I have talked to other parents and I'm getting a strong negative impression of this 4th grade teacher. One gifted boy in her class has become very depressed and told his mom that he wished he never took the GATE test. My DD is a very sensitive kid. I am really getting the feeling that this teacher would not be good for her. Of course, she could end up being assigned to that class anyway!
I think I am "afterschooling", LOL, I just didn't know what it was called. There's plenty of time for afterschooling in K, but there will be many more wasted hours and more busy work homework in first grade.
I've considered a skip for him, but he's young for grade and doesn't like to write. Also, from my own experience I know that skipping into a class of gifted kids is great but skipping into a heterogeneous class is not so great. My DS is a quiet, skinny kid with somewhat delayed large motor skills. I'm afraid he would become a punching bag in the upper grades.
My mother (whose advice I generally agree with!) doesn't think skipping a grade or homeschooling would be good for DS. She thinks he needs to go to school and get some confidence navigating social situations without me. I do see her point! It's problematic for me to drop him off at other kinds of activities because of his severe food allergies. I always have to be there to make sure that he isn't given anything to eat that could send him into anaphylaxis and to keep his emergency meds. At the school, they take care of that issue.
So yes, I have considered homeschooling many times. I even looked at our local cyberschool. What do you think of the K12 curriculum? The cyberschool advertises that the kids can go at their own pace. Is that really true in practice?
Cathy
