hi Cara, no i dont think your nuts or making a big deal about their age. My heavens, mine were 5, aug 7th and were the youngest in their class and it shows in their maturity levels and able to handle the school curriculum. Yours would be almost 6 months younger than mine are and in the same "age appropriate" class as set by school districts/society or what have you. The curriculum these kids have in first grade is unbelievable in my book, and it starts in kindergarten, with an "agenda" of things to teach, although their still is alot of fun/games and projects in K. Round here that stops in 1st grade. If you havent perused my thread on 1 of mine repeating 1st grade, you may want to read the thread here in vets forum, it gives alot of insight and the triplet dynanamic we are facing here. Also, visit the school, see about the curriculum for K, as well as 1st incase 1 or more of yours ends up in my predicament, not quite with it yet, where its gonna snowball to. I truely wish i had it to do over again, and would have kept them out a year...theres always help and alternatives in higher grades if they were to end up high achievers,oldest in their classes and bored, etc...but not much resources to help if they can't keep up and make the grade as the slowest, least mature, youngest. The thought just never crosses my mind not to start...they were age appropriate on counting to ten, recognizing colors,etc..and around here PreK started at 4yo, K is 5 yo, i knew no other, nor had any inclination that maybe i should hold them back due to their young age (birthday)..now i see they want rocket scientists by the time they graduate elementary school and im i a jam..
good luck
triozoo bb/g 8-7-97

My triplets will be five in October, but I do not plan to start them until the following year since we will be going by the guidelines determined by our state. In our state, children must be five by either August or September, so we will just barely miss the cutoff date. While I think my kids are ready academically, I do not think they are all ready emotionally. My girls are also fairly small, so I think another year of growing will be best for them. Personally, I would wait until they meet the state recommended criteria...I mean, the states have these guidelines for a reason, you know what I mean? They will be grown and gone before we know it...I want to let mine be "little" for as long as possible. Just my two cents

Hi Cara,
I struggled with this decision when my son was in preschool. Here in Indiana the cut off was to be 5 by June 1st (now it is July 1st) but the trend in the Catholic schools was to hold back spring boys and give them a chance to mature. Our schools also give a maturity test to see how the child falls. My son turned 5 the week of the test and his scores fell between 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 so we ended up sending him to public kindergarden so the next year we could decide if he should repeat kindergarden in the catholic school or go right into 1st grade. He ended up going right to 1st grade and has done very well.
My girls turned 5 on the cut off day so we decided to hold them back a year. it was definately the right decision. Though they could do the school work they are quite shy and I think it really helps them to be alittle older.
My suggestion is to find out your states cut off date, what your school prefers and maybe get a maturity test done if they are in conflict. Even if you think your children are ready, if all the other children are 6 mos to a year older, your children WILL be at a disadvantage.
Good luck, who thought deciding on kindergarden would be such a tough decision!!

Judie and Victor
lucky parents to
Frankie 3/95
Maggie 7/96
Rose 7/96
Elizabeth 7/96

Judie and Victor
lucky parents to
Frankie 3/95
Maggie 7/96
Rose 7/96
Elizabeth 7/96

Cara,

This is a big deal for families and deserves a great deal of thought. I was *always* the youngest (or one of the youngest) in my class, my birthday is at the end of May, I graduated high school 4 days after my 18th birthday, and graduated college a few weeks before my 22nd birthday. For me, being younger was never a problem. Having a birthday in December, they may actaully be some of the older children in school. I would really talk to your children's teacher(s), because they can provide AMAZING insight on whether or not they feel your children are ready to go to kindergarten.

IMHO, as a teacher, *in general* when boys are much younger then their classmates they have a rougher time. Maturity level and development level are further behind which could cause problems later on. However, with a December birthday, I really don't see any reason you could not enroll them in school. But the decision is yours, and shold fit your family. GL!

