Preschool/ Early Kinder.....

Sounds like she may not be ready for kindergarten. If you can't get her into an early learners program at a public school I highly recommend Trinity Preschool in Mesa.
It is very affordable! Here is the website:
http://tbcmesa.com/Ministries/PreschoolandKindergarten

Hello,
I am a teacher and a parent and even though children can be very intelligent and doing higher level academics, it is not a good idea to skip a grade for the reasons you mentioned - socially. Part of growing up self confident is adapting socially and this is an important part of school. Your child may feel out of place and not relate to the other kids and if they are suffering emotionally, academics may suffer as well. I was a teacher for 13 years before I took a break to raise my children and whenever the staff at my school had a meeting to discuss holding back a child or skipping a grade, 99.9% of the time everyone agreed to keep them in their own grade because of social reasons.
K.

I'm in the same situation as you. My son turns 5 in Sept. I registered him for the Early Learners program in Mesa Public schools. However, they won't know for sure whether they'll get the budget for it until June or July so it's all up in the air until then. If you want that as a possiblity, you need to register him now before it's too late. If they don't offer it, I'm not sure what I'll do. We can't afford paying for preschool, yet he definitely needs something to do during the days. I'm a strong believer in keeping the fall b-day children home for that extra year. I will have done that with all 3 of my kids. In fact, my older son is an August B-day, but I still chose to wait until the following year to enroll him in kindergarten and I'm glad I did. They are so much more ready when they are a little older. They adjust so much easier and do better academically. If you find any solutions, let me know! Good luck.

I can totally relate. I have 4 year old also who's birthday is November 1st. I really wanted to start him early, but after talking with many people, they all said the same thing A. said. It will affect them later because they are not socially ready. So, I just recently took a part-time job, so they can go to school while I work part-time. I also have a 3yo and it is very expensive to have to in preschool. All of the money I make goes to preschool, but to me that is better than it coming out of my husbands check. So maybe she can go to prechool and you can find some part-time work to offset the costs. Good Luck!

My son turned five at the end of September, so we were in the same situation as you. I had to go back to work and was trying to find a cheap alternative for him. We decided to put him in a charter school, as they were willing to test him and put him in kindergarten early. We did this with the intention of putting him in kindergarten again this fall. We didn't want to stress over his grades or his progress, we just wanted him to go somewhere free. Big mistake.

Even though we were not stressing over the academics, the school was. He was very stressed out and felt the need to please everyone. He was going all day four days a week and half day on Fridays. He was misbehaving when he came home and wanted to go to bed at 6:00. I ultimately decided that family was more important and quit my job and pulled him out of school. He is in a half day Young Learners program through Mesa Public Schools and loves it. I don't believe that Mesa will have this program next year, but it is still possible. I would definitely look into a free charter school that has a half day program or your local elementary school to see if they offer this. This program is specifically for children who turn five between September and December.

I hope this helps, but please do not push your daughter into a full day program if you can help it. They just aren't ready for that and that is why schools have age cut-offs. The curriculum for kindergarten these days is what used to be taught in first grade, so you need to keep that in mind when choosing a school, do you want her to still play or do you want it to be all academic? Most back to basics schools are all academic and can really throw a younger learner off course. I am sorry this is so long, but having just gone through this I was hoping to be of some assistance. Let me know if you have any other questions, I would be more than happy to help.

kyrene preschool in the kyrene school dist is 150 a month for 3 days. It depends on when the cutoff is, and the district (tempe is dec 31 for some reason and I see too many kids way too young going in). If you are concerned, don't put her in.

My personal experience:
My birthday is at the very end of summer and my mom put me in kindergarten a year early. While I was ready academically, I was not ready emotionally or socially. When I started first grade I cried every day because I didn't like being away from my mom and sister all day long. After 2 weeks of crying every day, my mom decided to hold me back and put me back in kindergarten. I AM SO GLAD SHE HAD THE WISDOM and discernment and courage to do that. That must have been difficult to have her child repeat a grade, but I felt much more secure as a result. I just wanted to be with Mommy.

