So DS will be skipping K and going to first. I realize what a big thing K is in society and how strange this whole thing is going to be. Everytime someone asks his age, the almost always follow it with "wow, you are going to K this fall!" To which he replies "no, I am going to first grade" Usually people kind of say "oh wow" and then give me a look and drop it. But sometimes people just don't get it. He had a dentist appointment this week and the dental assistant just wouldn't let it go. She kept asking him questions "why are you skipping K?" and "are you in K now?" "so you are in pre-k and going to first...what aobout K?" It was so annoying to me. I just simply said "he is in pre-k and going to first because it's a better fit for him" Then we had a talk about it in the car. I had explained to him before that some kids go to K and some go straight to first. I realized that I had to explain to him that most kids go to K and that is why people are surprised when he is going to first. Anyhow, anyone else going through this? Any other suggestions with talking to others about it or talking to your children about it?

I will be looking at this thread for answers too. At least with skipping K, none of his school peer group will really know him as being in another grade. I imagine once he starts no one will bat an eye at it. He won't even need to tell people he didn't go to K. I would just suggest to him that if the teacher makes any references to K such as write a story about your favorite time in K, he just knows to write about PK. My DD7 is skipping 2nd and moving up in the fall. We have suggested she not tell people she is skipping, but rather when asked what grade she is in to just reply 3rd. We are hoping to keep it pretty low key as I think that will make the transition easier for her.

how common it is for gifted kids to skip K? I have not even approached it with my district, assuming it was not an option, or thought it would have to be fought for tooth and nail.. BUt it does make more sense then skipping later. My HG+ DD5 who will start K this september has already asked "why can't i go right to second grade?" becuase she is so accustomed to doing her brothers first grade homework side by side with him that it just makes sense to her to skip. The only thing she hasn't mastered from the kindergarden curriculum that they gave to us in orientation is "the calender" which she's never had an interest in except for when her birthday is near. The other things like "be able to identify eight colors.", "count to 20", etc. made me just laugh. I really think that is low for even typical/average kids.

The charter school that DD4 will be attending next year has agreed to do the IAS as soon as school starts in August for her to skip K. The principal is completely against the idea, but has agreed to abide by the IAS, so let's hope that works. I've got all my ammunition ready...
And yes, I keep getting unwanted input from everyone. We live in a small town where she has gone to the same preschool with all the kids in town for the last 3 years. So explaining why she isn't going to the local school next year, why we've decided to drive a 5 year old 45 minutes each way for a different school and why she will be in 1st instead of K is a pain. "Let her be a child." "Don't push her." LOL, she's pushing *me*.

I would guess it is pretty uncommon. I don't know if our school district has ever done it before. They did tell me that have had a few kids skip 2nd grade before. DS is a PG kid and I think after meeting him they knew that K would not work for him. I didn't have to push for, I shared his testing results with them (which recommended skipping K and future grade skips as well) and told them I didn't think K would work but that I wanted them to meet him and see what they thought. They met him and spent a little time with him in a couple classes and realized it wouldn't work. He is doing most stuff above a 2nd grade level...we just looked at their curriculum map for 1st grade and he has clearly mastered all that already. But I don't want to push him ahead any further. We will be meeting in the fall to talk about subject acceleration for him. I am positive that this won't be a successful experience unless they do some subject acceleration in reading and math. He will certainly start acting out if he is sitting through them learning to read and through basic addition and subtraction. He is currently into fractions and double digit multiplication.

LOL, I hear you. I wouldn't even know how to push him he has already exceeded my knowledge on many things (sad to say but true). I love the "let them be a kid" comments. I have only had it a couple times from people who had never met him. But what do they think I am doing? He is a kid, a kid who sometimes would prefer math over a bike ride and would always pick math over playing with action figures or something like that. I can't change that about him. I still challenge him, and make him turn off his computer and go outside even if he doesn't feel like it...because he still enjoys doing other things. But I have never kept him from being a kid.

