Should she start prep next year??

[Bella29]

Just doing a bit of reading. It basically says that if I don't send her at 4.5 to prep, I still have to send her in the year she turns 6 to year 1. We are in Qld. Does that sound right??

[wysiwyg]

This is the article I mentioned earlier - it talks about VIC and is quite old but I think makes some good points - http://www.theage.com.au/articles/20...569786596.html

[Bella29]

Oh it says that it is an old article and can't provide the link.

[~Gee_Whizzy~]

This is the article I mentioned earlier - it talks about VIC and is quite old but I think makes some good points - http://www.theage.com.au/articles/20...569786596.html

great article, thank you for linking it has confirmed my decision to not to start DD1 (Jan 09 Bub)next year (in conjunction with the assessment she had and her kinder teachers observations )

[MummyNaomi]

Bella - have you asked her daycare providers if the think she's ready? Might provide some insight

That incident in the car with her cousins is just mean Poor J xx

I'll send the school readiness stuff tomorrow when I'm on my Mac, too hard on the phone. However if you google "school readiness checklist NSW" you'll stumble across the same one we were given

[YoYo]

It's just so hard isn't it!

I have a friend (our boys in prep together) who's boy only turned 5 in May, started school February. She had him assessed, saw school psychologists etc and they basically said to send him. He is very confident socially, and is OK academically but will pass fine. My DS an October baby is 7 months older and isn't as good socially but better academically. Their
Personalities have more to do with how they're getting by in school.

Another friend with a boy in the same class is actually supposed to be in year 1 but it was recommended he repeat kindy. He had a hearing problem which wasn't picked up so didn't do well during kindy. The 3 of them are friends and are all at different stages.... None of them struggle though.

I do think that their personalities have a lot to do with it. My DS is the most academic of the 3, yet not the eldest, but isn't confident in ways they are. Each if them are so different.

Go with your instinct as you know her best. I think as long as you're doing what you think is best for her, then starting earlier or later won't make that much difference iykwim.

[HotI]

I was an October baby and started school when I was 5 + 3months. I know I got bored in late primary and early secondary and began doing things to amuse myself. maybe that is just a rough developmental time for kids. lots of hormone changes etc

[Bella29]

Thanks nai. Yeah the daycare teachers are also Kindy teachers and they say "send, send, send!!" They say she is really ready.

I am not worried about academics. She is quite bright and has a phenomenal memory. She can already recite almost the whole book of "scar face claw" from the scary mclary books, just cos she loves to listen to us read. She loves to get down her tracing books, and write the letters. Although she doesn't believe me about little letters and big letters! Lol! I think she is ready. But then I doubt myself. And I hated mean girls at school. They really broke me at times and I am scared to think of her there, being picked on...

[briggsy's girl]

Thanks nai. Yeah the daycare teachers are also Kindy teachers and they say "send, send, send!!" They say she is really ready.

I am not worried about academics. She is quite bright and has a phenomenal memory. She can already recite almost the whole book of "scar face claw" from the scary mclary books, just cos she loves to listen to us read. She loves to get down her tracing books, and write the letters. Although she doesn't believe me about little letters and big letters! Lol! I think she is ready. But then I doubt myself. And I hated mean girls at school. They really broke me at times and I am scared to think of her there, being picked on...

sadly, it's not going to matter what age she is when she starts school - as you've seen by her cousins, mean kids will be mean kids. all you can do is be there, support her, teach her ways to deal with it so that it doesn't get her down. I have used pretty much all the "nasty names" i was called when i was in primary school with E already. i was a red head that copped all the flack cos of my hair (and my glasses) - so i use them, and use them with affection so that E doesn't hear it and get upset. so she'll have a "whatever" sort of reaction to it cos she's heard it all before...

Trust her carers. They will be great judges of her abilities and social readiness compared to others her age. Unfortunately E can't go to school next year due to cut offs - she was ready for kinder this year, but too young, and is ready for school (socially anyway) already.

[JLeigh29]

I'll go against the grain and say send her! I'm a teacher (from Qld) and that gives me a slightly different perspective though...

IMO, Social and emotional readiness is the biggest factor in deciding if a child is ready for school. Teachers are great (mostly) at differentiating the curriculum for differing ability levels, but socially and emotionally it's not so easy.

My thoughts: If she starts prep next year and struggles, what are your options? Can she repeat prep? Can she change to kindy part way through the year (though I know getting in may be a problem)? At the moment she might not have the coping skills to deal with 'mean' kids, but experiencing these different types of personalities first hand (and in a somewhat controlled environment) is a great way of helping her acquire the skills she needs. Kids starting school usually don't have every skill they need to be able to 'do' school, but they do learn quickly. If you don't send her, what will she do next year instead? What is your gut feeling? Her paid careers seem to think she's ready, and you trust them with your DD in so many other ways, why not in this one too?

As for the rule about turning six and starting year one in Qld, that's for parents who haven't sent their child to kindy or prep - they need to start 'school', be it prep or year one, in the year they turn six. I believe

And personally...DS is a May Bub and very academic. Socially and emotionally he struggles. So, I started looking into ways I could help him acquire the skills he will need to get along with others. He's currently doing three year old kindy and will go on to 'proper' kindy next year. We thought long and hard about this too as we weren't sure he could cope, but his teacher is adamant he NEEDS to go! The improvement in his confidence since starting kindy has been remarkable - he can stand up for himself, has made a friend this past week, has started playing on playground equipment that previously scared him, will wait his turn and can sit on the carpet and listen for a bit. At home he's more independent with his play. It could be a developmental thing that would've happened anyway, but I'd not have seen it if he wasn't given the opportunity to show that he's ready, iykwim? If he's not ready for prep at the end of next year, he can repeat...same for year one. I feel that the more opportunities i can give him to acquire what he needs, the better. In a controlled environment. Rather than avoiding situations he might not be able to cope with for as long as possible, if that makes sense. If he was unhappy, anxious and not coping, we'd rethink our decision. And yes, I worry about him having 18 yo friends when he's barely 17, but that's not for 14 years - who's to say what he'll be like that far in the future? I'm not giving him or us as parents much credit if I'm already writing off his ability to deal with peer pressure in the future!

Once again, I haven't expressed myself as eloquently as I'd have wished, but I hope you get the drift! Ultimately, the choice is yours, but don't feel like anything you decide is set in stone. GL

[Bella29]

Thanks for all the input. It is such a big decision. I will have a talk to the school when the holidays are over and I will enrol her in kindy just in case cos places are tight. And try to make a decision soon. She probably is ready. I am just being a big sook!

[black_rose]

It's not easy Bella! My dd is 5 in March she is going to school next year but we only decided for sure two weeks ago, she wants to go and loves doing her words like her big sister and counting so academically she is ready but socially we were unsure but she is making big improvements to plays so much better with groups of kids and can deal with conflict without tears now so even her kinder teacher agreed she is ready. I think because she was so exposed to the school with her sister in prep she would have been mentally set back if she had to redo kinder. She has actually participated in a few classes when I have helped and she loved it. Good luck with what you decide.