How old are you K and 1st graders?

[NicAnn]

Just what the title says. :)

 

We are on a slightly accelerated schedule, so my DD is 1-2 years ahead of her public school peers. Just wondering what other HS do.

[Kathryn]

DS is ahead, but we are calling his grade by age for our state. So, first grade and will be seven in November.

[Bokons]

My 1st grader turned 6 in May.

[MrsBanjoClown]

My K'er is 5. He will turn 6 in December.

[*Michelle*]

Our kindergartener turned five this month.

[Julie Smith]

The cut off where I live is December 31st. So my 6 year old who turns 7 in November is considered to be started second grade.

[FairProspects]

My K'er is 5, and turns 6 in November. We have an August 31 cutoff here.

[Dory]

My 5 year old is registered as being in K but he is long since past doing K work. I don't want to register him in a higher grade though as he might slow down in the future and if he does, this will give him room for that without making it look like he repeated a grade. If he keeps up the pace and finishes his high school early it won't be a problem that way either. My oldest is registered as being in grade 3 although half his subjects are still a grade 2 level.

[Farrar]

I just went by the cut off. If, down the road, a child goes back to school or needs to graduate early, then those issues can be address at that point. Work where the kid is - whether above or behind - and don't worry too much about it.

[twoxcell]

Well my dd is 6 will be 7 Oct. 31st and is officially starting 1st grade this fall. She is at least a half of a year ahead of that though, but we are sticking to the PS grade levels for paper work.

[daffodil]

My first grader is 6.5.

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

We just started 1st grade with ds5.5. He turns 6 in November.

[lea_lpz]

I'm going by school age cut offs, so my dd is in K and turned 4 in mid-April, and my son will has a June birthday but will enter K at 5. However, I'm flexible to allowing them to work at their appropriate grade level of work based on their individual abilities.

[SilverMoon]

We assign grades based on age, regardless the number on the front of their books. So my kindergartners were 5 before or near the beginning of the school year, and the first graders were 6.

 

For example, my nearly 7yo DD is a second grader. None of her books actually have a 2 on them, they all say 3 or 4, but she is a second grader.

 

Scouts, sports, and nearly all kid activities my children have been involved in work best with same age kids, regardless their academic ability.

[thebarefootamazon]

Also going by the school age cut offs, my K-er is 4.5. She will be 5 in November.

[nov05mama]

DS is ahead, but we are calling his grade by age for our state. So, first grade and will be seven in November.

 

Pretty much the same here (Hey Kathyrn :D) My DS will be 7 in November, and would be in 1st at public school, but he's nearly 2 years ahead of that in each subject, so we've been calling this year 2nd grade. On paper, they don't ask for a grade at all, just age, so in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter :P He is doing mostly 2nd grade co-ops, but will be in 1st grade at his Arabic school. LOL!

[chicagoshannon]

My 5 yr. old(March birthday) is doing 1st and 2nd grade work.

[FairProspects]

Also going by the school age cut offs, my K-er is 4.5. She will be 5 in November.

 

See, and it is the spread that is just nuts to me. That means my K'er will be a full 12 months older than your K'er and we are both following district cut-offs. At that age, 12 months is a big difference in ability, not just academically, but even in terms of motor skills like cutting, playing ball, etc.

Edited August 23, 2012 by FairProspects

[crl]

My first grader is 6.5.

 

 

Mine too.

[Dinsfamily]

My dc have been 1-3 grades ahead depending on the subject but I still call them by the grade they would be by age. My 1st grader is 6.5. Ds4 will turn 5 right before starting K next year.

[alisoncooks]

My first grader turned 6 in June.

[Crimson Wife]

California had a December 2nd cutoff when my two school-aged kids started. Both have fall birthdays and both were reading prior to when they could start K, so I did start them both at not-quite-5.

 

My DD was ready to move on to 1st grade at not-quite-6 and she's starting 5th grade next week at not-quite-10. She has always preferred socializing with kids who are slightly older than her rather than with kids who are slightly younger with her. If she isn't ready to move on to college at 17, then we'll consider having her do a "gap year" in between high school graduation and college matriculation.

