Prep School & ages

[Sonya C]

Hello All,

I haven't been to this site since my boy was born (back in 04) so I'm feeling quite rusty!

This is my dilemma: My boy turns 4 mid June this year. Two weeks AFTER his birthday, the cut off for prep entry for 2009 kicks in.

So, do I send him to prep at 4 & 1/2 and have him in a class with kids that are up to 12 mths older than him? Or do I hold him over for another 12 months, send him at 5 & 1/2 and have him be older by up to 12mths than the other kids in his class.

Not such an issue now I guess, but I was reading that to hold him over could lead to a child being bored and alienated from his younger classmates. the flip side is to send him and have him compete both intellectually and with maturity against kids up to a year older.

All thoughts appreciated.

Ta,
Sonya

[MummaBear03]

It depends on his development. You're lucky, my girl was ready this year but missed the cut off, but you get to choose. Is he ready to go to full time schooling? Is he ready for the social interaction? Is he ready for the learning side of it? Is he ready to sit and listen to a teacher?

Just go by what you feel is best for him. I really don't think it should be age-based at all, but alas it is, I think it needs to go on their own personal development and lucky you, you can decide if he's ready or not so good luck with your decision :)

[MyFab4]

My DS2 will be 5 in June (8th) and I had trouble deciding whether or not to send him to Prep this year because he would be one of the younger ones. I did send him and he is loving it, learning new things, making new friends. I am now happy I made that choice as it was the right one for my DS. I feel better about it too because he has a wonderful teacher who taught DD1 in Grade 1.

I didn't know you had the option of holding them back, I thought if you didn't send them this year they would have to go straight to Grade 1 next year.

[2girls&1boy]

I am at the other end of the scale. My DD is 4 in July this year so therefore starts prep in 2010.

I guess you just have to assess whether you feel they are ready to start as it isn't compulsory. My 2nd daughter is born in May and will therefore be only 1 year behind her older sister at school although she is 2 years younger. I will assess at the time how she is going as I feel her development has been a lot slower than my eldest.

Good luck with your decision.

[~CupCakes~]

can u chose?:confused: i know you can chose not to send them, but i thought they then just went to grade one the next year! i thought that the child had to be 5 buy 30june of that year. thats the info i got since i've been looking into this. because ds bday is oct '04 he starts 2010 and dd#1 bday aug '06 starts 2012 but dd#2 bday mar '08 starts 2013! so annoying all two years apart in age but dd#1 and dd#2 one year apart at school!

[Coffee]

I wish I could chose. My Son turns 4 in August and therefore he misses out on Prep next year.

It's just not fair, that they don't have a possibilities to go earlier.

A friend of my son is born on July 1 and he has to wait til the year after, to go to prep..

I didn't know, that if you hold them back, they can go to prep the year after. I thought you go straight to grade 1 then, as Prep isn't compulsory..

[boy wrangler]

I would be looking at whether the class you are thinking of is truly play-based. A lot of prep teachers are not early childhood trained, and do not have a good understanding of play-based curriculum. I'm an early years teacher (on maternity leave) and at an inservice I went to there was a Yr 7 teacher being moved down to do a prep class the following year! She had no prior experience in the Early Years and was really stressing.

Look carefully at the school, and their philosophy of early years.

Also, look carefully at your son and make the decision based on whether he is ready. I totally agree with Mummabear, he has to be ready to do all those things, and deal with being at school from 8:30 to 3 five days a week. It is a big change for them.

My ds (11 months) is born in May and I'm thinking about starting him a year later, purely because as a teacher, I've seen the difference between the kids born at the start of the year and those born at the end. But it's a decision that can't be made until closer to the time because I've also seen kids born at the start of the year struggle, and those younger ones excel and find their element at school.

It really depends on your boy, and the type of class he'll be going into.

Good luck! :flowerz:

[rynosmum]

I'm in the exact same dilemma as you. My son will only be 4 and a half at his prep intake (another June bub). I've done a bit of research though and as some of the other ladies indicate, have been told that I can choose not to send him but can't hold him back for a year without serious assessable delays.

DS goes to pre-school 3 days per week at the moment and every day we work at counting, writing and spelling before bed (which luckily he really enjoys). It has replaced the nighttime story routine although every three or 4 days we will read a book or look through a scrapbook instead as a little break.

I don't want him to be challenged when he gets to Prep next year so we have a chalkboard setup in the loungeroom and we make a game out of learning to draw numbers and letters. We have a great counting book that has the numbers from 1 - 100 in it and he loves to read the numbers each night, just last night I started choosing random double-digit numbers for him to identify and he started to pick up on that which is good. We use flash cards, stickers, magnets, whatever we can. Luckily, he sees this as heaps of fun. I'm hoping that it will prepare him for Prep as it seems that this is our only option.

It's a hard one, isn't it?:confused:

[MyFab4]

rynosmum that is how I thought it worked, you could only hold them back if they were delayed or they had to go to Grade 1.

[Kell26]

Hi

I have the same trouble. My son is born on the 26th may 04 and just misses the cut off. I rang queensland education and asked about delaying their entry to 2010 instead of putting him in in 2009 and they said that any public school has to take him it is called a delayed entry.

I also work in child care and know from this that usually boys are a little later to mature and i know that my son hasn't yet showed much interest in sitting and writing, colouring etc. He is starting to show a little interest but would rather be kicking a ball or building with blocks etc. I think you just have to go by your gut instinct and do what you feel is right for your child. No one knows your child like you do as a parent. So we have made the desicion to keep him back and to start the prep year in 2010 just so he is a little more mature, has more of an attention span and then he will be older finishing school too.

Kell

[MyFab4]

Kell26, your little one sounds like my eldest boy. He is a March birthday, and we held off sending him to school until the year he was turning 6. We were in NSW at the time so it was Kindergarten which is equivalent to our Grade 1. It was the right decision for him, he has always done well at school and I'm happy I held him back. He is now in his last year of Primary School and is Vice Captain. He is still very sporty but also does well acedemically.
DS2 started prep this year and he is a June birthday which makes him one of the youngest, but he loves it and is doing well. He has learnt alot already, he loves sharing all the new things he's learnt with us. I wasn't sure about sending him but I am very happy with my decision.
You're right about it depending on the individual child.

[WorkingClassMum]

We kept DS back

He made the Victorian end of April cut off by three days and could have gone the year he turned 5.

He started the year he turned 6 and it was the best thing for him.

After speaking to many many many people and parents - especially parents of boys - they all recommended holding the boys back. I even spoke to teachers where I work and the kinder teacher, our GP (father of 11 kids), DS's ENT and Paed. Allergist.

I especially spoke to parents of much older boys (and girls) - and the general consensus from all parents is to give the child the extra year at home.

In fact - only one person said that DS SHOULD go - and that was my stepmonster :rolleyes: - which sealed it for me:yes:

DS is not the eldest in his class. In fact most of the boys are turning 7 this year.