ANSWERS: 29
  • Private school or home schooling are an option. Or you can check if you have free voluntary pre-kindergarten in your area.
  • I was in kindergarden at 4 years of age. The rule for that school was I would turn 5 before the end of the school year, so I was accepted.
  • Maybe testing, or private school? The rules are set a little arbitrarily, perhaps, but meaning well- Waiting a little longer will hurt less than sending her in early. Just throwing it in on the off chance *you* think she's awesome and bright and such and she's actually a regular four year old. ;)
  • You might check and see if there is a charter school in your area. Other than that, homeschooling is a great option.
  • No, but I appreciate how STUPID the rule is. I think that rule is RIDICULOUS! My brother and I both started school in New York -- where the rule was you had to be 5 by the end of the year. We moved, and my sister ended up starting school in Florida, where the September 1st rule was in effect. Of course, her birthday is the SECOND week of September... so she couldn't POSSIBLY be capable of starting school with everyone else her age. Honestly, IMO, kids should start Kindergarten based on their developmental stage, not their birthday. What ELSE would Pre-K be for, than to determine whether a child is ready for a school environment?
  • My son attended Kindergarten in his daycare school at four. They'd figured out that any "acting up" he did was because he was "bored". My other son was going to second grade at elementary school, and the daycare teacher suggested the younger one was ready for first grade. I called the school superintendent, and convinced him to at least try the 5yo there. He did well, and he's since graduated from Purdue. The age limit is because they feel that children younger than six can't "socialized" well with those who are normally in that grade. The deal was the superintendent reserved the right to move him back to Kindergarten in THAT school, if there were problems. Again, there weren't. IF she is smart enough, AND she is sociable with other kids, you MIGHT be able to convince the school district to let her in. You may want to point out to them that if there are social problems, you will withdraw her until next year. That might sway them to allowing you to try it. If not, some daycares have Kindergardens, and there are other types of schools around. Good luck.
  • As a former teacher of 1st and 2nd grade-as well as an elementary school counselor--I would suggest that you try not to get around the rules, but to recognize that no matter how bright your child may be--she is 4. A child may be intellectually advanced, but having to interact with children a year older can be difficult. Look for programs in your area that will provide intellectual stimulation as well as providing it at home. I believe studies show children who start school late, rather that early are the most well-rounded socially as well as scholastically in the long run.
  • in mo. your kids have to be 5 before july 31
  • I think it would be better for her to stay in her class range. She'll be smarter than everyone else in her class and stand out more than if she is in a higher class grade and performs at the norm.
  • No. You should wait until she turns 5, if it is the law in your state that she has to be in school at 5 years old then do that, let her have fun as much as she can while it last though.
  • my kids went to headstart at three,an went into kindergarden from there both are honer students an in gifted an talented , wonder sometimes if there mine ! haha.
  • i'm sure there are SOME schools that would let you in
  • When my third daughter was in day care, they had won a governor's award for excellence and received a special grant. They used the money to hire Sylvan tutors to come in a work with the children twice a week. The school called me to say that after they tested my daughter they found she was border-line genius and wanted to move her into the kindergarten class. She was four at the time. I had a friend in school who was in a similar situation and I remember her frustration and stress dealing with people older than she was. She was a bit of an outcast, wasn't able to drive when everyone else had their license, etc. I made the choice not to allow her to be promoted. I'm actually glad I did because she's still doing excellent in school but she has many friends her age and is very poplar with the students and faculty at her school.
  • Private school. It was advanced, more challenging. Mine learned to read in Pre K. Reading chapter books, writing "book reports"/ writing sentences in Kindergarten.
  • I'm going to be blunt and you're not gonnna like what I have to say, but you're screwed. The law is the law and if she's gonna go to public schook, you have to wait. No exceptions.
  • i think u can get her tested because there is a girl in my grade who started at four. but u have to talk to the school. there may be an advanced program for her to start in because if u put her in with out her friends she may feel shunned or left out
  • why in the hell would you want to put or 4 year old in kindergarten????? That is so great that she is very bright! KEEP HER HOME, INJOY HER. she is only little once, the year will go by so fast. just think of all the things you can do with her, places you can take her, give her YOUR TIME that will make her even more bright. there is noting more better then hands on experience. or maybe your the kind of mother that only thinks of her self . that wants to tell all her friends that HER daughter is SO BRIGHT that at 4 she is in kindergarten!!!! just remember that it takes more than brains to get through school. but your her mother i know you will do what is best for HER...
