My DS7 has an August birthday and in Missouri that means he was not allowed to start Kindergarten until after he was 6. We had no real problems in Kindergarten but at the end of Kindergarten he was tested for admittance to the gifted program which is a one full day a week program at a different school (he goes to public school the other 4 days). His WISC IV test results took us off guard as he scored a general IQ of 153. We knew that he was smart but sadly from that day I feel he became a number in my mind. I desperately wanted the number to be incorrect and I wanted him to be normal. Please, no judging, I am not proud of this; it's just how I truly feel.
We are now coming to the end of first grade and DS complains that he is not challenged enough. He does not however act out or complain in anyway at school. He is a real people pleaser, especially towards adults and goes right along with the flow. During Christmas break he asked if he could move up a grade and we told him we would look into it. He took some academic tests and did the IOWA acceleration exam and came back as an excellent candidate for acceleration. He has lots of friends in that grade already as he is essentially their age anyway. I think he would do better socially with those kids however now we get to the big problem. For some reason the grade above him is HUGE. Right now there is an average of 21 kids in the class he is in and an average of 27 in the class up. I do not know why they can't just make a 5th class for them. Also, I have got to get acquainted with the kids and parents in the grade up and they are not as good as the ones he is with. The children are very bratty and self centered and I can see why from looking at a lot of their parents. There are some really good kids and parents in there too.
I am the only person who really wants to keep my son where he is at and I know I will disappoint him if I don't let him advance but I'd love some real advice. He would either be skipping 2nd grade and starting 3rd grade as a just turned 8 year old or he would just go to 2nd grade. Would this be a disservice to a child with such a high IQ score or do you feel he could meet his full potential in the grade he is currently in? Our goal is not to make the smartest, most talented child we can, we just want him to be truly happy and well rounded. I am a stay at home mom so I feel he gets tons of attention from both his parents which to me is the most important thing.
Thanks for your time.
