When we were expecting Mateo and realized he would have a fall birthday, I remember being a little bit sad that he would be almost 6 by the time he entered kindergarten. And, in fact, he now has a number of older friends, some by just a few months, that will be going to kindergarten this year, while he stays in preschool for another year.
I'm not sad about it anymore though. A lot of my anxiety about it was alleviated by reading Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell, which outlines research showing that older kids in their grade have an advantage that comparatively younger classmates generally don't catch up with. But, more than that, Mateo is so clearly going to be ready next year and not this year. He has had a couple of occasions this summer in which he was grouped with slightly older peers, making him the youngest in the group, and has struggled with various things as part of those groups.
Today, we went to his first gymnastics class and, again, he was the youngest one there, and he had a rough time. I don't know how much of that is due to age and how much it is just his personality, but he didn't want to engage with anything the class was doing and opted to just not participate because he felt so shy. I have a feeling that another year will do wonders in that arena. As well, like many boys, he struggles with fine motor skills like writing and drawing anything beyond a scribble, and I'm glad he'll have another year to work on that before entering school. Finally, he's on the smaller side physically and having another year to grow is another positive.
So, it's clear that in almost every way, starting kindergarten next year will be the best thing for him. The only drawback is that he is intellectually ready to go right now. He's doing third grade material in his reading comprehension program and is breezing through it like it's easy. He's not as advanced in math or other subjects, but he can really read and he understands what he's reading. Sacha and I have been blown away by his ability to pick out the definitions of complicated words without a single word of advice from us.
So, I hope that his future school will be able to challenge him in that arena while also helping him out in subjects that don't come as naturally. It's hard to believe that in just one more year, our first baby will be a schoolkid! I'm really glad we get another year of him being a preschooler. School will come soon enough and there's plenty of time for that. These early years really do go by so fast and now I'm glad for that Halloween birthday, because it lets us enjoy him at this stage for just a little bit longer...and then send him to school when he is really ready to go. Hooray, October!
4 comments:
Here the cut off for the school year is December 31st, our son was born January 11th, which will make him among the eldest when he starts. Like you, I think it will end up working out to his advantage. I teach kindergarten, and though it's not always the case, often the older students seem to do better both academically and socially. I hope that whatever school your son starts out in he is challenged. It might be worth meeting with the teacher after the first month to see if they are aware of his abilities and making sure to accommodate them.
Hooray, October! I feel the same way about Nikos having an October birthday. Most of the kids he knows have one more year of preschool, then kindergarten, and he won't even start preschool (2 years) until the fall. It does stink, though, that so many activities (soccer, etc.) are age-based-- he ALWAYS ends up being the youngest in the group, when he's do so much better if he could be with the younger ones. Soccer annoyed me in particular, because they would not let me move him to the younger group, even though he had JUST turned two on the first day of lessons!
I can tell you from experience that M being older will help in the long run. My oldest-who will be 22 in Oct was 6 weeks over the cut off point when school started. I was pissed because he was ready to go.However I know it was the best thing for him in the long run. He was always a leader and kept his teachers on their toes. Today he is a senior in college majoring in Meteorology.
My sentiments almost exactly. I feel lucky to have another year at home with Sorel.
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