Should I redshirt my Kindergartener
Many parents, including myself, have either asked this question or decided to “redshirt” their Kindergartner. This has become much more popular as school is becoming harder for our young children. Giving your child the extra year of growth by putting them in a Transitional Kindergarten or keeping them home an extra year is a tough decision! My very dear friend, Kristy McKito, wrote an article on this for her preschool and I would love to share it with you. She and I share similar views on many topics and she is a wonderful resource for many subjects, including this one. Here is what Kristy has shared…
Dear Prospective TK Parent,
If this introduction got your attention, you have probably been thinking about if TK will be a good fit for your child.
Let me share my perspective with you…
WHO AM I?
I am a former Kindergarten teacher and currently work as a Developmental Play Therapist for North Carolina’s Early Intervention program.
I am also a parent of a TK graduate (class of 2012) and I plan on sending my rising 5 year old to TK in the fall.
THE GIFT OF TIME
I have no regrets about giving my child the “gift of time” and I’m happy to share her experience with you!
What is all the hype about the “gift of time”? This gift has been without a doubt a huge contributor to my child’s success in Kindergarten this year.
The “gift of time” allowed my child to:
Continue to learn through play based activities. (Research proves that the best way for young children to learn is through play. However, most public schools have no time to implement play based activities into their rigid academic schedules.)
Strengthen fine motor skills (Learning how to properly hold a pencil and write letters and words in proper formation is a skill that is no longer taught, but expected in Kindergarten.)
Learn at her own pace without pressure or a timeline of learning objectives. (Yes, she did learn many NEW things beyond letters and numbers and was reading upon entering Kindergarten.)
Gain confidence in her knowledge and abilities. Her fear of failure subsided. An “I can do it!” attitude emerged.
Grow spiritually (Daily opportunities for prayer, biblical based discussions and weekly chapel lessons with peers and teachers helped tremendously with this growth.)
Grow socially and emotionally. (She is an introvert by nature. She may always be an introvert. However, an extra year in an environment that was already familiar to her, gave my daughter another year of opportunities to develop positive interpersonal relationship skills with peers and adults.)
BORED?
The main concern I hear from other parents who are undecided about TK is: “I worry he/she will be bored in Kindergarten!”
My TK graduate is thriving in Kindergarten and IS NOT BORED! Why?
Teachers are encouraged and expected to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of the students.
She is part of a literacy enrichment group to further support and enhance her literacy skills.
She has become a leader in the class and enjoys helping others.
Her confidence has enabled her to take risks without fear of being wrong or not doing it the right way. She challenges herself and sets herself up for success!
MY SUGGESTIONS
Think about the whole child. Is he/she ready: Physically? Socially? Emotionally? Intellectually? Can he/she take care of personal needs without adult intervention? If even one piece of the puzzle is missing, your child may benefit tremendously from TK.
Think beyond K. Do you want your child to always be one of the youngest in the class or would you prefer for him/her to be one of the oldest? Consider the middle school and high school years and all the developmental, social, emotional and academic challenges that occur during those tween and teen years. Think about sending your child off to college as he/she JUST turns 18…
Base your decision on more than just Kindergarten.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I know many parents who say, “I wish I would have sent my child to TK”, but have yet to meet a parent who says “I wish I hadn’t done it.”
Personally, I am not in a hurry for my children to grow up. I honestly believe that by choosing TK, I gave my child an extra year of childhood.
The “gift of time” will also be given to my 2nd daughter in the fall. We will embrace it together!
STILL UNDECIDED? I recommend reading these books:
Outliers: The Story of Success (Malcolm Gladwell)
Better Late Than Early (Raymond Moore)
Kindergarten: It Isn’t What It Used to Be (Susan K. Golant and Mitch Golant)
Find them here:
Now it is time for you to decide: should I redshirt my Kindergartener?
Read this post on Your Child Learning to Read or this one on Teaching your child their letters & sounds in one week!
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SEE OUR OTHER POSTS ON RAISING YOUR KIDS
If are considering TK for your child and live in the Lake Norman area, be sure to check out Sonshine Preschool at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Cornelius. Registration for the fall is happening NOW and openings fill up fast!
I look forward to reading some of those books. We’ll be looking for a TK for our son who is a late September baby. He’ll need something but I know he won’t be ready for Kinder yet. Thanks for posting!
I read Outliers- our son’s endocrinologist actually told us to read it b/c we are debating holding him (April b-day) and he said that you should hold any child that you can hold & the proof is in the statistics, then he led me to this book.
I still have not made a decision yet, but I am very happy that we held our August b-day son last year. He was ready to go academically, but he was shy. It was a wonderful decision.
Our son also has a late August birthday, and although we didn’t do anything very formal, we simply waited a year to start kindergarten. Yes, he was reading when he finally started school, but he was not the only one and the teacher accommodated these students. He is very confident in school and has emerged as a leader, whereas, I am not sure he would’ve otherwise. Also, he is in fifth grade this year, and I think Middle School would’ve been pretty overwhelming at this point. I have always been grateful for the extra year. No regrets.
Jenni- that is EXACTLY our story.
I feel the same way!
I agree so much! My sons both had birthdays that allowed them to be pretty much the eldest in their classes, and it helped in every aspect of their lives. I started school early, couldn’t drive when everyone else did, and was a college student who couldn’t vote. Although I excelled academically and socially, always being the youngest gave me a chip on my shoulder it took me a long time to get rid of.
Great post
Thanks for sharing at Thriving Thursday 
I’m homeschooling and started doing Kindergarten work w/ my son this year. He turned 5 in the middle of August. However, we are now having him evaluated for Aspergers (if he has it, it will be mild, but there are definitely some issues), ADD, Dyslexia, etc. to try and see what is at the root of his problems.
When all is said and done, I wish I hadn’t given in to pressure to start him this year and had waited until next year. As it is, I have backed off, and we’re just calling this year “pre-school” now and will probably repeat/start over w/ Kindergarten again next year.
Also, for sports and other issues, I think it would be best for boys especially to be on the “older” side rather than the “younger” side.
I know- it is a really tough decision! Let me know what the diagnosis is after you have him evaluated. I am a play therapist (one day a week). I have a board on my pinterest page labeled “Play Therapy” if you want to check it out- it might have some helpful tools for you. Good luck. I know that is hard what you are going through (read my post under KIDS: Teaching them to just look up).
I do have to say though, that my bday is in October and I missed our county’s cut off by 20 days. So, I was the oldest person in my class, except for a few kids who failed/were held back. Just like the above person had problems being the youngest, I always had problems being the oldest, but I think for boys especially being the oldest would be better than being the youngest. My son is playing basketball on a kindergarten team where most of the boys are a year older than him and you can definitely tell a big difference in that one year.
We held my oldest (with a summer birthday) back a year and it was such a great decision for HER needs! Thank you for this information. Great Advice !! I would love to invite you to link up at our Share It Saturday linky party. We have lots of creative ideas submitted each week and you would fit right in! http://www.sugaraunts.com/2013/02/share-it-saturday-7-and-our-week-in.html
We also are inviting all contributors to join us on our Share It Saturday Group Pinterest page as a collaborator. It is a great way to have your posts seen by new viewers! The link for the Pinterest page is on our post. Hope to see you there!
Colleen at Sugar Aunts
Thanks- I’ll be there.