My DD missed the hard cutoff date for K by a month, so we kept her at a private preschool(3 mornings a week) for a third year, then had her assessed for grade acceleration at our public school. (They were very accomodating.) She started 1st grade this past fall, skipping K. It has worked out great for us with a very smooth transition. We enjoyed our "extra" time together before starting all-day, every-day school.