When to start grade R

[Jean Claude Vaaldamme]

Ideally you want your kids to be at least 5 or turning 5 with the first couple months of the school year. Kids who are younger are at a distinctive disadvantage.

(My mother was Preschool and Junior Primary teacher before she retired.)

What utter kuk you are talking. Kids go to grade 1 in the year they turn 7. Grade R when they turn 6

 

[Polymathic]

What utter kuk you are talking. Kids go to grade 1 in the year they turn 7. Grade R when they turn 6

Not so much in KZN

 

[Jean Claude Vaaldamme]

A kid should be send when they are ready.
But just something to think about. I know some people send their kids a year late when their birthday is late in the year.
But just remember that kid will then always do sport and stuff with kids older than them and not their friends in their class/grade, for the rest of their school career.
When everyone in their class is born in say 2015, he will be 2014 and someone will always ask if he/she failed a year.

 

[Lupus]

General rule of thumb is 7yrs = Grade 1 even if you turn 7 on the 1st of January.

If you turn 7 on the 31 December then you would be one of the youngest in the class which would also apply to your twins so yes I would enrol them now.

That is the general rule, but if the child is late in the year like December, you can delay it by 1 month and enroll them when they are actually 7, being the youngest sucks.

 

[Sideshow Bob]

General rule of thumb is 7yrs = Grade 1 even if you turn 7 on the 1st of January.

If you turn 7 on the 31 December then you would be one of the youngest in the class which would also apply to your twins so yes I would enrol them now.

Thanks, is the rule of thumb you mention applicable to private schools? Because govt criteria seems ahead of private schools then? Which is very strange as I would have expected it the other way round.

A Grade R applicant must be at least four years old and turn five or older by 30 June the next year. An applicant for Grade One must be at least five years old and turn six or older by 30 June the next year.

Admission to school | South African Government

As stipulated in the South African Schools Act of 1996, all children between the ages of 7 and 15 are compelled to attend school. Parents and guardians should ensure that all learners of this age are registered to go to school and that their children attend school regularly.

www.gov.za

 

[Lupus]

I am tall for a coloured guy. (It is relative, I know, only 182cm, only as compared to other coloured guys). But I only reach my full Height during my first or second year of Varsity. At school reunion type gatherings, I am taller than the guys that were taller than me during my school years.

I'm 193cm, I was 182 in standard 5, so yup I didn't have any issues being the youngest as I was taller then most of the kids, there were maybe 3 others taller then me.

 

[WaxLyrical]

Thanks, is the rule of thumb you mention applicable to private schools? Because govt criteria seems ahead of private schools then? Which is very strange as I would have expected it the other way round.

Admission to school | South African Government

As stipulated in the South African Schools Act of 1996, all children between the ages of 7 and 15 are compelled to attend school. Parents and guardians should ensure that all learners of this age are registered to go to school and that their children attend school regularly.

www.gov.za

Much of a muchness so just stick to rules for both - your kid won't be disadvantaged either way since it's the norm.
Worse case is that your kid turns 7 on the 1st of January, he'll be one of the oldest but not long before everyone else also turns 7.

Gov schools factor in other conditions not found in pvt like the kid might have to stay an extra year in grade1 due to learning issues, which is probably widespread given our broken education system.

 

[WaxLyrical]

That is the general rule, but if the child is late in the year like December, you can delay it by 1 month and enroll them when they are actually 7, being the youngest sucks.

How do you delay it my one month?

So a late December kid can either be 6 for majority of the year in Grade 1 or
he can be 7 for the most of the year and then turn 8 at the end.

So he's either the youngest or the oldest at any given point?

 

[KleinBoontjie]

We had this problem, my son was 5 when he started Grade R, eventually we had to keep him back in Grade R as he didn't cope. He turned 5 at the start of December. In the old days it would be if they turned 6 before June and if they turned 6 after they'd be the next year. But they seemed to scrap it to when they turn 6 doesn't matter when in the year.

I agree, though sometimes it's not the kid, but the way or how the teacher (or even the parents) engages with the kid. All kids learn differently or some kids might need another way of encouraging them to engage with the work more positively.
But in the end, in most cases, it is probably better to keep them closer to their age groups.

