Ds1 turned 4 in November. Our state's age cut-off is a birthday before Dec. 1st. So, this year he is considered a 4-year-old. I started him in Montessori this year assuming this would be his 1st year in Children's House, and then he would do a second preschool year next year, followed by K. I had long ago decided not to send him to Kindergarten until he was 5-turning-6 because of the new academic climate of Kindergarten and how boys develop later than girls. I also thought it would be better if he was one of the first in his class to learn to drive, rather than the last. And, I liked the idea of waiting another year before he goes to school full-time, which also gives him an extra year home before going to college.
I still want to do that.... BUT. There are only 3 three-year-olds in ds' class, and two of them are new in January. The other preK students are 4 yo and the class is almost half Kindergardeners. When I observe ds with the other kids, he is definitely up to par with the 4 yo, and seems a lot older than the 3 yo --even though I know at least one of the 4 yo is a whole year older than he is. As far as being able to pay attention and sit quietly during circle time, he does better than most of the K boys.
Academically, he is doing well. He has basically taught himself to write letters. He hasn't put all the sounds together into words, but he can identify all the letters, write most all of them, and identify most of the sounds. I would not be surprised if he starts reading and writing next year. Math is great, too.
Socially, he mostly seems to prefer playing with the girls -most of them in K- at recess. The only thing he is really "young" about is potty training... the teacher has to remind him to go a couple times while he's there so he doesn't have an accident. I really hope this will be resolved by next school year, though. Since he is in a M environment, I am not as concerned about the "pushing down" of academics, since I find M to be very age-appropriate, and they work at an individual pace anyways.
Ds really wants to be a K next year. And the kids all know who the K/preK are. K kids go to music class (state required curriculum) and have school on fridays, while preKs go M-Th only. We actually have a couple of options. I could enroll him as a preK (and pay tuition), he could enroll as a K (free) with the understanding that he's really a preK... I could keep him home on Fridays, for instance. But, he would still have to do some of the state-mandated K stuff. Or, we could just send him as K and decide next year whether or not he will be ready for 1st grade the following year. I would hate for him to feel like he had to "repeat" K, though, and I'm pretty sure he would understand that's what was happening.
I know Montessori stresses the importance of getting 3 years in the Children's House, but that is really not happening in his school anyway, so he wouldn't be at more of a disadvantage than the other kids. The school has had some rough transitions in the past several years, so the stability of the M population has suffered, and a lot of parents don't seem to know about the 3 yo and 4 yo preschool options and don't enroll their kids until K when they start looking at options. The school is stabilizing and building their enrollment back up, but that also causes change. One of the children's house teachers moved up to primary this year, for instance, so the morning CH classes were completely rearranged. In terms of building community, most of his "peers" in this class will be in K or 1st next year.
So, I don't know what to do. In M he will probably be fine as K next year, but he will most likely transition into a reg ps in jr high, and I worry a bit about developmental differences. And, the thought of sending my 17 yo away to college still makes me sad. And what if there was a draft.. he'd be safe for another year if still in hs (okay, I just realized how paranoid and hysterical I'm sounding... I really want to do what's best for him, not for me, lol!)
I still want to do that.... BUT. There are only 3 three-year-olds in ds' class, and two of them are new in January. The other preK students are 4 yo and the class is almost half Kindergardeners. When I observe ds with the other kids, he is definitely up to par with the 4 yo, and seems a lot older than the 3 yo --even though I know at least one of the 4 yo is a whole year older than he is. As far as being able to pay attention and sit quietly during circle time, he does better than most of the K boys.
Academically, he is doing well. He has basically taught himself to write letters. He hasn't put all the sounds together into words, but he can identify all the letters, write most all of them, and identify most of the sounds. I would not be surprised if he starts reading and writing next year. Math is great, too.
Socially, he mostly seems to prefer playing with the girls -most of them in K- at recess. The only thing he is really "young" about is potty training... the teacher has to remind him to go a couple times while he's there so he doesn't have an accident. I really hope this will be resolved by next school year, though. Since he is in a M environment, I am not as concerned about the "pushing down" of academics, since I find M to be very age-appropriate, and they work at an individual pace anyways.
Ds really wants to be a K next year. And the kids all know who the K/preK are. K kids go to music class (state required curriculum) and have school on fridays, while preKs go M-Th only. We actually have a couple of options. I could enroll him as a preK (and pay tuition), he could enroll as a K (free) with the understanding that he's really a preK... I could keep him home on Fridays, for instance. But, he would still have to do some of the state-mandated K stuff. Or, we could just send him as K and decide next year whether or not he will be ready for 1st grade the following year. I would hate for him to feel like he had to "repeat" K, though, and I'm pretty sure he would understand that's what was happening.
I know Montessori stresses the importance of getting 3 years in the Children's House, but that is really not happening in his school anyway, so he wouldn't be at more of a disadvantage than the other kids. The school has had some rough transitions in the past several years, so the stability of the M population has suffered, and a lot of parents don't seem to know about the 3 yo and 4 yo preschool options and don't enroll their kids until K when they start looking at options. The school is stabilizing and building their enrollment back up, but that also causes change. One of the children's house teachers moved up to primary this year, for instance, so the morning CH classes were completely rearranged. In terms of building community, most of his "peers" in this class will be in K or 1st next year.
So, I don't know what to do. In M he will probably be fine as K next year, but he will most likely transition into a reg ps in jr high, and I worry a bit about developmental differences. And, the thought of sending my 17 yo away to college still makes me sad. And what if there was a draft.. he'd be safe for another year if still in hs (okay, I just realized how paranoid and hysterical I'm sounding... I really want to do what's best for him, not for me, lol!)
