This is my first chance to respond to the original question. DS has not skipped (remember I was skipped myself and didn't like it so I have only seen skipping as a last resort for DS). We did not start formal subject acceleration until 3rd grade when DS approached the teacher on his own and asked for harder math so she started a 4th grade math group for the top 4 kids in the class.

Now he is in 6th and is taking algebra with the advanced 8th graders. He is also in a gifted cluster for language and reading. The teacher is aware that DS is way above where the rest of the gifted class and does a few things to challenge him. But DS has asked that he not be singled out because fitting in (especially with the GT kids) is really important to him now that he is in middle school.

I have always taken the approach that I am the one who is primarily responsible for DS's education and that public school is only one piece to the puzzle. WE do lot of reading, games, travel and just plain looking things up as a natural part of family life and DS gets exposed to tons of new ideas all the time. But he would never see this as formal after-schooling, just as being a family and doing things together. The only things he knows we do formally are music lessons and second language.

WE have benefitted from some great teachers and the fact that DS is not the kind of kid who hides his abilities. First grade was the hardest grade by far for us; the school had so many benchmarks that they needed to meet for all the kids that they did not have many resources left over for the GT kids. (But DS was the only kid identified as GT in that grade so the GT teacher would pull DS out to work with the GT 5th graders (who she felt were good peers for him)). But we stuck with it through first and got fabulous teachers ever since then.

I would say that the two best things I did for DS were chosing teachers who were good fits for him and volunteering at the school.

It has also helped that we are not in a particularly affluent or well-educated district so that DS really does stick out as being radically different than the other kids and the teachers have really responded to him. I have friends with kids in gifted programs and I'm not jealouos anymore (I used to be). Their kids are pretty locked into the one year ahead thing and it would be hard to move up multiple grades like we are doing in math. Also, I have benefitted from chosing between several teachers for each grade. In many of the gifted programs, there is just one teacher to choose from and they are not always the best teacher.

I hope this helps.