We have Hanna all signed up for preschool in Avon at a participating member of a preschool cooperative. Meaning I will be a hands on teachers assistant in her class once a month and help with the loading and unloading of kids once a month. I will be able to be very involved and we are so excited about our decision. Hanna can't wait to start and today we got to meet some other moms and kiddos that will be attending her school as well. We had a wonderful time and Hanna made a new friend Amelia! As I was talking to the other mothers they all assumed Hanna was in the 4-5 year old class, because of her height, vocabulary and social skills....however, we actually had her signed up in the 3-4 year old class because of the actual cut off. Hanna misses the kindergarten cut off date by 6 days, and if we would like we can get a waiver for her. Or, we can wait it out and let her go when she is 6. The other moms suggested I move Hanna up to the next class, so she would be ready , if she could go. They also said, as far as they understood, the date will be moved back to September next school year. I think in so many ways Hanna actually is ready for kindergarten at 5, do any of you agree, Is it wrong to make the decision for her? It is strange being able to choose...do we want her to be one of the oldest or youngest in her class, possibly be ahead or average...maybe one of the tallest or shortest? Do we care if she is a grade above all of her current best friends...Molly, Jaden, Carmen etc...? Joe says go for it, I think, I think so too, but I am still on the fence. Any opinions?
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
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4 comments:
We were worried about the cutoff date also. But, I have decided to homeschool kindergarten, so I am still trying to find out if I should do it next year or wait a year. If he waited, he and Cassidy would only by a year apart in school! Yikes!
But, I was thinking the extra year would give me time to teach him our values. 5 just seems to be such an impressionable age to send them away!!!!
My opinion is if Hanna is ready for the challenge of kindergarten at her age, then you should go for it. Don't worry about her being the youngest, oldest, tallest, shortest, etc in the class because it's her mind you're really looking at. If she's already at the level of 5 yr olds only being 4 (with vocab, etc), then you should give her the extra challenge. On the other hand, preschool will just concrete what you've taught her already and even teach her somemore before kindergarten.Plus, with the preschool in Avon, she'll get to see you occasionally interacting and begin to feel more comfortable being separated from you for "school". There's benefits to both, and hey if she were six days older, you wouldn't think twice about it and probably wouldn't be having the conversation.
Just remember, it's not a race. Hanna's a very smart girl and I know she's going to love preschool. There are, however, several studies that indicate that girls are ready for formal education at an early age than boys...so, if Hanna were a boy I'd suggest that you wait until 6, but since she's not a boy (what would I have done with that puffy, purple skirt?!?) if you think she'll be ready at 5 there are a lot of scientists who will back you up.
how is this decision going?
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