My DD6 started kindergrten two weeks after she turned 5. She has an August burthday and out cutoff is january 1. She is now in a first grade class of 15 children. 8 of the children in her class were red shirted and turned 7 before January and one was held back and just turned 8! I was pretty annoyed when I found out that the town we moved to has an unwritten rule that you must red shirt any child born after September first. Making my dd the youngest. So, even though she is pretty athletic, I don't sign her up fir soccer beacuse in first grade soccer, she is playing against older boys and I don't think it's safe and it makes her feel bad about herself because she can rub as fast and when she collides with someone, she is always the one to go flying accross the field.
BUT I have to say, it is so nice that she has several older girls to play with and even though she is the youngest she is the best reader in the class and doing well in math. So, I figure I have to remember to tr
eat her like she skipped a grade and remember that she may lag behind in areas like speed.
I only wish my older DD9 could have the same opportunity to interact with and learn with children who are closer to her maturity than her age. It really is not fair that I cannot choose that for my April baby.
