[Debbie]

Our plan was for our 4.5 yr old to end the school yr in his pre-school in the UK and then start school in NZ after the Xmas break (Feb at the start of the school yr). I understand that NZ kids can start school on their 5th birthday no matter when that falls in the school yr. Is this right? Any one know if he will stand out / there will be any problems with him starting later, his birthday is end of Sept.
Like others I figured he would benefit from some time in his new home with mum before joining school and I didn't want him to join school for a few weeks then break up for the long Xmas hols and then have to get used to it all again.
Can any teachers / parents confirm if he can start on or after his birthday or do kids always start at the beginning of a term.
Thanks Debbie

(Copied from activities thread)

[Oregonkiwi]

Yes, kids start school on their 5th birthday. You shouldn't have any problems with him starting after his birthday.

[sizzlingbadger]

Just as long as you start him before his 6th birthday you'll be fine.

I held mine off from beginning of November till the February. Didn't do him any harm and he's already nearly top of the class despite some of them being there six months to a year.

[Diny]

Ours started school right in the middle of the year. They are slightly older than yours but they handled it all very well. They got put up a year and are both the youngest in their class but they cope very well.

I think the 'level' of work they are doing, coupled with the fact that (we've found) the schooling over here to be very casual helped alot. Like all parents, we were concerned how the boys would settle but they managed just fine in spite of the fact that their class mates had already done 6 months of the years work. They actually appear to have settled too well - they just don't have the enthusiasm and motivation which they once had. I suspect this has alot to do with the fact that they are repeating work they did a couple of years ago in their old school.

Education over here is a massive learning curve for both children and parents. My biggest problem is that I continue to compare their old schooling with their new. They are a million miles apart, VERY different.

Diny

[katiejay]

I've been following both these threads, and I'm interested to know more about the home teaching during the extended break (we're planning to go over in November '07 and start the boys in school in February '08). Is there a legal requirement in NZ to home educate for the period up to the end of the school year, and either way has anyone used a structured method of teaching? We don't want them getting too used to the idea of not going to school!!!

[Lupin]

Lots of information here about home school/ home education in New Zealand (http://www.home.school.nz/) :)

[katiejay]

Perfect, Lupin - thanks.

[tigerlily]

I was surprised that the requirements for home schooling were so high, in what I thought was a very casual education environment- it's much more strict than any place in America. I thought of homeschooling but now I'm back to planning to send them off to kindy, as I think it's the way they will make new friends. I'd love to get them in some language lessons- as I understand languages aren't taught to young children in school?

[sizzlingbadger]

TigerLily, currently our local kindy is teaching Te Reo at mat time. My kids now are picking up quite a few Maori words and are loving learning a different language. Even Playcentre they use Maori words for things and it's a great age as they pick it up very quickly.

I know Churton Park Kindy in Wellington teachers Japanese as they have quite a few Japanese kids attending. My eldest was coming out with all sorts of Japanese words and I was telling him to stop talking nonsense when he turned around and said 'Mum I'm saying colours and numbers Japanese'. It didn't click at first because I wasn't really listening to what he was saying :D

[tigerlily]

That sounds like me, only half listening to my kids! I'm glad that some things are being introduced, I agree, learning languages young is the way to go. Did you live in Churton Park? I've heard it's a nice part of Welly.