After that I was always at the top of my class as opposed to the bottom and felt very smart and confident and mature. I imagine it would have been a different, less positive experience if I had continued on when I wasn't ready. I ended up skipping a grade in high school (by this time I was ready to advance) and then graduated half a year early on top of that, so in the long run I started college before the people I had originally started kindergarten with. I even graduated as my high school class salutatorian and a valedictorian in college. In the end, being held back didn't delay or hinder my progress whatsoever, nor was it an indication of my lack of intelligence.

Each child and situation is unique. Do you want your kids closer or further apart in school? I loved being only a year apart in school with my sister. It helped us be a part of each other's peer groups and we shared a lot of the same friends. Keep in mind that she'll be starting college and possibly moving out a year earlier if you put her in now. You may like the idea of her getting a head start on life, or you may want to keep her home and under your influence longer. Is she small for her age as I was? Even though I was a year older than everyone I was always still the smallest kid in the class. My children are born during the summer and I wonder what I'll do regarding kindergarten with them as well. I'm sure you'll make a good decision! If you put your child in early Kindergarten because your family situation necessitates it, you can always hold her back the next year and put her back in kindergarten like I was if you don't think she's ready to be gone all day the next year or if she's not ready academically. That way you'll get her at school during the day this upcoming year without having to pay out of pocket for daycare/preschool.

I very much agree with many who have responded to your questions. It is not a good idea to rush your child into Kindergarten. There is absolutely NO advantage to being the youngest in your class. None!
Kind of Glory Preschool in Tempe offers a Pre-K program 4 afternoons per week for $165 per month. It is an excellent class and the teachers are fabulous! It's definitely worth looking at. Check them out at www.kogaz.org. Click on Preschool. Or call ###-###-####. Hope this helps!

Hi A.! That's a tough situation! My daughter missed the Sept 1st cutoff by 28 days... I elected to enroll her in the Young Learners Kindergarten program in the Mesa School district. She is in a class with other children the same age, the cutoff is turning 5 by Dec 31st for that program. They use the same curriculum as kindergarten and I feel that it has been very beneficial for her this year and will better prepare her for kindergarten next year. I work full time, so my daughter takes the bus to her daycare for the rest of the day.
With the budget cuts, I don't know if the YLK program will still be free next year, but it is definitely worth checking out! Best wishes to you!

Hi A., I do a preschool in my home. I taught 1st grade for 10 years, and now I have my own preschool. I enjoy this age, 3 and 4 year olds. My students do very well, and enjoy learning. I am phonics based, and teach a well rounded curriculum. My email is ____@____.com and I am in east Mesa, off Higley and University. Let me know if I can be of any help. Oh, I charge $120 per month for 3 days a week, 3 hours a day. Thanks, D.

Do you live in Chandler? The Break Time magazine of classes has a lot to offer. The issue out now is for June/July/Aug. classes, and there are a few classes for her age group now. Starting with the Sept. classes there will be more. The classes may only be 1-2 hours long, but she will get academics and socialization. Look into Adavanced Apples to Zebras or any classes with Lisa Luketich at Snedigar. She teaches Abc,123 and Kindergarten, Ready, Set, Go etc. You can view Break Time online and subscribe to the mailing at chandleraz.gov.

don't know your school district, but I believe that Chandler and Mesa both offer a pre-kindergarten option.

Hi A., I am not sure where you live but in Chandler School District they offer two programs...One is the kindersteps program but I believe next year it will be called Kinder-Academy...my son is in that program this school year and I can't begin to tell you how pleased we are with all the progress he has made this year! It is a truly wonderful program! He missed the cutoff for kindergarten by 15 days!!! Then they are also going to be offering a preschool program as well for kids ages 3 and 4 I believe it may also include 5 year olds as well. If you go to ww2.chandler.k12.az.us they have all the information on there website. I hope this helps and good luck!