There always seems to be conversations taking place about when to send your child to kindergarten. It’s not as clear cut as you might think. Especially for those summer birthdays. Where we live, many go to kindergarten as 6 year olds. The parents opt to wait a year, making them one of the oldest instead of one of the youngest. I totally understand why many would make that choice. I have lots of friends who made that decision and I support them fully. If given different circumstances, I might make that choice too. But I didn’t.
I sent my 4-year-old off to kindergarten this week. Yes, she’s only 4. She’s in class with 5 and 6-year-olds. I’ve had people criticize my decision. But that’s the thing. It’s MY decision. Mine and my husband’s. She makes the cut off by 2 days and we feel like going to kindergarten now is the right decision for her – we know it’s not for everyone.
She did preschool for 2 years. She’s got an older brother so we knew what expectations there would be for her in kindergarten and we feel confident that she’ll be able to meet and even exceed some of those expectations. She is probably the youngest student in the entire school and also one of the smallest, but she’s got a big personality and can hold her own. Plus she’s got a whole slew of 2nd graders watching out for her – thanks to her big brother!
So far, and I know we’re only on day 3, it’s proving to be the right choice for our daughter.
She is loving everything about kindergarten. She’s already learning a lot and making new friends. Her confidence is booming. She’s so proud of herself and we are too.
If we feel she’s not quite ready to tackle college at 17, that’s okay… she can wait until she is ready.
But for now, let’s just all agree that we know our kids best. Kids are all different and grow, learn and mature at their own pace. There is no one right way. Someone has to be the oldest and someone has to be the youngest and I bet they’ll all be successful in kindergarten and beyond!