Elizabeth
AABC Mommy to:
Adriana 4-14-01
Brittan 4-14-01
Cameron 4-14-01
Abbey 3-14-02

Definitely check with your school district as to the cutoff date for your area. I live in CA and the cutoff is one of the latest in the nation - Dec. 20th I believe. My triplets were born in Jan. and the are NOT the oldest kids in their class. My oldest son is 10 years old with a June birthday. He is the second youngest in his class. There is definitely a trend to holding kids back.

The curriculum is soooooo much more difficult that just a few years ago. From personal experience, the kids I see that struggle tend to be the fall birthdays. Many of them are retained in kindergarten not because they can't do the work but that they need another year to just grow up! Time to learn how to sit still for longer periods of time, to focus on academics, to know how to forge friendships.

I truly feel that you should know the trends and figure out what is best for your children.

Best wishes,

Sharon
6 year old b/b/b + 10 year old son

I know that in different areas of the country different trends are followed as far as starting kids in school. In our area the trend is to wait. My oldest son turned 6 in Dec of his Kindergarten year. For him that was perfect. With our triplet sons we waited until they were 6 to send them because they have an August 31 birthday. That also worked perfectly for us. They were due Nov. 3 so they would have had to wait anyway so we decided to give them the gift of time.

I also teach reading and math support in our local elementary school. From what I have observed is that the younger kids usually struggle more if not in academics, then in social skills. Ofcourse not every young student has difficulty but many of them do. We can usually pick out the youngest students in class just by observing their behavior and abilities.

These are your children and you will be able to make the best decision for them.

mom to:
Ryan 32 The Lawyer
Jason 30 The Chief Meteorologist
Chris 30 The College Student
Tim 30 The college grad

I love hearing their versions of their childhood memories!!

Hi Cara,

When I had to make that decision, ( my trio is now 14 and in the 8th grade), I also remember losing sleep over it. Their bithday is the end of October, so they would have been 4 years old entering kindergarten. I have 2 boys and 1 girl, so there was definately a difference in maturity ( my daughter being ready, but not my boys). I asked everyone I could, and every mom that had waited was glad they did, every mom that didn't, had wished they did. I went to the open house at the school, and all 3 kindergarten teachers told me it would be to their benefit to wait until the next year. I can honestly tell you, it was the best decision for us. They have never struggled, and it has always been to their benefit to be older. Now that they are going into high school in the fall ( how can that be possilbe!!!), they all have a 3.5 GPA and higher. They grow up so fast, enjoy one more year with them before putting them in school, Once they are there, time goes by in a flash. It seems like I turned around, and they are grown.

Good luck in your decision

Coletta

Hi Cara, I think I remember you from way back when ! Welcome back! My kids are about the same age as yours ( 3 weeks younger). Our cutoff date here in Texas is 9/1 and my Girls will be 5 1/2 when they start kindergarten so they will be older than most of the others. I don't think age will matter much as long as the necessary skills are in place. I don't know for sure- this will be my 1st experience as the mommy!( I used to teach pre-k.):D

Korrie~
^i^B/G/G 24 w 3d,1/17/00
B 10/31/01
B 1/27/03

<a href="http://lilypie.com"><img src="" alt="Lilypie Kids birthday Ticker" border="0" /></a>

I have a different perspective than some, but had a similar situation. My kids were born on Aug 20th (due in Oct) and the cutoff date for kindergarten here is Sept 30th. It depends a lot on what the cut-off date is in your school district, when you are making your decision. If your kids are close to the cut-off date, they may be the youngest, but even if they are, then there will most likely be some others close in age. If the cut-off date is later in the year, then their peers/expectations/and the curriculum would probably be different than other districts, where the cut-off date is early.

NOT everyone who has placed their kids in school according to the cut-off dates, who has younger kids regrets the decision !!!! A lot of people who have held their kids back seem to like to say that about others, and it is not true !!!! There are now 6 kids out of 47 in two second grades at our school who are very close in age to my kids, for a total of 9 'younger' kids. All of the kids, including mine, are doing well academically and socially. My three and 4 of the other 6 are all in the TAG (talented and gifted) program at school too.