I am glad that others are finding it easier to do this than we did in Florida. I attempted to ask for this last year knowing that my DS5(at the time) would have been bored out of his mind. I taught K in the state for many moons and knew he was well past the requirments. I found out that they do not allow K skipping. You can possibly do a TK-1 class which is a K-1 combo if the county offers it but that is about it. I usually got laughed at in person or on the phone when I asked time and time again about what gifted services were offered to Kindergarten children. So, we were stuck with homeschooling this year until a better option appears.

When I hear this about DD4, I say, "I am letting her be a child. I let her be the child she is."

I'm always tempted to add "...not the child people who don't know her think she should be" but I don't.

Next time I might.

Val

When ds8 was in k, they did a pre-assessment, where they didn't seem to expect kids to know any numbers or letters. He did great of course, knowing numbers/counting/some light adding/taking away, his letters, colors, etc. I mean, he's known his colors since before he was 2.
By first he was bored and isolated and sad, now in 3rd we have a real problem on our hands, but we are handling it and I see some improvement in mood, desire to learn, and even a few older friends and some in his gt program (thank goodness!). And he does not sound nearly as advanced as your dd, or most kids on this board! - and he is one of the youngest for the class, having a summer birthday. Glad I didn't 'hold him back' to develop his maturity.


I am *not* assuming anything with our 2nd, dd3 is already reading a few sight words and getting more under her belt each day. She is not as strong spatially as ds, but still does great on puzzles and such. I called our district, apparently they don't allow early entrance to Kindergarten but will certainly take a child transferring into 1st who was enrolled in kindergarten privately, even if they are young for first grade. I am a little worried that dd will be expecting to get on the bus like everybody else for her first year of school (and I haven't 100% totally decided to go for it yet) but I hope if I explain that it's more like preschool for her and then she will go to the regular school that she will be ok with it. I think I have to sign a waiver that I will be ok with holding her back if she fails to perform in 1st grade.

It's too bad in a lot of ways - if she could just start k early (4.5 by my calculations) she would be on the bus with her brother for his last year of elementary. That would probably drive him crazy, so maybe it's for the best.

Anyway, I guess I would recommend you get information from your school district or even state government website/office as to what are the actual laws.

Our daughter was tested (for academic and social skills) by the school district on the recommendation of her preschool teacher and skipped kindergarten. She is 6 mo younger than the youngest kids in the class, and is now finishing second grade.

So far she is doing fine in school. She is performing at the top of the class in most subjects, and socially has fit in well. Her age is noted at birthdays, etc, but the kids have generally accepted it without much comment.

The issue we've had is with the teachers. We met some resistance with her first grade teacher who seemed to feel she was not 'gifted' and because it was a very unusual circumstance to skip kindergarten in this district, was resistant to it (despite saying from the start that she fit in well academically and socially). We are having the same issue with her second grade teacher. It may be because they are judging her compared to gifted 8-year-olds rather than her true age...or just that they have a narrow view of giftedness. Her IQ test results are more than adequate to put her into the gifted program (tested privately), but we are meeting resistance from her teachers to in-school testing (we are bypassing them and have requested the testing proceed).

Before proceeding I'd check how common it is to do this in the school district, what support may be provide to you and your child after entry, and when they can be tested for the gifted program, which would provide more support to you and your child. We've been rather left alone to assess whether this was successful and have had to be strong advocates for her right to be there, which has been rather disappointing.

My daughter skipped kindergarten two years ago (she's finishing second grade now). Last year, in first grade, she got a lot of questions from the kids about why she hadn't done kindergarten. Her answer was simply that she took a test and was allowed to skip kindergarten. Their reply was generally on the order of 'well, you must be smart' and they moved on.

This year the questions were a bit more pointed, and she does get some teasing about her size and age, especially around her birthday. She mentions it, and at times gets upset about it, but it generally passes quickly.

