I was really busy (you can read lazy) lately and I didn't post anything new.

But today I'm going to talk about the kindergarten cut-off dates.

In California, they ran as late as December 1st of the year the child turns five. But this date is going to be pushed towards September in the future, the plan being to loose a month each year until the September cut-off dates is reached.

In other states, the public schools kindergarten cut-off dates are as follows:

Alabama- September 1
Alaska- August 15
Arizona- September 1
Arkansas-September 15
British Columbia, Canada- December 31
California-December 1
Colorado- September 15
Connecticut-January 1
Florida-September 1
Georgia- September 1
Hawai'i-December 31
Idaho- September 1
Illinois-September 1
Indiana- July 1
Iowa- September 1 or 15
Kansas-August 31
Kentucky-October 1
Louisiana- September 30 (except Orleans Parish 12/31)
Maine-October 15
Maryland-Entering kindergartners must be 5 by Dec. 31
Massachusetts-September 1
Michigan-December 1
Minnesota-September 1
Mississippi-September 1
Missouri-AUGUST 1 (moved from July 1)
Montana-December 2
Nebraska-October 15
Nevada-September 30
New Hampshire-September 30
New Jersey-November 30
New York-November 30
North Carolina-October 16
North Dakota- December 2
Ohio-September 30
Oklahoma- September 1
Oregon-September 1
Pennsylvania (dates vary from district to district)
Rhode Island- Variable from September 1 to December 31
South Carolina- September 1
Texas-September 1
Utah-August 31
Vermont-dates vary from 9/1 to 1/1 Virginia-September 30
Washington- August 31
West Virginia- September 1
Wisconsin-September 1
Puerto Rico- September 1

Anyways, it looks like all states require the children to turn five the year they enter kindergarten, which is sensible.

I'm still torn between sending or not my summer-born daughter to kindergarten this year, even is she will be five by September. She seems to be ready academically, but I am not sure if socially this will be a good step for her. As I was watching her interact with other older girls at preschool, it seems like she tries hard to follow them, but when she plays with her neighbor’s daughter who’s a little younger than her, she in control and she speaks up her mind.

I really think that it's healthier to just wait, than to send her and have her struggle to appear older. Oh, in our area, the trend is to wait another year for the summer and fall birthday kids, sometime even for the spring ones.

Although she already writes well, using the capital and lower case letter appropriately, and she can do simple additions and subtractions easily, the lack of confidence that she shows when interacting with older kids make me believe that for her, waiting another year will be best.

She will start kindergarten when she'll be six and she will find it enjoyable and fun, not hard. She will gain self confidence and the desire to learn and be appreciated for her work.

In the year that she will stay in preschool, I will teach her French, which she loves, and maybe piano. So this year will not go completely to waste.

Also, just having an extra year to play, it's a bonus! She'll never be able to have it later on.