Hi All

I was just having a little think and I was wondering, my daughter was 4 in november and if we were staying in the UK she would be starting school in September So she will need to go to a pre school when we get to NS to make friends etc.
are there many that are linked to the primary schools?
do they get funded places after the age of 3yrs as they do in the UK or do we have to pay full amount?
My daughter finds it a little hard to settle somewhere new (she tends to scream and gets very upset) if I have to just leave her, do the primary schools allow the new children starting school to come for days to get use to the school and teachers etc

Any info would be great xx

Hi

1. You may want to read this: http://www.childcarecanada.org/ECEC2001/NS.pdf
2. Kindergarten starts at age 5 for children born before 01/10/

That's old information. Primary is now for children who are 5 on or before 31 December.

http://www.ednet.ns.ca/index.php?t=sub_pages&cat=487

http://www.childcarecanada.org/ECEC2.../ECEC08_NS.pdf

Deva is correct - if they're 5 before 31st December, they can start primary in the September.

My daughter was 4 when we moved and had already started at her UK primary school - had to go back to 'playschool' once we got here.

Feel free to email me if you want to ask any questions!! Nicola

Hi

Thanks for the info everyone So does this mean that my daughter who will be 5yrs old next november would start school this september in NS

Yes - but don't worry - they have late registration around the end of August so you can still get her into school for September.

They way i see it in my head....she will start Kindergarten...

We have a four year old who will be 5 in December 2010 when we arrive in June she will go to Kindergarten.......on the Bus at 7.15!!!!

Ok thats good to know as we wont be in NS till end of july/aug.Im just worried about having to leave her somewhere that she doesnt know anyone she's really sensitive and Im worried she will just be really upset not knowing anyone. I was hoping she would have had a year of making friends etc

Do you know where you are moving to in NS?

Hi there,

Just because your daughter is turning 5 in November doesn't mean that you are required to send her to kindergarten. Many parents with children that have late birthdays choose to hold their kids back a year. I know that we are planning to do so with our son who was born in late November. We are both teachers and don't want our child struggling throughout his schooling. We plan to send him to a specialized preschool for the year. It will cost us a lot more money but I don't want him to struggle in elementary school.

Canada is different than the UK in that most classes are split at the elementary level meaning that you will have 2 grades in one class. Age becomes even less of an issue at the highschool level.

It is also important to note that it is a lot easier to move your child up once they are in the system rather than to hold them back.

Good luck with your decision. It is only something that you can decide based upon your knowledge of your child.

Don't kids start school at 5 in the UK anyway?

We have to stay within colchester county and were looking at stewiacke.

I do want her to start school, shes ready, she gets very bored at home if I dont have constant activities for her to do but I was hoping to get her use to the school and possibly make new friends before she started. my eldest daughter finds it easy to make new friends etc but my 4yr old takes a bit longer and gets very emotional.

OMG They go on the bus Im starting to panic now
so kindergarten is the canadian version of reception class im in the loop now I was told they didnt do that in canada ok ive now got to get use to my baby starting school now