What age for Kindergarten?

[Sally Day]

We live in the UK and I'm not sure whether my wee boy would be starting Kindergarten in the US this year or not. It would be helpful to know. He turns 5 on 1 November. Thanks.

[Caterpiller]

Many US children start Kindergarten at 5. Your son would most likely miss the cut off though and do kindergarten next year. My daughter was 5 November of 2011, and she missed the cut off. As a homeschool mom I could have choose to start anyway. I decided to wait. Not because she wasn't smart enough or anything, I actually started to do it. then I stopped and decided to just let her enjoy being tiny a little longer.

 

Now she is 5.5 and begging for school. So we shall begin. :)

[Ecclecticmum]

Ours (in australia) to have to be enrolled/registered, is the "school year" the child turns 6 (so our school year is 2012, as opposed to US version of August2012-June2013) I use when the child has to be registered to start "more formally" teaching them. But I still do whatever they are ready for, no matter their "age".

 

Atlas started her maths Program in K (year she turned 6, so 2011). Eve is starting that same program now, shes preschool (3.5) so is starting like 2 years earlier rofl, but we may end up going through the program quite slowly. Academically, she'll probably surpass Chaos (already does in fact, and shes showing signs of being very bright in certain areas). Atlas is just starting to be challenged now by her maths, where as before she just basically "knew" and after I said what to do, she would do it, correctly. I could of skipped straight to level 1, and forgot the pre-levels, but unfortunately, the preschool she went to was very vague on what they covered. Atlas is teaching the other children lots of things from preschool, even today, 2 years after she left pre-k lol. So the other kids learn their numbers, alphabet songs, stories, songs, dances etc off her. :tongue_smilie:

 

Chaos would "officially" start school next year (he missed the "cutoff" date by 4 months, if we jumped the state border we are near, he would of missed the cutoff date by 14 days :001_huh: :tongue_smilie: lol. I think US states vary a bit with cutoff dates as well.

 

Here we go, general cut-off dates (must turn 5 by) they also differ from school district to school district and the type of school too.

 

Alabama - September 1

Alaska - August 15

Arizona - September 1

Arkansas - September 15

California - December 2

Colorado - Local Option

Connecticut - January 1

Delaware - August 31

Florida - September 1

Georgia - September 1

Hawaii - August 1

Idaho - September 1

Illinois - September 1

Indiana - July 1

Iowa - September 15

Kansas - August 31

Kentucky - October 1

Louisiana - September 30

Maine - October 15

Maryland - September 1

Massachusetts - Local Option

Michigan - December 1

Minnesota - September 1

Mississippi - September 1

Missouri - August 1*

Montana - September 10

Nebraska - October 15

Nevada - September 30

New Hampshire - Local Option

New Jersey - Local Option

New Mexico - September 1

New York - Local Option

North Carolina - October 16

North Dakota - September 1

Ohio - September 30 **

Oklahoma - September 1

Oregon - September 1

Pennsylvania - Local Option

Rhode Island - September 1

South Carolina - September 1

South Dakota - September 1

Tennessee - September 30

Texas - September 1

Utah - September 2

Vermont - January 1

Virginia - September 30

Washington - August 31

West Virginia - September 1

Wisconsin - September 1

Wyoming - September 15

District of Columbia - December 31

[Crimson Wife]

I started my November birthday DS in K at not-quite-5 and while he was ready to begin then (could already sound out BOB books), he wasn't ready to move on to 1st at not-quite-6. The main reasons were poor fine motor skills esp. penmanship and short attention span (he was subsequently diagnosed with ADHD).

 

This past year was officially repeating K for the purposes of our cover school but I called it "transition" because we just continued on where he was. I probably could've promoted him to 1st in the spring semester if the cover school allowed us to run the school year Jan-Dec rather than Aug-Jul. He starts 1st officially at the end of this month.