 

My DS, on the other hand, seems much less mature for any given age than his big sister. He prefers to socialize with kids who are a bit younger, his fine motor skills are lagging, and his attention span isn't all that great. While he was ahead in reading and math at the end of his K year, I didn't feel that he was ready to move on to 1st grade at not-quite-6. For the purposes of our cover school, he technically repeated K. But since I continued on where he was, I called it "transition". He will be starting 1st grade officially next week at not-quite-7.

 

Youngest DD will be 5 yrs. 7 mos. when she starts K but she has autism so depending on functioning level she may also need a "transition" year in between K and 1st. We'll just have to see where she is when the time comes.

[RootAnn]

My 1ster is 6 1/2 (will be 7 in Jan), but we'll promote her in January to 2nd, so she's "halfway through" first grade. By state cut-offs, she would be just starting 1st grade.

 

If I went by official cut-offs, my ds#1 would be in K this fall, but if I were to send him to PS, I'd be holding him back. I'm holding him back homeschool-wise, too. So, he'll be just-turned-6 when he starts K next fall (unless he decides to be a promote-in-January kid like his big sister).

[ByGrace3]

My Ker will be 6 in April.

[kwickimom]

My 1st grader turned 6 last February 23rd

[Chelli]

Our cutoff in Texas is September 1, so my K'er will be 5. She turned in July.

 

My dd8 started K at 5 as well, but turned 6 in November, so she is old for her grade. My dd5 is a young K'er where we live because of her summer birthday.

[Kathryn]

Pretty much the same here (Hey Kathyrn :D) My DS will be 7 in November, and would be in 1st at public school, but he's nearly 2 years ahead of that in each subject, so we've been calling this year 2nd grade. On paper, they don't ask for a grade at all, just age, so in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter :P He is doing mostly 2nd grade co-ops, but will be in 1st grade at his Arabic school. LOL!

 

Hi! Yes, I guess I should mention that he is in second grade in some activities where the cutoff doesn't really matter (Sunday school, homeschool group) but in first where cutoffs are more strict (sports, cub scouts). In my state, we have to register a grade each year, so since I registered him as a first grader, we will stick to first grade for stricter activities.

[Stef03]

My 1st grader is 6.5; however we don't stick to first grade materials for his curriculum, we go by his abilities.

[Alice]

My first grader will turn 6 in October.

[Farrar]

See, and it is the spread that is just nuts to me. That means my K'er will be a full 12 months older than your K'er and we are both following district cut-offs. At that age, 12 months is a big difference in ability, not just academically, but even in terms of motor skills like cutting, playing ball, etc.

 

But that's why I think it's better to just go along with the cut off if you're homeschooling, do what's right for your own kid in terms of academics, and not pay attention to much else. For sports and the like around here, that stuff is mandated in the elementary grades by age cut offs anyway, so there's no issues - it's not like a K soccer team in your state is playing one in a state with an earlier cut off, you know? :tongue_smilie: And then later on, it's about skill, not age or grade.

[Guest]

We assign grades based on our state cutoff but they work at their own pace.

 

DD - K is 5/6yo

DS - 2nd is 7/8yo

[Ellie]

I always kept my dds, on paper, at the grade level they'd have been if they'd been in school. Since their birthdays were in May, they'd have entered kindergarten when they were 5yo, first grade when they were 6yo. That kept them with their age peers in Sunday school, on sports teams or in scouting groups, etc. Of course, I taught them what they were capable of learning, regardless of the paper-grade-level.

[Carrie75]

My oldes ds started 1st the same week he turned 7, and my youngest, about 4 months before he turned 7.

[Mommy_of_4]

We say DS is in 1st. We don't have to report and that is the level he is working out. We also school yr round so when he is all/mostly on 2nd work we will call him 2nd. IF we had to report though I would keep him in the grade he is supposed to be in by govt. standards. For activities we just go by age.

[MissKNG]

We also use the ps cut off which is December 1st here. My big girl is 6 and is officially in 1st grade. We also have to report this year for the first time. She is 1-3 or so grades ahead depending on the subject.

[Dinsfamily]

But that's why I think it's better to just go along with the cut off if you're homeschooling, do what's right for your own kid in terms of academics, and not pay attention to much else. For sports and the like around here, that stuff is mandated in the elementary grades by age cut offs anyway, so there's no issues - it's not like a K soccer team in your state is playing one in a state with an earlier cut off, you know? :tongue_smilie: And then later on, it's about skill, not age or grade.

