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 Kindergarten with two children so far and I will make it with two more, but my answer will probably stay the same…
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,’” issued in April 2013.
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 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.
When your child is on the borderline of birthday to start date, it is a hard decision. We waited to send our 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.
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.
Let me share my perspective with you…
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 formation 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, biblical 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.)
WON’T THEY BE BORED?
The main concern I hear from other parents who are undecided about “I worry he/she will be bored in Kindergarten!”
Teachers are encouraged and expected to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of the students.
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…
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!
