Luckily there is research on this topic and it comes down strongly on the side of waiting.  Research shows that young children need free play to develop the skills they will need in the classroom.  Exploration and imaginative play, reading, doing puzzles, coloring, helping in the kitchen, workshop and garden are all valuable. What looks like random play is actually the child figuring out the way things work and developing the confidence and problem solving skills she will need later in the academic setting. Children who had plenty of time for free play performed slightly better in recent studies than their peers who spent the time in formal “early academic readiness” programs.