tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post2003160638338830001..comments2024-03-28T22:49:03.563-05:00Comments on Lag Liv: Renovations and Other DecisionsLLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04431706155081017734noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-11110956148006641722012-03-07T03:46:29.972-06:002012-03-07T03:46:29.972-06:00That's not the experience my friend had of Mon...That's not the experience my friend had of Montessori - children didn't have to play in the "right" way, and definitely played and were encouraged to work together. <br /><br />Sounds like the name can mean all sorts of things.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-20742117141757305072012-03-01T11:50:48.241-06:002012-03-01T11:50:48.241-06:00Just an FYI, CA is "supposed" to be chan...Just an FYI, CA is "supposed" to be changing their cut off date to match more evenly with other states...the December cut off has been around forever (well my husband is 37 and it applied to him). When I read more closely I didn't realize people were holding back summer birthdays. I haven't heard of that around here..I'm still in favor of doing some pre-admission testing, but being 5 way before school starts seems more the norm. We were within a month of cut off and that was why it became an issue.Brandihttp://www.boystuffhere.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-37580198517363908592012-03-01T11:42:07.152-06:002012-03-01T11:42:07.152-06:00Because you want more opinions on kinder!!! In CA...Because you want more opinions on kinder!!! In CA the cut off is Dec 2 or 3. By son is a November birthday and could have started in Aug 2010. He had done 3 years of preschool because he started a few months before he turned 3. I could have saved some $ and waited! Anyway, he did one year in the 3 year old class and then two years in the 4 year old class. Same school, different teachers. I visited our local kindergarten. My biggest issue was class size. CA is having major budget issues. The teacher, a family friend, said to expect 30 kids per class and that they had lost their aide. I was afraid my son would get lost in the shuffle. He is quiet and doesn't ask questions. He hates to ask for help. The teacher had students from his preschool and was impressed with them academically. I was leaning toward waiting a year for kinder but had no idea where to put him. Then his preschool said to bring him back...duh. A few other kids were gonna stay an extra year. Academically they said he was solid, but socially they weren't sure. He was still quiet. He loved playing with other kids but it took him a while to warm up. And in the end, it was the best. He ended up getting into a local charter school through the lottery system. Their kinder is all day...8:15-3:30. I really think the extra year helped to prepare him. My husband is a December birthday and has always been the older kid. He tends to think older is better, especially for sports. We saw his preschool director last week when we signed up little brother (OMG) and she immediately asked how he was doing and admitted so was so torn about him. She was used to telling parents their child might not be ready academically but it was so hard for it to be the other way around. I wish the states did Pre K admission testing. I have friends that teach elementary and have heard horror stories of 4 year olds going into kinder and not even being able to take care of bathroom issues. I'm not saying preschool is a must, it can be expensive, I did NOT go...but sending a 4 yr old to kinder that has had no experience in a classroom setting can be a problem. I know most kids end up catching up...but I feel sorry for the ones who don't and end up repeating a grade down the road. Good luck.Brandihttp://www.boystuffhere.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-33542141014569302922012-02-29T11:26:27.177-06:002012-02-29T11:26:27.177-06:00starting kids late is a FAD! Don't fall for it...starting kids late is a FAD! Don't fall for it! Unless something about your son has made you think waiting is better, the whole thing is just a by product of over-competitive suburbia. Bored child being forced to study his A-B-C's for the second year in a row and subsequently growing to see school as boring and unpleasant is just as bad, if not worse, than "small" kid or youngest in the room. 9-months age difference isn't going to matter when your child is in high school and the competitive edge counts for something. /endsoapboxAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-77808954757418221622012-02-29T07:20:02.357-06:002012-02-29T07:20:02.357-06:00I'm with anonymous on the "every kid is d...I'm with anonymous on the "every kid is different." Why force a kid on to something he/she might not be quite ready for?! I'm very glad my girl will be 5 for a few months before she starts kindergarten. I think she needs every bit of that time.