what grade/school next year?

[sarahr]

My dd's birthday is 4 days before the cut-off for kindergarten, so if she starts on time she'll be the youngest kid in the class. She'll be age-eligible for pre-k at our local elementary school this coming fall but we decided to keep her in her small, half-day, non-academic nursery school another year.

Now I'm starting to think about our options the following year. They are:
1) Put her in kindergarten at the local elementary school. She's allowed to repeat kindergarten if we want to. This means that she'll be the youngest kid and not have a semi-academic transition year (pre-k) that the others had. But it means that she'll be going to and getting used to the school.
2)Transfer to another preschool that has a pre-k option, and put her in kindergarten the following year. This means that when she starts kindergarten, she'll be the oldest kid. But it's an extra transition because she'll only be at that school for one year.

Unfortunately, the principal of the local elementary school won't let her into pre-k a year "late."

Thoughts?

[Tigerchild]

What are your specific fears about option 1?

That is what I would choose. BUT...I don't know your kid or the school. I think most people's fears about their children and Kindergarten academics being too hard for them tend to not come true unless there is a specific problem.

The other issue might be if this is a full day kindy--but also, IME kids adjust to that relatively quickly too.

Maybe it would be helpful for you to list your specific concerns/fears about both options. What do you feel would be the problems with her being the youngest or oldest? Does she have difficulty with transitions so you need to minimize them? Ect.

[BCFD]

I agree with Tigerchild. I can tell you our situation if it helps.

Cut off date in CA is Dec. 2 and my oldest DD's bday is Nov. 19. She was just barely 4 1/2 when she started in a Montessori charter school. I have to admit that it was a little rough since she LOVES to nap and it was a 8:30 - 2:00 schedule. Several times during the year she would be asleep in the reading area when I would get there at 2p. HOWEVER, towards the middle of the year she adjusted and now I'm really glad that we started her. I considered holding her back to repeat kindy, but she's a bright kid and it was recommended that we send her on to 1st grade. In a sense, we are very lucky that the class she will be in this year will be a K/1 class, so she will be advancing but will also have access to all the familiar jobs in the classroom. And the beauty of Montessori is that she works at her own pace and is not expected to be "at a 1st grade level" - whatever that means.

[eepster]

Originally Posted by sarahr

Unfortunately, the principal of the local elementary school won't let her into pre-k a year "late."

Good for him/er. The research supports his/er policy.

http://journal.naeyc.org/btj/200309/DelayingKEntry.pdf