December babies

[BrightEyes]

This is something that has been eating at my brain ever since my daughter was born!! Even though she won't be old enough for a couple more years, I want to make sure I make the right decision! I have read articles and done a lot of research but I still don't know what I will do. I just hope that when the time comes I will know what the right decision is!

[Bookworm]

I'm a September baby, but early September. My parents never sent me to JK as they felt I was learning more at my preschool/daycare. I don't think I was behind at all once I started kindergarten. Not that I remember kindergarten, but my report cards show that I did well. I was an extremely shy child who didn't speak much in school, so if I did poorly at all in school, it was often because I wouldn't talk, not because I didn't know the answer. lol

With that being said, I think the parents should register the child and make the decision closer to September. Every child is different. My older sister was a November baby and my parents ended up keeping her back one year in school because she was struggling. However, my best friend is a late December baby, and she never had any problems in school.

[playfelt]

With the push to a more play based curriculum more of a variety in learning levels can be accomodated too. Another option for them to consider is starting JK but then making sure the child is really ready to leave K for grade 1 before moving on even if it means repeating the SK year. Again happens often with late birthday babies.

[fruitloop]

Both my kids are Dec. babies. We don't have J/K here in AB, just regular K that they can start at 5. The cut off is the end of Feb so kids can start at 4 if they are turning 5 before Feb. I started both mine at 4. My ds I probably should of held off, he is struggling a bit but he is a super big kid and stands out even as 1 of the youngest in his class so that was why we put him in. He also knew everything he needed going into kindergarten, he was just a little bit less mature than some of the other kids. We didn't want him to stand out even more if we waited another year. My dd is doing great at school though. It really depends on the kid and different situations.

[mimi]

My daughter is a very early January baby. I could have requested that she be included in the previous year class, but my instincts told me to keep her in her part time preschool and for me to enjoy her being home another year. She is the oldest in her group/classes and loves it. She has always been a class leader which fits her outgoing personality. I think you just have to access your child on an individual basis and trust your gut. If you are wrong, you get another year with your little one and they will benefit from having reached their milestones in their own time instead of being placed in an environment they may not be ready for. IMO

[playfelt]

Mimi makes a good point in that as long as your child has a chance to experience and learn some academic skills and a chance to mature socially that it is better to hold them back than to risk going and failing. Of course you will never know if the holding back was truly needed but if it turns out it was you will have a very frustrated learner down the road if you don't hold back.

Of course there is probably the option to withdraw at Thanksgiving or something I mean school isn't compulsory till a child reaches age 6. In many countries and with the Waldorf method that is when kids actually start school from an academic standpoint.

[bright sparks]

My youngest is a December baby (Dec 22), he will be one this year. I thought I couldn`t send him to school until he was 4 years old.

It's the year they turn four in.

[sunnydays]

I grew up in a rural area and we did not have kindergarten, so I started school at 6 (grade one). I never attened preschool or daycare and I don't think my mum did a whole lot of preparing me specifically for school...except for the fact that she read to us a lot and instilled a love of reading in us. I learned to read and write very quickly at school and was always pretty much a straight A student...so I definitely agree that attending kindergarten or JK does not really get kids ahead academically.

Mimi makes a good point in that as long as your child has a chance to experience and learn some academic skills and a chance to mature socially that it is better to hold them back than to risk going and failing. Of course you will never know if the holding back was truly needed but if it turns out it was you will have a very frustrated learner down the road if you don't hold back.

Of course there is probably the option to withdraw at Thanksgiving or something I mean school isn't compulsory till a child reaches age 6. In many countries and with the Waldorf method that is when kids actually start school from an academic standpoint.

[playfelt]

The curriculum has really changed though. My mom trained as a teacher in the 50's and learned to teach kids in grade 1 their colours, letters, to be able to read some by the end of the year. I trained as a teacher in the 80's and that was the kindergarten curriculum and JK was only beginning to exist in larger school boards. By the time my own kids were in school and I was doing daycare this was the preschool curriculum. And we continue to push more and more onto younger and younger children and in the end they don't grasp everything any faster because someone forgot to allow time for learning how to learn not just learning stuff.

I did go to Kindergarten because we moved to the city so I could. Only one of my kids attended JK as we were in Alberta when the older two were that age. Jennifer did what they called ECS (early childhood services) which was basically Kindergarten. Melissa missed out and by the time we moved to Ontario she went straight into SK.

[daycaremum]

I'm a December kid. Socially never bothered me at all having a later birthday than my peers. Academically, I was never behind, I was average in the lower grades and by grade 8 was at the top of my class. It all depends on your kid. If they are socially and behaviourally ready, I would send them. My daughter is a November baby and we sent her to JK. She is a little behind, but that wouldn't have made me send her the year later, she is in grade 2 now and only behind in reading, all other aspects she is average. Next year she will be all caught up in every subject.