I think you contradicted yourself. If you were one of the oldest and first to drive, you would have been 6 entering kindergarten, correct?
Kindergarten redshirt
- Thread starter MartyMcCy
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6 at the end of kindergarten I think. I don't remember...I was 6.
Just did the math. Entered at 6 turned 7 the week after school got out. I did contradict myself :/
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CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
I don't remember taking much home. My high school featured teachers who didn't know material and a lack of better classes, so I blew it off.
For my money, if they child is ready, go right ahead. Everything else is a red herring.
Not to derail this but I never understand this...how does a kid learn to read and do math before he even gets to kindergarden? Do you work with him or is he just that smart he picks it up on his own?
I could count and recognize words before preschool, my mom would teach me and have me highlight words in the newspaper that I recognized and then we'd go over it and she'd teach me a few more each time.
In Iowa, you have to be 5 by September 15th to enter kindergarten. There is no way a typical 4 year old (not all the smarties here) is ready for kindergarten the way it is set up in most districts. My kids get on the bus at 7:30am and come off the bus at 3:45pm. Most days my 2nd grader is exhausted by the end of the day. Go spend 3hrs in a 4yr old preschool and let me know if you want to teach a class of 25 of those for 8hrs a day. My kid turned 6 just days before kindergarten started--nothing wrong with starting at 6 depending on the kid.
I don't think it's as uncommon as you think. I was reading at 3, my husband also read well before K. I wasn't any math prodigy, so I don't know about the math stuff (although I could count to 100 by 1st grade), but I think it's a combination of working with the child and the child just picking it up.
Move all my ages up...my math was a bit off. But I do stand by my point that people are sending their kids to school way too late.
My husband has a July birthday and was always the youngest in his class. Academically, he was fine - honors student, 2nd in his graduating class, and attended a top-ranked private engineering college. Athletically, he was fine as well - multi-sport athlete, state qualifier, two-sport athlete in college. Socially he's always been fine. It obviously depends on the child, but if I'm more in favor for waiting (or doing a Prep-K program if the school offers it) for educational/social/emotional reasons than just strictly athletic.
My kids all have winter or fall birthdays, so that won't ever be an issue for us, and they'll always be some of the biggest kids in the class thanks to the hub's and my superior genetics (though their athletic prowess has yet to be seen). Our oldest does have a few friends who went through the Prep-K program here and are 9-12 months older than the other kids in their class. I know keeping them back was the right choice, but even now they still struggle academically and socially despite being older. So YMMV.
My kids all have winter or fall birthdays, so that won't ever be an issue for us, and they'll always be some of the biggest kids in the class thanks to the hub's and my superior genetics (though their athletic prowess has yet to be seen). Our oldest does have a few friends who went through the Prep-K program here and are 9-12 months older than the other kids in their class. I know keeping them back was the right choice, but even now they still struggle academically and socially despite being older. So YMMV.
Oh I preschool...guess me and my offspring are not the smarty pants some around here are.
It's definitely the vast norm for kids to not be reading by K, I was just saying that it's not unheard of for them to be doing so.
- Mar 27, 2006
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I don't know how it is for other kids, but my 3 1/2 year old daughter just can't seem to get enough of letters and learning to read. It's not like we push her into it. It's what she wants to do, and does for fun. She loves playing with her little "computer" that teaches letters and words, and is perfectly content playing with that for extended periods. She also loves to play the Rhyme Game, where we say words, and she says a word that rhymes. Now that she's really getting into letter sounds, she likes us to say words and she tells us what letter they start with.
And again, this isn't anything we pushed on her. The most we did was teach her the ABC's and read to her a lot.
I know my mom did hooked on phonics with me, and I remember reading at 4. My youngest brother didn't really get it until he was honestly probably 6-7. Probably a combo of less time and our different personalities. I loved school and would be happy to sit and go over those books again and again, whereas he would hated being inside and immobile.
We have a 4 year old son who will turn 5 on July 17th. He would also do ok academically but we are holding him back a year. Luckily we were able to get him enrolled in the school (Sgt. Bluff) system's Transitional Kindergarten which only takes 12 kids.
Sorry - I was busy for a while.
For starters, we moved to Iowa when the boys were 4 & 5. They had been in a very progressive preschool in California. Older son is only 19 months older, so a lot of competition between the two.
And yes, we read books every night at bedtime. It broke my heart when older son decided at the age of 7 HE would do the reading for both of them, and they didn't need me any more...
(but it was pretty cute to watch) They started raiding MY bookshelf (Dean Koontz, Tom Clancy, and many others) when they were around 10 or 11.As for the math part, I'm a numbers geek...I love number games and card games. We played a lot of counting games and learning games, and it helped the boys learn numbers. Parents can really help their kids just by spending game time & reading time with them.
Younger son has a fairly high IQ and is intensely curious about many things, but was a very lazy student. Homework (busy work) bored him. Despite my threats, cajoling, etc, he coasted through highschool with a C+ average, primarily because he would ace all of his tests but blow off all the homework. Teachers don't like that much. He writes beautifully and is a pretty decent graphic artist, but found when he tried college he still didn't want to study, so he opted for the Air Force. He's out now, but is much more disciplined in his habits. I guess drill sergeants & Lt Cols are more intimidating than moms.
