[canadia]

Hi All,

We're planning on moving to Canada for a year or 2 in 2013. We have 2 children, oldest will be 7 and youngest will be 5.

I looked into the Canadian school system and it appears kids don't start school until they are 6.

Seeing how one of my kids is already in school and will be well able to read, write and do basic maths by the time we relocate, should I put him a grade ahead?

Also my youngest will be 5, not old enough to start canadian school, but he will already have done 2 years of playschool here, I'm afraid he'd be bored doing yet another year of kindergarten in canada. Can I enrol him anyway or is 6 the legal required age?

I'm just wondering what did other people do when moving from UK or Ireland when their kids had already started school here?

I could be completely wrong about the canadian system so please feel free to correct me

 

[G-Mo]

The local school you will send your child to will do an assessment on an incoming foreign student to asses their skill level and assign them to the appropriate grade, you can't just choose what grade to put your child in. I think you are underestimating the education children receive here, Senior Kindergarden is no "play school", it begins the basics of reading, writing and math as well as art and socialization. By the time they enter grade 2 (age 7), they have had 2 years reading, writing, etc... My 8 year old niece is doing times tables.

 

[canadia]

Thanks G-Mo

I didn't mean to offend with my question, one of the reasons we like Canada is for the education the kids will get. I had looked up kindergarten curriculum online but there was no mention of reading etc so I was just a bit worried in case it was learning through play until 6 years of age ( Some of our friends moved to another country where this was the case and her little one was bored and acted up etc)

I think I'm just at the fretting stage of the move Hopefully the super excited phase will kick back in soon

 

[mrsDayLewis]

Its been quite a few years since my kids were in (Ontario) school system, but we lived in the country side and they attended kindergarten every other day, for a full day. Kids in the city often had just mornings everyday. As G Mo says, they learn very quickly to be prepared for grade 1, and by the end of the year can cover the basics of the 3Rs!
WikiP states - Junior Kindergarten (or equivalent) as an official program exists only in Ontario currently. Kindergarten (or its equivalent) is available in every province, but provincial funding, and the number of hours provided varies widely. Starting at grade one, at age six or seven, there is universal publicly funded access up to grade twelve (or equivalent). Dependent on the province the age of mandatory entry is at 4–7 years. Children are required to attend school until the age of sixteen (eighteen in Ontario and New Brunswick).

If you want more, there are many excellent daycare centres with kindergarten learning programs, and also very good private and Christian schools. The other option is 'home schooling'
Education in Canada - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Gotocanada]

Hi All,

We're planning on moving to Canada for a year or 2 in 2013. We have 2 children, oldest will be 7 and youngest will be 5.

I looked into the Canadian school system and it appears kids don't start school until they are 6.

Seeing how one of my kids is already in school and will be well able to read, write and do basic maths by the time we relocate, should I put him a grade ahead?

Also my youngest will be 5, not old enough to start canadian school, but he will already have done 2 years of playschool here, I'm afraid he'd be bored doing yet another year of kindergarten in canada. Can I enrol him anyway or is 6 the legal required age?

I'm just wondering what did other people do when moving from UK or Ireland when their kids had already started school here?

I could be completely wrong about the canadian system so please feel free to correct me

Hi. We moved to Canada when our children were 4 and 6. The youngest started junior kindergarten which is the same as reception years at schools in England. There are many schools offering full time kindergarten and some do part time which is 2 or 3 days per week, depending on how the weeks work out and if your child is on A or B days. My 6 year old started grade 1 but would have been in grade 2 in England. It worked well going into grade 1 as she is with children her age and gives them the time to adjust to the changes. Mine are both in french immersion and the education is very good here. Hope that helps. Fleur