To Go or Not to Go?

To Kindergarten that is.  We can't decide if Luke should start kindergarten next year or wait one more year.  There are sooooo many factors in this decision!  I think about it almost everyday.  Some days I'm all for it and others I'm not so sure.  One thing I do know for sure, Luke is a very smart kid and he'll need to be challenged.  How challenged is the question I guess?  

Some factors to ponder:

*Luke loves to learn.  In fact, on non-school days he's started telling me that we need to go somewhere so he can learn that day.  I love that he has a desire to learn.  I am confident in Luke's academic abilities if he started next year.

*One concern is Luke's fine motor abilities--writing, drawing, cutting, etc.  He has already made huge progress this year in school but will it be enough?  In a teacher conference in November his teachers weren't too sure if he would be ready in this area.  I have to admit I had a hard time with this evaluation because it came after only 6 weeks of school.  We agreed to have more of a discussion about everything this spring before enrollment starts for school next year.

*Luke can be very attentive when he wants to and when something interests him.  According to his teachers, he does well in the center time they have at school.  However, last week they sent a note home with some work he didn't finish during center time.  When I talked to him about it he said all the other kids were distracting him and he couldn't concentrate.  Now granted this has only happened that one time but it's something to think about.

*Luke would be one of the youngest if not the youngest in his class since his birthday is in July.  That could be a good or a bad thing depending on the situation.  I want him to be comfortable with and confident in himself to not always be a follower which may not be the case if he's the youngest.  He'll be smaller for sports although this isn't a major factor for me.  Do we want him to be the first to drive or last to drive in his class?  Will he be mature enough for college having just turned 18 if he starts next year?  

*Luke is already reading.  It's mostly sight words and from memory but there are a series of books about a puppy named Biscuit and Luke can read them.  He knows how to sound out a word and put the sounds together to form a word.  He knows all of his letters, uppercase and lowercase, and the sounds that they each make.  He is constantly telling us what letters he sees and what words he recognizes and asking us what words are that he can't figure out himself.

*We have two neighborhood boys that will for sure be starting kindergarten next year.  Now this isn't a major factor either but I feel like it is something to be considered.  Luke knows they are all the same age.  I don't want him to think there is something "wrong" with him if he doesn't start school with them.  I also don't want him to be teased by these other boys if he doesn't start with them.

I've talked with numerous people about this decision and have received all kinds of advice and suggestions.  I truly want to make the best decision we can as Luke's parents for him.  The current plan is to enroll him in kindergarten and also pre-kindergarten and wait and see what happens in the next 7-8 months before making a final decision.  Any suggestions, advice, experience, etc is welcome.