again in 9th grade, so will DS and in essence "repeat" the History/Science of 5th grade. This next school year (DS 5th/DD 8th) will be a quick pass through Middle Ages, Renaissance, & Moderns so DD will be ready for HS great books & Ancients so DS will not have 2 years of Ancients back-to-back.

 

As all the posts have said, you must do what is best for YOUR child. If she is academically ready to read, then start reading and don't worry too much about the rest of it. If she is bored, then you can always move her up later.

[Marie in Oh]

She will be 5 in September. WE are starting K regardless as she is ready, though I have been wondering what to do with her in church. We have 4's and 5's and then K classes. Basically, I am choosing her peer group at church. Sooooo, what I am doing is watching until the promote in September. Who does she talk about, who does she gravitate toward? Is it the girls who are promoting or the ones who are staying back? So far, she seems to hang with the ones who are promoting, so I am leaning toward letting her move up. We let our #2 dd move up (her b-day is 8 -13-01) so she is young for her class. SHe actually should have waited, not because she can't keep up, but just because she likes the girls better in the class behind her. HTH.

[4arrows]

I would wait. I didn't wait with my first dd (and should have). I learned my lesson with dd2.

[Kate CA]

Our last child was born September 2, 2004. She has two older siblings (10 and 17!) She will be 4 this September and I'm starting to try to get my ducks in a row about starting school for her. In your experience (your own or others you have known) what do you think you would do (in general since obviously every situation could be different)?

 

I started early with my September birthday child and regretted it later on. We had to fix it when she was older. She and her second sibling are only 2 years and 5 months apart and I had them three years apart in school. It was too much so we fixed it a number of years ago by continuing the same grade for another year.

 

I would only suggest you start her the earlier year if she is truly excelling and advanced and you would know.

 

The other aspect to think about is how old she will be when she hits college. I felt more comfortable with my dd having an extra year under her belt to mature. I didn't have this year and could have probably used it. (I am an October birthday). There are just some things that come better with age. :)

[CookieMonster]

Our last child was born September 2, 2004. She has two older siblings (10 and 17!) She will be 4 this September and I'm starting to try to get my ducks in a row about starting school for her. In your experience (your own or others you have known) what do you think you would do (in general since obviously every situation could be different)?

 

I'm a September baby. I started kindergarten right before I turned five and graduated highschool at 17. Not a problem in the world did I have.

[8filltheheart]

I watched my nephew get bumped up from K to 1st because his ratty little private school wanted the extra tuition--and he headed off to Navy Basic Training as a 17yo. Well, he got turned back a week for "stress managment". Sad thing is, if he had been in his correct age cohort, he'd probably have gotten a Naval Academy Appointment--as it is, he's now hoping to do it through Nuke School, but he may be stuck in enlisted. It would have been SO much better for him to wait.

 

That has been my main observation as well. Our ds turned 18 just a couple of days before he left for college. Academically, he was more than prepared. Responsibility-wise, again more than prepared.

 

HOWEVER, being able to cope with stress was his chief difficulty. He definitely coped more like a teenager than an adult.

 

This is one of those situations where it is impossible to predict when they are 5 yrs old how they will be at 18. Dual enrollment is a viable option that allows students to be both. I will not advance any of my other children based on academic ability. Adulthood looms ahead for the rest of their lives. Giving them ONE yr to make that transition less stressfully only makes sense.

 

Of course this is coming from hindsight being 20/20. It wasn't so clear cut when I was on the other end (or obviously I would have labelled my oldest academically as 1 yr lower than his academic working level.)

[Ellie]

You're homeschooling. It doesn't matter whether you call it "kindergarten" or "first grade" or "ice skating." You teach your dc at their abilities, regardless of the time of year or an arbitrary "grade level" set by school officials.

 

Having said that let me say this: *ON PAPER* YOu hang the grade level label that would be the one your dc would be in if he were in school. For the sake of Sunday school teachers or grandparents or complete strangers who ask what grade your dc is in, you just go with the grade level that is appropriate in your state.

 

Homeschooled children are not in grades. They are ages. Grade level changes from state to state; for example, a child who is 6 in October would be in kindergarten if he were in school, but in California he'd be in first grade. Grade level has NO true relevance for homeschoolers (and I'm not talking about the level of textbooks you use). You teach according to your dc's abilities; you tell outsiders that he's the grade level he'd be in if he were in school.

[ereks mom]

My DD is a Sept baby. I started her in K when she was 4. It took. Grade 1 at 5 somewhat took (math was a problem). Grade 2 at 6 didn't! She redid grade 2 at 7 and it went without a glitch. I also switched her from the Quebec grade 2 to the French grade 2, so she didn't redo the exact same year.

 

Still, I'm glad I started her early. At least I had the opportunity to make mistakes and correct them. When the child is started "late", you have no more leeway.

