Son Entering Kindergarden

Unfortunately yes, my daughter was the same way. Her birthday is September 23rd and they have to be five by the time the school year starts. He can start preschool though. Most schools have a full day preschool. I put my daughter in preschool since she missed the birthday deadline, and it was really beneficial to her. This is very common, so don't think that he will be the only one in this situation.

M.

Typically they have to be 5 before Sept. 1, but he won't be behind. A lot of parents who have kids born right before the cutoff are holding them back a year to prevent a perceived disadvantage in school (called redshirting). Don't stress, mom. :)

He won't be a year behind- he'll just be one of the older kids in the group. Where I am, I believe the child has to be 6 by a certain date (I think it's in November). My daughter's birthday is in February, so she's going into kinder this coming year. She'll be 18 when she graduates high school (just like I was.)

He'll start school in 2008. My son also turned 5 in November, so he starts this fall. I don't look at it as being behind... they'll be better prepared!

Yes that does mean he will have to wait. Don't let that upset you. Both of my children had to do the same thing. My daughter is now 14 and my son is 12. I feel it helped them in the long run especially my son. I think it bothered me more than it did the kids except for the fact that they wanted to go to school. Just remember it's not a bad thing to be a little more mature than the others in the class.

yes, your son has to be 5 to start kindergarten. he will be almost 6 when he starts. that is fine, he'll be one of the older kids in the class and when it comes to HS, he'll be one of the first driving. my son has an october birthday and he to has to be almost 6 before he starts kinder. it is not a big deal, there will be other kids his age in his class- and even older. now if you qualify, you can put him in pre-k for a half day program starting at the age of 4. you will have to see the requirements for qualifying from your school district. usually it is based on income level, language spoken at home, or if you or your spouse is in the military. do not worry that your son doesn't start school for another year. he will not be "behind", it just gives him one more year to mature before he starts. that is not a bad thing at all. :)

Yes they will not let him start in the middle of the school yr. And you wouldn't want that either. My oldest was born in Dec and my youngest in October. So they both are a yr behind.

Looking back I wish that we had kept our son back another year. He turned 5 two weeks before school started his kinder year. He was the youngest in his kinder class and again in his first grade class. The teachers have to be reminded of this because he is the tallest child in his class so they forget that he is the youngest. He is less mature than some of the other kids in his class and this has gotten him into some trouble in school. My other son is early June so hopefully he will be a little more mature when he starts.

No, he's not really behind. He doesn't meet the deadline for school enrollment in Kinder. He will just be one of the older children in his class. My birthday is in January. I was always one of the older kids in my class. That was O.K. for me. If he is ready for a full day program, check into some of the preschools in the area. I know Council Oaks in Round Rock is one of the best.

L. G.

He should start preK this year, and he will be with other children his age. If you feel that he is advanced enough to start kindergarten, and the school won't allow it, then you could explore homeschooling. We have homeschooled our children for 7 years. I have a family member who's child turned five just days after school started. The school went ahead and let her go to kindergarten, but had to hold her back the next year because she was not mature enough to move on to first grade. The younger a child is, the bigger the difference a few months makes. However, I do feel that if that same child had been homeschooled, she would not only have been ahead of her class, but her maturity level would have been much different as well.

My son is in a similar situation, he is only two weeks after the cutoff. However I have talked to many elementary school teachers who say it is better to have them out that year, that many of them struggle and some get held back a year anyway. I had a friend really push it to get her son in school early (his bd was October) by sending him to Catholic School and in the end he wasn't ready for first grade and had to repeat kindegarten and it really upset him. So while I can understand why you don't want him to miss out, it is probably for the best. I am checking into preschool programs for my son so he won't feel so left out.

Usually the school will have a cutoff date like September 5th. Anyone born after that date such as your son would have to wait until the next year to start kindergarten. I would call the school just to make sure though. :)

I have a 15 yr old and a 5 month old. :)

Hi Camille.
They must have already turned 5 by the time school begins in Aug/Sept. So, your son will not begin Kindergarten until next year. No, he is right on target with his age and beginning Kinder. You're actually lucky. My son turned 5 in June, making him a young Kindergartener. I could have waited a year and started him when he was 6 but he REALLY wanted to go to school and cried at the thought of having to wait a year. He will be the last in his class to turn 6. Being an older Kindergartener, like your son, has its advantages; better developed motor skills, more knowledge/experience, etc. My son had to practice on holding a pencil because his motor skills were still underdeveloped, due to his age. He's fine now, but we had to work on it. Your son will be way past that and having that extra development time will be a positive for your son's educational development. So, don't worry. Just take this year to work on motor skills, alphabet (upper and lower case), Math; numbers, Language Arts; sight words and reading and writing. There are many sites out there to help you educate your son at home, until he begins Kindergarten.
Here's one:
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/

Take Care and just enjoy this extra time with him!
D.