We've talked to her about answering the questions directly but not making a big deal out of the issue, not drawing attention by talking about how smart she is, not discussing placement in the gifted program, etc. When adults ask us about her school placement (which happens much less now, people don't bother doing the age-math after kindergarten!) we answer matter-of-factly and don't make a fuss about it.

We tried to skip K for DS6 but our school district had a strict age policy for K and 1st grade entrance. We compromised with the principal and had DS6 do half day of K followed by half day of 1st.

Unfortunately this has been a nightmare since both grades are academically woeful for DS6. This has caused behavioral and emotional problems for DS. Ironically, the part of his day that has been most tolerable for DS6 has been K. Perhaps it's the teacher...perhaps it is because it is far less learning to read or academically focused...perhaps everything has been more game focused...perhaps it's because he is allowed to do higher level math work on the computer when he completes assignments...perhaps it's because he is allowed to "help" the other children and supervise actvities...

I honestly wish we hadn't done this hybrid approach since now DS6 has basic given up and views school as a slow, boring place. He always tell me that "maybe he will learn something in X grade" where X grade keeps getting larger and larger.

When in 1st grade DS6 tells me that the other kids don't make a big deal about his age.

We're still struggling with this - and schools out today!
Actually it's a 1st Grade skip, into a new school. I think the school is going to recommend 1st Grade, although there is plenty of evidence that he should skip. I'm just hoping the school will come through with the 'accelerated 1st Grade' that they've mentioned. The irony is that DSs Birthday, has him at just 5 weeks from the cut-off date for the next Grade anyway. We have testing from a very reputable psychologist in which he tested as highly gifted, his teacher's recommendation, all his school work (way above 1st Grade), and a difference of 35 days! I keep thinking that there will be kids that were actually due to be born later than him, maybe even with learning difficulties, that will be a Grade ahead. I'm trying to fathom it.

We've just requested a skip of K for our son. The policy in our district is that everyone must start in K, and after 4-6 weeks, they will assess how a child is doing, and will allow them to move up to 1st grade if they feel it's appropriate (they are very concerned about how well the child is doing socially/emotionally). So since my son is technically starting in K (and hopefully will be moved up to 1st fairly quickly), we have not had to answer any questions from others about why he is (hopefully) skipping. However, we have talked to our son about how things will be done in this school (namely, that they group children and teach based on what the children know), so if he moves up to 1st, he probably won't be too surprised. I'm sure at that point we might start getting questions from others. Close friends and those that know my son would think it's a no-brainer for him to skip K, but others probably wouldn't. Not sure how we would answer those questions, will cross that bridge if/when we come to it. I like the "because it's the best fit for him" approach.

Our DS6 skipped K and was in 1st grade this year. We really wanted him to skip the second year of preschool and go into K, but apparently K is something you can't skip *into*, but only *over*. LOL! They gave him the WJIII test at the end of last year, and let him skip K this year. They finally set him up for an ALP for 2nd next year, with the possibility of skipping into 3rd if it seems to be a good idea. I think it worked out well this year, but mostly because I liked his teacher and she really worked with him to cut down on his frustrations with the other kids and the way things work in school. I don't think he really learned much of anything beyond that at school. We shall see what happens next year.

Glad to see all your responses. Thankfully DS is a big kid and also has a summer birthday so the age thing shouldn't come up as much. I feel good about the K skip, just hopeful that he can get a good teacher and it will be a good fit. And a little anxious as to whether they are truly going to subject accelerate him or not. I hope they aren't thinking skipping k will be enough for him as he still will not definitely not be able to learn anything in Math and reading at a first grade curriculum. Our school said they would wait a couple weeks after he starts school to start that discussion as to how to subject accelerate. They said since he has never been in a formal school setting it will take him a couple weeks to get that down (right now he is in Montessori 3-1/2 days a week).

M2gts - that's an interesting way of doing things, to assess before moving on and then skip to first. At least it's an option and you can always tell people that the school decided that was what was best, which makes it quite easy.

