I am still on an on going quest to find the right school setting for her before she gets there which I realize is probably unrealistic.
In an effort to save you stress, have you read Hoagies' article on the "Least-Worst" school option? I think it should be required reading for anyone school hunting:
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/least-worst.htmThat's not to say that you shouldn't look hard for something ideal. Turn over all the rocks you can to see what options you can find, and you may find something fabulous.
But eventually you'll have found all your options, and chances are better than even (to be optimistic) that none will be perfect for your DD. Even so, you're still going to have to make a choice and put her somewhere. This article is very helpful for choosing among not-perfect options to get the best fit in the real-world.
I think it also helps to keep in mind that very few decisions are truly irreversible when it comes to education. You may have to experiment a bit to find something that works. And often, just when you think you have the system perfectly tuned, your child will change, nothing works anymore, and you need to do something completely different. What works today will probably be woefully inadequate in 6 months. It's a little maddening, but knowing that this is coming helps keep you sane!
(More or less...)
BTW, I think you've found a good solution with pre-K now. This is especially accurate, I think:
I think she is probably under placed, but under placed and playing two hours a couple times a week for now might be better than accelerated and then starting real school sooner with us not having the option to go back to before school days.
At least, that was our experience, too. It wasn't until full-day, highly academic 1st grade that DS7 hit the wall. He was similarly underplaced through pre-K and K, but it worked for him anyway thanks to differentiation and play-based, half-day programs. Early entrance is a great option for some, certainly, but if there's no great school solution awaiting them in elementary school, then I think there's also merit in not rushing to get to that poor fit.
Ah, it's so hard!
