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    #128017 04/23/12 11:19 AM
    Joined: Feb 2012
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    KJP Offline OP
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    I have a school meeting next month and I have a question about acceleration. We are considering early K (testing psych. recommends it) and our 4 year old has been accepted. The school has K by itself but 1-6 is together. I think my son's skills are within the range of normal for K. His ability to understand concepts and participate in discussions about advanced concepts is way beyond K.
    The whole school learns kind of the same thing at the same time. For example, if the concept is space, the preschoolers will be introduced to the planets and sing songs about the moon, stars, rockets etc. The K will take it further, maybe learning about moon cycles, comets, types of stars and the 1-6 will go even further with the concepts. This pattern follows in most of the science and cultural/social studies type concepts introduced.
    I think the 1-6 depth on these concepts would be a better fit for him. However, there is no way he has the skills to do work at that level. His handwriting, reading, etc. Is just not up to that speed.
    I am looking for ideas on how to approach this. It is a delicate situation because if you recall from my earlier posts, preschool at this school as a bad fit for him. I kind of feel like we are pushing their limits with early K. I am not looking to have him in the 1-6 classroom all the time or even part of the time. Just to have access to kids and material that are at his thinking level.
    We had some awkward moments last week with him playing with two different five year olds. On multiple occasions he had to explain what the words he was using meant. He handled it fine but you could tell he was getting frustrated. I just want him to be able to stretch his brain without his little four year old body with it's poor coordination holding him back.

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    If his writing AND his reading aren't up to the more advanced level, maybe kindergarten would be a better fit, especially because of early entry.

    Writing is one thing, but if his reading also isn't at the higher level, he could get very frustrated at not being able to keep up. If his reading improves quickly in kindergarten, you could ask the school about acceleration later.

    Last September, one of my son's teacher's (7th grade) decided to use a history book that was written at a college level. All the kids in the class struggled just to understand it, because it assumed knowledge they didn't have yet and analyzed ideas they were just learning. Families were spending hours getting through each reading assignment. The kids got almost nothing out of what they read, primarily because they couldn't see the forest for the trees in such an advanced text. We convinced the teacher to switch to something different.

    My point in telling that anecdote is that if your son has to work too hard just to get through a sentence, he won't be in a good position to retain the information in it.

    Also, you may know how bright he is, but he'll only have the kids around himself to compare with. He doesn't have the perspective you have. So if he can't keep up with the reading or writing in the older class, he'll be at risk for feeling inadequate.

    EDITED: I've re-read your message, and am now not really sure what you were trying to say. You started off talking about acceleration but then said that you're not talking about putting him in the older classrooms. So, do you mean that you really don't have an acceleration question?

    I'm leaving most of my original message as food for thought, but it would be good if you could clarify precisely what you mean.

    Your son will presumably see the older kids all day long and at recess unless the kindergarten is really segregated, and you can get any materials you like from a library or a bookstore. If the kindergarten is completely separate from 1-6, you might want to reconsider how you feel about that idea, which could be the problem here (?).


    Last edited by Val; 04/23/12 01:53 PM.
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    I am sorry about the lack of clarity. I am still learning the terms associated with the gifted world. When I mentioned acceleration I meant an increase in the depth of the material rather than specifically a grade skip.
    I think the material changes each year. At least it did the two years we've been there.
    They do have the older kids come down once a year for a presentation and he really enjoyed that in preschool.
    Otherwise the kids are separate all day. They don't mix at all. It is a Montessori school and I wish it were K-6 but it isn't.
    Last year we went to the library to supplement what was taught at school and we enjoyed it. I think the depth was just a bit boring for him last year. Going back to the space example, the goal in the preschool class was for the kids to learn the planets. They had dozens of activities throughout the month enforcing that concept. He already knew them so it wasn't that fun. We went to the library and he learned a lot more about space from us reading to him but at school it was more of the same. The 1-6 class mapped constellations as a part of their space month and the projects hung on a wall outside their classroom. Their teacher saw him looking at them and explained what they were. He understood what she told him and thought it was cool. Of course he couldn't write an essay about it or read a book about it but he understood it and would have enjoyed that activity. Perhaps they'll let him come to lectures and do that type of work. The K class has around 24 kids. The 1-6 is significantly smaller. Maybe they wouldn't mind. Anyone ever do anything like that?

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    No, I haven't done anything like that. My DD is like your son and we are just decided to do early admittance kindergarten. So I am afraid, I don't have any experience for you- just thoughts from a mom in a similar place- but with a different type of school.

    I guess I would talk to them about the difference between his output abilities and his comprehension. I would plan at this point for early kindergarten admittance (sounds like he is ready for that but maybe not ready for first grade), supplementing at home with reading materials for him, and read aloud materials for you that are at his comprehension level and then talking with the school to see if more can be done to meet his needs. They may not be able to do much more than early admittance and possibly differentiation in the kindergarten classroom, or they maybe able to do more. But you won't know until you ask.


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