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Each of the factors below is an important factor in your decision, but no one factor should be the only basis for your decision. Look at all of the factors, and then decide.
Chronological Age at School Entrance: Research indicates that children who are more than five and a half years of age at the time of kindergarten entrance are much less likely to encounter problems. The younger the child is, the more likely that the paper/pencil kindergarten curriculum is inappropriate.
Family Status: The child's family's stability is important to the positive experience of beginning school. Consider the following events in your child's life and how recently they have occured:
1. Death of anyone close to the child, including family, friends, neighbors, pets.
2. Moves from one house/apt. to another. The child may miss friends, neighbors, babysitters.
3. Separation from parents or close family for any reason.
4. Birth of a sibling or addition of new step-family members.
Memory Level: Can your child remember common items such as prayers, home address, telephone number, etc. ?
Attention Span: A child who can focus attention for 10-15 minutes at a time on a single activity and who is not easily distracted will not experience as much frustration in kindergarten as a child who cannot focus attention.
Social Skills: Your child should be able to leave the security of a known situation (home/sitter/preschool/etc.), mix with other children and engage well in play. Your child should be able to commmunicate his/her needs.
Speaking Skills: The ability of a child to communicate clearly is a sign of maturation. In order to produce letter sounds correctly and distinctly, muscle control is essential.
Reading Interest: If a child likes to be read to and shows interest in books on his/her own, then the odds are high that the child is ready for the kindergarten curriculum. Children will not do well with something they are not interested in.
Small Motor Skills: The ability to cut, draw, paste, and manipulate pencils and crayons are very important in today's kindergarten. Eye/hand coordination is vital for success.
Large Motor Skills: Ability to skip, jump on one foot at a time, walk a balance beam, hop, and assume major control over body movementss is an ability reasearch has found to be related to overall reading success.
A child's self-concept needs to be positive and to see school as a good place to be. Giving the child the best start in school demands that the parent and school work together tobe sure that the child finds success and positive experiences. Working together, the home and school can help each child establish a firm foundation for a lifetime of learning.