"In retrospect, if I had it to do over, I'd delay any formal academics as long as possible. For a kid doing 2nd grade work, K isn't any better than preschool IMHO..."
Completely agreed. My ds5, in K now but starting first-grade pull-outs soon, would have been just as happy in play-based preschool as he is in kindergarten -- but his birthday is May, so early entry wasn't really an option for us. Instead of early entry K, what about putting your ds in play-based preschool for another year and "unschooling" him at home, and skip K into first grade the next year? Or what about Montessori? We had a great early childhood experience at Montessori, which gives a lot of independent work opportunities.
I guess the problem for your ds is that almost *any* early childhood program/kindergarten is going to involve some amount of singing/circle time. My ds just didn't participate in this stuff for a while, though once he figured out how much fun singing is, he was more willing.
And we have a lot of Chicago-area families here -- we should schedule a get together! We're just north of the city, and we did get our ds tested with Elizabeth Mika. She was fabulous, ds enjoyed it, and I'd highly recommend her. I also know of another guy in Skokie named Dr. Jerry Schecter; we spoke briefly with him, but Elizabeth Mika was able to get us in sooner.
We also tried the Northwestern CTD classes when ds was a bit younger, but he wasn't quite ready for them; he was in Montessori full day and not quite ready for a sixth day of school! We'll likely try them again in the next year or two if he seems interested; seems like a fabulous resource.
Good luck!
Mia
ETA: About the CTD testing -- no, it's not comprehensive. If you want a full picture, I'd do something else. We had the CTD evaluation done almost a year ago, and while it was helpful, it was certainly *not* a substitute for a full evaluation. They do PIAT-R, Raven's Progressive Matrices, and a Draw-a-Person; Elizabeth Mika did the WPPSI and the WISC. On the other hand, the CTD eval is far cheaper than private testing (we only paid $100 at CTD), so if you're just looking for a ball-park figure to see how your ds might function in K and want to put off a full formal eval, it might work for you.
Last edited by Mia; 11/30/07 02:51 PM.
