Do you think I should enroll my daughter for kinder next year or wait?

Question

My daughter turns 5 on October 6. I am weary of entering her in kinder this coming year because my oldest son had to repeat kinder (august birthday) and my middle son (Sept birthday) I was told should have been held back because he is immature and doing horrible in school now.

Also she is very tiny for her age. She's the smallest child in her pre-k class and it accepts children 2 yrs 9 months and up, and she's 4. She only weights 27 lbs and is 37" tall.

On the other hand, she knows all of the uppercase and lower case letters, knows about 1/3 of the letter sounds and can write her name (it has 9 letters) and all of the letters of the alphabet. She also knows a handful of sight words already. I would also consider her well behaved and mature for her age.

I have heard many mothers say that they should have waited and a few people have told me I should wait.

Answer 1

Sorry but you're speaking of male genders educational levels compare to females. My son was held back in Kinder cause of his birthdate which is in Nov. He started at age 4 1/2 but wasn't held back due to his education. The principal of his school at that time held him back cause he was transferring from one school district to another. My son now 23 years old is now in the Marines serving his 2nd term. He's going to Iraq. I feel you should start your daughter. The sooner the better. As long as she's aware of her alphabets and numbers along with her colors and shapes she will be fine. The more she's around children her age she will progress. Not offending your son's but some boys don't find school fun. My son didn't like school but his grades were average but good enough to join the Marine Corp. I been teaching in Preschool for nearly 10 years so I have seen many children who never were held back while I was teaching. The only reasons why children get held back is due to the Teachers and Principals of that school who don't take time to focus on that child if they were lacking in educational skills. Most schools run by bonus money if they hold children back. The school bonds helps schools that have children in a lower class category for educational levels. Many parents don't take the time to research why they keep their children back if they themselves don't see anything wrong with their children. Some parents don't care about their children's education so they don't care if they get held back. When my son was held back he was disappointed cause he didn't get to graduate with his friends he meet during Kinder. He always had blamed me for not putting my foot down to allow him to past to the next grade level. This is why I state you should investigate this with asking the school district to do a profiency test on your sons. I did with my son. He did one and scored high like 130 when he was in middle school but he didn't want to advance to the next grade cause he made new friends at that school. Don't be discourage of what others feel. Do what you think is right. I feel your daughter is ready. If I didn't think she was ready I would have stated to keep her at home but while at preschool she will still learn the same thing as if she was in Kinder. This is what I did when I was teaching 3-4 years old by giving them classwork for Kinders and a majority of them did the work. Don't use your son's experience as an example cause your daughter is very ready to go to Kinder. No matter what height or weight she may be cause I have seen shorter children than what you stated. Just give it a shot cause if you leave her out for another year than she may be too smart for Kinder and she may feel awkward. If you leave her out of Kinder she will still get the same classwork if this preschool does the same procedures as I did. Many preschools do prepare children ages 4-5 for Kinder. No matter what weight or height the may be. I feel you should place her in Kinder this year.

Answer 2

I believe u shoukd enroll her since shes young because education is the most important thing 2day put it this way without a education u will work in a fast food reasturant and with a education she can be anything she wants

Hope i helped

Answer 3

well, if you think she should go, then enroll her. my little brother had to repeat kinder because he spoke like a two year old. sometimes they are just not ready.

Answer 4

Yes, an extra year can make a world of difference, I have a cousin waited a year and is now flourishing, in vast contrast to his previous struggles.

Answer 5

I have an August tiny little Kinder for next year.  (We are homeschoolers though.)  If we weren't, I would go ahead and put her in beause she is ready academically and socially.  I can't do much about her size, and since she's been small her whole life, and probably will continue on this path, she will need to deal with it anyway.

Girls usually are ready before boys, and if her pre-k teacher thinks she is ready, go for it.

Answer 6

If you continue to work with her in learning the sounds (the sounds that the letters make are much more important than the name, even though many people will say that isn't true.  Think about it, how many words do you use the name of the letter...H...in the pronunciation?) of the letters and she knows her numbers to 20, then I would say yes, if you feel she is mature enough to handle all day without mom and she falls into the schools cut off age.  Repeating kindergarten is not a horrible thing.  In my state, kindergarten is not a requirement.   Keep reading to her, let her see the words as you follow the words with your finger as you say them.  This will help her connect the spoken with the written as well as with understanding fluency.  Keep up the good work mom!

Answer 7

Girls are usually more mature than boys...but an october birthday is really late.  I would say wait a year.

Answer 8

It sounds like academically she is ready for K.  If you hold her back a year, she will probably be reading by the time she enters K and she will be pretty bored.

How is she doing socially?  If she does fine socially, I would go ahead and send her. If she has trouble socially, I would probably homeschool her for K and enroll her in first next year.  

I don't think it's fair to place a child in a grade that is below their academic level.  We wouldn't want to sit in a classroom all day "learning" material we already knew.

Here is some info about homeschooling if you want to explore that option for K.

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com

Answer 9

Talk with your child's preschool teacher - when we have a child who is extra young - our cut off date is August 2 to turn 5 so your child would be very young by our standards - it is best to wait a a year. I have never heard a parent regret holding a child for another year of growing up and preschool - I have heard lots of parents regret sending them on too early just like you are talking about with your two sons.  Good luck -it's a tough decision but I'm sure you will make the best choice for your daughter.

Answer 10

If she knows sightwords already, there's no way I'd hold her back from entering kindergarten.  If you are concerned for her being tiny, see about homeschooling her or enrolling her in a private kindergarten.  Many churches in our area have half-day programs from kindergarten followed up by cheaper after school programs.  That may depend on your state regulations.

Answer 11

YES, THE EARLIER THE BETTER. GREAT EDUCATION. THE MORE THE DIFFERENCE.

Answer 12

Well, in ma opinion u should enroll her to kinder she will be turnin 5 ( i was in kinder when i was 3) n now im in a university.besides u added she knowz a lot of things she will be ok. she lookz like an intelligent kid! n u shouldnt worry about her ( i mean thatz what motherz do) but this is the question of her education ( n its very important) but then its ur own choice . Hope i helped n remember this is the question of her  EDUCATION!

Answer 13

Look, i'm a kindergarten teacher and i've seen many many children who begin younger than others... some of them do great even better than older kids.... some don't... it depends on the child... it really shows from the first year whether the child is doing well or he\ she is not ready yet.. I would advise you to go ahead and enter her..if you think she cant catch up like the other children then dont push her ,if she has to repeat so be it, what's the big deal?.. if you see she's doing well and her teachers see the same ,then why waste another year when she's ready now? from what you say about what she can do i think she's quite ready.. good luck