For the past few weeks I've been debating whether or not I should send my 4-year-old son to Kindergarten come fall. The cut-off is October 1 and his birthday is the last day of August, so for all intents and purposes, he meets the age requirement. But does that means he's ready? I kind of went through a similar debate with my daughter, whose birthday is at the end of July, but we were pretty confident she was ready much quicker than with our son.
So, how do you determine if your child is ready for Kindergarten?
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Well, that depends on who you talk to. Some say it has to do with maturity and not just age. Others say it's all about academic abilities. Behavior and size are also two factors to consider.
After talking to his preschool teacher, my husband and I have decided that our son will be ready to start Kinder in the fall for the following reasons:
1. Preschool experience. My son has been going to preschool for the past two years. He goes every day for five hours and for seven hours twice a week because he stays in after care. He loves being there and I admit I'm impressed by everything he's learned there. Not only academically, but also socially. He's never had any discipline problems and his pre-K teacher feels he'll be fine.
2. Boredom. After two years of preschool, I think my son would be extremely bored doing the same exact stuff for another year. He may not know how to write all the letters of the alphabet, but I like the idea of him being challenged. Otherwise, I think he'd lose interest.
3. Gets along fine with older kids. My boy makes friends extremely easily and not all of them are his same age. In fact, two of the kids he gets along with the best are at least one year older than him. So while he'll most likely be one of the youngest kids in his class, I don't think he'll have any problems fitting in and getting along with the older ones.
4. He's super excited. At least once a day, Santiago asks me if he's going to Kindergarten the next day because he obviously has no real concept of time just yet. His sister has been going to the elementary school a couple of blocks from our house for three years and he just can't wait to join her. He's been to his future classroom and already knows his way around the school because of his sister. In his mind, he's totally ready to go!
5. Mother's instict. It may not mean much to some, but deep down inside, I feel this is the right decision for my son. And, in the end, that's all that counts.
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