Would you apply if it were your son?

[Ginger]

i tend to agree with meow on this one- i'd be leaning towards keeping him down. have you read 'raising boys' at all?
i don't think it would hurt to have the assessment done and then make a decision from there, but i would prefer to have him staying down in kinder than in actual school if it were me.

[Trillian]

I just had a look at the Tasmanian education site to see if you meant school-school or just kinder and it sounds like you mean kinder/preschool? If that's so, then yes I would send him. My eldest is a late Feb bub so he was still only 3 when he started preschool/kinder and he turned 4 three weeks into the school year. There was one boy who was born in the March of the year before him, so he was nearly a full year older than him but being a March bub he was held back. I did have concerns but I knew he was ready ITMS. He could still be a bit shy so I wondered if socially he was ready rather than academically because I knew there was no problems in that respect. I think what the Principal told you about leadership/excelling academically is rubbish TBH - people are either leaders or they aren't as you say and it's not something that comes with being a certain age either. Either way you have nothing to lose by having the assessment done at least and if he gets in, it's not a full time week either by what I'm reading on the dept of education site so he wont be going everyday and get worn out.

[Ginger]

i'm confused now
do you mean kinder or school?
it's so hard with every state being totally different

[Arimeh]

Its ridiculous with every state being different. I am talking about Kinder, 3 days a week it is. Then I guess they go on to grade 1 the year after?

Whoever asked how big he is (sorry, forgotten who it was) he's quite tall for his age, so I don't think he will look like he doesn't belong there.

Interesting about the theory about starting boys later though. My main concern is that I won't be able to create enough stimulation for him and he'll get bored. We already do mathematics workbooks together which he really likes, but I hate doing that kind of thing in case I'm doing it wrong cos obviously I'm not a teacher.

If he doesn't make it in, its not a problem - its not like I'm begging him to be accepted - if he's not ready, he's not ready. no biggie. My cousin is homeschooling her kids though (she is a teacher) so I think I might see if she will take him for a couple of hours a week or something, just so he is doing something with that sponge in his head!! lol

Thanks guys, everyone has raised really good points

ETA: Just got a reply back from his daycare people "we feel it is a great idea for him to try to get early start. He joins in well with children in group settings & is very advanced with his cognitive & motor skills."

[{sarah}]

I see I see, what you're talking about is like preschool or prep or kinder, not big school yeah?

If it's not a full week, proper "big school" then I would be pushing to send him for sure

[onthefly]

Wow, I didn't know each state was different... I'm going to have to look and see what it is here. confused.

But, back on topic, if it's kinder, then sure, I'd do the test and go from there. 3 days a week is not so full on, and you can always reassess later on if it doesn't seem to be right. I think at this point you'd know best whether he's up for it or not anyway.

[Arimeh]

I see I see, what you're talking about is like preschool or prep or kinder, not big school yeah?

If it's not a full week, proper "big school" then I would be pushing to send him for sure

From what I get from the info down here, its the year before year 1. So in some states its kinder, some its prep, some its preschool - soo freakin confusing. I think in qld he would be going to Prep?

[{sarah}]

Yeah it's all very confusing because in NSW the first year at school (y'know wearing uniform, going five days etc) is called kindergarten so when people say kinder it's confusing LOL!

[boobaloo]

hmm.. if it were my ds, i'd probably wait until the next year.. i think that boys mature a bit slower, and sometimes it may benefit to start them a bit later? not saying aricyn isn't ready or anything, just saying if it were MY son, i'd hold off...

[Marlene]

This is my 2 cents if it was my child, but it's not my child so take it or leave it, LOL:

I would stick with daycare a couple days a week, I think kids go to school full time way too young as it is. 4 year olds are still babies (in my eyes, lol) and are too young to go to 'big school'. He's only going to be just 4.

[Marlene]

Its ridiculous with every state being different. I am talking about Kinder, 3 days a week it is.

Ok, just saw this! I really need to learn to read the whole thread, LOL. This changes everything, I would definitely send him, especially if the teachers think he is ready

[Ryatha]

We had the same thing with DD1, she was a tall girl, interacted well with other kids and seemed pretty smart for her age. We chose to wait to see how she went in her first year at school (the test was very $$ here in SA) but by half way through the year she had finished all the reception work and was working at a year 1 level. We had the assessment done then and the psychologist found that since she was physically, emotionally and menatlly mature enough to work with children older than her then she should skip a year. She is now in year 2 (skipped yr1) and is doing really well. Occasionally she will show her imaturity compared to other kids but not very often.

