*sigh* Another year of daycare expenses

[mandyms]

Just a rant. Went to get DD tested for early admission for kindergarten (she will be 5 in September and our school district cuts it off at August 1). She apparently tested higher than average IQ for her age, but unfortunately is not at the percentage that would have her planning for world domination.

So another year of daycare expenses... . I was fantasizing about all that money I would be able to put away.

[swamp]

My DD could have enrolled in Jr. Kindergarten this year since she turned 4 in October I chose to hold her back a year rather start her. She's smart enough but wasn't emotionally ready.

I figure the extra I spend on daycare will pay off in the future on therapy I didn't have to pay for.

[maryjane]

The good news is that scores from IQ tests aren't considered stable until around age 6 so, who knows, she still might end up planning for world domination!

Sorry about the money

[zibazinski]

I'd have her retested. As the mother of a DD who just about went nuts in K because of sheer boredom, I would have liked the challenge she would have received. She was a bit younger of a K than yours would be.

[Deleted]

Why would you want to enroll early into K? What is the hurry to get kids into school?

[Deleted]

Don't get too excited about not paying daycare expenses. Because once you are done with daycare, you just start transferring money to the Orthodontist instead! ;D

[zibazinski]

Reduced daycare. I sure wish my DSs and DDs birthdays would have been switched. He was an early K, summer birthday, and she was a late K, winter birthday. Both had trouble. He wasn't mature enough and she was too mature. By second grade he was fine and by first so was she but it was a hard few years.

[Deleted]

I don't see the hurry to go to K. They will be in school for years.

[zibazinski]

K used to be fun, kind of like advanced daycare. It's a bit more structured now but so what if she spends two years in K for some bizarre reason? I'd either insist that the school retest or have her tested again on your own. You can always ask some admin for a waiver as well. They do little else but please parents.

[Deleted]

Wow. that is an early cut off. Our daughter will be going to kindergarten at age 4, turning 5 in December.

[Deleted]

DS started kindergarten at 4, but he turned 5 within 3 weeks. December 1st is the cut-off around here.

being the youngest in the class is fraught with social difficulty throughout elementary and high school. Best to go with your peers.

His teacher did mention at the parent/teacher conference that he is the smallest in his class and he does have a hard time keeping up with the kids who already turned 6, but she said "the playing field" will even out by 2nd grade after their motor skills have developed. << crosses fingers >>

[mandyms]

I was on the fence about having her start early anyway; she seems to be doing ok at daycare, but says she's bored. Talking to her daycare teacher, she would probably be bored anyway at kindergarten, so maybe this leaves room to advance a grade as she gets older. The money issue was a big deciding factor as well. I think it was just a matter that the school district has an X number of spots for kindergarten enrollment, so any early entries have to be a big deal.

But like Swamp suggested, I'm not in any big hurry to have her start dealing with the middle school/high school drama.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Bummer. We screwed up on our enrollement stuff for DD for 4K. She just turned 4 and I don't know where she's going in Fall. I'm thinking she'll stay at dcp. They do preschool 3 days a week for a couple of hours so she's learning stuff now. But we could really use the $500 or so a month her dcp is costing us...

[zibazinski]

If she is bored at daycare, she will be out of her mind at K. It's a sad situation to be sure. I wish I'd have fought for DD but she was a few months later than the cut off so I didn't bother-and I should have. She was miserable in K.

[skubikky]

May 21, 2012 19:39:52 GMT -5 swamp said:

My DD could have enrolled in Jr. Kindergarten this year since she turned 4 in October I chose to hold her back a year rather start her. She's smart enough but wasn't emotionally ready.

I figure the extra I spend on daycare will pay off in the future on therapy I didn't have to pay for.

What is Jr. Kingergarten? Is it in the public school or private?

[Deleted]

You can't start K here unless you have already turned 5. As for being bored, are 5 yr olds really that bored? My kids knew better than to complain about being bored cuz if they did, i always managed to find them a chore to do.l

[973beachbum]

May 22, 2012 9:27:18 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

If she is bored at daycare, she will be out of her mind at K. It's a sad situation to be sure. I wish I'd have fought for DD but she was a few months later than the cut off so I didn't bother-and I should have. She was miserable in K.

Around here I have never heard of them making an exception to the cutoff date. Most districts are Oct 1st hard and fast. The only thing I have seen that people do that works is that they enroll them in a private schools for kindergarten and first grade. Once they have been through first the schools just put them in second. It doesn't save them any money though just pushes the kid ahead quicker.

