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I have never heard of that. Did you verify with the district? If that is the case can he test out?

Hmm... to me this mostly reads as a district moving the true Kindergarten cutoff back 6 months but offering something to appease people who would be put off by it. Honestly, the cutoff has to be somewhere so there will always be old/young kids. I think it would be a nice program if the half K was optional to that group instead of being the only option. But to answer your question - no my district doesn’t do this. It’s 5 by Sep 1

@bees_knees: Oh, if there’s a test I think that changes things a lot. And I wouldn’t worry about him being youngest even. I bet there will be plenty of April-Aug parents who choose to test to do full K “on time”

So kindergarten expectations have rapidly been increasing and most 5 year olds aren't ready. I've seen a lot of districts try programs like this. Half day K is more of a developmental program that's more advanced than preschool, but gives space to develop the socio-emotional skills needed for K

In most cases this wasn't an arbitrary decision, but one made after watching many kids needlessly struggle in 1st and 2nd.

@bees_knees: I have never heard of that, but I can see the reasoning, generally. This is still a hot topic among my friends and circle generally- I have a bunch of friends with kidsnthe same age as my daughter, who turned five towards the end of the summer (9/1 cut off). Half sent their kids “on time” and half held them. All the ones who sent them on time are now talking about trouble their kids are having at school, allof which sound like totally normal behavior for a 5.5 year old now. And we are all frustrated that the expectations of a kid who went to school on time are so unrealistic.

So, this sounds weird to me but based on my limited knowledge and experience with this, it doesn’t sound terrible. But it does pose potential issues if you moved I guess.

Nyc the cutoff is the calendar year, so you go to pre k the year you turn 4 and k the year you turn 5. I have a Feb boy who will be very ready for pre k this fall and a Sept boy who will go the next year kinda on the young side. It's weird, I don't know of other places that do this.

The pre-k is play based and a strong program. K gets into the problems with common core and is a real struggle for most kids... it's so frustrating.

In my district the cut-off is 9/1. DS is a November birthday, so he’ll be one of the oldest in the fall. Right now our district does 1/2 kindergarten for free and full day is paid. All of the state required learning happens in the morning half since every kid has that and the afternoon half has lunch and more recess and extra kinds of learning like a computer class. Next year the district plans to implement free full day kindergarten and then the state mandated learning will be spread throughout the day.

We just went to the kindergarten open house and I really like it. Lots of toys, fun puzzles, and things that kids had built with craft supplies. They also had standing areas with these weird things for kids to kind of stand and wobble on if they had trouble concentrating while sitting.

DS has a lot of energy and finds it tough to sit in one place and I think this school and program are a good fit. I think too that the fact that he’s going when he’s comparatively old will be very beneficial.

wow that is interesting! i know the states have differing cutoff dates for kindergarten, but i haven't heard about this one yet. we're in canada and kids born in the same year (2013, 2014) all start school together, although of course you are welcome to hold your child back if they have a super super late birthday or vice versa.

my son (5) is currently in K and will still be 6 when he starts Grade 2 (end of sept bday), as will my daughter (oct birthday).

good luck! i'm sure though if it is the norm in your area everything will even out in the end.

@bees_knees: my DS1 will start k at 5 because he had a Feb bday so will turn 5 in pre-k. DS2 will be 4 for a few weeks at the start of k (Sept birthday). It makes some kids young for their grade compared to a Sept cut off other places.

My son isn't quite 3 yet, but I do know our districts cut off is August 1 and doesn't allow testing in. I have an April baby so it's not a big deal, but a friend's son missed the cut off by a week, is very bright, gets bored easy, pre k teachers say he's ready... But he can't test in 🤷‍♀️

The half day/full day is odd to me. My district doesn't offer half day, but I went to half day K. The main reason kids went to full day vs half day when I was there was whether or not they had 2 working parents (less childcare with full day). But it didn't matter which you were in, everyone went to 1st grade the next year.

@ShootingStar: we also currently have free half day or you pay for full, but the half day classes are separate- so there is one am, one pm, same classroom and teacher, and the rest are full day. But they have to cover the same curriculum in a much shorter time so they don’t get the specials, like gym, art, music. I can’t see how that’s better for kids who aren’t ready for k, but I haven’t experienced it either.

@bees_knees: I know I wouldn’t want to test into the full day without a really really good reason. My daughter has always been the youngest in her class and it showed. I wouldn’t force that on her if she could be with same age peers. But that’s just based on her personality and our personal experience here. I do think six month age groupings seem better than year but also see the logistical problems down the line. Are you likely to move? If you aren’t I would be inclined to go along with their timing.