Should he go to Kindergarden or first grade?

Question

My son is 5 but will be 6 in July. We recently moved, actually we moved several times in the last 7 months due to family problems. So he hasnt been in school all year. Before we started to move like crazy, we lived in the same place for 4 and a half years. He went to preschool when he was 3 and 4. He turned 5 during summer vacation. And then september came and we moved. My question is: if he did 2 years of pre school and no kindergarden, can he go on to first grade and just skip kindergarden? Hes a big kid and i dont want him to feel out of place being the only 6 year old in kindergarden! We live in California.

Answer 1

Maybe you could get him tested to see if he is ready to go to first grade, or if he needs to go to kindergarten

Answer 2

In california there is no law requiring kindergarden. Some kids may be ready to jump right into first grade. Some may not. You know your child the best, if you feel he is both mentally and physically ready, then do what you believe is best. Though kindergarden can't hurt, and its a great start for children to get used to regular school.

Answer 3

I agree that Kindergarten is the best option. There are more skills that is needed and he will probably only get from the kindergarten year. Of course all depends on the school and the teacher. In my state many children who turn five in the summer months attend pre-k and wait until they are six to go to kindergarten. I have two children in my pre-k class this year who certainly needed the extra year and I know they will continue to need more help most of their academic years. However two others of the same age are more than ready academically and could have done well in Kindergarten this year but the extra pre-k year has allowed them to mature emotionally and develop better self sufficiency skills. Good luck, you are a concerned parent and that is a good parent in my opinion.

Answer 4

You may not have a choiice. More and more places are requiring Kindergarten. Check with the school he would be attending. They may be willing to give him a placement test to see if he is ready for First Grade, or they may have a more rigid policy.

Answer 5

i live in california also, and i'm not sure how this would work out.  they might let him just skip kinder since he did 2 years of pre-k.

just a word of advice, when i was a child, i was moved around so much.  i had been to 11 different schools by the time i graduated high school. (i am now in jr. college) i never got to keep any of the same friends, and i was very lonely most of the time and only had a few friends here and there.

i graduated with people i hardly knew, went to grad night with people i hardly knew, and danced at prom with people i hardly knew.

now all i have is my fiance and my best friend (basically the only good friend i have). just 2 people i am close to, because i was moved around so much as a child.

i understand you had to move because of family problems, and that was the same reason i had to move so much.

all i'm saying is try to keep your son in the same school and city so he can make friends and keep them, and have a memorable school experience.

good luck

Answer 6

It's not so much about age as it is about being academically ready and the quality of the preschool education he received before.  The question you need to ask yourself is...do you want him to possibly struggle in 1st grade or possibly thrive in Kindergarten?

I've seen kids that were pushed into a grade before they were ready and it didn't always work out academically.

Answer 7

Its better for a kid 2 go to kindergarten first

Answer 8

The best thing for you to do is call the school and explain you want your son tested before entering since he's been out of the system for some time.  If you've done a good job "home schooling" and that's what I assume you've been doing to help prepare him then if he scores high enough you can request him to be moved into the first grade.  I would just explain your situation, and the fact he's had preschool, and you've worked with his kindergarten skills.

Now, here's the main question, is he prepared academically, and somebody else asked that earlier.  For first grade they need to know how to read, and I mean beginning chapter books in some districts, they need to understand basic mathematics, such as addition and subtraction.  They need to recognize all kindergarten and first grade site words, as well as be able to spell most basic words.  Your son needs to be able to not just write his own word, but all upper and lower case letters correctly, as well as his numbers up to hopefully 100.  A good basic understanding of certain science and social studies concepts will only help him, such as the evolution a butterfly and frog and understanding basic holidays such as President’s Day, and Independence Day.  Your son should already be able to recognize each coin by site, and possibly even be able to add them, this is a concept that is worked on in first grade, yet coin recognition is introduced in kindergarten.  Most important and what he’ll be tested on is reading skills, letter, word recognition, spelling, math.

I wish you and your son the best of luck, and no matter what grade he’s in if his parents support and is there for him he should be fine.

Answer 9

The question is is he prepared academically for the 1st grade. My kindergardener has sight words and can read about 50 words and can count to 100 and knows all his colors and so on. There are levels he should be at in order to fit in and that way he won't feel like he is behind. It is more important on the academic level than on his size level. Once he catches up he can always take tests to skip a grade. At least you can  in Texas. But if he starts out behind it will be a struggle. My son is 5 and will be 6 on July 1 and will a 1st grader next fall.

Answer 10

I would suggest that you start him in Kindergarten.  It is better to be ahead than to chance him being behind.  My son is five and will be six in July.  Last year we decided to wait another year to send him because we thought that he was not socially ready, so he did another year in preschool.  My son has done three years of preschool, but I still am going to send him to kindergarten.  I do not think that they should skip it.  They learn things in Kindergarten that are not taught in the other grades.

Answer 11

My sister is an early childhood education major, for almost 30 yrs.  She says, every child suffers in school, the youngest child in the class suffers the most.  

I think this really comes into play later in school life than early on.  (How hard is it when everybody else is going through puberty, but you are a year or so behind?)

You need to check with your school district.  I know where I live, a child can't get into first grade without completing kindergarten successfully.  This decision may already be made for you.  And if he is held back a year, it will work out for the best in the end.

Answer 12

I think you should try all the schools and try to force him getting into first grade.If he went to preschool for 2 years then im pretty sure he'll be okay in first grade.Kindergarten and Preschool are sort of close anyway.They might make a big stink so don't just try one school try as many schools as you can.

Answer 13

There are certainly no right or wrong answers to your question.

Just ask yourself if he is ready...socially, emotionally, and academically for the first grade environment.? First grade does require a little more sitting, writing, and "performance" than a k-classroom.  Also, can he read?  Does he know his letter sounds?  Those are some other questions to toss around.

Good luck to you-

Former teacher and mom of 3

Answer 14

As a kindergarten teacher I feel that it is very important for your son to attend kindergarten before entering first grade.  All of my students are able to read on some level and were non-readers at the beginning of the year.  I had about three students that turned 6 in September and are very tall.  If you do not tell them that they are different they will not know.  Good luck to you and your son both.

Answer 15

Not sure if this helps, but I graduated when I was 17. I was not ready for college, or the world. I believe one more year could have benefited me. I would have been a little better at sports during school, and maybe comprehended the teaching more easily too. Or who knows, maybe nothing could have helped me! I just don't think keeping him out one year is going to hurt him. I believe it would have helped me. May God bless you, and you family.

Answer 16

Hello! Erm, I have a little brother who is 6 and is in kindergarden..he hates it. Everyone else is 4 and 5 and is the oldest. So I would reccomend putting him in the 1st grade if the teachers will let you! Then if the work is too hard, sign him up for some extra tutoring. That should work. Hope this helps!

Answer 17

Talk to the school. They have testing or other forms of evaluation, including consideration for age and maturity. They will probably prefer that he go directly to grade 1. Kindergarten (spelled with a t in there...not a garden as most people think, though that makes more sense) is a time of heavy pre-reading and literacy work these days, and is more like the first grades of the past, which is a shame. But the point is that if he cn handle it, if he's ready, then it's fine. Please talk to the school and see what they think. They will work with you to do the right thing.

Answer 18

Well, like one of the others said check with the law first. It depends on the state you're living in. Also make sure you ask the child what he thinks and let him express how he feels about the whole situation. After all he is the one going to a new school with new people. One more thing, make sure you spend as much time with him so he can feel he can depend on you no matter what. I think he'll be fine as long as he has you and you have him.