The Irish Envy Dad Thread

wizards8507

Well-known member
Messages
20,660
Reaction score
2,661
Is your daughter already nearly 5? I thought she was much younger
She is, but working backwards would have her in Pre-K 3 as early as this coming school year if we started her "on time." The Catholic schools, which we'd be using for preschool at least if not kindergarten, use different cutoffs. The "on time" thing to do would be for her to start Pre-K 3 at age 2 and then turn 3 at the beginning of the school year.
 

Irish Insanity

Well-known member
Messages
9,885
Reaction score
584
Parenting dilemma.

Most states say you need to turn 5 by some time in September to start Kindergarten, but Connecticut is the only state where the cutoff is January 1. So my daughter would be eligible to start kindergarten at age four, which mean she'd start college at 17. In any other state, she'd be starting school a year later. Lots of Connecticut parents with the resources for childcare or a stay-at-home parent opt to keep their kid out of school for an extra year so they're in line with the rest of the country, even if that makes them "old" for Connecticut. What to do...

My son has a birthday in late November. You have to be 5 before the start of Kindergarten to attend. School starts the day after Labor Day. So we called the school and they allowed us to submit a form requesting early enrollment. No testing or anything basically the form is a formality. He is 6 now with 1st grade winding down. Some kids in his class are already 8. We were concerned with maturity and his ability to keep pace with the other. He's the top student in his class in almost all academic measurements. Maturity he seems to be right with the rest of the class. He was attending a pre-school before that but we feared another year of basically the same lessons he just completed wouldn't help him at all.

Sent from my LG-H871 using Tapatalk
 

ulukinatme

Carr for QB 2026!
Messages
31,521
Reaction score
17,395
My son has a birthday in late November. You have to be 5 before the start of Kindergarten to attend. School starts the day after Labor Day. So we called the school and they allowed us to submit a form requesting early enrollment. No testing or anything basically the form is a formality. He is 6 now with 1st grade winding down. Some kids in his class are already 8. We were concerned with maturity and his ability to keep pace with the other. He's the top student in his class in almost all academic measurements. Maturity he seems to be right with the rest of the class. He was attending a pre-school before that but we feared another year of basically the same lessons he just completed wouldn't help him at all.

Sent from my LG-H871 using Tapatalk

Same for us, although my daughter had a birthday in December, so one month later. She had no problems keeping up with the kids. She was in all the enrichment classes she could be, and was near the top or at the top in her class in each area...but gym.

I say, wiz, if your kid seems to be ready academically and maturity-wise by the time enrollment comes around, go for it. Don't hold them back, because there have been arguments for kids being bored that start late. We didn't actually enroll our daughter until the month before classes started. There was a hoop or two to jump through, but everything was fine, so you can decide late if you want to.
 

Whiskeyjack

Mittens Margaritas Ante Porcos
Staff member
Messages
20,894
Reaction score
8,126
Don't hold them back, because there have been arguments for kids being bored that start late..

If your kid is bored, that's a major problem with the curriculum; not with your child. It's a lot easier to academically challenge a kid who's toward the top of the age range than it is to athletically and socially boost a kid at the lower end.
 

Irish Insanity

Well-known member
Messages
9,885
Reaction score
584
If your kid is bored, that's a major problem with the curriculum; not with your child. It's a lot easier to academically challenge a kid who's toward the top of the age range than it is to athletically and socially boost a kid at the lower end.
While I agree (one of the older kids had boredom issues early on), it's also easier to then hold your kid back a year early if they struggle than to move them up a grade and miss early curriculum. That played into our decision. Knowing he could repeat kindergarten if necessary.

Sent from my LG-H871 using Tapatalk
 

NDRock

Well-known member
Messages
7,489
Reaction score
5,448
My daughter has a mid September birthday and we started her at 4. It's been good and she has had zero issues. She is a very good athlete (just finished 2nd in the state in the 800). She will be starting high school as a 13 year old and part of me wishes we had started her a year later just for the athletic side. So, other than sports I've had no regrets and even that is not really a big deal.
 

connor_in

Oh Yeeaah!!!
Messages
11,433
Reaction score
1,006
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/IUvB9C57q9">pic.twitter.com/IUvB9C57q9</a></p>— Bloom County (@bloomcounty) <a href="https://twitter.com/bloomcounty/status/867362818361884674">May 24, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 

