Many of you who we talk to regularly know of the dilemma we have had the last 6 months about kindergarten for Danny.
In Maryland the birthday cut-off is September 1st. They must turn 5 on or before September 1st... well Danny's birthday is September 2nd. Each state has a different cut-off date. In California it is late (November I think), while many states have August or even July cut-offs.
Randy and I laugh because my due date was August 29th, and I was in labor on September 1st... one day seems inconsequential, but they must draw that line somewhere. It just happens to be 18 hours before our son was born!
In Maryland there is an early-entrance test that the child can take if their birthday is September 2nd to October 15th. They must score a 90% or above on three tested areas (Reading, Writing and Math).
In February we asked his preschool teacher if she thought he would be ready by August, and she felt he would. He is naturally drawn to older kids, can follow directions well and is bright. When he started REALLY reading in April we knew we would test him.
It has been interesting talking to people about this decision. People that don't know Danny very well almost always say, "He's a boy... you should hold him back." There is also the trend to hold your child back to give them an edge on their peers (both academically and athletically... it is called "red-shirting" which makes me laugh!). Those that know him affirm our decision, which is comforting. There are some down-sides, of course. He will always be one of the youngest in his class. Right now his maturity level fits right in with the boys who are a year older than him, but in middle school that may not be the case (I think the middle school girls will be more of an issue!). The upside is the challenge and new environment for him. I don't think he could have stayed at his current nursery school for another year. We would have had to do something totally different.
Anyway, Danny took the test last Wednesday and passed without a problem. Now we get to navigate the public schools from a different perspective! He is very excited to be going to kindergarten with a lot of his friends, and we are happy with what we have heard about our local school. It is all big stuff happening with him!
Jun 24, 2008
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2 comments:
Linda and I can definitely see the kindergarten dilemma. I was a younger student going through school with a July 6th birthday, and Linda was an older student with a December 17th birthday. As a younger student I did struggle a bit with reading comprehension (3rd grade) and time management skills (typical of being a boy). I don’t recall us having the option to “test” for kindergarten, so it was basically mom and dad making a judgment call on if we were ready or not. Definitely a tough call. Another factor is height, and if a child is held back they could end up much taller than the other kids in his/her class, which creates dome other maturation and social issues.
Danny seems like a bright kid, and should do fine. One of my former co-workers at Alameda County has a 13 year old son (will be 14 in the middle of September) and he will be starting high school this fall. He is a bright kid, and seems to be doing well with grades and maturation. As long as there is the nurturing, guidance, and stimulation at home, Danny should do well is school.
Thanks, Brett, for your comment. Both Randy and I are August birthdays so we were always younger, but with the late CA date there were always kids younger than us! Randy had some maturity issues, but turned out just fine. I did fine. We'll just have to stay on top of it all! I'm definitely up for that task!
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