Our twins have a fall birthday, a couple of months past the kindy cutoff. We considered petitioning for them to start preschool a year early, before their 5th birthday. They had been reading since ages 2 and 3, respectively, and could have handled even a 1st or 2nd grade curriculum with relative ease, academically speaking. We also would have saved on the private preschool tuition for 2 kids.
We decided not to pursue early kindy, in large part because we liked their play-based, child-led preschool and didn't want them to miss out on that. This is an Reggio Emilia based preschool, and a big project their class did that "extra" year was to create and put on a play based on a personal story their teacher had shared. It was awesome - my dd made a program to hand out to the audience, ads and all, that was hilarious.
Our kids are now 14yo, and we have no regrets about waiting. No doubt early K would have worked out fine too. Even now in 8th grade, we are protective of time for their independent creative "play" pursuits.
Last edited by amylou; 03/19/14 06:18 AM.
