My husband is in the military and we are going to be stationed at Ft. Lewis WA. Next year my daughter will miss the cut off date by 15 days. She is in preschool now and is ahead of her peers, she already knows how to write her name and some other words, I am also teaching her sight words-she is very eager to learn. I feel next year she will be ready-can I get her tested and into Kindergarten?
Anonymous
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my sister got in when she turned 5, 10 days after the first day of school.
Contact your school district so that she can take readiness tests. If she can read and write she should be fine.
Also, a lot of private schools will eagerly take younger kids. If the public school won't take her, private school most likely will-if they deem her ready.
momma bear
This is totally up to the school district you are in. My school district is a big "no questions, NO!" My friend who lives 45 minutes away can file an appeal and the school will evaluate a child to assess kindergarten readiness. What some people in my town do when they have a child who just misses and is REALLY TRULY ready for kindergarten is they send them to private kindergarten and then the public school will usually take them as first graders (we have a policy that you must be 6 to start first grade, but if you've had a year of kindergarten elsewhere they will test your child to determine first grade readiness). A lot is even up to the principal of the school, how overcrowded/undercrowded a kindergarten group is, etc.
EC Expert
Depends on the district, but think carefully before you do it. The youngest kids in the class are at a real disadvantage socially, particularly as they approach middle school. They are often smaller than the others. It is about more than academics. You will be in a new place so that another year of preschool would be a whole new experience. Don't be in such a hurry-nobody cares if you started Kindergarten early when you apply to college.
Lydia
You would need to talk with the k teacher and the principal.
My son went into Kindergarten reading at a third grade level, and he still needed the benefits of K - for the social skills mostly, and for the discipline and scheduling benefits of learning to be in school. What you say she knows at this age is really nothing too advanced, so I would say just leave it be. Better she start off school with peers. They do testing in Grade One, then if she really has become an advanced child, the school will program her appropriately. By the time my son was tested in Grade One, he was at a fifth and seventh grade level in reading. However, we didn't want him to skip a grade or anything. He just entered enrichment programs from grades five to seven.
Otherwise, just enjoy your daughter's learning and continue to have fun with her. Don't push.
Kyra
I would just wait until next year. Some children aren't emotionally ready for school. My 8th grade daughter started early and now it's awkward for her being younger than everyone else. Maybe a mom's day out once or twice a week for some socialization. Keep up the good work and she'll the smartest kid in the class!