Monk

Active member
Messages
593
Reaction score
41
My son turned 5 at the end of December 2016. We used the local catholic church for preschool when he was 3 (turned 4 during the school year) and he is currently 5 and finishing Pre-K. He has always picked things up rather quickly, but we did not feel he needed to go to school early to challenge him. We tried to push letters, numbers, site words, etc. as much at home as we could without burning him out. My wife does a better job of it than I but then again she is a 5th grade teacher. I can't say he is at the top of his class, because he is in Pre-K and what does that really mean in Pre-K. The teachers the last couple of years have all said he is exceptional in his social behavior and academics. My point is my son seemed ready a year early (normal age for Connecticut), but we are extremely happy with all facets of his growth (academics, social behavior, and athletics) on the "NY normal" timetable.

Now my youngest son, who turned 3 this May, will be starting preschool this September at the same catholic church his brother attended. Let's just say we have to worn the teachers he's not his brother.

So, in short, I would wait a year as many have said. Good luck in your decision.
 

wizards8507

Well-known member
Messages
20,660
Reaction score
2,661
Thanks everyone for weighing in. Two other factors that play into the decision are 1) most people here seem to do two years of preschool, so starting with Pre-K 3 makes it even younger when most kids start and 2) my wife staying home means our daughter doesn't have the same peer interaction that many of her classmates will have. Taken together, I think two years of preschool means she'll have more than enough socialization before kindergarten even if the other kids were in daycare for an extra year.
 
Messages
11,214
Reaction score
377
Two years is good. I sent my oldest for two days a week for two years. His teachers say he's more than ready for kindergarten. He turned five in April.
 

wizards8507

Well-known member
Messages
20,660
Reaction score
2,661
Enjoyed some minor league baseball this weekend.

8iMJU94.jpg
 

ACamp1900

Counting my ‘bet against ND’ winnings
Messages
48,948
Reaction score
11,230
Youngest during a shopping trip in Vegas over the weekend, getting spoiled:

19430058_1921168218158267_6666955267437168094_n.jpg


with her cousin at the buffet:

19399227_1919816614960094_3967164591282633373_n.jpg


She HAD to get a pic in front of the Transformer:

19424144_1921168214824934_2744847287057915571_n.jpg
 
Last edited:

dshans

They call me The Dribbler
Messages
9,624
Reaction score
1,181
What's that brass colored thingy dribbling down your left pant leg?
 
Last edited:

ulukinatme

Carr for QB 2026!
Messages
31,521
Reaction score
17,395
Can't rep you again yet, looks like she's ready! :laugh: What a confidant pose. My oldest just went into Kindergarten last year, definitely was hard on my wife. I can't imagine how she's going to take it when our youngest finally is in school.
 

IrishLion

I am Beyonce, always.
Staff member
Messages
19,128
Reaction score
11,077
My little guy just turned one. He knows what he likes to watch in the morning before he heads to daycare... it's usually Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (Hot Dog!) while he plays with his playset thing, but recently he smiles, laughs and starts jabbering away if we turn "Moana" on via Netflix.

Currently stuck playing in my head for 7 hours now:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/93lrosBEW-Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 

wizards8507

Well-known member
Messages
20,660
Reaction score
2,661
My little guy just turned one. He knows what he likes to watch in the morning before he heads to daycare... it's usually Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (Hot Dog!) while he plays with his playset thing, but recently he smiles, laughs and starts jabbering away if we turn "Moana" on via Netflix.

Currently stuck playing in my head for 7 hours now:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/93lrosBEW-Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Your kid likes the one shitty song from the Moana soundtrack.
 

ACamp1900

Counting my ‘bet against ND’ winnings
Messages
48,948
Reaction score
11,230
"Let it Go" was a pox upon my house for a couple good years there......
 

ACamp1900

Counting my ‘bet against ND’ winnings
Messages
48,948
Reaction score
11,230
I've only seen Moana once and wasn't able to really focus on it (watched it at home with people over) ... I couldn't name a single song from it yet...
 

#1rish

Count On Me
Messages
2,507
Reaction score
667
I honestly enjoy "Shiny" more because it's sung by Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords.
 

ACamp1900

Counting my ‘bet against ND’ winnings
Messages
48,948
Reaction score
11,230
The Rock is some kind of half god or some such so it can't be that bad...

Honestly, I've been underwhelmed by many of the recent Disney flicks (last 10-15 years or so)... The Frozen hype was far too big for what I thought was just an 'eh' effort... maybe I'm just getting older tho.
 
Top