Preschool or Kindergarten?

Question

My son will be 5 on August 25. He went to preschool last year as a peer role model. He will barely be old enough to start kindergarten, but he is also welcome to go back to preschool as a peer role model.

He is smart, but young and a little immature. His preschool class will be much smaller than a large kindergarten class. I think an extra year to grow would do him some good. I'm afraid if I put him in kindergarten this year he may fall behind later because of how young he is. If anyone has any personal experiences I would love to hear how it worked for you.

Answer 1

i'd suggest keeping him in ps for the year and giving him that time to grow.  better to be sure than to guess and wish you'd made the other choice.

Answer 2

I would recommend keeping him in preschool another year.  kids need success at that age.  it's better to keep him behind in the beginning and not have to hold him back later on.

Answer 3

well, he's obviously smart and a good kid since he has been a peer role-model. If he seems young or a little immature, give him the chance to grow by introducing him to the next level of peer interaction.

Talk to and get to know the teacher(s) available for kindergarden and express your feelings about this 'next step' in your son's life and a bit about him as well.

I bet he's a confident little guy and with your guidence and support, he'll probably do just fine in Kindergarden, and you will be there for him if he's having some off days while he grows and learns.

I was 6 in grade 1.  which means I was 5 in SK, and 4 in JK    (senior and junior kindergarden).

Answer 4

My youngest recently turned five, I am sending him to kindergarten on the recommendation of his nursery school teacher and the kindergarten teacher who tested him for entry into school.  He is the youngest of four and has an incredible vocabulary and is advanced physically.  He is also a little immature, if he were my first or second I would hold him back based on what I now know.  My oldest has a summer birthday as well, she is now 13 and entering seventh grade.

Talk to your child's preschool teacher and the kindergarten teacher/coordinator, they will be able to direct you better.  It does not hurt to hold them back when they are so young, especially for boys.

They generally tend to lack the social skills that girls possess at that age.  Good luck with your decision.

Answer 5

We had a young five...she missed the December cut-off date by two weeks. However, even if she had been born in Sept-Nov, we would have waited.

Kids are rushed into academics earlier and earlier.  Today's students are given advanced curriculum of a decade ago, multiple tests, and more and more homework at younger and younger ages.  Children have less and less time to just be kids.

In addition, although a young five might do well in kindergarten, one must look ahead a few years.  Do you want your child to be the youngest incoming middle schooler?  The youngest high school freshman? Do you want him leaving for college when he has just turned eighteen or is still seventeen?

All the best.

Answer 6

Because he's so young, and still a little immature, I would put him back in preschool for another year.  If you were to start him in Kindergarten before he's ready, you would be setting him up for trouble with his teacher and probably with the other kids as well.

Answer 7

I guess as a mother you should be able to sense weather he is ready or not. I would not necessarily go by age but where he is at academically. My 2 girls both did 2 years in preschool, but one is farther ahead than the other just because one tends to be more focused and willing to learn than the other, so I would go by your child's personality and your instincts. Again I wouldn't make my decision based on his age.

Answer 8

Do not send him to Kindergarten.  I had this same experience with both of my boys.  I waited to send both of them to Kindergarten, and I have never regretted it for a minute.  He is obviously a good boy, since he was a peer role model.  Your decision is not based on bad behavior on your son's part.  I see that a lot at Preschool- the naughty kid's parents want to hold him back because they think he needs another year, when what he really needs is some discipline.  

Understand that a lot of parents hold their kids back from kindergarten.  In our area, the age range in kindergarten is not 1 year, it is 18 months.  I didn't want my boys to be at the lower end of that.  You could send your son to school and have another student have a birthday in June and be older than your son by 14 months.

I think the best thing you can give a child is the gift of time.  To understand him, to know him and see that he would benefit from another year to grow is true insight on your part.  You don't have these reservations for nothing.  You are seeing things -because you are paying attention- that make you think he would benefit from an extra year.  Go with those feelings.  Have confidence in your Mom insight.    

Here's another way to look at it.  This decision affects not only this year, but the years to come.  So let's say he does fine in Kindergarten.  Because everything is fine, he goes on to first grade.  Halfway through first grade, he starts to have trouble.  He can't sit still long enough to learn the concepts, he has trouble keeping his hands to himself and not bothering his neighbor, etc.  Then you begin to have doubts...should I have sent him after all?  What do I do now?  Will he have to repeat first grade?  The list and anxiety go on and on.  

If you wait to send him, you will know you have done the very best you could for your son.  You won't doubt yourself, and when he goes off to kindergarten, he can look at you and see confidence in your eyes.  

Answer 9

My daughter barely made the age cut off for kindy and I still had her go. Oh man if I knew it was an option to put her in preschool again I'd have done that. They ate her alive in school as because she was a bit immature. That said she has special needs (which came to light after school started) and it explained a lot. On the other hand my son never went to preschool but is doing super in kindy at 5.

Personally if I had to guess i'd say keep him in preschool. There are so many 6 year olds in kindy it wouldn't make much of a difference.