I would appreciate any feedback from all you teachers, educators, researchers, etc out there. My DS is going to a Spanish immersion school next year. It is a private preschool through 8th grade school and we plan to keep him there through 8th. Their age cutoff for their preschool 1 class is turning 3 by Dec 31. He turned 3 this past December, so he will be turning 4 in 2015 and is eligible for the preschool 2 class. They had an observation day and got a referral from his current preschool, and the school staff feel he would be appropriate for either class. We just need to decide where we want him. This is a really tough decision for us.

Preschool 1: There are 1-2 other kids he would know from his current preschool, although there are 2 classrooms so they might not even be in his classroom. He would be one of the oldest kids in his class. I think his maturity level is appropriate for his age and he does fine with younger kids, he is our oldest. I also feel like P1 might be a gentler transition for him since he will be going full time for the first time, and so will everyone else. We also have a 15 mo old who will be attending the same school and his bday is in November. I want the kids to be 2 years apart in school, not 1, not 3. I have no idea whether my younger DS will be ready next year at almost 3 to start full time school and I would want to enroll him in P1 at that time so he would be 2 years behind his brother.

Preschool 2: He would be one of the youngest in his class. He is big for his age, and DH thinks he uses his size to his advantage in his current class... Not a bully by any means but is learning he has a physical advantage over the other kids. Being with slightly older kids might level the playing field so to speak. DH found a lot of articles describing benefits to kids by starting them with kids slightly older than they are (in other words that "redshirting" kindergarteners might be detrimental for their long term development). I am worried that when he hits 9th grade and moves on to a different high school, being younger than almost everyone else might be tough socially for a boy. DH feels very strongly that we should start him in P2.

I know this is long. Thanks for reading, I'm probably overthinking it but I really don't know what to think.