 

Except that EK (early October birthday) struggled with reading/phonics instead of math. I started her in K when she was 4-almost-5, and she did pretty well, but she began to have difficulty with reading/phonics in Grade 1. I slowed w-a-y down and took 3 years to cover grades 1 & 2.

[elegantlion]

My ds has a September birthday. He was in private school for prek and kindergarten. the turned 6 just after starting kindergarten. I have mixed feelings about this.

 

I see some of the kids now his age and they are a grade ahead of him. In the end I think it will be okay, him starting later. Most of the work we are doing is not labeled at a grade level anyway.

 

My birthday is in May and I was 17 when I graduated from high school. It didn't affect adversely.

[teamturner]

My oldest dd was born 8/31 but she has twin older brothers that are 21 months older than her. She was reading at 4 1/2 (she pushed for this) so I decided to start Kindergarten when she was just turning 5. Her handwriting is the only thing that I would say is not on grade level and I just work with her on that at her own pace. She is just as mature as all the other kids in her co-op classes and Sunday school class as well. She is in the 2nd grade this year and just turned 7.

 

I think the decision for your dd will be based on where you see she should be when she is 4 yo. Perhaps since all her siblings are so much older, she won't be in a big hurry like my dd was. :D As for college, my current thinking is that she would complete her first year (maybe 2) of college locally before going off to college anywhere. She will be just turning 18!

[KAR120C]

If you have to register a grade, I'd probably go by whatever the established cutoff is unless there's some glaringly obvious reason not to... but for day-to-day work I'd just go with what she's ready for, when she's ready for it. And if you're worried that she won't be ready to go to college at the age she'll finish 12th grade, you can start telling her now that there are 14 grades in your school. ;)

[Pamela H in Texas]

I can't say generally....It is SO kid dependent.

 

However, do you REALLY have to answer the question now? I mean, can't you do whatever you wish (and she needs) and not necessarily call it anything and then when you have to report to the state (if you do), decide THEN what to call THAT grade? That is what *I* would do. By then, you'll have a better idea on what level she truly is at and whether calling it a grade younger or older is reasonable.

[SnowWhite]

What about starting in January instead of September?

[suzf242]

My dd has a late August birthday. We decided to skip kindergarten altogether and then decide if she was ready for 1st the following year. I just couldn't see putting her in all-day kindergarten when she had just turned 5 and would be one of the youngest in the call.

 

Turns out we decided to homeschool several months before she turned 6, so we didn't have to worry about it.

 

Take care,

Suzanne

[Tree House Academy]

My son has an END of September birthday. If ps were what we were doing, I would have waited and enrolled him in K NEXT school year. However, mentally and with homeschooling, he is now doing a lot of 1st grade work. I started with letter sounds when he was 3 and worked with him. When he showed readiness to read, we read. It just went from there. I go at his pace and mentally, he is very ahead. Emotionally and with regards to other kids, I would never have put him in PS now...and he definitely wouldn't be doing 1st grade work. KWIM?

[Mommyof4ks]

I have not read other repsonses, so there may already be a theme.

 

I am a summer baby, and I always felt a bit behind my class. I was able to maintain good grades, but many concepts did not 'click' for several months beyond my peers.

 

My DD started Kindy at 4 (we homeschool), because she was bored with pre-k, our DS5 (oct bday) will not start until next year as he needs more time to mature, and our youngest DS3 will probably start next year at age 4 with his brother (he is doing very well with pre-K work now).

 

It really depends on her level of maturity and her ability to do Kindy level work. Does she know everything she needs to in order to be successful in Kindy.

[Tap]

I am not certain which to chose but what we did:

 

We kept dd9 (October bday) in her public school grade officially BUT schooled her in each subject at the appropriate level. We like having the freedom of the extra year. I wish I would have done the same with ds14 (August bday) but we weren't hsing then.

 

Another advantage to keeping her in the appropriate grade is that she will be with her peer group in activities. Many groups are based on grade level (summer camps, classes, etc) and it is nice if they aren't the youngest. Ds was always the youngest and there were huge disadvantages to that.

 

She has been ahead in math, on track in reading ability, ahead in reading comprehension, ahead in science, on track in history but also did history along with her 4 year older brother. We figure that if we want to take some time off to study something in depth at some time we have the chance.

[Erica in PA]

I chose the second option. My 8 yos has his birthday on Sept. 20th, and initially I started K with him that year. However, I didn't push him beyond his abilities, and by this past spring, when he was finishing what we were then calling second grade, it was clear to me that he would benefit from having another second grade year. He's doing a lot of third grade work this year, but in several areas he is definitely on a second grade level, and I would rather have him be mostly ahead and/or on grade level as a second grader, than mostly on grade level and in some cases below grade level as a third grader.