Decisions Made For Me

I can't even remember how many people have asked me if I will hold Maddie Mae back in school. The Fairfax County Public School deadline is Sept 30. School begins each year near Sept 7 or 8. Her birthday is Sept 15. This means that if I choose to send her "on time" to start kindergarten she will actually begin kindergarten as a 4 year old. All I can tell people is that we are a year away from the decision. I'll register her for class and make the call in August whether we go or withdraw and wait a year. Then we got this whole move across the globe thing coming up to throw a wrench into our lives. Today I researched the Singapore American School. Their deadline is Sept 1. The way they line things up when we arrive, Maddie will be ineligible for kindergarten that coming fall, she will have to go to pre-kindergarten. She'll go to preschool to finish up that year (assuming they have space to take her). Today I'm sort of bummed out about it. I feel like she is getting pushed back two years. All her friends here will go to school. When we return in three years she'll be a year behind her peer group. That sucks. Poor girl. I guess it's all in the mindset you have. I've always had her set to be the youngest of the group. Now she'll be the big kid. Well, she'll be the older kid. That girl will never be a big kid.