I thought the evidence supported early entry as a sound option?
Having had a daughter be devastated to be left behind in preschool when her peers went to K (many of them less ready on all fronts), Who then did some K at the allotted time, and THEN skipped. I so SO wish she could have just gone to K when she was ready and avoided the skip. She's lost her entire cohort of friends and had to start from scratch every single year since she was 4.5 yrs old, it's not been ideal at all.
In our (smallest school in the) district there would be 4-6 classes in each grade level. The odds of being in the same class with a particular friend from the year before are low. No one from preschool went to the same school. It's not a possibility that even comes up on my radar.
We were making the decision for a boy, but even for a girl there are age-based differences in interests and maturity (and politics! Save me from girl politics!). I know quite a few H and PG kids and there are very few who really blend with older kids. My children, for example, talk sophisticated talk, but really are spot on developmentally. I figure that the older they are when they have to blend with older kids, the better they'll be able to. K is also very different from 1st here. Both are wildly academically inappropriate, but K has half a day of play, the teacher expects the kids to be learning to sit still, etc. It's just more relaxed and fun, whereas 1st is lots of serious sitting at desks. Given a choice, I'd choose to do K and skip 1st. Likewise, skipping a year of preschool (fun play) for a year of boring inappropriate academics is not something I'd choose for my kids. I have to qualify this, though, they're more than a year ahead, always have been, and we use 100% play based preschool.
Jenna, I've got this impression from avidly reading every K/1st skip thread on here over the last few years, I'm not sure what search terms would help. Maybe a new thread asking for ideas and experiences?
I am reading "Teaching your children well" and it talks about accepting your child and they will reach success wherever their path lies. But I think that really doesn't always happen and how do you help your child become a lower income person, who may never be able to buy a house in a good neighborhood or support a family. 50 years ago, blue collar workers had great union jobs and could buy nice houses.
I feel very lucky that my kid has the IQ and talents she has, she has plenty of options. I don't know what I would do if she didn't. I know that I would want to give her as many options as possible. If that meant redshirting, I probably would. I am trying to accelerate her, so I am not accepting of the situation based on her needs.
Same way you prepare any child for adulthood. Teach them to be kind and good, help them earn how to make good choices, gather information, make decisions, communicate with experts.
