[dharmama]

i don't know why i am thinking about this now (two years before i need to) but i am (because this is what i do

)...

my dd misses the cutoff for kindy by two weeks so she will remain at her preschool for another year and then (hopefully) begin kindy at the waldorf school the following year.

my ds, who is 22 mos younger than his sister, was born before the june 1st cutoff so we have the option of sending him to kindy just one year after his sister or holding him back at nursery school for an extra year so that they would be two years apart in school.

our ds is super outgoing and has been in part-time childcare since he was 18 mos. in the fall he will begin three full days of nursery school so there is not really question of his readiness for separation or for being in school.

i'm more just curious about how things might play out in our family and with the kids' friends.

if you had the option of having your children spaced one year or two years apart in school, what you would choose and why?

(thank you for anyone who is willing to indulge my neurotic, far-too-advanced planning!

)

 

[DimitraDaisy]

We have a three-year kindy so it is quite common for siblings to be in it at the same time. I don't quite know how it works, but I haven't heard of any problems.

However something to consider is whether your school is likely to combine grades in the Lower School. Do they do mixed classes? In that case your children might end up being in the same class for a long long time. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing but it is definitely a thing to consider.

 

[Kirsten]

I'd place them so they'd be two years apart. One grade apart is usually difficult in regards to not having their own things. Same teams, same friends, same band, same homecoming court. But since they are different genders, you COULD let them go one year apart. Most of the worst issues I've seen have been same gender siblings a year apart. With one girl and one boy, a grade apart might work fine.

But being the youngest in the class is no great gift. My three girls all are. It was awful hard for the oldest, but the other two are doing fine with it. Kid by kid basis I guess. I think I'd decide as late in the process as you can.

 

[RollerCoasterMama]

From a totally main-stream background growing up...

My brother is 18 months younger than me. I started kindergarten at 5-1/2, but then they had me skip first grade and go right to second...so we ended up being 2 grades apart. But truthfully, we didn't really overlap our school experiences at all. I knew lots of kids in school that were 1 grade apart and have co-workers now with teens in the same situation. Even same-gender, everyone seems to enjoy it.

I wouldn't worry about it for the sake of worrying. Judge each kiddo as it gets to be time when you might start them and then have them start based on their own readiness. If it were me, I wouldn't base any part of the decision on one vs two grades apart.

Hope that makes sense!

 

[dogretro]

Personally, I would not hold a child back who was born before the cut-off date unless there was some true academic or social deficit. My husband and his brother are 16 months apart, so they were one year apart all throughout school, no problems. They had separate friends and shared friends, no problems. My husband's best friend growing up was exactly one year older than him, & my best friend in high school was, too, so even age cant predict everything!