Kindergarten Dilemma Decided

For the past two years I've pondered and vented  (here on the blog and with friends/family) about what we were going to do with Drew when the time came to kindergarten.  A September birthday is unbelievably stressful - who would've thought?!  The state of California is in the process of rolling back the age cut-off for Kindergarten, with this year's date at November 2nd.  So he more than makes the cut-off.

Making matters worse, Drew is incredibly bright academically.  And no this isn't just a proud mama bragging... he really excels academically.  He can read at a 2nd or 3rd grade level.  He can do basic math - with some addition and subtraction (he shocked us one day with his "divided by" answers). 

Since January I've been going back and forth to meetings about both Kindergarten and Transitional Kindergarten (TK).  Last month we received word that he was accepted into the TK program and we were assigned a school - the same school we anticipated going to all along.  This is a different from his "home school" where he would go as a traditional kindergartener.  And the most recent meeting on the subject was last night when there was a meeting for K/TK parents for at this "new" school.

Well we've made our final decision - Drew will go to TK and he will participate in a 2 year kindergarten program.  And last night I felt a lot better about our decision.  By doing TK we are agreeing that he cannot advance to 1st grade next year. While I have no doubt he's ready for everything academic, our decision was based solely on his emotional and social side.  We really didn't make the decision based on the fact of he is a September birthday or the fact he is a boy... which is the stereotype that most everyone puts him in - and to which drives me absolutely batty! 

Instead, our decision was based on our child.  We want him to have the self-esteem, and self-confidence as his schooling progresses.  It's better (in most cases) to be one of the older, rather than always being the youngest by a full year (or more).  TK will give him the time to work through some of the social/emotional frustrations he's still dealing with - mostly be cause he is younger than others. 

Dave and I feel that we sometimes forget Drew is only 4 1/2 when you can communicate with him like he's 6 or older.  That's not fair to him, and it wouldn't be fair to make him reach a higher standard - that he's not ready for. In turn we hope it gives him the extra confidence, emotional boost and time to really excel.  As my dear friend Chrissy said - it's not only up to the teachers to challenge the kids, it's our job as parents as well. 

So while it's been a hot subject for years for us and to which we heard opinions from every angle, Dave and I feel we are making the right decision for Drew.  Some are patting us on the back others are telling us we're making a bad decision.  Well time will tell whether we made the right call, I simply can't look back any longer.  It will either prove to be another reason for Drew to need therapy or it will be the best gift we gave to our child.  The gift of time.

Let the journey begin!

P.S.  Drew happily announced this morning it is "1 more sleep until graduation" (from preschool)