My son will be starting prep next year but as he is a June baby, will be one of the youngest. How was your experience with your child starting prep on the younger/youngest age? I'm a little anxious for him but am in two minds as he attends kindy now & does well (I will be having an interview with his kindy teacher before the end of the year)
4 Replies
if he does well in kindy, he will be fine next year. Two of my nephews were born in June (two of my brothers had babies a week apart) the boys were imo at completely different levels and they are both doing fantastically! And my baby boy starts prep next year, I was worried but in the last couple of months he has come along in leaps and bounds :)
Do some research, kids especially boys do much better if they start formal schooling later. Why rush it, consider the social implications which may not be apparent until high school. Girls are already at least a year ahead in maturity and may be a year older than your son so a 2+ year difference. My son is a March baby and I still gave him another year of kindy before starting prep, best decision as all the younger boys in his prep class struggled academically and socially and it has tainted their attitude to and enjoyment of school. If your son is totally ready u will know by sept/oct but if not then really consider another year of kindy. Lots of people are doing it now as they are finding out what parents in other states that have had the prep year for longer know, older start is better for a lot of kids
My daughter was born on 25 May, so just over a month inside the cut-off. I wondered the same thing, but she has done really well. I had the same chat with her kindergarten teacher, who was confident that she would do well. She said her emotional readiness was still catching up, but developmentally (physical, academic, etc) she was where she needed to be to start prep. She just advised lots of support and not to worry too much about comparing her to other kids. Our school has a very individual approach in their teaching, which has been great. E.g. some kids in her class are only just 'getting' reading, others are onto thick chapter books, and most are in between doing well on their own path. I'm sure it's similar in other subjects. She has made lots of friends and is very happy, so the emotional readiness didn't appear to be a problem. The only thing I do recommend is that you be a bit choosy about which teacher your son has - talk to the principal if you can. Get to know the teachers or talk to some prep mums and see if you can get him into a class with a teacher that really clicks with you and your son. When they're with your child 5 days a week I have learned that it makes kids so much happier when they are with teachers who use the same kids of approaches to learning, discipline, humour, play, comforting, etc. We had a difficult time with a prep teacher who had little in common with us, but in year 1 she got a teacher who really clicks with my daughter. It goes both ways, my daughter enjoys school more and the teacher loves teaching her (and joked that she'd like to keep her in her class for the next few years!). It's all been such a big learning curve for our family! Hope it all goes well for you and your son :)
It is a hard decision. We chose to keep our middle child (may baby) home for an extra year. At the end of the day it is your choice and if you truely believe he isn't ready then you can decide on one more year at home/ kindy. Don't let anyone change your mind!!
We had to see a paeditrition and get the school to agree to take him late. But all worth it now when I see my happy boy able to sit and concentrate at prep this year. All kids and families are different and it's ok to send him if he's ready or don't if your gut says that he'd benefit from another year at home.