[KarenNC]

FYI (in case anyone is actually looking at NC), the cut off here is no longer 0ct. 16. They moved it to Aug. 31 in 2009. We started our daughter just after she turned 5 (but still within the cutoff), and I've been really surprised at how many people evidently hold kids with summer birthdays until the next year. It didn't become an issue for us until this past year, when she moved into middle school age (we've homeschooled since the beginning). It seems the vast majority of programs at the nature centers, rec center, libraries, etc, consider 12 to be lower age limit for middle school activities, even though here middle school is 6th-8th and the cutoff means that many kids would be 11 the entire 6th grade year. It's been a frustrating transition year for that reason, but, given her reading level at age 5, I can't imagine having held her back a year at that point.

Edited August 2, 2012 by KarenNC

[higginszoo]

Where we are in TX, it seems common to hold summer kids until the next year, too. So my dc with summer birthdays are sometimes a bit more than a year younger than some classmates when grouped by grade. It was a factor in dd's decision to wait to start high school (she has decided to do ps) -- she was academically ready to go a year early, but the idea of starting later this month at barely 13, when some of her classmates were already 15, she decided was too big of a difference.

[Tanikit]

My DD has a 14th September birthday and would miss the cut off in many states. Here in South Africa however they start the year they turn six and kindergarten runs from Jan-Dec so she is due to start next year January, however she has been doing a lot of kindergarten work already this year and we just plan to continue with her as we have been doing.

[Kathryn]

ODS is a November birthday also. He started K work at 4, because he was more than ready and though he wasn't old enough in our state, he would have been in about a dozen states. He continues to advance academically, but we've decided to officially label him the grade that his same-age peers would be in our state. So, although he's doing second grade work (for the most part, we switched math programs and went back for a quick review since MUS didn't cover what Singapore and Miquon cover in first), we are calling him first this year when he'll be 7 in November. For homeschooling purchase decisions, I'd go more with readiness than age/grade cutoffs.

[MrsBanjoClown]

It depends on the area you live in, but here he would be able to go to Pre-K, but not K. The cut-off date here is September 1.

 

ETA: My youngest doesn't turn 6 until Dec. so he is in K, but most of the work he is doing is 1st grade. Like another poster, his writing ability is not at the level of a 1st grader yet, though. He is doing 1st grade math and reading and following along with my 2nd grader in History, Science, and Latin but not doing the writing. He is doing K handwriting.

Edited August 2, 2012 by jpope

[boscopup]

My November boy is doing â€K†this year, when he'll be 6. We have a Sept. 1 cutoff here. That said, we started K level work last year at 4.5. Like others, we're doing K-level handwriting this year, first grade math, and his reading is somewhere between K and first (possible dyslexia there).

 

My kids all work at whatever level they need. I don't require daily school until they're K age per the state (so school was optional last year, but not optional this year).

[MissKNG]

We live in the UK and I'm not sure whether my wee boy would be starting Kindergarten in the US this year or not. It would be helpful to know. He turns 5 on 1 November. Thanks.

 

 

He would start Kindergarten if he lived in my state (Dec 1st cut off).

 

ETA: Welcome to the board!!

[MeganW]

In SC, the law says the children who turn 5 on or before Sept 1st go to kindergarten. Most kids who turn 5 in the summer, though, wait and go the following year, so your child is definitely very young to start kindergarten.

 

I would *call* your child a preschooler for the 2012-13 school year, but teach him at his level. If he is ready to read or start math, go for it! If not, that's fine too!

[ocelotmom]

We live in the UK and I'm not sure whether my wee boy would be starting Kindergarten in the US this year or not. It would be helpful to know. He turns 5 on 1 November. Thanks.

 

The vast majority of children would not be entering K at his age. Even in the few states that allow it, many parents would wait another year for a little more maturity, especially with boys.

Edited August 2, 2012 by ocelotmom

[Stef03]

As ppl have already mentioned it would depend on the State you lived in.

I presume your son would be starting Reception this year in the UK?

