Will you join me on a trip down memory lane?
In January 2009 I took a leap of faith and began a blog called “Our Out-of-Sync Life.” God placed it on my heart to encourage and empower mommas and teachers to shepherd little ones to live for Christ in this “out-of-sync” world.
Fast forward to 2021 and the name of the blog was changed to “Parenting to Impress” to match the vision of this ministry (Deuteronomy 6:5-9) and the name of our new podcast. Joining this blog and the Parenting to Impress Podcast resulted in one of the top 10% listened to podcasts in the world! If you haven’t taken a listen, please do!
In 13 years, I have shared a lot of information, encouragement, and honest stories of raising kiddos to love the Lord and love others. God has been in every one of the 2000 individual posts that have been read all over the world! All for His glory.
This summer we are going to do a dance between looking back at the most popular posts on this blog and sharing new content. So whether it’s something you’ve seen before or brand new content, I know you’ll find something to encourage and inspire you in your journey.
Should I Send My Child to Kindergarten?
This is a question that I am very passionate about.
What is your opinion about sending kids to kindergarten who have summer birthdays (or those who are close to the cutoff date)?
Kindergarten CUTOFF DATES
As far as I know, every state has a cutoff birth date for children to begin kindergarten. The states I am familiar with place their cutoff dates in August or September, but some wait until December.
For kiddos who don’t have a birth date close to the cutoff date the decision to begin kindergarten is not an issue. But for those who have birthdays near the cutoff, it may be hard to decide whether to send or “red-shirt” the child.
I am a firm believer in giving younger children another year to mature and grow.
Even though they were academically ready, we red-shirted our oldest son, Bubs, and Little Man as well. Because of their due dates, I knew before the boys were born that they would be six years old before entering kindergarten.
In telling our pediatrician this decision, she said:
I have never met a parent who regretted red-shirting his or her child.
I have met many who regretted sending their children.
For Your Consideration
But you say, “My child knows his ABC’s and wants to learn.” Or, “All of her friends are going.” Or, “She will be so much taller than his friends if we wait.”
Yep. I get it.
But there are a few specific points that I believe must be considered. And I invite you to read these in this most popular Parenting to Impress blog post:
