Starting school early and cutoff b-day - what do you think?

in my are, even though school starts in september. the qualifications as far as age goes is as long as you turn 4 by dec 31 and then you can start pre kindergarden. i think that's fine. it is still up to you if you think your child isn't ready you don't need to send them but i think it's fair.

I agree with you. There are some kids in my son's prek class that BARELY made the cutoff and you can sure tell that they are so much younger than the other children. 6 months makes a HUGE difference at this age.

I have 2 who are after the cut off date. It has not been a big deal for the one who is in school to have waited. Now I also have one is just before the date (ours is in Aug I believe). She is always one of the youngest ones because her birthday is mid June.

Personally I would like to have some testing available for the children. Some kids are ready to start school, and if we have the option to keep our younger ones home for an extra year (which we have here in Nova Scotia) then I think we should also have the option to send the older ones earlier. I have one of each, my son is older and was almost six by the time he started school and I have a daughter who was only four when she started. Personally I don't think my son was ready for school before he started, but I do know there are some kids out there who definitely are.

I think the school and the parents should be able to decide together when the child would be best suited to start school. I think some kids need to go earlier as they are ready and some are better to wait. It is unfair for the bright kids to be held back because of their age, and the slower ones to drag the rest of the class down because they aren't ready for school.

I think that special exceptions should be made. I missed the cut off for Kindergarten by 4 days, I was no less ready for school than someone born 5 days before me. In fact, I was more ready. I was already reading chapter books! I ended up graduating high school early after spending my entire time in school being ahead of my peers both intellectually and socially. Most of my friends were in the grade or two grades above me.

I agree with the cut off. I started Kindergarden later because my b-day is in nov. but I believe I was benefitted greatly I got an extra year with my grandpa to teach me in the home. My daughter will be the same way. Personally I don't think she was ready to go school this year she really needs that one more year here with me to get a handle on her emotions.

If I had kids I would tell I love you to them too, just like I tell my husband. I will whisper in their ears, not saying it out loud so the brats don't pick on them.