I have actually only heard of one person whose kid was actually okay with the early start. The rest all had to repeat a grade or had problems with not being mature enough to handle the pressure of doing everything expected of them. I am not just talking reading etc. It is all the other stuff they are expected to do with folowing directions, doing work independantly etc.

[zibazinski]

You must be in a system where parents don't call the shots!

[973beachbum]

May 22, 2012 10:18:08 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

You must be in a system where parents don't call the shots!

Not to say we don't have our fair shar of whiners, because we do!

But the distrcts have had some hard and fast rules for things like this. It makes it much easier than having some parents get things that others don't and then get mad. The person can just say "I'm sorry if it were up to me I would let her, but the rule is no exceptions". That way they don't have to get into any conversations about how brilliant junior really is. ;D

[Deleted]

From what I hear Kindergarten is more intense than it used to be. An extra year might be helpful. Can you move your child to another daycare with a more academic bent? Is she in pre-k?

[mandyms]

Her daycare is a preschool with a structured "curriculum." That's why I'm not making a big fuss about kindergarten.

[telephus44]

I actually have a meeting with the school in 2 hours to discuss DS skipping K and going straight into 1st grade. He misses the cutoff by 3 weeks (Sept 20th birthday instead of Sept 1st). Of course he's really smart (estimated IQ for 140 at age 3-1/2, 99% percentile in K-readiness at 3-1/2, currently reading at a 3rd grade level), but about the ONLY reason the school would consider this is because he's been in their preschool program for 2 years so they're already familiar with him.

[thyme4change]

My kids were both born in the summer and made the cut-off so they could be the very youngest in their class. Because my daughter had other issues, I kept her back, so she is now the very oldest in her class. My son went on-time and is the very youngest in his class. I wouldn't greive not being able to send your 4 year old to Kindergarten. I think my son would be doing much, much better if he were a year older (or 11 months older.)

[Abby Normal]

May 22, 2012 7:25:08 GMT -5 @shooby said:

Don't get too excited about not paying daycare expenses. Because once you are done with daycare, you just start transferring money to the Orthodontist instead! ;D

Our after school care is just about to end! The kids will be in a summer program and then done. DONE!

DS had four baby teeth pulled at age 8 in hopes that his permanent teeth would drop in properly. Visited Orthodontist last week who said it looks like it worked and he looks like he won't need braces.

I feel like I won the lottery!

[swamp]

May 22, 2012 9:37:14 GMT -5 skubikky said:

May 21, 2012 19:39:52 GMT -5 swamp said:

My DD could have enrolled in Jr. Kindergarten this year since she turned 4 in October I chose to hold her back a year rather start her. She's smart enough but wasn't emotionally ready.

I figure the extra I spend on daycare will pay off in the future on therapy I didn't have to pay for.

What is Jr. Kingergarten? Is it in the public school or private?

The public school has a half day program for 3 and 4 year olds as a "starter" for school. The private school DS goes to has a full day program.

It seems like it's kindergarten curriculum from when I was in school.

[973beachbum]

Where I live this isn't even a discussion very often. What I hear and see are parents keeping their kids out of school for an extra year if at all possible.

I really wouldn't want my four turing five year old starting first grade with a bunch of kids turning seven. JMHO

[TheOtherMe]

I was sent to kindergarten at age 4. Cutoff date then was November 15. I was driving my parents nuts. I was still bored in kindergarten and most of elementary school. No real academic challenges until junior high.

However, socially I was way behind by junior high and high school and did not fit in at all.

I've had friends who sent their kids to kindergarten at 6 due to the social issues they had seen growing up with kids going to kindergarten at 4. I would give anything if I had been held out of kindergarten another year.

There weren't pre-k or nursery schools back in my day, but I think I would still have been better off driving my parents nuts with my incessant questions. I went to kindergarten knowing how to due age appropriate reading, writing and arithmetic. On arithmetic, I was above grade level because I had been taught to keep score at bowling--when it was done by hand. I also had been taught to play cribbage. The math there is a bit beyond the elementary school flash cards I had to do.

[TheOtherMe]

In my state, there is free pre-k three days a week. If you want 4 days of pre-k, you pay for the fourth day. It's a full school day and the kids can go to before and after school care at the school.

[TheOtherMe]

May 22, 2012 8:36:38 GMT -5 @tbird said:

being the youngest in the class is fraught with social difficulty throughout elementary and high school. Best to go with your peers.

and if you combine that with even marginal "late blooming" the consequences are significant.

I'm a perfect example of this.

[Deleted]

However, socially I was way behind by junior high and high school and did not fit in at all.

I think it's hard when a kindergarten class has kids ages 4-6. That's a huge developmental range.