My kids were initially upset that a lot of their friends were older than them, but when I explained to them that they were going to school at the right age and that maybe some other kids weren't ready for school at their age, they felt a lot better about it. They knew that they were smart enough to do so. I have let them know that under no circumstances, are they to allude to that though, so they are not 'bragging' kwim ?
Some districts will not allow your children to be held back a year, just as almost all districts will not allow children to be enrolled early. I personally agree that children should not be allowed to be held back simply to give them an advantage. There are obviously exceptions that should be made for legitimate reasons.
We have several kids in our school who were held back purely to give their kids an advantage. One kid's parents have made it clear they held their son back to give him an athletic advantage }> . Other families have said they just wanted their kids to be more advanced academically than their 'peers', when actually they aren't their peers they are being compared too.
I have heard of schools recently that seperate the kindergarten classes into younger and older kids, in order to give the younger kids a more 'even playing field' and I think that is a good solution. One of my boys is very small, and most likely always will be compared to his classmates, until he has a delayed growth spurt late in his teens (according to his endocronologist). That was very worrysome for my husband for his social development. He is actually very well adjusted socially and academically, despite his 'disadvantages'. He is often commended for his skills in those areas .

I just wanted you to know that not everyone is sorry that they put their kids in school according to the school districs guidelines, despite being on the younger end.

Lorraine

Lorraine

Reach for the heart of God and not just His hands.
Organ donation saves lives!
Life happens when love is given.


http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/bradenwild

Cara,
I am struggling with this decision myself. My boys will be 5 yrs on June 2nd (but not due until Sept. 7th). They have been in a preschool program through the school district since they turned 3 yrs. They have done very well even though some of the other kids in their preschool class have turned 5. I have talked to the boys teacher about this and she thinks that I should enroll them in kindergarten next year. If we don't they won't be in preschool (as there is no way we could afford a private preschool), and she feels as if they will "lose" alot if not in a school setting. The structure of school has really helped, as well as getting to interact with other children.

Our school district also has mixed grades...They have a 1st/2nd grade class, 2nd/3rd grade class and so on. The students in these classes usually stay with the same teacher for 2 years. I haven't had my daughter enrolled in one of them mixed classes but from what I hear from other parents it is very beneficial.

My main concern would be that one day one of the boys would be held back. They are individuals, but being triplets I don't think this would be very good for their self-esteem as they get older.

So much to think about, but I'll probably go with the teachers recommendation of starting them in kindergarten in the fall. We'll just have to see how these next few months go.

Besides talking with their teachers, is there certain "criteria" they should meet before starting kindergarten. I don't think they do any type of testing here.

Good luck to all of you!

Angel (mom to Justin, Andrew, Brandon 9 yrs, Angie 15 yrs)

Hi, Cara,

I just wanted to add the perspective of someone with older children, although I don't have triplets.

If your children are young for their class when they enter school, then they'll be young for their class all the way through school. That means that they'll be among the last in their class to qualify to play some sports and participate in some activities, to develop physically, and, eventually, to drive.

That said, we made a mistake with our youngest son by not starting him earlier. (He has a September birthday and the cutoff in WA state is August 31, but we could have qualified him based on readiness.) Because he's the youngest, he's accustomed to playing with older children. For the first two years of school, he didn't want to have much to do with his classmates, because he considered them to be "babies."

That won't happen with your triplets, but I thought it might be a consideration for other parents. I hope you don't mind the intrusion from a non-triplet parent.

Best of luck,
Jen

Auntie Jen
Mom to 3 teens <sigh>
Aunt to bbg triplets 10/30/03

In our school distict if you are not 5 by December 1st there is no getting in for that school year, my dd who is now 8 started early, she was 5 on November 28th, so with that being said I would definately wait because 1/2 way through the year every grade she struggles, I get her back on her feet but I have always wondered if she started too young.
On the other hand my triplets will be 5 on January 14th so they will not start til 5 1/2 and I hate to wait another year when they are almost 6, but I hope they have the advantage because I would hate to see them struggle too!
Denise
G/B/G 1.14.00 & G 11.28.95

Denise
G/B/G 1.14.00 & G 11.28.95