Correct Age for Kindergarten Admission

School is said to be first home.  Children spend most part of their time at school.   During admission, concerned parents leave no stone unturned to ensure that their children get enrolled in good school.

Every parent will have to shoulder this important responsibility and during the time of admission, often many of them endure untold dilemma and discomfort.  Particularly if you happen to live in Bangalore, it is very difficult when it comes to school admission.  Here most of the schools start admission during previous October-November itself.

In my case, when I look back at the experience I had, it is as if the whole dilemma itself has turned out to be quiet a learning experience in itself.

Though what appears to be a pretty simple task of school admission, there actually goes so-much more in getting into one - selection criteria, syllabus, age-limit, you will have to make choices by considering several options and take the best decision.

Each school sets different age-limit for admission.  Most of the good schools insist on child's age to be over 3 years 10 months.  Actual conflict arises here, If a child is over 3 years 6 months - should you admit your child or not? If you opt to admit then your kid is still not eligible for admission in schools which set age cut-off for 3 years 10 months.  On the other hand there are schools which take in children above 3 years of age for LKG (Lower Kindergarten). Then comes the difficult question - What age is appropriate for admitting a child to LKG (Lower Kindergarten).

Having had a first-hand experience of this dilemma, the whole process set me pondering for a while, and in the end I observed this:

In Schools, where age limit was set for 3 years 10 months,  the academic classes are structured as LKG (Lower Kindergarten), UKG (Upper Kindergarten) and 1st Standard.  Whereas in Schools which enrolled kids from 3 years and above for LKG, the classes are structured as LKG, UKG, Preparatory and then 1st Standard.

Having noted this, I noticed one more important aspect, In all Schools irrespective cut-off age limit set, the classes start from 8:30AM and kids have to be inside campus by 8:20AM.  Parents will be bound to get their kids ready by 8:00AM which means we have to wake them up earlier than 7:00AM itself.  This crucial timing aspect can make an impact on a child's psyche in relation to their age.

After weighing all these options, I finally let my daughter continue another year in Montessori which she has been attending since she turned 2 years.

Montessori will typically start from 9:30AM and may last till 1:30PM with less number for students per teacher and is more activity oriented, though it is slightly expensive.

A playhome differs significantly from a Montessori.   In a Montessori, emphasis is given to learning methods, experience and thinking process. 

Montessori environment too plays important role in preparing a child for attending school.  Parents whose children fall short of upto 4 months of age-limit set by school can opt for Monetssori.