We benefited from looking at all the schools and choosing the one that was the best fit for DD. For us this boiled down to which school would challenge DD the most.
We ended up choosing a private kindergarten that most mimicked our home environment--lots of open ended play, exploration, outdoors, no worksheets or direct instruction. We figured she is obviously blossoming at home, lets not mess too much with the environment yet. It has been a real gentle easing into school.
But, it is not an environment where she excels, which is a good thing. They challenge her in weak areas like public speaking, writing, and art. She is also continually being challenged by the mode of learning. She must learn to self extend. As far as her strengths, they let them continue to blossom on their own.
If we chose a school that only focused on teaching her at her reading and math level she would excel, but at what cost, and to what end? If we chose the public school I am not sure she would be challenged at all. We want her to be happy at school with same age peers so she can develop socially and emotionally. We know she is bright, that will always be true, but she is also truly different. I worry about her socially more than anything else. In this kindergarten she is truly happy, feels normal, is challenged, and fits in. Yes, it costs a fortune. But, it is so worth it.
We are also in no rush, and would have held her back in a heartbeat. I wish she could repeat this year in kindergarten. It has been fabulous. (And, this is with very little traditional academics--although I can see they are working on amazing number sense and story elements. That cannot hurt.) But, she has made great friends, and we have decided to ultimately defer to default age-grade.