Crisc- I feel for you. I worry about the behavior issues as well with my DS because while he is a wonderful well behaved child most of the time, he tends to act out and be goofy when he is not challenged and is bored. It has gotten him into trouble in school and this next year he will be in full day with a large classroom and possibly not challenged, even though he will be skipping K. Oh well, I am not going to worry about that part yet because you just never know.

Nautigal - we thought about "early entrance" too, but I don't think they do that around here either.

shellymos - we're lucky because while they will assess DS a few weeks after school starts, we already know he will be getting subject acceleration in reading and math. So far, the school has been extremely supportive in working with us. In fact, they wanted to meet our son now so they could figure out a program for him before the start of next year. We went in for a reading assessment yesterday, and we were told that he would be "grouped" in a group of one - namely one-on-one for reading at this point (they were a bit leery of putting him in with the older kids only because they don't know him and were not sure emotionally/socially how he will fit in). He goes for his math assessment on Monday, and we'll find out more about his placement in math after that. Should be interesting, because like your son, math is his strong suit. I have a feeling he'll be a "group of one" in that subject too - lol. It sort of scares me because even if he is advanced to first, he is still way ahead in reading/math, but at least this is a start and the school is really trying to challenge him academically, for which I am extremely grateful. DS came out of the reading assessment yesterday in the greatest of moods, kept talking all day about how much fun he had there, and is now looking forward to going to school there. Haven't heard that he is looking forward to going to school in the longest time. Like you and crisc, we experienced some big behavior problems in school this past year, and we are hoping that the academic challenges that they will try to give him will be enough. Like I said, it's just a start, as I realize we will have to be constantly assessing and tweaking his education plan. Very best of luck to you! Keep us posted!

Sounds great! LOL about the group of one. I think DS will be in groups of one as well. People who don't really know him well say things like "he should be able to be grouped with others that are at his level with reading or math though" But there most likely won't be anyone at his school that is his reading level since the school is only a k-2 school, and even with Math he is above 2nd grade as well. Oh well, I hope that he stays excited about school. I am sure he is excited about the idea of learning something, but I haven't played that up to much because I don't want him to be disappointed if he doesn't learn anything. I am hoping for major maturity to come this summer in terms of behavior. I like to dream big. Good luck to you as well and keep us updated as well!

Shellymos,
I am in your position! My DD5 is skipping K and going to first in the fall (it is really August, isn't it). We are nervous but it was really the only way to not let the year be a total disaster. She is sad to leave her friends, but she has outgrown many of them already and we are confident that she'll make new ones. We should all contact each other in those first few days for support! My DD9 is also skipping 4th grade, but I'm less nervous about that.

Yes that would be good...although we aren't starting first until after Labor Day in September because we are up north and start a lot late here (and are in school a lot later as well). Good luck to you!

We chose not to skip K, but to skip the next grade in Australia called "pre-primary" (a fulltime school program for 4 year olds turning 5). I personally found kindy quite useful - lots of playdo and activities for fine motor skills, play-based, lots of social/emotional lessons, etc. Very little academic work, which was fine because it would have been inappropriate for Miss anyway. Pre-primary is more "a letter of the week" type stuff and is unbearably slow in terms of the academic curriculum if you already have a child that is reading.

What I've learned is that it is sometimes harder to skip once you're already established at a school because of established friendships and established preconceptions about your child from teachers, etc.

But the guiding rule is to find a learning environment that suits your child, regardless of the grade or their age. What's the best 'fit' for your child? Observe, observe, observe each class before you make a decision...

jojo

We just learned today that DD will be skipping K next year.

I like the response about "I took a test and was allowed to skip kindergarten."


Val

DS is skipping K too. I've gone through hell to get it to happen even though everyone who knows him knows it's the right thing to do. He's going to be in a K-1 Independent Study class and officially moved to 1st at the semester due to a weird law. We've told him he's going into 1st and since we homeschooled K last year it's not a big thing for him at all. Luckily his teacher is totally excited about him and is going to let him work as quickly as he wants to. We're really looking forward to it!

