Will "starting kindergarten" cause problems later?

[Janie Grace]

My 4th child is very bright. He turned 4 in December and is already reading, doing simple math sums, etc. This is b/c of his own interest, not any sort of effort on my part (I'm schooling 3 other kids and don't have time to purposely accelerate him!). He is more than ready for kindergarten and I am happy to buy some curriculum and start him in K this fall... but I am starting to wonder (based on the Cub Scout thread) -- will this cause problems later? I will have him grouped according to AGE (the grade he should be in based on his b-day) for sports, scouts, whatever... but I'm wondering if it's going to be problematic with co-ops, other outside classes, etc. Have you started a child "early"? Did it complicate things later?

[praisefor3]

I'm sure that has worked for many so it would probably work for you. I had a similar situation with my 3rd child but I knew that I definitely did not want to move her ahead early. So I started kindergarten early and just took our time. I also found that while at 4 I was betting she was kindergarten ready, her interest level began to wane when she was 5 and I was so happy that we could take our time. I had planned to take 1 1/2 years for K and then spread 1st grade over 1 1/2 years but instead she is now on track for first grade just being one year. If I were you, I would go ahead and start but make the final decision after you get him into it a bit and see if his need to accelerate continues.

[KristinaBreece]

I'm right with you. My DS has a mid-October birthday, and we're formally starting Kindy in the fall. He's been working on Saxon Math K, HWOT, Progressive Phonics, and Starfall since roughly January. He's just interested. I hope it won't cause problems, though!

[Night Elf]

My children have always been ahead at least a year academically. We have never encountered problems. Some things were separated by age, like Sunday School and Scouting. I can't imagine a child being held back by a school also being held back at Sunday School or Scouting! Outside academic classes haven't been a problem because the ones we've used were all homeschoolers who understood grade level and age were separate issues. Dd13 will be in a high school level American History class in the fall. I'm fairly certain she will be the youngest one.

[mom2scouts]

I have the same issue and I'm planning to start a very relaxed and extended kindergarten program. I'll say she's in PreK, even if it's more of a kindergarten curriculum and keep her with other children her age for "grade level" activities.

[ChristusG]

If my child were ready, then I'd go ahead and start them. If they want to learn and are capable of doing kindergarten materials, then in my opinion there's no reason to wait. Now if you begin and he resists more work, then I'd back off.

[Ellie]

IMHO, keep him at his age level for outside group activities--Sunday school, sports, etc.--but by all means work with his academic ability at home. One has nothing to do with the other.

[T'smom]

I do not have personal experience with this but what I would do is work at his ability level, but not call it "kindergarten" until he's there age-wise.

[joannqn]

My first two are accelerated a year officially, but more than a year ahead in various subjects. It generally isn't an issue because we make decisions on a case by case basis.

 

For example, we attended a homeschool day at the zoo. We were studying the same topic as the high school program for the day and my kids were both capable of sitting through and understanding the material, so we attended the high school program rather than the elementary program.

 

A recent field trip was suppose to be geared towards 2nd through 6th grade. They divided the kids up into groups, and my kids being the older kids, ended up being group leaders and helping the younger kids. While it worked, it's not an ideal situation, but they've learned to deal with it.

 

For church, my daughter has chosen to stay with her age group (5th grade) for Sunday school but attends youth group as well (6th grade and up). My son expressed unhappiness about being with age-peers because the materials used were too simplistic, so in our new church, I enrolled him by grade instead of age. Though he's 9, he's grouped with 4th and 5th graders. He's much happier than before.

 

Flexibility goes a long way with making activities work with accelerated students. When in doubt, go with the more advanced level/older kids if the material is appropriate.

[twoxcell]

I started my dd last year on K when she was 4.5, so far we haven't had any issues. I do keep her with her grade level for outside activities. I started K when I was 4, and it was never really an issue for me.

[kokotg]

I did the same thing with my 5 1/2 year old (we called this past year his kindergarten year, and he'll start 1st grade in the fall). It hasn't been long yet, of course, but I don't anticipate any problems. Some states actually have a December cut-off date for kindergarten, so it'd be no different than if you'd moved from a different state. I'd just take each situation on a case by case basis--whether it makes more sense to go by age or grade.

[myfunnybunch]

That's right about where each of my boys were at age 4. I just did a light K4 by getting them books and working with them at their level. I kept it light and made it fun, and they just spent time at the table doing morning schoolwork with the older sibs. I think we did the Handwriting Without Tears PreK book, Singapore Math, and phonics, plus science, history, art with the olders. :) We've never had a problem with outside activities. I just placed them with kids the same age.

 

I think when my youngest asked me, "What grade am I in?" I said, "You're doing 4 y.o. kindergarten." Now I work with him at his level, but call it kindergarten, because that corresponds to the grade he'd be in if he was in school.

 

I miss 4 y.o. school.

 

Cat

[FO4UR]

I call them by their age-grade, and work with them at their level.

 

If the work is self-propelled, go for it. I wouldn't insist on the school lessons though. My eager one will not let me forget her school lessons.

[OnTheBrink]

Both my kids started school "early". My dd has always been homeschooled and we started K with her when she was 4. My son, because of the birthday cut-off dates, also started K when he was 4 (but very close to 5).

 

The only problems I've come across is that their academic maturity exceeds their emotional maturity, so finding appropriate reading materials can be hard sometimes. One mistake I made with my son was to put him into college right out of high school. He could have used an additional year to mature. This is something I won't do with dd. I told her father that I reserve the right to hold her out of college a year if I feel she's not emotionally ready for it.

 

Other than that, I'm a firm believer in striking while the iron's hot. If a child wants to learn something, teach it to him (at an age-appropriate level, of course).

[catz]

Oh - I would definitely do this if he's ready to sit down and focus. But I'd leave your options open for when he'd graduate from high school and keep him grade level in activities/sports. My kids are finishing 1st and finishing 4th right now and both test years ahead of grade level, but I'm not pushing them to go to college early unless they want to (but we may do CC classes at some point), so I'm still calling them 1st and 4th. And if at some point we have a down year or a year more focused on extras or social or volunteering, etc so be it.

[mooooom]

My dd is 15, she is completing her Junior year and will be in college before turning 17. I have no regrets. She is very mature for her age, her best friend is 18 and just finished her first year of college. She also has two brothers almost exactly a year older to whom she has always aspired to keep up with.

 

Our church did everything by grade level, so she was never held back there. The only thing she missed out on was our state's monthly Teen Club activity night, as the leader had strict rules about age. It was the first time she had not been allowed to do everything her brothers did, but she was 12 by then, and handled it well (she also got to special things with a parent on those nights...)

 

I can never imagine holding a child back who is ready to move on. I still remember vividly sitting in the corner for most of the first grade year with a book while the other kids learned to read (I was reading at 3). I remember being angry and bored. There is no excuse for that. It was a whole year of my life wasted.

[Lacie]

My youngest is close to where your son is right now. And he is pushing me to start kindergarten so he can be like his brother. I am planning on doing K4 and then K5, pretty much two years of kindergarten. I will get whatever curriculum fits his needs at the time.

[StartingOver]

Three of my 5 have started early. It has caused no issues.