  • The only way around it is to maybe home school her. But really, all three of my children missed the date to be in kindergarten.....it is much better for them in the long run. I am not doubting your daughters brightness, but it really doesn't have anything to do with how bright they are.....it is how mature they are. They need to be ready and mature enough in order to be fully ready for kindergarten or any grade. Social skills will be needed for the rest of their lives. They need a good, firm foundation!
  • Why bother trying to get her into kindergarten now? Kindergarten has absolutely nothing to do with academics, it's about socialization. She may be smart, but I doubt she's emotionally ready. Give her the best advantage that you can and stimulate her brain at home by teaching her yourself. She can always skip a grade or two later on, say, after 4th or 5th grade, when it would do her the most good. And standardized testing of her IQ and scholastic performance would be a far better objective measure of whether she actually should skip ahead.
  • Take your daughter to a playschool type thing. Don't make them grow up too fast :)
  • Maybe some of the private schools would make an exception? I started pre-school at four (nearly five) and was advanced academically (could read at five) but wasn't emotionally or socially ready. It was the norm then and I was born towards the beginning of the year.
  • I would suggest you look into homeschooling. A lot of parents do that before they send off thier kids to school to incourage thier learning. As for getting around the rules. I don't think that would help her too much. She might be bright, but at this age, she needs you and more time to play. She'll get structure in learning soon enough.
  • I started when I was 3. At grad parties I was one of the very few who was not allowed to have alcohol, plus I wasnt invited to any grad parties because of my age.
  • Things could be different now than when when my child was more than ready for kindergarten and couldn't get in, but she came along just after the state changed the regulations. My son (a premie) had a November birthday but was more than ready (in all ways, including social and emotional) to start when he was four. A whole bunch of relatives were November babies, and the law allowed him to go. He was a top-of-the-class child straight through. Then my daughter came along. She would have been six weeks younger than he had been, but she was a child who actually longed to go to school from the time she was three. I didn't see her as ready at three (even though she was advanced on a lot of things), but by the year she was close to five she had been longing to go for over a year, and was more than ready. I brought all kinds of studies and my daughter's educational evaluation (very advanced "across the board") to our school committee, because they had the power to make an exception. One guy said this was an issue close to his heart (making an exception). Five people voted, and three of them (of course, buying the trend that a child "can't possibly be socially ready" a few months before five) voted against letting her attend. This was a gifted child, and throughout her school years she always suffered with not feeling quite as challenged as she should, as well as feeling older than her peers. She did well enough in school, and she's in college in now; but I found it incredibly ignorant that school officials were so incapable of digesting the idea that there actually can be a child who is close to five and absolutely more than ready (in all ways) to attend school. In fact, if some children are made to wait they may actually suffer with challenges to motivation throughout the school year. Teachers and school officials will give you the same old, "What parents don't understand is that children can be advanced but aren't socially/emotionally ready to start school." Baloney. Maybe a lot of parents don't understand that, but it is absolutely ignorant for anyone to be incapable of realizing that children like my son and daughter exist. They are not all that rare. So, in answer to your question, there is the chance you can hope you have a reasonably well informed and intelligent school committee; and you could start by asking them to consider making an exception. I happened to live in a town known for it's mediocre school system, so it was stupid of me to think that my advanced child would have had her abilities and development acknowledged (in the face of an evaluation, as well as other evidence) and have her education needs met.
  • Why not enrol her in a pre-school? If you look around, I think it's likely that you will find a good pre-school in your area that focuses on children's development and learning. They're often called "early childhood education centres." Of course, they cost money, which is unfortunate, but if your daughter is ready for school now and if you can afford it, they're worthwhile -- it's not just like babysitting, it is more like kindergarten, they develop curriculums and pay attention to the individual children and all that. The rules for admittance and any exceptions allowed would differ on a region-by-region basis I think. You should contact your school board to find out if they allow any exceptions. My birthday is in November and I entered kindergarten when I was 4, but that was 23 years ago and we probably live in different places.
  • let her go to kindergarten normally and wait a year or two and if she is still doing really good, then talk to the school about skipping a grade, but be ready for it to back fire be/c the older kids will pick on her.
  • I doubt it. My sister turned 5 TWO DAYS after the deadline and they made her wait an entire year before starting kindergarten.
  • So if my daughter is 4yo right now and turns 5 this November she could start kindergarden in Sept. of this year?
  • well some people are usually allowed to go at 4 but dont rush her right into school because she needs to go when she's ready which is usually around 5 or possibly 4

Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC

Answerbag | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy