I never knew signing my 4 1/2 year old up for school would be so stressful. He has attended a daycare since he was six weeks old. The teacher would always let me know when it was time to have Kellen go into the next class and I would sign a sheet and on he went. Then we hit this year. That “what does he do the year before kindergarten” period. He has a late birthday and I always thought he would go to daycare an extra year and then on to Kindergarten at “the big school”. (I have heard other parents call the hold back year “red-shirting” so the kids can get stronger and more confident throughout the year.) That was until I learned there were so many other options for children his age.
All of the sudden we had to choose what his plans were going to be for next year.There were deadlines and wait lists to get him in some of the classes. I did not realize there were so many choices and so many great schools offering all of these choices. I attended 3 different meetings trying to learn everything I could and decide if I thought one was better than the other. The hard part was they were all great, just a little different with what they taught. He has several choices, all with very different schedules. There are “early 5” classes, there are “PreK5” classes and there are Private kindergarten classes.
All of these classes are offered for the children that have late birthdays and may need a little bit more time.
I think some of the hard part of the decision is how often he attends the schools. Some of the classes are all day everyday while other are a couple days and week in the morning. I want him to learn structure and how to treat others on a daily basis but the thought of my son going to school everyday makes me sad. Decisions,decisions. And this is only Pre Kindergarten!!!
I will get researching. Do you have input on how you made that BIG decision??
The best advice I can give is to go with your gut feeling. No matter what you decide, it will be fine. I sent my son to preschool for 3 years. He never learned to read but he was still prepared and did fantastic in kindergarten. The little girl next door is a few months older than him & she went to private kindergarten and learned how to read and other things. They ended up in the same class. I was nervous he would be behind. But at the end of the year, he actually passed her up in their reading levels.
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