SO the triplets were born Aug. 30th. Our cut off date for starting kinder. is Sept. 1st. so they just make it. Did you all send them to school when they were 5 for just a few days, making them the youngest in thier class, or did you just wait untill they turned 6? The trio are 3 and in a preschool through the schooldistrict where they get therapy. So, when they are 5 do they roll into kinder.? or can we keep them back a year? Does this make sence to anyone?

Zayn 3/6/04
Pari 8/30/06
Trevor 8/30/06
Larkin 8/30/06

Live for today, dream of tomarrow, remember all your yesterdays

My kids b-day is in January so I don't have any personal advice, but I have had a few friends that have dealt with this and have voluntered in the class and have seen how some of the younger kids have done. In K, some of the younger 5 year olds had more difficulty with issues of maturity (paying attention, following directions, grasping new concepts, and for some just even staying awake all day!) My DD had a boy in her K class that often feel asleep in the afternoons, all-day K was just too long for him. And of course a tired kid finds it even harder to follow directions, complete school work, play nice......
As far as academics, kids that start K off strong can develope a feeling of confidence in the classroom. They can focus on growing in other areas, helping the other kids in the class, working on relationships, adapting to the school routine, and so on. They can experience success in many areas and see themselves as "good" students, an image you want them to keep for the rest of their school years. For some kids who are struggling academically, it's harder for them deal with all the other issues when they are feeling frustrated with the school work. It can be hard to overcome the feeling that school is hard work and not much fun.
Another possible factor that applies to multiples is that you may have kids with very different abilities and needs. How might you deal with a possible recomendation for one of the kids to repeat K the following year (either for academic reasons, or for maturity reasons.) I've seen posts in the past from parents dealing with that painful decision. Do you push that child on anyways and hope you can help them catch up or do you hold that child back and deal with the pain from being held back when the sibling were not.
Your kids are young, it's hard to predict how ready they will be when the time comes but these are just some thoughts for you to keep in mind when the time comes.
Good luck,

Shell~
B/B/G 1/7/2000

Here in the state of FL the cut off is also Sept. 1st...they are VERY strict about it so your kids would have to wait the year since they were born Aug. 30th. My trios birthday is Dec. 21 so we were well past the cut off. But they were closer to 6 when they started Kindy, which was fine by me. I have a couple of friends with that early Sept. birthday and they held their children the extra year. I also have another friend who didn't and just held her son back to repeat 1st Grade. Personally I would rather have my kids be older than the youngest in the class. But that is just me. What these kids are learning in school is incredible. They are expected to know so much at an early age. If it were me I would wait and send them when they are 6.


Terri~
12/21/01 at 33 weeks

My ggg's were born Aug 30th as well and my schools cutoff date is Dec. 1st. I sent them because during their Kindergarten screening the teachers said they were ready. They are doing OK, not as well as I had hoped. They are in 3rd grade now and they really have to work for their grades. Honestly, if I had known then what I know now, I would have held them the extra year. It is very hard. I feel bad for them sometimes, they do struggle. To retain them (now at their age) may just send them right over the edge so that is not an option. They hold their head above water but I really do think the extra year would of helped them. This is just my experience, good luck with your decision.

Khrissys3girls

Mommy to Lindsey, Kaylee, & Carly born 8/30/01 at 31 weeks
AND John Thomas born 1/17/06 at 39w3d

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This was not an issue for us as my boys were 5 well before the cut off, but I would have definitely held them back a year if they were close at all. It has repeatedly been shown that the older ones fair better on so many areas - academic, social, physical... It is a personal choice and obviously they can survive if they go on the early side, but with what we know now - better to give them the advantage.

BTW - that does mean not starting K until 6 - maybe an extra year of pre-school and you could up their activities a bit if you think they need a little more challenge.

Good luck

Suzanne
BBB 4/00

Khrissy,

I've heard that a lot of kids catch up academically around 3rd grade or so. Like they have an "aha" moment. So the gaps be less for them very soon.

Don't beat yourself up over the choice you made. Maybe some summer tutoring would give them just the boost they need? Just a thought.

MonsterMom6
10 year old ^b^ b twins @ 30w5d (1 survivor) and
8 year old gggg quads @ 32w0d

They get summer tutoring and they will start tutoring in the late winter at the local college. Any little bit helps, I hope

Khrissys3girls

Mommy to Lindsey, Kaylee, & Carly born 8/30/01 at 31 weeks
AND John Thomas born 1/17/06 at 39w3d

http://lilypie.com>

http://lilypie.com>[/i

We waited on all of our kids.

DS born 9/21 for 9/30 cutoff. 32 weeker with EDD 11/25. He REALLY wasn't ready. Very easy decision.

DDs born 7/12 for 9/30 cutoff. EDD 9/5. Preschool recommended waiting for social. They were ready academically. Difficult decision, but they really weren't social until about Feb of preK5. Other girls in their class were more social from the beginning.

All are doing well socially AND academically.

