WWYD, kindergarten for July baby?

@jellofishxo You probably weren’t advanced academically and socially, you were just a full year ahead of where the other kids were so it seemed like you were advanced.
 
@jellofishxo This thread has been great, thanks for posting OP.

My son is a late November baby with a kindergarten (and UPK) cut off December 1.

We are going to start him when he’s 4 turning 5. And he will start UPK when he’s 3 turning 4.

He’s extremely bright, socially normal, and I’ve heard a lot of kids are bored and actually have more behavioral issues when they are older for their grade, as opposed to younger. This is advice from my elementary teacher friends.

OP, r/sciencebasedparenting has lots of posts with resources on this issue.
 
@jellofishxo Where I live Jk starts at 4 years old. Often there might be a few kids with birthdays from Sept to Dec that are still 3 turning 4 that first year. My kid did preschool this year at 3 and is going into kindergarten this year at 4. To be completely honest it would be super strange (where I live) for anyone to wait until 6 to send their kids to school. At that point a 6 year old would be in grade 1. 4 is JK for us and 5 is SK (jr and sr kindergarten)
PS my kid was born in June, only a month before yours. Of course every kid of different though so you do you! Just my two cents about what happens at that age in my region. 😊
 
@inneedofyeshua Completely agree. I’m from Ontario too (I peaked at your profile) and this post seems so strange to me! Almost everyone starts school (so kindergarten) in their forth year of age. Kids born in 2019 will be starting in September, even if their birthday is Dec 31, 2019. In my region it would be very out of place to have a 6 year old starting kindergarten. Unless I’m reading the post wrong, this would make their child 20 when graduating high school.
 
@saidative They would graduate at 18 and then 19 that July. My husband started K at 6 (also July birthday) and graduated two months before turning 19. Kindergarten in the US would be your version of “senior kindergarten” or the year before 1st grade.

“Junior kindergarten” is usually called preschool or Prek4 in the US and is not a mandatory grade or even paid for by most states. Kindergarten (ages 5-6) is free/ universal by not required by most states and is sometimes only offered in half days.

Most US states require students to attend school by age 6, either Kindergarten or going straight to first grade without prior school. The age cutoff is usually September 1st but also varies by state. It’s complicated since the US lets each individual state and school districts make their own rules.
 
@slscotty Ahh that makes a bit more sense. I wondered if you guys only did one year of kindergarten. Here we consider under 4 to be preschool. For example my kid born June 2019 has been in preschool since Sept of last year and will start kindergarten at 4 years old this Sept. She’ll be 18 when she graduates. It makes sense why people aren’t putting their kid in something earlier if it costs money though. Lots of kids here don’t do preschool because you have to pay.
 
@saidative I wonder if where OP if from they don’t have two years of kindergarten like we do? I’ve seen people from the states saying many times that they don’t put kids in school until 5 or 6 and it always baffled me. In Ontario all the kids in the same class are born in the same year so we never have kids deciding to go to school later and be several years older than most of their peers. That seems so strange to me especially when they get up to 7 and 8 and such I feel like it would be very obviously who is older and possibly awkward. Everyone in Ontario graduates when they’re 17 turning 18 by grade 12. Seems like anyone starting school at 6 would be behind in age based on their peers starting at a regular age.
 
@jellofishxo Send your kiddo to kindergarten at 5, and if they are struggling have them repeat Kindergarten as opposed to preK. I’ve heard from a documentation perspective it’s easier for the school districts this way, and he gets more advanced curriculum or he can move on if the teachers feel he’s ready.
I have an august baby (girl) and we are planning on starting her at K at 4/turning 5.
 
@stevej66 That's exactly what I'm going to do if my son gets in he's testing for early kindergarten admission next week he has to test because he's 15 days shy of the cutoff which is in the summer but I keep thinking if he was born 15 days sooner he would be in kindergarten anyway so I might as well.
 
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