 

Same here. Sports are also by age here so that isn't an issue. Our church had to write a policy about hs'ers being placed in classes by grade per the district cutoff. They aren't super strict about it (ds8's best hs'd friend misses the school cut off by two weeks but she is ahead academically so is placed in the same grade he is), but we were having problems with a couple of hs'ers putting their dc in youth group several years early. It wasn't about academics but maturity.

[blondeviolin]

Abby is first grade and turned six in May. By public school cut offs here, Emmett is PreK (turning 5 in Oct), so we're sort of calling this year "Junior" K.

 

I have no problem typically with assigning homeschoolers who work ahead or behind the same grade they'd be in by age. I am having a hard time with Emmett being "only PreK" because he is SO FAR ahead of that. :glare: In fact, a lot of what I'm doing with him is in a crazy attempt to slow him down.

[AStableBeginning]

We opted out our K'er last year, so this year she is officially a K'er at 5 1/2. She turns 6 years old in mid-Sept.

[Soror]

DD turned 5 in April and is K. Ds had just turned 6 when he started K.

[sewingmama]

My K'er turned 6 in June. In Aus the school year runs Jan-Dec and the cut-off is May. So that means she starts 1st grade in Jan and will be 6.5.

 

All my kids were born after May which means they will all be late starters.

[Wheres Toto]

My kids both make the state cut-off to start kindergarten at 5 but the school specifically told us not to send my son back until he was 6 (very very common around here with late summer boys).

 

So, going by that I have a K'er that just turned 5 in July, and a first grader that just turned 7 in August. I usually call ds what he could do legally rather than what the schools wanted.

[Mama Anna]

I've got a 1st-grader who will turn 6 in a couple weeks. Her older sister began first grade just after turning 5, but for the sake of family politics I jimmied her history schedule and had her spend 3 years in first and second grades. (She continued at her own pace in skill subjects and still does.) Everyone asks about grade level here, and it's easier for her to give a "normal" answer for her age, so it's better in that way, too.

 

Clear as mud, eh?

 

Mama Anna

[boscopup]

My kids follow cutoff of Sept. 1 here. We work at ability level in each subject.

 

So my kids are all 5 by Sept. 1 if they're starting K or 6 if starting 1st grade, even if they're working on calculus. :lol:

 

I have no plans to graduate my kids early, though that could change once high school work is started if some reason comes up that makes early graduation preferable. Right now, I strongly doubt we'll have such a reason.

[CatholicMom]

My K-er is 5.5 She'll be 6 in Feb. I report based on age, not ability, but K is right on her level anyway.

[ladydusk]

Our cutoff is August 1.

 

My 5 year old is "K" She'll be 6 in June

 

My 6 year old is "1" He'll be 7 in January

 

My 7 year old is "2" She'll be 8 in October

 

They're all working "above grade level" but that doesn't matter for things like soccer, softball/baseball/tball, and Sunday School.

[thefragile7393]

1st grader will be 7 in January

[thebarefootamazon]

See, and it is the spread that is just nuts to me. That means my K'er will be a full 12 months older than your K'er and we are both following district cut-offs. At that age, 12 months is a big difference in ability, not just academically, but even in terms of motor skills like cutting, playing ball, etc.

 

I agree with you, the cut offs are crazy. A child has to be 5 by or on December 1st here. While academically, she'd be fine in PS, I'm more comfortable keeping her home so I can slow it down if necessary or work at whatever pace she needs.

[sweetpea3829]

We're all over the place here. DD6 would be 1st grade in the public school, but she is HSing K and 1st grade at home. I am reporting her on her IHIP as repeating K, because she's a bit behind, especially in math.

 

DS5 would be starting K in the public school in September, but he is HSing 1st and 2nd currently. I do not yet have to report him, but when I do, I will report him as age-appropriate grade level...so next year, he will report as 1st grade.

[Momma_Bear]

My 1st grader will be 7 in May. She's working at least a grade level ahead if not more but it doesn't matter, just use your states cut off date for anything based on grades. :001_smile:

[SBMama]

My 1st grader will be 6 in a couple of days. The cut off here is Sept. 1st.