To School Or Not To School

by Nicki Do I send Liam to junior kindergarten or not?  That is a question that has been on my mind for quite some time.  For many parents there really isn't a decision to be made.

My son was born on Christmas Day, 2008, this means that Liam is eligible to start Junior Kindergarten this September at only 3 years and 8 months old.

For us, this makes the decision very difficult.  Do we send him this year, based on his age?  Do we wait another year?  If we do, should he start in Junior Kindergarten or Senior Kindergarten?

If he does go this year, I worry about it being too much for him on many levels at such a young age.  The structure, the independence in self help skills (including using the bathroom), the long days without a nap, can a three year old cope with these things?  Not to mention such a small child riding on the school bus.

If we do wait until next year, which is what we are leaning towards right now, where do we put him?  JK where he will be the oldest and in theory most advanced in the class?  Or SK where he will be the youngest but still with kids born the same year as him.  Will he be too advanced and bored if we start him in JK?  But at the same time, he could be too far behind if we start him in SK.  Either way, our decision will effect his whole school career.  Thinking way into the future, if he starts JK this year as a 3 year old, he will be due to go off to college or university at only 17! Looking back, there was no way I could have gone off to college at 17!!!

Really, I know there is no right or wrong answer to this dilemma.  it is one of those things that every family with an end of the year baby has to make for themselves.  However, I would love to know how other people have handled this issue.  Please share your experiences as a parent or as a teacher!

Nicki is mom to 3 year old Liam.  She is an ECE,  who loves to garden, scrapbook, write and take photos. She blogs about the randomness that is her life at Perils of a Working Mom

Registering for Kindergarten

by Lara It's hard for me to believe that it's already been two years since I first had to register my son for school, or that I'm only a year away from doing it for my twins.  But we all get there and suddenly our babies are ready to go to school!

February tends to be the time that most schools start accepting registration for September - are you prepared?

There are four public school boards to choose from and most have open houses where you can go in and meet the teachers and ask questions about the programs.  The boards are:

English Public: Information on Kindergarten registration.  To find the school in your area.

English Catholic: Information on Kindergarten registration.  To find the school in your area.

French Public : Open house list for 2012 (some have already passed but many haven't yet) To find the school in your area.

French Catholic: Information on registering.  To find the school in your area.

For some the choice on which school to send their kids to is clear, for others there's a little more decision making involved.

We chose to send our son to the French Public board. Although my husband doesn't speak much French and we only speak English at home, I learned French by attending elementary school in French and felt it was the best way for my children to learn as well.  Although it took almost six months for Kiernan to really start feeling comfortable in French, in his second year of full-day French school he is thriving.

Are you ready for school registration? What school board did you choose for your kids?