Three Friends

In UK IF Dan was 5 in June ....it would be almost the end of the school year .. UK school year starts in September and finishes July.  Summer holidays are middle ish July to end of August / early Sept.    SO Dan would start school at the beginning of the new September term.   BUT in some places he could start at the beginning of the Term after Easter.... April / May time ! Not quite 5 but close !

As it happened Dan was 5 in UK.... Oct. 2nd and he started school in the new September year before he was actualleh 5... well 4 weeks before he was 5 !

In NZ they can start when they are 5.. on their 5th birthday unless it is school holidays like Jack and Cash ! In NZ Annie 13th Jan. (Still Christmas / summer holiday) started when she was 5 years and 2 weeks Matt, May 7th started after the Easter holidays and he was not quite 5 .. but almost.

Same in Australia, you only start school at the beginning of the school year, which here is after the summer holidays at the end of January.

Well that was the way it happened when my kids started school in Marton. I forgot to ask Bonnie today ! You start the school day after your birthday unless it is holidays ! They do not learn much in the first class anyway and I do think they are kept back in the first class if they start towards the end of a term.

Kids in Kindergarten go to Primary school once they are 5 years old here ! SO none of them can read..... maybe a few words....!

Preschool her is exactly what it says, before school or what we tell the kids, big school My girls didn't go to preschool, but they knew the alphabet, their numbers and were beginning to read some words on their own. I used to love teaching them and would make games out of it all. My goodness that was a long time ago!!!!! Belinda is now 48 and Kylie will be 47 in July

I did the same with Jack in Perth as I looked after him for a long time and he can read everything nowadays at 9.  !!  Cash not so much and Greta 4.5  not at all and she has trouble holding her pen when writing or colouring in !!! She cannot hold it properly....like a pen, she holds it in her fist ... I keep telling her but.. but ... but !!!!!!!!!!!! She WILL learn    She does not have Time to do it properly ! I don't think she is learning much at Montessori except how to mingle and talk ! She is not going much anyway due to covid and lots of the kids and teachers off ! 

How can your girls be so old now Darien??? Where has the time gone ??

I have always thought of Montessori schooling as free range. They seem to allow the child to decide when they want to read and write, not too sure if that really works in my mind.