<br /><br />On the house, what's some yellow and brown tile compared with a huge tree and a pool, right?! All is good! :)Sherryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05736881049794271184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-32833459328358485452012-02-28T22:58:43.376-06:002012-02-28T22:58:43.376-06:00Depends on your idea of structure. Yes, there is a...Depends on your idea of structure. Yes, there is a lot of choice of what to do. However, many of the materials may only be used in onr way and deviation is discouraged.You have to stack the tower in only one way. I saw a child who was experimenting to see if he could balance the biggest block on a small one stopped and redirected to stacking it the "right" way. Also, most of the activities are done by one child at a time and there is almost no time spent in cooperative play, which is invaluable in helping kids learn to operate in the "real world".The materials are wonderful, the approach not so much.jwghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03848946240656789799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-41682341680207295592012-02-28T22:18:42.879-06:002012-02-28T22:18:42.879-06:00Is it a qualified Montessori? Anyone can use the n...Is it a qualified Montessori? Anyone can use the name. My child went to one and he had to wash rocks in some "center"; minimal art; very structured snack time; just sort of...joyless. I took him out after a week and he went to another pre school. I learned that the Montessori I had enrolled him in had no Montessori-trained teachers. So -- buyer beware. MANY of my friends LOVED the Montessori schools their kids attended.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-40452910931134568782012-02-28T12:14:37.923-06:002012-02-28T12:14:37.923-06:00It seems as if Landon has all of the social, emoti...It seems as if Landon has all of the social, emotional and behavioral milestones to excel in Kindergarten. I have no idea where he lands on the academic scale, but I would guess he likely is bright? If he has all of the academic pre reqs for kindergarten, I say start him on time. I think it's better for a child to have to work a little to keep up than to be bored. For what it's worth, I have a bachelor's in Early Childhood and a Masters in Counseling, so I have had some experience. In addition, my brother skipped kindergarten and went straight to first grade when he turned 5, and he has only ever excelled in all arenas. Being a year behind everyone only ever really got him upset when everyone else was turning 16 and driving, and still had to wait a year. He remedied that by dating an older girl, who could do the driving. :)Wendynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-22134957681074373742012-02-28T12:10:25.132-06:002012-02-28T12:10:25.132-06:00Montessori actually isn't rigid at all. Their...Montessori actually isn't rigid at all. Their philosophy includes not interefering with the natural learning process of the child. They basically choose their own activities, in a loosely-defined daily structure. Their day involves much unscheduled, uninterrupted blocks of working time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-43843350530765413392012-02-28T11:41:25.158-06:002012-02-28T11:41:25.158-06:00Hi there, just wanted to post as I had this conver...Hi there, just wanted to post as I had this conversation with my good friend about her nephew (and my cousin faced the same issue with her boy). There is a TON of pressure to red-shirt boys, and the societal reasons for not doing so are probably much stronger than the individual reasons for doing so (societal reason for NOT red-shirting: there is no public pre-K, so it's really the poorer children who suffer the effects of red-shirting because they either lose a year of education or end up being up to 18 months younger than some of their red-shirted peers; individual reason for red-shirting or not: the difference is likely negligible in terms of future success, etc). <br /><br />Interestingly, someone just told me to read this parenting book: Nuture Shock, and he has an article about the red-shirting phenomenon and a comment on Outliers. Basically, it turns out that the data relied upon is correlated more with the socioeconomic status of the parents than the age of the child when he starts kindergarten. (http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/blogs/nurture-shock/2009/09/03/should-children-redshirt-kindergarten.html)<br /><br />You guys are smart, educated, and relatively wealthy. Landon is going to be just fine no matter what. :)Judithnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-61863363662544761752012-02-28T10:08:58.058-06:002012-02-28T10:08:58.058-06:00Congratulations on the job, the move, and the new ...Congratulations on the job, the move, and the new home!! I went to TCU, so I have fond memories of Ft. Worth (always thought it was MUCH better than Dallas). Anyway, just wanted to throw out some thoughts about the kindergarten start date. My birthday is June 25, and I always did splendidly in public Texas school (valedictorian). My son's birthday is July 21, and he is now in First Grade. I always brushed it off when people suggested we should wait to start my son -- I would have HATED to have been held back. But the thing is, my son is not me. I really do think girls are different than boys. I taught myself to read when I was 4. When my son (despite me reading to him constantly and having a house full of books) failed to teach himself to read, I began teaching him the summer before he started kindergarten. And it was a struggle. He is clearly intelligent -- he loves listening to very, very advanced books and can remember practically everything. He did fine in kindergarten, but now that he is in First Grade, he is beginning to struggle. He tells me he hates reading, the work load has picked up quite a bit, he is exhausted when he gets home from school, and then he has homework. He is always comparing himself (negatively) to other kids in the class. The problem is that half of the boys in his class either started late, repeated kindergarten, or repeated first grade. So where he would have been naturally a little young, now he is artificially a year younger than half his class. It is ridiculous. So realize that you aren't making this decision in a vacuum -- all those people quoting Outliers to you held their kids back. Perhaps this is a regional issue. Just something to be aware of. I wish we had waited to start my son, but now it is so tricky. I do think he would be bored, and he has started extracurricular activities that I would want him to continue with in the same age group, but it would now be awkward if he is in a different school grade than they are. The whole thing is a mess. I wish you luck in your decision, just be sure you make it based on Landon and not on yourself or what others tell you. All kids are different.