Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy 4.5 yrs... early entry K or wait for early entry 1

Ok, so let's pretend dd who will be 4 and 7 months at the start of next school year is yours to decide for :-) her wppsi is low 140s. your options may include a variety of private half days... public school half day (where the ages may range in aug from barely 5 to fully 6)... the gifted charter big sis attends where the only k option is all day (but average age will likely be barely 5)... or stay in a pre-school p-k program with the likelihood of skipping k all together as her sister did.

I don't see montessori as an option - she isn't self driven in areas that don't excite her so self managing time consept may not produce results.

Maturity isn't off the charts. Most friends are 6-12 months older or are her sister's friends. She has had a handful of melt-downs in pre-school. she doesn't seem to have any strong friendships in pre-school like she does with some kids outside of pre-school. not sure why. hannah's fantasy style play is extremely intricate/involved and it seems on some occasions she can interest a child or two in her world but often seems to do her own thing.

I know I re-addressing the same issue. Before it ws an assumption... now assessments have made it a real issue.

All ears (well if you look past my big butt)!

I like the all day K at sister's gifted charter.

Boy do I wish we had that option here.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Incog

I vote for the all day K at sister's gifted charter too!

Your dd must be the same age as ds who just turned 4. Tomorrow he goes for assessment with the gifted specialist psychologist. i wish we had the options you have! Our options for fall are 3 days/week, half day pre-K that he's currently in (with a fab teacher who gets him), or all-day early public K (possibly in their new montessori program). I haven't spoken at length with our public school re: early k since i'm waiting to have some evidence in hand and also wanting to know if it's even recommended for ds. But the comments so far have been "we have lots of early readers in k, he shouldn't go early," so I think we may have a battle if that's what we choose. We're waiting on professional advice after ds's SBV to really make any decisions.

But if I were you, with your fabulous options, I would go for the all-day gifted school with sis if possible and if your dd won't freak about the all-day part.

There were some threads about parents wishing they had chosen for their kids to go to 1/2 day k and skip 1st grade at this age. That sounds like a good option too.

Good luck!

I vote for the all-day gifted K. In my state, the K cutoff is 4 yrs. 9 mos. so she would be really close.

Cathy

This is one of the things that is so strange to me. Who comes up with these cutoffs, and why is it so different state-to-state? Very arbitrary. Blah. Schools shouldn't be so worried about age.

I agree. If age were so important, wouldn't it be clear where the cutoff should be?

Kickball, please keep us posted on your decision. I appreciate the opportunity to learn from everyone's experiences (for my DS2). >>hugs<<

I think it really depends on the personality of the child vs. the type of kindergarten situation you are looking at.

My DS was 5 years 10 months when he started kindergarten. And is showing to be HG+. But I still think the full day kindergarten he went to would have been really horrible a year earlier. I think he learned more through self exploration and play based preschool that year than he would have in this highly structured-more like 1st grade environment that had really very high behavoiral expectations. My son is actually NOT a behavoiral problem at school, but is an active kid and was a particularly active preschooler.

On the other hand my DD who is 3, loves the structure part of preschool and is very cooperative with teachers even now. She might be a great candidate for early K, but has a summer birthday, so that won't happen.

I would give Kindergarten a try, rather than repeating a year of pre-k. DD was 4y9mo when she started K, about 3 months after the cut off. She went to a full day private kindergarten, and she was initially wiped out after a full day. She hadn't taken maps since age 2, and she would take a nap after school. She was used to the schedule in 3-4 weeks, and it was the best situation for her.

If your DD enjoys school and would do well in a structured environment, I would choose the gifted charter school. She is likely to find other children who she can relate to and teachers who understand GT issues.

Jen