Hi all,
I haven't posted for a while, but have been lurking during that time and there seems to be a few people who have had similar experiences to us recently. To cut a very long story short, our HG+ dd5 skipped kinder and entered a 1/2 composite class. The skip was completely unsupported and she wasn't coping (social and work wise she was doing fine, but because they just didn't help her adjust to 'school life', she was a mess). Last week we moved her to a new school that has a dedicated differentiation program and overnight she was back to her normal self - however they only places available in K, so she has started there with a view to a skip down the track.
However there are a few lessons I learned during this process that I thought might be useful to others and I thought maybe a thread on what has and hasn't worked for others would have been a wonderful resource when we were planning a skip... so here are my thoughts:
1. If you are skipping kindergarten, ask the school to identify what they will do to help the child transition to school life (for example, what they should do at recess and lunch break, where everything they need is, how to use equipment etc).
2. A school that is willing is not the same as a school that is knowledgable. DD's school was trying to do what they could - they just had no idea about gifted kids and didn't have access to the resources they needed (nor the time to use my endless supply of books on giftedness). If they aren't knowledgeable, make sure they're committed to getting informed.
3. If you make plans with the school some time in advance of the skip starting, make sure that those same plans are on track closer to when the skip is due to occur - we signed up to a school with small class sizes and entered in to one with huge class sizes due to higher than expected enrolments (which no one mentioned had happened).
4. Have a plan b (which we did fortunately).
5. Know that a single skip for an HG+ kid will not necessarily be enough. Make sure the school knows that too. DD was finding all her work too easy despite the skip and despite working with the grade 2s, but the school felt that with the skip they had done enough and she should just get on with it.
6. Try and find a school where you don't have to speak in code and give them pats for every little concession they make for your family. It puts the power balance out of whack - you end up too grateful for small things. At dd's new school, being gifted is just another need. Goodness knows how well things will work out long term (she's only been there three days), but it is such a relief not to have to beg and plead and talk about your kid in the context of all the other kids. She's just a kid (realise it's hard to find a school like this!)
7. I'd really carefully consider whether to skip K - think about it in the context of your kid and what they enjoy. I thought dd would go mad in K, doing the letter of the day. As it turns out the continuation of the play based curriculum is just what she needs, despite reading at 4 grade level an doing 3rd grade maths at home (plus this school just lets her read and do maths at a higher level and it's normal for the school to do so - appreciate this is rare in itself). K wont be for every kid, and I didn't think it would be for mine, but it does take the pressure off learning how school works, and for an introverted kid, helps them adjust to being around a lot of people. Having said that, in a small straight grade one class with a knowledgeable teacher who was happy to differentiate, I think dd would have thrived.
Any thoughts to add? (feel free to contradict mine)
