Hi,
I asked the same questions about my three year old last September and decided to put her in a highly structured play based program. I can share my experience and you can take from it what you will. I am still debating whether that was the right decision and what to do about the upcoming preschool year. Like your son, she was very advanced, but my DD needed to work on various social skills and so I went with a school that didn't touch any of her academic potential. At the end of the year both the teacher and director raised "concerns" about how far ahead she is and so now I am back to the drawing board.
Things that were frustrating for her were that they sing the same songs again and again trying to get them to memorize them and she learns things like that one one or two tries. She also gets annoyed and insulted by being asked to name simple shapes colors etc. but they don't do too much of that. On the other hand, she gets to do crafts which she loves, sing and dance which she loves, be around other children, practice using scissors, and playing on a playground with other children. Like your son, she has been reading forever, can do simple math, write words, and has an incredible memory etc. so is it right to have her at this school next year? I wish I had a crystal ball. I visited their kindergarten at the end of the year and everything they did was too easy for where she is now so I don't have any great advice. For now we are working on her social maturty, self control, and emotional self and gross motor skills since those need a lot more attention than her over active brain! Please let me know what you decide.
