Right now I am mearly in the fact finding stage. I am admittadly doing this last minute so please bear with me. My 4 year old is 1 week too young to start Kindergarten this year. I had him tested and his IQ is 113, while the cut off for the school district is 130(almost unatainable). I feel that he is ready for school, and don't think it is right, that a parent can hold their child back on a whim, but has to be a genius to start early. Would homeschool benefit him? How does his age and the fact that he is too young affect the credibility of homeschooling if and when we decide to put him in public schools?

I am also exploring private schools, but the CDC at out church only goes through Kindergarten, so I would be up against the same thing next year and he would have to repeat kindergarten. Am I just being pig headed or should I pursue this?

Brett

Whether or not you should pursue this is really a very personal decision. I have one child who was a few weeks too young for kindergarten, and another who barely made the cut off by a few weeks. We started them both in kindergarten (homeschooling) the year they turned 5, so the one who was "too young" started a year earlier than she could have if she'd gone to school. But by about 4th grade, she needed to slow down and now is actually in the grade she would have been if we'd waited a year to start. My other one, who barely made the cut off, ended up repeating a grade, so she is actually a year behind where she could have been. But none of that matters, really. They are both where they need to be, which is what is most important. Everyone is different, and every child has different needs. As for repeating kindergarten, I believe that if your child attends kindergarten at a private school, the following year he could go into 1st grade in the public school, no matter what his age. That could be different in different states, though, so you would need to check on it to be sure. It's also possible that if you homeschool for kindergarten this year, he could go into 1st grade the next year (public or private school). But again, the laws may be different depending on where you live.

Hi Brett,
Whatever enriching and fun activities you do with your son this year will be an incredible blessing to him.
Let us know what you decide.
Blessings,
Christine

Just wanted to give you guys an update. We were able to get our son into the private Kindergarten at our church. He is doing great so far. The school administrator did tell us there is a small possibility he won't be able to start 1st grade next year, again because of his age. That is a bridge that we will have to cross when the time comes. Right now I am just happy that he is in a Christian Education program and is getting what he needs.