For the third year in a row, I'm faced with the recommendation of having my daughter skip a grade. When she was in Pre-K, her school principal suggested it; when she was in K, the principal and superintendent said they'd never seen anyone as advanced as she is and had no idea what to do with her aside from skipping or getting her into a gifted school... so I moved to a new district known for its gifted program, and nothing is different. The principal here has also suggested skipping. I just don't want to.
My kiddo is in 1st grade and reads on a 5th grade level and does math on a 3rd grade level. She is significantly beyond her peers socially as well, but she still loves her friends.
I want so badly to make it work. I don't want to rush her life along. I don't want her to find out there's no Santa a year sooner, or have her friends driving a year sooner, or have her dating a year sooner, or leaving for college a year sooner.
I need advice.
If you've chosen to keep a highly gifted kid in his or her normal grade, how did you make it work? They will likely bump her to a 2nd grade class for reading, but the principal said he's never heard of them doing that for math at this age. Last year she got different homework from her peers, but still had to sit through the same lessons (ABCs, 123s) that she learned when she was 18 months old. I can't even imagine how deadly boring it is for her to sit through phonics every day now, though she rarely complains. She just says school is too long.
For right now, I'm not looking for the "hey, you really should skip her" advice. I may get there, but I'm still hoping to find a way to keep her in 1st grade but with work that's challenging to her. Any advice or experiences to share?
