What does 'redshirting' mean?
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I understand the term to mean not starting kindergarten the first year your child is age-eligible to attend. It comes from college athletics- college athletes have 4 years of eligibility to play sports. They sometimes "redshirt" their freshman year by not playing, to save a year of eligibility for their fifth year of college (when they will supposedly be bigger and better).
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Yup, that would be it
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. It seems to be a pretty common practice where we live (and elsewhere, I understand). My older dd (who just made the cut-off to start kg) had some kids in her class last year who were 12-18 months older than she was.
I'm just the queen of delayed kindergarten entry article links :LOL (I've looked into it a lot w/ my girls' bds being where they are), but here's one that may be of interest in anyone interested in the topic of redshirting.
I'm just the queen of delayed kindergarten entry article links :LOL (I've looked into it a lot w/ my girls' bds being where they are), but here's one that may be of interest in anyone interested in the topic of redshirting.
I *knew* it must have something to do with sports, I try to avoid sports whenever possible...:LOL
ChristaN, I looked into it a lot too, my son is in the same situation as your daughter. That is a really interesting article, I bookmarked it for future reference. The author states many of the conclusions in a unified article that I found scattered throughout the internet. Thanks.
ChristaN, I looked into it a lot too, my son is in the same situation as your daughter. That is a really interesting article, I bookmarked it for future reference. The author states many of the conclusions in a unified article that I found scattered throughout the internet. Thanks.
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Kari_mom, Your son who is in the same spot as my dd, is he your six year old one? (I notice in your sig that you have more than one son.) My older dd will be 7 at the end of this August. My younger one (who I also had at the wrong time of the year :LOL ) will be 5 this Sept.
If you don't mind my asking, what did you decide to do regarding your son and kindergarten and how has it worked for him (if he's school age yet)? People keep telling me that they would be more inclined to hold them out the extra year if there were boys. I don't have any boys, so I don't know if that is reasonable or not.
My younger one starts kindergarten in the fall. I am hoping that we are making the right choice. I remember being stressed when dd #1 was starting kg, too, so I imagine that my mind will ease with time as it did with #1. I am now very comfortable with the choice that we made with our first one, but I was pretty stressed for a while.
If you don't mind my asking, what did you decide to do regarding your son and kindergarten and how has it worked for him (if he's school age yet)? People keep telling me that they would be more inclined to hold them out the extra year if there were boys. I don't have any boys, so I don't know if that is reasonable or not.
My younger one starts kindergarten in the fall. I am hoping that we are making the right choice. I remember being stressed when dd #1 was starting kg, too, so I imagine that my mind will ease with time as it did with #1. I am now very comfortable with the choice that we made with our first one, but I was pretty stressed for a while.
It was my 6 yo I was referring to, he will be 7 mid-August. I sent him to kindergarten two weeks after he turned 5, against some advice including his kindergarten teacher (whom we knew as she taught my daughter).
He is doing really well. He is at the top of his class academically, is a social leader and has never been reprimanded for his behavior. All issues that come up as reasons to hold a young child back, as I am sure you know.
Where I see a difference is when I compare him to his older sister. Her birthday is in November, so she is one of the older kids in her grade. She was early to read in kindergarten, was reading at a 3rd grade level by summer, and was tracked for gifted enrichment and testing. My son is reading at the same level by age, but while he is considered a high achiever and has had enrichment, he hasn't been tracked for gifted testing. So is my daughter gifted or normal for age? Is my son gifted? I think so, not wildly gifted but in need of more challenging work than they have been offered so far.
Honestly though, I am pretty frustrated with the public school system in general and we are working on a plan to homeschool in the fall.
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He is doing really well. He is at the top of his class academically, is a social leader and has never been reprimanded for his behavior. All issues that come up as reasons to hold a young child back, as I am sure you know.
Where I see a difference is when I compare him to his older sister. Her birthday is in November, so she is one of the older kids in her grade. She was early to read in kindergarten, was reading at a 3rd grade level by summer, and was tracked for gifted enrichment and testing. My son is reading at the same level by age, but while he is considered a high achiever and has had enrichment, he hasn't been tracked for gifted testing. So is my daughter gifted or normal for age? Is my son gifted? I think so, not wildly gifted but in need of more challenging work than they have been offered so far.
Honestly though, I am pretty frustrated with the public school system in general and we are working on a plan to homeschool in the fall.
I wanted to add that I found it very stressful too. I don't feel great about my son working with students who are almost 2 years older because their parents redshirted them. I also wanted to be sure that it was the right decision for him.
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It sounds like you are in the same spot as us
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. We actually did take my 6 y/o out of first grade this year & homeschooled due to severe frustration with the public school system and a really bad fit with her teacher. She has done really well academically as well, but we had other issues.
We do plan to send her back for second grade next year. I work part-time & it has been a bit difficult to make homeschooling work with that, but very worth it none the less. We did manage to get the second grade teacher that we wanted & my dd likes her a lot, so I hope that next school year will go much better for her. And, then, I get to worry about my younger dd!
I hope that homeschooling goes well for your family if you do wind up going that way.
We do plan to send her back for second grade next year. I work part-time & it has been a bit difficult to make homeschooling work with that, but very worth it none the less. We did manage to get the second grade teacher that we wanted & my dd likes her a lot, so I hope that next school year will go much better for her. And, then, I get to worry about my younger dd!
I hope that homeschooling goes well for your family if you do wind up going that way.
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