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-35649556630896114452012-02-28T10:04:36.082-06:002012-02-28T10:04:36.082-06:00Many, Many people told me to hold my boys back (bo...Many, Many people told me to hold my boys back (both have August Birthday's). We chose to start them on time, both were the youngest but were at the top of their classes, participated in sports and graduated at 17. They are both well adjusted college students who couldn't imagine having graduated a year later. We also have aquaintances that held their boys back a year so they would be great football players...both graduated at 19 with no football prospects..go figure. I think since Landon is a well adjusted bright child, he'd do fine being the youngest. Best advise: do whatever you and JP are most comfortable with.Nickihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18382554581225246086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-44717793492144367882012-02-28T09:58:10.569-06:002012-02-28T09:58:10.569-06:00I had a late birthday (November) and would have ha...I had a late birthday (November) and would have hated to be held back. I was bored as it was in school, so I actually had to be accelerated and took several classes with the grade above mine. So at least in my case, it was appropriate to not be held back. S has an August birthday and the cutoff in my state is 9/1. She is in K this year and is doing fine. She definitely had some adjustment issues at the beginning of the year (but I suspect she would have had the same issues had we held her back due to her personality - she is on the lazy side), but she has really blossomed in Kindergarten. For some kids it makes sense, certainly, but it really depends on the individual child. Honestly, if a kid is bright, there is no reason to hold back. I suppose there are sports/size reasons for boys, but I would rather have my child academically challenged at a younger age.LAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-77637242368895211572012-02-28T09:07:51.648-06:002012-02-28T09:07:51.648-06:00I have a late September birthday and also started ...I have a late September birthday and also started school when I was 4. I also always did very well in school and never had an issue with being the youngest. I agree that it's really nice to have an extra year built in thanks to starting school earlier. And I was reading and writing before I started kindergarten, so maybe holding me back would have just left me bored (I did not attend a pre-school and my mom stayed home with us). <br /><br />On the other hand, my sister's son shares a birthday with me, and she decided to hold him back a year because he wasn't as mature as I was at that age. I think boys generally don't develop as quickly as girls. Also, not sure if you care about this, but I think I read somewhere that kids don't do as well in sports if they're the youngest. That held true for me -- I was always very mediocre at sports.Serenanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-24715913140715356832012-02-28T09:06:12.799-06:002012-02-28T09:06:12.799-06:00I have my little one (within 2 weeks of Claire'...I have my little one (within 2 weeks of Claire's birthday) in Montessori and let me tell you ... it has done WONDERS. I can't recommend it more. She has excelled so much, behaves beautifully nearly 100% of the time, and I am such a fan. Definitely recommend it for at least her.<br /><br />I'm not in the same boat as you with the kinder thing yet, but my thoughts: if he's ready, let him go.Cristyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12575822907004951235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-1784737434775001202012-02-28T07:44:48.710-06:002012-02-28T07:44:48.710-06:00I have never posted before but I've been readi...I have never posted before but I've been reading since Landon was born! I'm so sorry for lurking so long. <br /><br />Anyway, as the mother of 2 summer birthdays - one just 2 weeks away from the September 1st cutoff - I have never felt like I made the wrong decision by starting my boys when they were "supposed" to start. They are both the youngest in their classes but they are both smart, social and well-mannered and your Landon seems to be the same way. There have been issues at times when they were younger that teachers have forgotten that one of them was almost 2 years younger than one of his classmates but nothing major and both of them (at 15 and 11) are very comfortable and well-adjusted being the youngest. Although if you want some sort of sports super-star then you'd be better off if he were one of the oldest so that his body was more mature (not necessarily his brain - lol). We have seen that with our high schooler - he isn't physically as developed as his peers so there's a difference there although he's still very athletic and more than competitive. <br /><br /><br />Regardless, if you think Landon's ready for school, then start him :-) Otherwise, hold him back ;-) There's really no wrong answer here.SuperSuzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05404480724447885616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-82804995699071569312012-02-28T07:28:13.137-06:002012-02-28T07:28:13.137-06:00Montessori? Really? If