The main reason we waited til she was at school was to see how she went at school. My sister has had to do the opposite with her son, he struggled a lot emotionally and didn't keep up with the work well so he has repeated a year and is doing so much better.

If you have any questions about the test, let me know and I will be happy to let you know

[Trillian]

Arimeh, that is what bugs me - there is no national standard for education. They are currently drafting a national curriculum which all schools in every state will have to follow, but I don't know if that means that they are going to bring the entire system into line so every state is either kinder/prep or preschool/kindergarten.

[Nai]

If it is 3 days and the teachers think it is a good idea then I would definitely go for it.

[Jahzara]

Ok - just my 2 cents !

Here they do Kinder then Prep then Grade One and so on - its big school school ! Uniforms etc !

C was 4 years 2 and a bit months when he started Kinder. Academically he wasnt as advanced as A. He was young for his age. His best friend is 10 months older than him.
As i said to you - we found what the older kids were doing at the start of the year then C would do at the end of the year (especially maturity wise) - which fits cause of the 10 or so months age difference. C is average - definitely not struggling.

One thing the teachers have always said to me is - they base the childrens abilities on an individual basis - so if one needs more work to do due to being gifted then they get extra work - if one is struggling then they get extra help but work at that childs pace. They all learn differently.

I personally would get him assessed - cause we have Kinder then Prep = they dont go straight from Kinder to Grade 1 - so its an extra year anyway.

I really think A would cope really well ! C coped and he wasnt as advanced as A !! (C could do his colours and numbers etc but couldnt write his name)

ETA - Kinder at some schools here is 2 days (ours is) but are bringing in 3 days when we have the second Kinder built. Others have already started the 3 days. Prep is 5 days.

[meow]

I think Tassie does kinder and prep at school before grade 1. Personally I'd still consider waiting if it was my son. My son will be starting 3 year old kinder a month before he turns 4. I agree that there is no harm in doing the testing though.

[LimeSlice]

Now I'm confused still lol Prep in Victoria is part of 'big school' - you go full time hours, 5 days a week, uniforms the whole bit.
I started Prep at 4 1/2 (Birthday in May) so I turned 5 half way through the year. I personally never had any issues, but was very bright and more than ready for school. Mum said it would have been detrimental for me to spend another year at Kindergarten as I would have been bored witless.
I did really well at at school and never had an issue, but I think it is such a personal thing, and you will know if he is ready or not for school.

If it is kinder you are talking about, then def get him tested! Isn't he already at kinder? (Vic has 3 year old kinder, then 4 year old kinder, then you start school in Prep at 5(ish))

[MrsFabuloso]

I haven't read all of the previous posts, but honestly Mel, in my opinion, I woudn't. I won't be sending Lily to school until 2012. She will be 5 going on 6. It's not that I don't think that she will be ready from most aspects of development, because I do, but to me that one year is worth it for her to be ahead of her peers and to be the same age as them, if a fair bit older (between on average 3-8 mths older than most of them, but up to a whole year, which would be the situation for you with A, he would be just 4yrs, and some of his peers would be 5 1/2yrs or more). She will most likley do better academically than her peers in most areas of development this way and will not have the possible issue of lagging behind as she gets older, kwim? I know I am going to go absolutely bonkers with her here for a whole more year, but imo, it's worth it for her in the future, not just in the younger years, but also in high school and even later life. I will be sending her to pre school for 2-3 days a week the year before and next year she will go into day care for 1 day, plus we go to playgroup 1-2 days a week and she has 3 children here who we see weekly that are her age, plus some younger and some older.
I'm hoping it will help her have better self esteem, think of herself as intelligent (even though she is anyway!), and just generally have better self esteem. My brother went to school when he was four, had to stay back the next year and has always lagged behind since then because he though (and still does think) he's dumb when he's actually very intelligent. It was just a stigma he was left with when he was so young, my eldest brother tortures him about it still and it has stuck with him to this day and he's 40.

ETA, ok just read back and I'm thinking of propper big school, like some others, 5 days a week, uniforms and all......but 3 days at (what would be like NSW pre schools) I would do it.