 

My son started "Reception" in the UK but when we moved mid year to IL, USA he had to wait for the next school year to be in Kindergarten due to birthday cut off dates. When he finally got to start Kindergarten he was extremely bored as he had already covered the curriculum in the time he'd been in Reception... So in my experience Reception really is similar to Kindergarten even though Reception is aimed at 4-5yr olds and Kindergarten is 5-6 yr olds. If your son seems ready I'd go ahead and start "Kindergarten" level work.

[Ellie]

In California and Maryland, probably a couple of other states, your son would be starting kindergarten this fall. Cali's cut-off date is December 2.

 

Most other states have cut-off dates that make school entry more reasonable, usually September 1, which means he wouldn't start kindergarten until the fall of 2013.

 

There may even be a state with an August 1 cut-off.

 

In most states, though, kindergarten is not mandatory (it is in Maryland, not in Calif), so the cut-off date really means that children who are 6 by the cut-off will enter first grade.

Edited August 2, 2012 by Ellie

[SilverMoon]

A firm answer to that question is convoluted. :tongue_smilie: Most likely he'd be considered a preschooler this year, though depending on the area a bright kid with that birthday could begin K this year.

 

Even with the different cut-off, you have to take the "norm" for the area into mind too. When we started homeschooling we were in an area where bright kids with fall birthdays starting were fairly common.

 

Then we moved to Nevada, with an end of September cut-off. Fall birthdays did not start early. At all. Red-shirting kids in our area was so prevalent that late-winter and spring birthdays were the youngest in their grades. My dd with a September 20th birthday would have been half a year to a year younger than the majority of the children in her grade if we'd stayed there. That wouldn't affect her learning at home in the slightest, but those are the kids she would have done scouts, sports and such with.

 

Now we're in AZ, red-shirting isn't the norm, and the cut-off here would kick that September 20th kid back a grade. (I'm not doing that to her. :tongue_smilie:)

[boscopup]

Even with the different cut-off, you have to take the "norm" for the area into mind too. When we started homeschooling we were in an area where bright kids with fall birthdays starting were fairly common.

 

And in some areas, that isn't even allowed. :tongue_smilie: I had to repeat 4-year old preschool when we moved to AL because the state would not let someone start K if they weren't 5 before Sept. 1. I was March. I was already reading and writing. I was social enough. I would have been fine. They didn't care. I wasn't 5 yet. I wouldn't let my parents send me to 4-year old preschool again, so they sent me to one and called it "day school". :lol:

 

Around here, it's VERY common to redshirt boys. My summer birthday child was sooooooo much younger than some of his classmates, since they were redshirted and he wasn't. It made the class dynamics more "mature" (as mature as 6 year olds get ;) ), which was difficult socially. The funny thing is that kids are being redshirted just because they're boys, NOT because they are immature or not ready for K (academically or socially). In a lot of cases, those kids would be perfectly fine going to K the year they were supposed to. Oh well. Glad I don't have to worry about it now! :D

[Farrar]

FYI (in case anyone is actually looking at NC), the cut off here is no longer 0ct. 16.

 

DC's is incorrect on that list as well. It's Sept. 30th now. My kids met that deadline by just three days.

 

I think the OP should start doing K stuff whenever her ds is ready for it. And you can call it whatever you like. If he was in the US though, he would be a pre-K student in almost every state.

[WeeBeaks]

In California and Maryland, probably a couple of other states, your son would be starting kindergarten this fall. Cali's cut-off date is December 2.

 

 

California is Nov 1st now, http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/gs/em/kinderinfo.asp

 

They are in the process of scaling it back to Sept 1st to match other states. It was Dec 2nd last year, Nov 1st this year, Oct 1st next year and Sept 1st the following, where it is planned to stay.

 

OP, my DD shares a B'day with your son (5 Nov 1st this year) and is entering kindy in California, homeschooled of course.

[Farrar]

And Maryland's is Sept 1st too. In fact, all the sports and activities here require that kids have Sept. 1st birthdays for everything, even though the cutoff in the city is the 30th. Confusing.

