Now a days this seems to be such a hot topic. My kids are 10 and 12. May and Sept birthdays, With a May b'day she's not within the cut off to decide. My son has the Sept. B'day. I think each parent really knows what is the best for their child. I do have trouble with all people holding their kids back that one year to gain such advantages as age in sports in the later years and my other issue is 19 year old in high school with 14 year olds :) I could go on all day about this topic, so if you'd ever like to discuss it more let me know. 
We send our son, he was 4 at the time he started school the first week of Aug. school starts here. He had been reading for at least 6 months before he entered kindergarten and academically he was ready. He is in 5th grade now and academically still doing very well. 
When I went to school you went if you made the cut off, there was no choice in sending. It seems to be a big deal now and the teachers like them older and the schools like that they can expect more from the kids when they begin if they are older. It doesn't hurt the test scores either :) I l didn't know that kindergarten is not a requirement, I thought that was interesting. 

SO true - it almost doesn't seem fair!  Like you said, in our day, if you made the cut off you went, there was really not a choice or a discussion!   

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Diane {Created by Diane} said ...
Now a days this seems to be such a hot topic. My kids are 10 and 12. May and Sept birthdays, With a May b'day she's not within the cut off to decide. My son has the Sept. B'day. I think each parent really knows what is the best for their child. I do have trouble with all people holding their kids back that one year to gain such advantages as age in sports in the later years and my other issue is 19 year old in high school with 14 year olds :) I could go on all day about this topic, so if you'd ever like to discuss it more let me know. 
We send our son, he was 4 at the time he started school the first week of Aug. school starts here. He had been reading for at least 6 months before he entered kindergarten and academically he was ready. He is in 5th grade now and academically still doing very well. 
When I went to school you went if you made the cut off, there was no choice in sending. It seems to be a big deal now and the teachers like them older and the schools like that they can expect more from the kids when they begin if they are older. It doesn't hurt the test scores either :) I l didn't know that kindergarten is not a requirement, I thought that was interesting. 

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As an educator, I can say it is really about each individual kid and not the age. Considering your child has spend two years in preschool she is most likely ready. I can tell you that my daughter has a June birthday (but a year behind yours) and I am already planning on putting her into kindergarten at 5. There are individual cases where some kids are not socially or academically ready but if your daughter knows her letters and the sounds they make and can recognize her name, you are in good shape. If she can already read, please don't hesitate to put her in school. Honestly, it might be worse to wait a year and have her be bored in class because she is not being challenged. 

And sadly, Diane is right. In most cases where the parents hold kids back (or start them later) it's for a nonacademic reason (I know someone who did this). 

I say ignore the naysayers and do what your originally planned! Send her to school!

my oldest just started kindergarten. he's birthday is in january & will be turning 6. he obviously couldn't have started last year, & honestly, I felt that he would have been too old to hold out. he would have been 6 turning 7.

My middle child on the other hand, I already plan on holding him back. With a birthday in late October, I just think he will benefit from that added year.

Personally, I think the boys are usually the ones to benefit most from being held back, but that's just my own opinion.

I've spoken to many who have done this. They said they wanted it to be easy for their kids, or for be older bigger and more developed in athletics. I think that is a sad reason, and those kids I find are bored in school and not really learning at their potential. Hopefully they will in H.S.

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Carrie said ...
And sadly, Diane is right. In most cases where the parents hold kids back (or start them later) it's for a nonacademic reason (I know someone who did this). 

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That is really true, I would worry that she would be bored if I waited.  She already had a good handle on much of the academic stuff, so I am not concerned about her being academically ready.  What concerns me most is if there are kids in her class a FULL year older.  To me, even 6 months age difference in kids is a big one as far as development, so if kids are 6 going on 7 and she is newly 5, that is the only thing that really concerns me.  But I am sure it evens out more as they get older.   I am sure I am going to send her, but I really like all the insight, thank you! 

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Carrie said ...
As an educator, I can say it is really about each individual kid and not the age. Considering your child has spend two years in preschool she is most likely ready. I can tell you that my daughter has a June birthday (but a year behind yours) and I am already planning on putting her into kindergarten at 5. There are individual cases where some kids are not socially or academically ready but if your daughter knows her letters and the sounds they make and can recognize her name, you are in good shape. If she can already read, please don't hesitate to put her in school. Honestly, it might be worse to wait a year and have her be bored in class because she is not being challenged. 

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yeah, I think they call this red lining and I would never hold my kid back for this reason. 

Like Jen, my daughter is 4.5 and will be 5 in July.  I am 99.9% I am sending her, my only concern is her maturity. She has been in preschool for 2 years, she love school, she is academically ready, but emotionally, she is a little immature and we still struggle with clinginess and drop offs. I am hoping between now and next Sept, things change- because my intent is to send her.  

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Diane {Created by Diane} said ...
I've spoken to many who have done this. They said they wanted it to be easy for their kids, or for be older bigger and more developed in athletics. I think that is a sad reason, and those kids I find are bored in school and not really learning at their potential. Hopefully they will in H.S.

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I seriously could have typed this paragraph word for word - totally the same for me!  It's the maturity thing.  However, it might be a different story in the spring.  I think it's a wait and see sort of scenario.

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michele said ...
Like Jen, my daughter is 4.5 and will be 5 in July.  I am 99.9% I am sending her, my only concern is her maturity. She has been in preschool for 2 years, she love school, she is academically ready, but emotionally, she is a little immature and we still struggle with clinginess and drop offs. I am hoping between now and next Sept, things change- because my intent is to send her.  

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I would talk to her preschool teacher. They have a good grasp on whether or not they're ready for kindergarten. My son has a June birthday also, and I plan to send him to kinder when he's five, unless his teachers think he's really not ready.