the kids were in a really g...Montessori? Really? If the kids were in a really good traditional early childhood program Landon might find the rigidity of Montessori a little hard to take.jwghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03848946240656789799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-52980391652498407832012-02-28T07:24:21.027-06:002012-02-28T07:24:21.027-06:00NY lets school districts decide so there is no one...NY lets school districts decide so there is no one answer. I live on Long Island. Most districts use 12/1 but there are some who use 12/31. If I ran the world everyone would use 9/1 but that's a whole other story.jwghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03848946240656789799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-39562457999411337122012-02-28T05:27:06.477-06:002012-02-28T05:27:06.477-06:00i have a sept birthday and started on time, so I w...i have a sept birthday and started on time, so I was always the youngest in the class. I'm really glad my parents did that! i was good because i was quite successful in school, but i always had to work. in the long run, i thik that's the best.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-56818852048420307892012-02-28T02:35:52.959-06:002012-02-28T02:35:52.959-06:00Just to throw in my 2 cents. I was always the you...Just to throw in my 2 cents. I was always the youngest in my classes, I was born 2 weeks before the cut off of Sept 31. I LOVED it! Especially as I got older. That said I'm a girl, was always pretty much the tallest in my class until middle school and was very mature (so I've been told). I think a lot of people freak out about boys being the youngest because of sports and things once they reach high school, but being younger can also push the kids harder to keep up and make them better. I think Landon would do a great job and probably show up at least half of those older kids!Izziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16771625349447504361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-16673382937696370592012-02-28T00:10:42.308-06:002012-02-28T00:10:42.308-06:00Just to clarify, the cut off in Texas is Sept 1, s...Just to clarify, the cut off in Texas is Sept 1, so Landon's birthday is within 45 days of that. I hasn't realized other states were so much later on the year- if ours was in December I wouldn't think of holding him back.LLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04431706155081017734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-65777738106349508732012-02-27T23:57:24.361-06:002012-02-27T23:57:24.361-06:00I agree with Andrea on the snowball effect. Hones...I agree with Andrea on the snowball effect. Honestly, I am surprised by the new trend of this being an "issue" for summer birthdays. I knew it would be something we would have to deal with for our daughter born in October, but I had no idea (until recently) that people were holding back their summer babies!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-74576786046485769062012-02-27T21:42:08.407-06:002012-02-27T21:42:08.407-06:00My son is a February birthday child. In his class ...My son is a February birthday child. In his class in 8th grade, the oldest child (a boy) was 14 months older than the youngest (a girl). The kindergarten cutoff date at this school was Sept 1st.<br /><br />I know my child would have done better academically had we sat him out, but he was so ready for kindergarten and first grade that it would have been an odd decision at the time. Most of the people we know who kept their boys out a year did so for sports-related reasons, but not every held-back boy wound up interested in sports.<br /><br />As it happened, he really did just fine, he was never bored, he scored in 98 and 99 per centile in standardized tests, and went off to college. An extra year might have improved his grades, but he also might have interacted differently being the oldest and may have been bored by certain parts of high school. <br /><br />Just some thoughts. Another issue is that kindergarten tends to socialization not academics -- and it sounds as though your son would be ready for academics, not another year of kindergarten!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-84395576623707438892012-02-27T21:24:20.910-06:002012-02-27T21:24:20.910-06:00What's better in this situation than ANECDATA?...What's better in this situation than ANECDATA????? I (a girl child) was not held back a year despite a late summer birthday and my mother still (I am now 26) tells me how much she regrets it when it comes up. I was apparently sensitive and stressed out by the whole ELEMENTARY SCHOOL thing. She held my younger brother, an early fall birthday, out a year and he ended up "making up" the extra year by squeezing high school into three years (and immediately going to a vastly more prestigious college than I did!). So who knows! It will probably work out either way, although I would imagine he would have a bigger advantage in sports, if you guys care about that, than in academics.JJ https://www.blogger.com/profile/13709043416663759186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552008288188142238.post-33972629987550869962012-02-27T21:01:24.840-06:002012-02-27T21:01:24.840-06:00I'm not a summer birthday, but my parents star...I'm not a summer birthday, but my parents started me as usual and I was bored stiff anyway - they should have skipped me a grade, but they didn't. I guess all I'm saying is that if Landon is struggling you can address it, but he's coming from two smart people already, so odds are he will be just fine.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com