Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Elementary School 1st/2nd Grade 2010-2011

I'd love to see this as well. I wonder if the school actually is financially sound, particularly in these tough economic times. GWE for me too!

Grinity

Hi Everyone,

DS5 will start first grade late in August at his small private school. His school combines grades 1&2 and 3&4, so he'll be in a multi-age class of 11 or 12 total kids. It's a great fit for him. Even though he was only 4 when he started kindergarten last year, some of his best friends at school were in first grade; this year they'll be classmates. The school develops an individualized curriculum for each student in all core subjects, so age isn't determinative of academics, and DS can get 5th grade language arts instruction and third grade math as a five year old in a class of first and second graders, many of whom are also working several grades ahead. I just hope DS likes his teacher, because he'll have her for the next two years!

If we had something like this in my area, I would actually consider homeschooling.

Grinity: The woman in charge isn't great with money. They are always just scraping by. Still, they moved up to a bigger building closer to the city not long ago. They also started a preschool which they expect to help with the school's finances, since they have plenty of space in the building that they're not using.

Frankly, the tuition we pay seems very low compared to accredited private schools in the area. They had a small price hike for next year, but it wasn't much. Since classes only meet 4 days a week instead of 5, it makes sense that it would be cheaper than a traditional school, but I've comparison shopped schools. This one is truly priced low, but so far it seems to be making ends meet.

The bright side to having a school that's struggling a bit financially is that it is in their interest to keep our kids.

Another great alternative that some areas are starting are the homeschool charters. We're incredibly lucky to have one in a school district near us, and we were able to get a signoff to jump the county line to join it. We have certified teachers who work closely with us (similarly to the YS consultants, but on a bi-weekly basis), and lots of optional workshops (writing, AIMS, spanish, art, etc). It's not an all-day class style like Kriston's family has, but it's a nice option because we can jump around with grade levels in the various workshops.

Since the charter is a public school, it is also free to attend. Best of all, the state $ allocated to our child gets spread much further than in a regular school, so they are able to buy us all the curriculum and special items I've asked for, including Usborne books, etc. They can also host a lot of field trips even though the regular schools no longer have the funding.

Every time I read an article where charter schools are attacked, I hold my breath. I don't know what we'd do without our charter, and it's so nice not to have to spend DSs' college savings and activity funds on private school tuition. I think California is leading the way on these. They're such a blessing for us that if you see one come up in your area, I encourage you to check them out!

I wish we had something free like that. As cheap as our school is, it's more expensive than free!

Thanks JJsmom for starting this thread back up. It's great to hear so many of you have such good plans. Welcome to the new folks!

We haven't been too focused on worrying about school for DS6 -- mostly because he got into the magnet program for grade 1. Lots of parents in the area have great things to say about the school and it's equipped to both give DS a peer group and accelerate him where he needs. I'm still kind of shocked that he ended the school year reading at 4th grade level, according to his teacher. He seems to have slowed down a bit for the summer, which is fine -- and probably means he'll make some massive leap at some point soon, sigh.

He did INSIST on buying tie sneakers so he could learn to tie them. We're now over the frustration phase (mostly mine b/c he would patiently keep trying to tie the laces, making me wait for an hour or more until he got it ... and he WOULD NOT let me show him how to do it.) And his swimming has grown by leaps and bounds.

Our bigger issues have been in figuring out what will happen next year with DS8. We're trying to get him into a different school for the fall that would be a good fit. Our fingers are crossed that the county approves the application. Our district does a bunch of testing at the end of 2nd grade, and it turned out that he tested in the 99th percentile for quantitative in both the InView and Raven -- well, Raven, he was in the 99th percentile for a 9 1/2 yr old and he was exactly 8 when he took it. We've never tested the kids, and while I've always known that he's a math-focused kid, the scores surprised me.

He's been getting math 1 yr accelerated since 1st grade, but could probably go a bit faster if given the material. He asked in June to do 4th grade math over the summer, but we've been so busy that there hasn't been much time for him to do the workbooks. Plus, unlike DS6, he isn't really a self-motivated kid, particularly if the material comes from mom.

Thanks for the clarification. I don't mind at all. In fact, I am a big fan of being precise. Feel free to continue being as descriptive and nit-picky as you like.

And... Now I am even MORE jealous. LOL

- EW

I'm not sure I knew this... maybe I did and just forgot (I'm good at losing my mind), but that's fantastic news!!!

Hello Everyone! Summer is just getting started here so I am not thinking about fall too much yet...we don't start until after Labor day and just got out 2 weeks ago. ; ) DS6 is going into 2nd grade in our local public school. He is excited about going to second with some of the same kids from school...although not sure what class he will be in yet. We are hopeful that he will get a good teacher that will differentiate like last year. They are going to skype him into a 4th grade math class for the year, at least that is the plan for now. They acknowledge he is above 4th grade math curriculum for the most part...so not sure how this will work as he moves through things at such a quick pace. I can't imagine him going at the same pace as the rest of the class. I am excited that they are going to give him a curriculum though, this past year they just gave him some enrichment and random math sheets from anywhere between 3rd - 6th grade and that was it. And he will continue with the enrichment next year too, which he loves. We are still working on getting him the reading acceleration that he desperately needs. Hopefully he will get accelerated a few grades for that as well.

Regarding the questions, that still happens. DS used to always tell people he skipped K when they would ask him if he was in K. I kept telling him that he didn't need to say that and could just say "I am in first." But it was true that usually there were more questions. This week we were at the dentist he said to DS "so you are going to be going into first" and DS said "no, second" The dentist was confused and looked at his chart and back at DS and said "I am confused, am I doing this right?" and I responded with "yup, your math is correct...but he is going into second." He didn't say anything else about it. So yes, there are still some questions and it is still annoying sometimes...but DS knows what is going on so it's not that hard to just say that that is what he needs.

AND he doesn't know how to tie his shoes yet either. We have only showed him once so we need to get on that. I just don't want it to be something that makes him stand out or makes others tease him about it...so we will have to buckle down....or tie down, whatever. : )