Just a thought:

Buckminster Fuller Quote: “All children are born geniuses; 9,999 out of every 10,000 are swiftly, inadvertently degeniusized by grownups.”

 

[Lupus]

How do you delay it my one month?

So a late December kid can either be 6 for majority of the year in Grade 1 or
he can be 7 for the most of the year and then turn 8 at the end.

So he's either the youngest or the oldest at any given point?

So instead of sending them into Grade 1 when they are too young, which can lead to issues, just because you've not seen it or think it's nothing doesn't mean it doesn't effect kids. Even in extra mural activities the older kids in the grade do better then the younger, there is a lot of things showing that it does actually effect kids.

 

[deweyzeph]

The best option is to make sure that your kid turns 18 in their year of Matric and time it like that.

 

[Lupus]

I agree, though sometimes it's not the kid, but the way or how the teacher (or even the parents) engages with the kid. All kids learn differently or some kids might need another way of encouraging them to engage with the work more positively.
But in the end, in most cases, it is probably better to keep them closer to their age groups.

Just a thought:

Buckminster Fuller Quote: “All children are born geniuses; 9,999 out of every 10,000 are swiftly, inadvertently degeniusized by grownups.”

It is the schooling, kids are each different yet schools want them shoved into boxes.

 

[The_MAC]

According to Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers", you should wait till 2024, for the exact reason as you mentioned, there will always be an "upto" 1 year gap between them and the other kids, giving them a disadvantage, ultimately (potentially) squashing their self-confidence..

 

[The_Ogre]

Both my kids went to grade R when they were 4 turning 5 and to grade 1 when they were 5 turning 6. Both have birthdays before 30 June, which is the rule that the wife and I used.

They'll both turn 17 in matric and 18 in their first years in varsity. They're both tall (as are the wife and I) so bullying, etc are not an issue. Academically they're doing just fine.

 

[The_MAC]

The best option is to make sure that your kid turns 18 in their year of Matric and time it like that.

That is true, I was not able to get $hit-faced in first year varsity without the fear of getting locked up.. I was 17 in Matric

 

[Lupus]

Both my kids went to grade R when they were 4 turning 5 and to grade 1 when they were 5 turning 6. Both have birthdays before 30 June, which is the rule that the wife and I used.

They'll both turn 17 in matric and 18 in their first years in varsity. They're both tall (as are the wife and I) so bullying, etc are not an issue. Academically they're doing just fine.

Academically sure, but socially, extra murally and such? I mean are they in the top students, are they achieving what they could?
This is the thing, they've done research on that generally the younger kids are not doing as well as their older peers, a few months at 5 years old makes a massive difference, I mean remember for a 5 year old 6 months is almost a 10th of their life.

 

[Sideshow Bob]

Both my kids went to grade R when they were 4 turning 5 and to grade 1 when they were 5 turning 6. Both have birthdays before 30 June, which is the rule that the wife and I used.

They'll both turn 17 in matric and 18 in their first years in varsity. They're both tall (as are the wife and I) so bullying, etc are not an issue. Academically they're doing just fine.

I have talked to many parents in our area and bullying is absolutely not tolerated which is great to know. It is not a question of being tall only.

 

[cr@zydude]

Academically sure, but socially, extra murally and such? I mean are they in the top students, are they achieving what they could?
This is the thing, they've done research on that generally the younger kids are not doing as well as their older peers, a few months at 5 years old makes a massive difference, I mean remember for a 5 year old 6 months is almost a 10th of their life.

I know that kids born just after the sporting age cut off, 31 December in most sports, are more likely to become professional sportspeople. I haven't seen studies showing a similar effect on academics.

 

[Lupus]

I know that kids born just after the sporting age cut off, 31 December in most sports, are more likely to become professional sportspeople. I haven't seen studies showing a similar effect on academics.

It can affect that but don't think as much, because the developmental age is behind an older peer, remember as I said 6 months is a 10th of a 5 year olds life, so that is a massive change.

 

[Pho3nix]

Has anyone actually had an issue with their 5 y/o starting schools VS at 6 ?

I was a year younger than my peers and no big issue