Expecting children to become emergent readers or count to 100 at 5, for many, is just not developmentally appropriate. Just as no two children learn to ride a bike at the same time, we need to allow grace for children to blossom in their own time as they tackle the task of learning to read. Brain development also needs to be treated with the same respect. We don’t rush motor development when things play out within the healthy range of normal. As parents, we note that our children are every bit as smart, whether they begin walking at 10 months or 13. Whereas students once dressed up and acted out fairy tales, kindergartners now are expected to be able to read them and take a comprehension test.Įxpectations of kindergarten curriculum have changed greatly over the years, but children haven’t. As early education has morphed through the years, kindergarten has become the new first grade (or beyond). In generations past, kindergarten was the introduction into formal learning and it began on the pretense that students didn’t know their alphabet, yet alone how to read. Starting early seems to imply that a child is ahead in contrast, delaying kindergarten for a year appears to imply that a child might be behind. One reason many parents don’t even consider delaying kindergarten for their child is because of the stigma attached. But for my son, I could say without reservation that I would have waited an extra year if I knew then what I know now. Always a good student, I realized there was much more that should have been factored into the decision beyond academic readiness, such as emotional maturity, social skills and the ability to focus for set amounts of time. But I began to regret our decision a few years later when he was on the cusp of fourth grade. At fresh-turned-5, my firstborn began kindergarten. Some parents agonize over whether to have their summer-born child begin kindergarten at 5 or delay a year, but the choice seemed rather obvious to my husband and me. My firstborn is a June baby who was reading at 3 and multiplying at 5.
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