We had a meeting today to discuss what to do with DS8 for the rest of the year, specifically in math, but most of the meeting actually ended up leaning toward what to do with him next year. He will be in 4th grade next year, and since he's burned out on ALEKS for now at 80% of the 7th grade level, we're going to try him out in the 6th grade (middle school) math classroom and see what happens. I think we will end up going to the 7th grade math class instead, but since there is a radical difference between what he's been doing (coasting, mostly) and what middle school math class requires, we're going to see how it works out with a class where he already knows most or all of the math but hasn't been exposed to the process of learning it the way the other kids do, and where he can learn how to handle a middle school class in an environment where he doesn't also have to put too much actual effort into learning the material at the same time.

What is really excellent is that the principal brought in a paper that she found on acceleration, one which is quite favorable and brings together a lot of previous research into one place, and she's quite happy with the idea now! You can find a link to that paper Here in case anyone needs it for a battle.

I don't think we'll be doing a full grade skip until after 5th grade, because if he doesn't skip next year I don't want him to skip 5th grade -- there's a fabulous teacher waiting there for him, and I would rather he skip the first year of middle school than skip into the first year of middle school anyway. But we shall see.

They're also getting a program called "Reading Detectives" for him and the general GT collection, to help with the disconnect that he has in shifting perspectives and abstract thinking and stuff (ASD related).

All in all, yay!

Nautigal,

That is terrific. We sound like we are in nearly the same place. My DS (3rd grade) goes up to 5th grade right now for math, and we are looking at whether he will bump up to 7th grade math next year (when he is in 4th), or to hold at the two years of acceleration for next year and bump the extra year after that (everyone agrees he won't need both 6th and 7th grade math before Algebra, although I am actually the one who needs convincing - I don't want him to get too far along and then we all realize he doesn't have a truly deep understanding of some important underlying concept and it causes problems later).

My concerns are similar, middle school is a lot more work and they move quickly, without as much hand holding. Not to mention he will have to move between the elementary school and middle school and none of us really know how that will work out just in terms of logistics. And I agree, if he is going to skip a grade (which remains to be seen), I don't want him to miss 5th grade (a big deal at his elementary school).

I am curious about how your school deals with other subjects? Does he have a small group he works with on differentiated work? Is there a GT pullout or class?

Just as a recent BTDT, our DS, currently in third grade, joined the sixth grade honors math class after the first marking period. (This is the pre-algebra class). Similarly he knows most of the material already. However we wanted to see how he was going to adjust to the environment.

It's gone swimmingly well. He still studies math on his own outside of school for fun (seriously...), but it's a much, much better fit for him during the school day. Socially he's not on par with his math class, but academically it's great for him.

We're also lucky in that the middle school kids really look out for him. Our biggest concern was... Well... It's middle school. This is the age where kids start hitting puberty and depending on the environment and the kids inappropriate topics come up. Thankfully the students treat DS as a little brother to look after so we've had no issues, knock on wood. But early exposure to the middle school environment was a trade off we made.

At any rate, glad to hear things are moving in the right direction. Good luck!

JB

P.S. We weren't terribly impressed with ALEKS. Other free online programs like Alcumus and Khan Academy are better. DS still uses them after school for fun.

Wow! Pretty great young mathematicians. Our oldest traveled a similar path. When school didn't provide the challenges that he need in math, we were fortunate to find an ARML (American Regional Math League)Team. For those around Philadelphia, there's an excellent team at Lehigh University. Our son was involved with the team at first when he was 11 (perhaps a little young), but he got more involved at 13. It was good for him to be surrounded by older bright children as it provided an excellent challenge.

Sorry for going off topic.

Clark, are you in the Philadelphia area? I'll send you a PM. (If you're new here, look for the blinking icon in the tool bar area.)

JB

JBDad,

This has been exactly our experience as well. The 5th graders are really kind to my DS and he has had no problems - they just took him under their collective wings in the beginning, and then they respected him because he knew the math so well.

Cat

My son is so so excited to get to Algebra (in part because he knows he needs it before he can take chemistry and he is so excited to take chemistry).

However, I want to make sure he is really solid on decimals, fractions, ratios, percents, and all the operations. For example, I just noticed that he was doing something funky when reducing fractions, and making mistakes. In part this is because he goes too fast, and also because when it is just an equation, he doesn't really think ,he just applies a formula. He rarely gets word problems incorrect, because he actually thinks about the question, and will sometimes sketch out what he is doing.

It actually makes me feel that all is right with the world when older kids are so nice....

Lancaster.