If you are asking yourself “Should I wait another year to send my child to Kindergarten?”, you have come to the right place (I hope!).  I have had to make this decision about waiting to send our child to Kindergarten with all of our children… and I’ve always had the same answer.   

I didn’t put my decision on academics alone (do they know their Kindergarten Sight Words?  Do they know their letters?) and I didn’t put it on social-readiness, either.  It was a tough choice and I looked at every aspect of each child. 

According to ABC NEWS,  “We find substantial variation in practices across schools, with schools serving larger proportions of white and high-income children having far higher rates of delayed entry,” noted the report, “The Extent, Patterns, and Implications of Kindergarten ‘Redshirting,'”

I didn’t take this decision lightly.  It is a hard decision that only you can make.  I was the youngest child in my class growing up (August birthday).  My husband was the oldest in his class.  We both did well, in the end, but I struggled in areas where he didn’t.   Things came easier to him.  Thankfully, I was able to flourish socially (I was very involved with clubs, friends, etc…) where I lacked physically (I liked sports, even if they didn’t like me! haha!) or academically (I was happy with a B, where my husband earned straight A’s).

However, once I entered college, I earned A’s because I was very interested in what I was learning, so I studied more and I enjoyed it.  So… who knows if another year would have benefited me or not?  I am happy with where I was, but I ultimately had to make that decision for our kids and not based on just my experience.

What age should I send my child to Kindergarten? 

When your child is on the borderline of birthday to start date, it is a hard decision.  We waited to send our oldest son because he was born just two days before the cut-off (and he was a month premature).   We waited to send our second son, born in the spring.  This choice was MUCH harder, but we know now that we did the right thing.  We also waited to send our third and fourth child (both summer birthdays).

Our pediatrician told me that if we have a child born AFTER March, we should wait to send them (the cut-off here is September 1st).    Maturity levels play a big part in this.   I didn’t want him to get into trouble for giggling at the wrong times, etc…  
I can tell you, as a teacher, the reputation that your child gets in Kindergarten will follow him throughout his school career, unfortunately.  Teachers share advice & information, to help other teachers, but sometimes it has a negative effect.   As a teacher, it was best to have a blind eye and deaf ear to the “advice” about students coming up the next year…

Example: “You have ____?  Just be sure to put him in the front.  He has some trouble listening.”
or “Oh!  You have ____?   He is so quiet!  Don’t expect to get many answers out of him.”
Or “Did you get _____ this year?   He is really smart and so polite.”  Good or bad, their reputation follows them.

Today my very dear friend, Kristy M, is sharing her side of the story.  She had her child enrolled in the TK (5-year-old transitional kindergarten, also called Pre-K) class at her preschool and wrote this to future parents.   She and I share similar views on many topics and she is a wonderful resource for many subjects, including this one.

Here is what Kristy has shared…

“Dear Prospective TK Parent,
If this introduction got your attention, you have probably been thinking about if TK will be a good fit for your child.
Let me share my perspective with you…

WHO AM I?
I am a former Kindergarten teacher and currently work as a Developmental Play Therapist for North Carolina’s Early Intervention program.
I am also a parent of a TK graduate (class of 2012) and I plan on sending my rising 5-year-old to TK in the fall.

THE GIFT OF TIME
I have no regrets about giving my child the ‘gift of time’ and I’m happy to share her experience with you!
What is all the hype about the ‘gift of time’? This gift has been without a doubt a huge contributor to my child’s success in Kindergarten this year.

The “gift of time” allowed my child to:
 Continue to learn through play-based activities. (Research proves that the best way for young children to learn is through play. However, most public schools have no time to implement play-based activities into their rigid academic schedules.)

 Strengthen fine motor skills (Learning how to properly hold a pencil and write letters and words in proper form is a skill that is no longer taught, but expected in Kindergarten.)

 Learn at her own pace without pressure or a timeline of learning objectives. (Yes, she did learn many NEW things beyond letters and numbers and was reading upon entering Kindergarten.)

 Gain confidence in her knowledge and abilities. Her fear of failure subsided. An “I can do it!” attitude emerged.

 Grow spiritually (Daily opportunities for prayer, biblically-based discussions and weekly chapel lessons with peers and teachers helped tremendously with this growth.)

 Grow socially and emotionally. (She is an introvert by nature. She may always be an introvert. However, an extra year in an environment that was already familiar to her, gave my daughter another year of opportunities to develop positive interpersonal relationship skills with peers and adults.)

WILL THEY BE BORED?

The main concern I hear from other parents who are undecided about Transitional Kindergarten (TK) is: “I worry he/she will be bored in Kindergarten!”

My TK graduate is thriving in Kindergarten and IS NOT BORED! Why?

 Teachers are encouraged and expected to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of the students.

 She is part of a literacy enrichment group to further support and enhance her literacy skills.

 She has become a leader in the class and enjoys helping others.

 Her confidence has enabled her to take risks without fear of being wrong or not doing it the right way. She challenges herself and sets herself up for success!

Think about the whole child.
Is he/she ready: Physically? Socially? Emotionally? Intellectually? Can he/she take care of personal needs without adult intervention? If even one piece of the puzzle is missing, your child may benefit tremendously from TK.

Think beyond Kindergarten.
Do you want your child to always be one of the youngest in the class or would you prefer for him/her to be one of the oldest? Consider the middle school and high school years and all the developmental, social, emotional and academic challenges that occur during those tween and teen years. Think about sending your child off to college as he/she JUST turns 18…

Base your decision on more than just Kindergarten.
Think of years down the road:  third grade, sixth grade, ninth grade, a freshman in college…

I know many parents who say, “I wish I would have sent my child to TK”, but I have yet to meet a parent who says “I wish I hadn’t done it.”
Personally, I am not in a hurry for my children to grow up. I honestly believe that by choosing TK, I gave my child an extra year of childhood. We embrace it together!
Are you still undecided?

I recommend reading these books:
I hope this was helpful,
~ Kristy”

TOOLS TO HELP YOU:

Kindergarten sight word list

When your child is looking at these words on a daily basis, they will learn them quickly.  Repetition is the key to fluency (reading smoothly, without a lot of pauses), so practicing these words over and over will help to achieve that goal. Here is a FREE printable list of Kindergarten Sight Words (click here, and I will send you the list)

Or you can jump right in with this Kindergarten Sight Word Packet to help your child LEARN those words.  This printable packet is easy to use, you can download it and print it over & over to help your child.  The kids love it & they learn so much from the repetition of seeing the same words again & again.   It’s a great way to help your child learn their sight words, which helps them to learn to read well.

BOOKS TO HELP YOU DECIDE IF YOUR CHILD IS READY FOR KINDERGARTEN:
Outliers: The Story of Success (Malcolm Gladwell)
Better Late Than Early (Raymond Moore)
Kindergarten: It Isn’t What It Used to Be (Susan K. Golant and Mitch Golant)

You are also welcome to join this one-on-one time challenge (30 days) for FREE.

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What are your thoughts?  There are pros and cons to both… where do you fall?  (Remember to be kind because your comments are seen by other readers- this post is to help parents with this decision…)

photo credit: Phil Roeder via photopin cc

 

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