To Send or Not to Send

It’s that time of year when schools are busy reenrolling and youngsters are getting signed up for preschool or kindergarten. If you have a 5-year old, that kindergarten year is right around the corner…or is it?

My older, Tori was born on July 19. Never once did I consider sending her to kindergarten when she was 5. Why? For a few reasons. With a July birthday, Tori would have been on the younger end of her class. As a 1st and 2nd grade teacher for ten years, each year I inevitably had a parent with a child on the younger side who said to me, “I should have waited to start my child in school.” Never once did I have a parent who waited to send regret the decision. Another reason we waited was purely selfish…five years with my daughter before I had to share her with the world just wasn’t enough. I wanted all the time I could have before entering the school world. She’s now 10 and in the fourth grade and she has classmates that are her age and classmates a year younger. To date we haven’t had any age issues and Tori knows our reasons for waiting until she was 6 to start school. She excels in almost all areas and has wonderful friends.

Ally, on the other hand, is an October birthday, so there was no question with when to send her. With her birthday falling in October she is naturally on the older side in her class.

Our decision isn’t necessarily the right decision for you, but if have a child with a late birthday, I think it is certainly worth your while to weigh the pros and cons of waiting until 6 to start kindergarten.