Hi - I've seen a bit of research about skipping years, which suggested it is usually beneficial for a gifted child. I am thinking of this for my daughter who has been working at much higher levels than her classmates for a couple of years. It would mean skipping the last year of primamry and going stright to intermediate. My concern is that she is struggling socially at the moment, and what if there is a load of teasing due to her having skipped a year. Has anyone else done this?
Thanks
Helen
It depends on how she is struggling socially. Does she have friends (not necessarily intellectual peers, but get along with other kids?) Or are the social struggles more a part of her giftedness.... starting to realize that she is different from the other kids, feeling isolated from boredom?
We skipped our DS from 1st to 2nd- it was not a perfect solution, but it helped him emotionally and socially. In 3rd now, he still talks about feeling different from the other kids and this is more evident when the math curriculum is unchallenged, however he fits in more as just a "smart kid" in 3rd than oddly advanced in his previous grade.
I observe the social scenes of elementary quite closely- my only concern is that girls seem particularly sensitive to "fitting in" as they enter the later elementary grades. Boys just tend to ignore the kids that don't play by the group "rules" where girls seem to be a bit more hostile towards each other.
Balancing educational needs/ challenge with social and emotional needs seem equally important in arriving at a "Good Enough" solution. Best thing to do- ask her how she is feeling and if she thought skipping would be a good idea. For our DS, that is what he was asking for, even before we got around to testing to see if professionals thought he could handle it intellectually.
