I can't believe they are starting Kindergarten...

Today is sort of a bitter sweet day for me, I am registering the girls in Kindergarten. Don't get me wrong, I think they are both ready and very excited for the new adventures they face, however, I am a little sad that my "babies" are going to be in school everyday.

"When" they start school has always been a very fine line, as their b-day is very close to most school cutoffs. I have the luxury of starting them or holding them back. Pete and I have always felt very strongly about not holding them back, however, have received a lot of negative remarks in regards to this. We get a lot of parents saying we are going to scar them for lives and they won't keep up with the others. Maybe I live in some delusional world, however, I don't feel a child who turns 4 or 5 in the beginning of August will be acclimated to school better than my girls, who's b-day is in the beginning of Sept. They are both in a very advanced preschool class and keep up better than most, in fact they seem to be more advanced than some of the Kindergarten kids from other schools.

We do send them to Catholic School, which was more willing to accept them over the public school. Our local district school wouldn't even consider letting them start this past fall and our "choice" school felt the same way. Now the "choice" school did say they would test the girls early for Kindergarten,however, not for pre-school. That didn't seem to make any sense, therefore that option was off the table. We are both happy with the school and feel God sent us and the girls on this path for a reason, however, it is financial struggle at times. By the time our local district school would accept our girls, they would be starting 1st grade and by then, why would we change schools? I think sometimes schools have these rules in place more to manage population and over crowding, rather than the best interest for the child. The fact that the principle wouldn't even meet my children, turned me off. Yet I have a friend who is the Principle of one of the top Elementary Schools in the country who wrote a recommendation for my girls to start school this past fall. He said if we lived in his district, he wouldn't have thought twice about accepting the girls early. Makes no sense!

I have never doubted our decision or felt we have made a horrible choice for our kids, however, only the future will tell. My feeling have always been, I can hold them back if they are not ready, but, cannot move them up if they are! Does that make sense?

What are your thoughts on this topic? Do you think it should be parents choice as to when they start their children? Earlier or later? Should each person be tested no matter what their b-day is?