[Chockybits]

My DS who turns 5 mid Feb, is due to start school in term 2, which means he will only get 3 terms of reception. When he first started kindy the kindy director said that we could keep him back an extra term at kindy and start him at school in term 3, which would then give him 6 terms of reception. I will be talking with them when kindy goes back to see what they suggest based on his progress over the past year, but I was just wondering if any others have done this? If so, do you think the extra time was of benefit to your child?

For those whose child only did 3 terms did you think it was enough or too rushed? Do you think they would have done better with extra time in reception?

Any thoughts or feedback on similar experiences would be greatly appreciated.

TIA

[LambChop]

Why don't you just wait and see how he goes ? Review at the end of the year and decide then based on where your son is at.

[Chockybits]

I have to make the decision this term because if he does start in term 2 then he will be doing transition visits this term.

[MadamDivine]

My dd is in the same position, and I have decided 3 terms is not enough.

My eldest two children had 5 and 6 terms and I believe they both needed them.

Just means DD will be older then most students in her class and even over a year older then some class mates next tear due to the SA system finally coming into line with the rest of au intake system

[JKTMum]

Why don't you just wait and see how he goes ? Review at the end of the year and decide then based on where your son is at.

I'd say this isnt an option.

I dont live in SA, but from what I understand kids start Reception the term after their 5th birthday, but they can only start year 1 at the start of a year. There are rules on how many terms each child can have in Reception, a child starting in term 1 will have 4 terms, a child starting in term 2 will have 3 terms but a child starting in term 3 will have 6 terms and a child starting in term 4 will have 5 terms. I dont think 7 terms is an option if OP decides to start in Term 2, her DS will then have to start year 1 the following year in term 1.

OP I'd see how your DS is fairing after the first half of first term and again be guided by the kindy teachers. They will know what they are looking for in terms of readiness and whether they think your DS would be better doing extra terms in Reception rather than the minimum 3 terms. Are they expected to be able to read and write after Reception (they are in Prep in Victoria)? Do you think he will have trouble either academically or more importantly socially and emotionally with going into 'school'?

[Heather11]

I was always under the impression that children were only allowed to do four terms of kindergarten. Of course there can be exceptional circumstances but I thought a diagnosis of some kind was needed. Kindy in SA is heavily subsidised by the Government and from what I have read you are only entitled to 4 terms.

I know a friend deliberately started her DD in term 3 at kindy even though she could start in Term 2 in order to get 6 terms of Reception. She only did the 4 terms of kindy.

I have had two children do three terms. The first could of done with four terms but I also think the teacher didn't push them.

My DS has just finished 3 terms of Reception. He has excelled both academically and socially and believe he will be at the the same level this year as those who have done 6 terms. His teacher last year knew that they needed to be pushed.

I personally believe 6 terms is too many and think the system coming in in 2014 where everyone will do 4 terms will be beneficial.

[babygirl03]

Firstly, I would say be guided by the feedback from your DS's kindy and also by what you know of your child

In general, 4 terms is ideal but when it's a choice of 3 terms or 6 and you're really not sure, maybe err on the side of 6 terms. My sister is a junior primary teacher and has been taking Year 1 classes for the last few years. She said it's usually quite obvious which are the children that have done 3 terms of Reception only as opposed to 4. It's a foundation year and children learn so much during that first year of school. Thus, it may not be a bad thing to have an extra term or two to reinforce those base fundamentals, in particular, for a child who is working more at the average to lower half of the class - not saying that your child is but would be a point for consideration.

Good luck in your decision.

[PopsiclePeach]

My son did 6 terms of reception (SA FYOS) as he had a late May birthday.

My daughter (early April birthday) could have done 3 terms of reception but I held her back on starting kindy by 1 term so she will get the 6 terms too. It's the last chance in SA!! She will start school in July this year. I can't see any negatives to it. Academically, she would be completely fine with 3 terms and probably socially too, however I would rather her get a really excellent grounding before moving on to Year 1. I think that those first few years are so important, I don't want to rush it. We have mostly composite classes so if necessary she can be doing Year 1 work next year anyway if she is ready for it. She is also an initially shy child in new environments but once settled there's no stopping her!! I would really like for her to be a 'leader' rather than a follower as I have witnessed at Kindy with some of the more confident girls. I think having 2 terms of reception under her belt before all the 'newbies' arrive in January next year will be great for her confidence and help develop her nurturing side.

There is the added benefit that we will only have one year overlap of paying 2 lots of private high school fees

This post has been edited by PopsiclePeach: 20/01/2013, 10:20 PM

[monkeys mum]

My dd did three terms, the kindy wanted her to stay back so she would do six terns, but i decided socially this wouldnt help her. She also got funding for speech which i believe the kindy were happy to hang on to. Plus it made no sense to me that she stayed behind and was with younger children as that wouldnt help her speech.

Dd is still the youngest but has been in 2/3 and 3/4 composite classes the past two years and is doing fine, yes she needs to build a little bit of resilence. But, academically you really would not think she is the youngest or that she stilo has speech. We were pleasantly surprised that for naplan she was not only above the schools average, but also above the national average. Im sharing this not to brag but to share three term story when the kindy were trying very hard to keep her back.

My advice is, what do you think? Is your child one who would not go too well not having friends in his class? My dd although she knew some of the kindy kids that were starting in term three all of her friends started in term one or two.

I cant wait for the once a year intake, ds will by five during term one next year but i think it will be so much better then starting in term two.

[blackbird]

my son is autistic and has just done 3 terms, I was worried how he will do this year as in the last week of school he was not even close to reading, and just this week, he finally gets how to string sounds together! I think 3 is enough just.

This post has been edited by blackbird: 20/01/2013, 10:45 PM