One biggie for me was the opportunity to get them reading more independently. This is a HUGE asset when they can read their own homework sheets. With 5 kids, it helps to have them be independent learners.

Definitetely tell the preschool that you will be considering this and ask for the teachers to specifically address at conferences.

MonsterMom6
10 year old ^b^ b twins @ 30w5d (1 survivor) and
8 year old gggg quads @ 32w0d

I'm in the same boat. My trio will turn 5 on Sept. 26 next year and the cut-off for kinder in our area is Sept 30, so mine will just make it by 4 days. I am toying with the idea of holding them back and starting kinder right after they turn 6. I am looking at sending them to private pre-k for two years. Of course, I will see how they are doing when the time comes, but I'm leaning towards holding them back. This issue comes up a lot and from what I've read, most parents that have lived thru this same situation recommend holding children back if they are that close to the cut off date and seem academically or socially immature. In my school district, I have to notify the school in writting if I choose not to send my child to public kinder and they are 5 before the cut-off date.

When I was a child I was also in this same predicament. I turned 5 on Sept. 24 and again the cut-off date was Sept 30. I went to kinder just after turning 5 and I did struggle both academically and socially. I did catch up academically by about 4th grade, but I was always much more immature than my peers and I hated that. I think it affected my self-confidence all thru school.

Having multiples really compounds this issue since you don't want one child held back while two move on.

Good luck. You're definitely not alone on this one.

Joan
mom to Caroline, Erin and Robbie
born 9/26/05 @ 35 weeks
visit us at http://www.babyhomepages.net/greenetriplets

I think I would hold them another year. Boys especially need that extra year to mature. My 3 just turned 6 Aug. 29th after they had been in kindy a little over a week. Another girl also turned 6 the same day. Then there are kids in their class just turning 5 so it really is a personal choice. (personally, I think daycare cost is sometimes a factor)

Of course, the other day a parent/friend told me that one of my girls could pass for a 2nd grader. She's in the 95th percentile and I hope that holding her back doesn't make her size a bigger issue as she gets older. I think it is hard for girls to be the tallest in the class.

In making my decision I thought about the chance that if I had started them last year, the school may have suggested holding just one of them back. Also, it was good for them to learn more about social issues. Lastly, can you imagine heading off to college at only 17? That seems so young.

As for the therapy, my son had speech. Once he turned 5 they would no longer do home visits but would let him come to the school for sessions. It really helped all of them to get to know the school and teachers before starting this year. I'm not sure whether they would let them stay in preschool there another year or not. That would just depend on the beuracracy of your district. I think even if they wouldn't continue preschool I'd hold them back and send them to a private preschool/preK and just take them into the school for therapy.

I know the law here says they must be enrolled in school at age 6. Before the start of last year we had a meeting at the school about whether to send them or not and a veteran kindy teacher at the meeting told us afterward that we were making the right choice waiting a year. The cutoff here was Oct. 16 which would have been their 40 wk due date. It is good to think about this now and probably talk to their teacher(s) too. You will also have to decide whether to have them in the same or different classes in kindy too. Ah, life with triplets.

Andi
g/b/g
6 yr. old
triplets in kindy

Our cut off is Sept. 30 and their bday is Sept. 25.

I would wait and decide at the end of the pre-K year to decide based on their progress then. We decided to hold them back in pre-K one year because one was "just not ready". The others were "borderline". During the next year they caught up great including the "behind" one being the first to read and tie his shoes!

Maybe they would have done well if we had sent them on but they are doing GREAT now. We have no regrets whatsoever.

I don't know about my school, but my SIL said in their private school most kids near the cutoff get held back just due to age. I don't think it ever hurts to give them more time. It's not odd here anymore where we have grade T-1 (for those who finish K but are "not ready" for 1st for whatever reason) and so many kids are a year older from 1st grade on.

One thing we reminded ourselves of was that if they had not been preemies it wouldn't have been an issue.

Kari S.

Mom to BBB 21, 18, 14
BBG 9/25/01

Hillyt mom to
Ian 11
Ella, Holly, Jilly 6
Hadley 3

My trio is a Aug 30 also. We started last year at age 4 on schedule. They have done great, and had no real issues that any other kid does not face. I am happy with the decision.

My boys were born on Sept. 18th. They were 29 weekers. I chose to keep them back a year and I am so glad that I did. Boys also tend to mature later anyways. Mine have struggled with school since they started. We also found out last year that 2 of them have ADHD which makes it alot harder for them and me. I can imagine the struggle would have increased if I sent them right at 5. Another issue is that it has been better for the boys, and for most kids that I have seen, to be the older of the kids in the class instead of younger. Maturity wise and kids can be cruel and love to pick on the younger ones. I also figure when they hit puberty and such as they get older, it will be better for them to be ahead rather than behind. My opinion is that this starts a big portion of their life...It's better to be safe than sorry. JMHO. Good luck,

Jill
(29wk triplets)
Julia(8-22-96)
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