I think if the class size is large or if you don't have a good teacher this year, it's not ideal to have your gifted child in a regular classroom. The teacher just won't have the time to notice.
My son's second grade class has 31 kids. I emailed her that he knows all 500 sight words she sent home at back to school night (they need to know that by the end of the year) and he knows all of his addition and subtraction math facts quickly. So we are starting multiplication math facts!
She emailed me that "is wonderful!" But frankly, there is nothing special she can do for him. Probably 1/4 to 1/3 of the class will be below grade level, and with NCLBI, she must focus on those kids.
My fourth grader is in our full-time, self-contained gifted program and loves it! They started with the fifth grade math book at least, and they are motoring on ahead.