[Ellie]

Kudos to Calif and Maryland. :cheers2:

 

I read someone's comment long ago that back in the day, children in California could enroll in either the fall or the winter semester; the Dec. 2 deadline was for children entering the winter semester, but when TPTB decide to have only a school year beginning in September, they somehow forgot to keep the earlier deadline and kept the later one instead. I'm assuming the deadline for the fall semester would have been in August, which is way more reasonable.

[Ellie]

Where we are in TX, it seems common to hold summer kids until the next year, too. So my dc with summer birthdays are sometimes a bit more than a year younger than some classmates when grouped by grade. It was a factor in dd's decision to wait to start high school (she has decided to do ps) -- she was academically ready to go a year early, but the idea of starting later this month at barely 13, when some of her classmates were already 15, she decided was too big of a difference.

I sure am thankful that Virginia doesn't (or didn't, back in the day!) do that, as my bday is July 18. I never, ever felt younger than the other children in any of my classes, ever. That would have had me graduating at least a year later than most of my age-mates. I wouldn't have liked that, either.

 

It would never have ocurred to me that a summer birthday was "young." :001_huh:

[SilverMoon]

And in some areas, that isn't even allowed. :tongue_smilie: I had to repeat 4-year old preschool when we moved to AL because the state would not let someone start K if they weren't 5 before Sept. 1. I was March. I was already reading and writing. I was social enough. I would have been fine. They didn't care. I wasn't 5 yet. I wouldn't let my parents send me to 4-year old preschool again, so they sent me to one and called it "day school". :lol:

 

I was essentially held back a year, too. :tongue_smilie:My birthday is in October. I had the academic skill, blindfolded. The only reason I can see for them to keep me back is I was a foster kid with a rocky start. Consequently, I spent most of my time in elementary bored out of my gourd, being taught stuff I already knew. Except Mrs. Straight's class in second grade. She'd let me keep real books in my desk to read when I was done with the busywork. :001_smile:

[FairProspects]

I was essentially held back a year, too. :tongue_smilie:My birthday is in October. I had the academic skill, blindfolded. The only reason I can see for them to keep me back is I was a foster kid with a rocky start. Consequently, I spent most of my time in elementary bored out of my gourd, being taught stuff I already knew. Except Mrs. Straight's class in second grade. She'd let me keep real books in my desk to read when I was done with the busywork. :001_smile:

 

Ooh, I can join the held-back birthday club too! Since I already had the academic skills my mom just homeschooled me and later put me in Christian school in the correct grade. I liked being held-back though, I loved being the oldest, and academic competition was seriously stiff in my grade, so I've always thought it was a good thing.

[8filltheheart]

Regardless of what the laws are, the focus should really be on the child and the child's needs. I have kids that have started K at the young end as well as 1 w/a July b-day we made the decision to hold back.

 

It really boils down to mental maturity and the ability to stay on task and focus. And this doesn't pertain to just K. When they hit 4th grade, are they going to have the internal discipline to handle the writing output of a 4th grader? How about 6th or 10th? One yr of maturity can make a huge difference between needing "push, prod, pull" a child through tasks vs. autonomous effort.

 

The child that we held back is very immature for her age. Holding her back has proven to be a good choice. She is functioning on par w/grade level behaviors even though she is an entire yr older than several of her siblings were when they were in the same grade.

[hands-on-mama]

I agree that the maturity of the child has more to do with this than anything.

I student taught in kindergarten last year, and there was a huge difference between the younger children and the older ones. Then there was another huge difference between the boys and girls.

With boys, it often helps to hold them back if they have a late birthday. Many lack the focus to pay attention to their work. Not all. Just many.

On the opposite side, I had a girl that turned 5 the second week of K. She was very much ready for kindergarten even though she was a little home sick at first.

 

We decided this year that we would homeschool our children. My 4.5 yr old DD knew more of the alphabet than my entering K'ers did last year when she was only 3.5. She does lack the motor skills though. She's in OT for that right now (low tone). We are doing MFW K this year because it seems on her level and I think she will enjoy all the wonderful activities. Because of her motor skills though, we will do a second K curriculum next year to give her time to catch up.