It seems to me that a big part of kindergarten experience is learning the "culture of school." This was brought up over and over as we advocated for our son to skip K. Our feeling was that he had already had the school culture experience in terms of K expectations at daycare. He'd already learned the rules of standing in line, waiting your turn, sitting quietly, circle time, stations for activities, etc, etc. Had he NOT been in full time daycare with that kind of routine since the age of 12 weeks old I'm not sure we would have been so sure about skipping K. No regrets at all though in terms of the skip.
Looking back, I don't think I would have tried to start him in K a year earlier. He needed that year of maturation. I suppose it depends on the school - class size, teachers, etc. If your child already has the idea of school down, then early entry to K would be easier, I think. But, if your child has never been in any type of formal educational setting then maybe waiting a year is better. Perhaps finding a more play and social oriented preschool program. My DD is 4 and turns 5 next August. Honestly, she is already mastering K stuff this year at daycare/preschool. But I can't imagine her in K this year.
