It's been a couple of months since I posted an update, but as we have finished the quarter, received the report card, and have several weeks of the skip under our belt, I figured I couldn't jinx this by sharing.
Bottom line -- it's been awesome.
DS began a test-drive of 5th back in October by spending part of the day in each class (4th & 5th), and was supposed to keep that schedule until the end of the quarter so everyone could discuss whether or not he was ready for a mid-year skip to 5th.
Instead of waiting that long, though, the receiving teacher & principal both agreed that DS had no problems with the switch... and most importantly, DS was thrilled with the move. As a result, he was advanced to 5th full-time after just a few weeks of the 4/5 test-drive.
He's now had a full month and has finished out the quarter in 5th. Everything points to a positive outcome. Whew!
His grades all dipped a tiny bit, with A-minus & A instead of A & A-plus across the board. AND he is having to work a little harder in order to get these grades. I am actually relieved with the slight drop, otherwise it would be difficult to argue with him that he needs to expend more effort!
The biggest difference is that the 5th grade teacher has much higher expectations regarding written communication. DS can no longer skate by with itty bitty answers to questions -- he must give supporting details and examples to backup his writing.
Given the switch to 5th, the only additional acceleration is in math. He finished ALEKS 4th - 6th so far this year and started with EPGY 6th this month. We had considered EPGY for language arts, but have decided to hold off for now. He's enjoying the interaction with the classroom for this stuff, which he would lose if he were stuck listening to Grandpa EPGY for another subject.
Socially, the switch has been mostly a non-issue. According to the teacher, he's been well-accepted by the others, and according to DS, he spends most of his time with the 5th/6th kids on the playground and at lunch.
He is getting exposure to some language & topics on the playground that are new to him, but he discusses these very openly with us and so far nothing has been too hair-raising. It's funny to hear some of the same off-color humor virtually unchanged in the thirty years since I first heard it.
Behaviorally, he has actually improved. Given that he doesn't zip through all his work anymore, he's not left with all the extra time that inevitably led to disciplinary issues in 3rd & 4th. Never anything serious, but still not acceptable. Although his 4th grade teacher questioned his emotional maturity, I believed all along that he would adapt to the other kids in the classroom -- and he has done so.
For a school year that started out with me being a frustrated mess, we've made tremendous progress. It's nice not to be beating my head on my desk with a lot of worries about schooling. Well, there is the big, nasty long-division dragon that we are battling at the moment... but this is a battle I don't mind so much.