In the state of Texas your child has to be 5 yrs old on or before Sept. 1 to start kindergarden. Yes Your son will be year behind, but look at the brightside he will be one of the oldest in his class! Hope this cleared things up, M.

I work for KISD (Killeen Independent School District) and the rule is that the child has to be 5 yrs old by Sept 1st of the school year in order to enroll in kindergarten. So due to a late birthday, yes your child would not be able to be in kinder this upcoming school year. He would have to enroll in pre-k instead. Hope that helps! -L.

No they are supposed to turn five before they go into Kinder so he shouldn't start until August 2008

Your son will start kindergarten in the fall of 08, but will not really be a year behind. All children born after the first of Sept will not begin until the following fall.

Yes ma'am, that's what it means (for public school at least). I have three kids that were born after the cut off date and all three will start Kindergarten when they are almost 6. Some private schools may test your child for Kinder readiness and may offer to enroll your child early. I tried to have my oldest enrolled early in private school, but he wasn't emotionally ready. He was reading small words at that time, but wasn't emotionally up to speed with the other students. Of course if you go the private school route you'll most likely have to pay tuition.

Just wanted to say I agree with veryone that he won't be a year behind he will start when he is 6. I just wanted to say coming from the private school in me that starting early is not that much of an advantage and actually made me feel small compare to my peers. My brother and I both started school early and I have to admit I hated being the youngest and smallest in the class. My three children will be 6 when they enter Kinder but I think it is okay. Some call it the Bonus year. I would suggest a Pre-Kinder class. Hopefully your school offers thie. Call the nearest school to you and ask.
Hope this helps,
L.

Mine is 4 going to be 5 also in November. He will be starting Pre-K first I think, or will go into Kindergarten. What day was your son born? Mine is the 7th. LOL. Hope this helps out.

C.

Yep...that's what that means. My daughter won't be 5 until October and so she will have to wait too.

Hi Camille,
Your son will not start school this year. AISD's cut off date is, the child must be five by September 1st in order to start the school year.
Take care,
R.
Mom of 2 boys with birthdays after September 1st!
ages 12 and 16 yrs old.

I am a Kindergarten teacher and trust me, it is not a big deal, I have all ages in my class. I have some that started off as 4, 5 and 6. So your child will not be alone. It does not matter the age, what does matter is the developmental stage your child is at. Your child will do fine and no one will even notice that he is "older" because there will be at least 6 more that will be in the same boat as he is.

Camille,
Our son's birthday is in December. Same delima. We decided to use an online independent homeschool curriculum to get him started, as he seemed ready for the challenge. We will finish his Kindergarten year mid april, and it has been great. We even decided to continue this curriculum through 1st grade. The curriculum I found was k12.com. We were able to work 4 hours a day, 3 days a week, and I was amazed at what he was able to learn. It has been great having more family time, being flexible with our family time, and K12 made it very easy, and user friendly. We were able to take more vacations during the "normal school weeks", go on fleid trips that coincided with the lessons, sleep in late, stay up late if we wanted. We felt spoiled. Let me know if you would like more info.

Hello, My son's birthday is September 29th and yes he'll end up being one of the oldest. The deadline in Texas is September 1. So if your child is not 5 by Sep. 1 then they have to wait until next year. I've found though that him being one of the oldest kids has really helped his self esteem and leadership skills. I was afraid that he'd be too advanced and bored but he has really adjusted well. He is in kindergarten this year and has been six for the most of it. My best friend's little boy has an August birthday so she started him in Kindergarten last year. He had just turned 5 a week after school started. He didn't do very well and she kept him back to do it again. HE showed tons of improvement. So don't be too discouraged. I think it's a good thing for them to be a little older.

S.

Yes, he will have to start the next year. Kids have to be 5 on or before August something to enter kindergarten that year. Both of my kids have birthdays right after the cutoff which put them both starting late, but I'm glad...they are more mature than the other kids in their class and they've always had good grades. I don't think they (my son especially) would have done as well going to school the year before.

Another option is charter schools. Many have accelerated kindergarten programs which allow children of 4 years of age and up to enter kindergarten if they are prepared. and they check their level via some simple tests.

Hey Camille,

My daughter is 5 and is still in K-4 because she didn't turn 5 (the age they need to be to start kindergarten) until after September 1st. It doesnt mean they are a year behind, they just have their birthdays in the beginning of the school year and are a little older than the other kids.

I hope this helped!

E.