Almost a year ago I wrote a post for the North Phoenix Moms Blog, This is Why My Son Will be Redshirting Kindergarten. At the time I felt certain in the decision we made for our August baby, but still had mixed emotions on how he would handle it. While we knew that redshirting our son a year ago would benefit him in the long-run, we have really seen him excel this past year.
We have never been concerned about him academically. He has surpassed all of ours and his teachers’ academic expectations, however we wanted to give him this extra year to mature socially. He is naturally reserved at first until he feels like he can open up—he is a lot like his parents in this regard. We wanted school to be both fun academically and socially for him going forward, and it feels like giving him that extra year has let his social skills flourish.
Mature Class Leader
This year, we have seen our son become a leader in his class. He loves to help his teacher and is quick to assist other students. At his school, teachers are able to snap pictures throughout the day and upload them to a personal photo folder so that we can see what he is doing throughout the day.
Last year, many of his photos showed him quietly reading a book to himself in their classroom library and playing with the same handful of friends—he was having fun but really staying in his comfort zone, and understandably so.
This year the photos look a little different. He is still reading in the class library, but often it is with another student who is working on their reading skills or he is reading to a small group of friends. We also see him playing with a wide range of friends and trying to master new skills. It makes this mama’s heart happy.
Gained Valuable Friendships
On our drive home from school each day I ask him to tell me all about the fun he had. He can be quite the chatter box, and often begins at the start of the day and takes me through each and every activity he did in school. I have noticed this year that his core group of friends has grown. He has a few friends that like to play in the outside blocks area with him, others that like to construct obstacle courses with him and a couple that hang out in the school garden together. Parents come up to me to tell him how sweet and polite he is as he greets every student that arrives to class after him. He has really become quite the social butterfly.
We have no doubt that our August baby would have been fine in Kindergarten this year, however we are happy that we delayed it. I feel like this extra year was just what he needed. He needed another year of play-based education and the chance to spread his wings.
Kindergarten, he’s ready for you.
I too have an August baby and wonder about starting school this year. But I also wonder if your son/any child would have seen the same growth and changes regardless of whether they were in kindergarten or held back in pre-school because those traits are inherently who they are and who they are going to become as they grow older. Social and intellectual development continues growing regardless of what our kids are doing day-to-day, so I feel like your son may have emerged as a leader even if he had been put into kindergarten. It’s a tough choice to make for sure. I guess I just think that we need to be careful to say that a child only flourished and became who they are now because they were held back.