It's actually easier for DS being able to say his grade rather than his age. It gets fewer weird looks from unthinking adults.

I don't get why a K skip is such a hard thing to get... It makes more sense than a later grade skip if the child is already accelerated. At least this way the kids don't care and they are with the same kids for longer.

I agree, DS is fine with it and honestly I don't think he ever thought he was going to go to Kindergarten. I am not sure why because we never talked about it or anything. He did ask once if he could just start 4th grade. I think he just got a little confused when others question it and make him think it is strange. I can see how that would be confusing.

I think skipping K makes a lot of sense too with making friends and moving along from there and not having to start with friends and then leave those friends. He may have to do this in the future if he needs another skip, but I am hopeful that subject acceleration will be sufficient. I know for some K works because of the play aspect. I have heard for some that 1st is better to skip because that is when they learn to read (ugh). It's hard to say. I know that in K DS would go nuts if they were reviewing letters and sounds. He still will not like it if they are teaching how to read but hopefully they can just give him a book and some reading assignments or something and that would be a little more up his alley.

Thanks for posting this thread - it's been eye opening for me. DD 2.5 is in a pre-K preschool. Her birthday is in December and I cannot imagine her waiting to start K until she's nearly 6.

It's the same for DD. Hopefully she'll get an extra subject acceleration in reading.

I took the bird (skip?)-in-the-hand approach: take the skip now because who knows what might happen later?

Val

We going for kindy with our 5yo ds (jan bday). Our school district has "centers" - K-2, and the principal said that they'd still have to differentiate even in 2nd. And since his social skills are at age-level (according to a questionnaire that I probably shouldn't have answered quite so truthfully!), we'll give kindergarten a try. Re: social skills - he's our only child, and i'm a SAHM, so since he has no interest whatsoever in dressing himself, i never made that a big deal and just helped him get dressed if we ever wanted to get out of the house on time. Note to self - next "social skills" questionnaire, answer if he "could" do something, rather than if he "does" do it!

I think for our DS, the transition to full-day school is going to be a big shock, and he does need to ease into the whole school thing, so kindergarten should be OK. Also, he has no interest in learning how to write, and i'm sure the kindergarten teachers can teach that pretty well.

My DS7 showed no interest in writing at an early age. He didn't even pick up a pencil until he was 5 1/2. He still doesn't really enjoy writing, though he dislikes it less now. Skipping K would have been hard on him.

<Umm, I still help him get dressed sometimes; he doesn't seem to enjoy that task too much either.>

<Though I'm not sure how this feeds into social skills; in kindergarten, he was the one with tons of friends, including at least two 5th graders.>

DD4, on the other hand, has been writing out the alphabet or her random thoughts on her white board for ages now. We had to buy the white board a couple years ago to minimize writing/drawing on the walls. So for her the skip makes a lot of sense.

Val

st pauli girl, I look forward to hearing about your kindergarten experience. I think I've told you before, your ds sounds a lot like my dd (just turned 5 a couple of weeks ago). We, too, are going ahead with kindergarten at a gifted school. The class will be divided up into ability groups for both reading and math - so I am very hopeful dd will get the challenge she needs in both of those areas while still being able to work on her very age appropriate writing skills. Fingers crossed!

SPG,

My DS6 can't tie his shoes or blow his nose! I love that those things define whether or not a child is ready for school. My DS will be the only 4th grader next year that can't brush his own hair (at least not well) I'm looking forward to your K exploits and stories. I've said all along our DS' are very similar so it will be interesting to see how your DS "does school"

Yes, it would be very interesting to see how all our kids "do school" this coming year!

My son met the GT teachers the other day for his math assessment, and lets just say he really "wowed" them. Talked briefly with one of the GT teachers afterward, and she really wasn't sure where she would place him (but I have a feeling we have another "group of one" with this subject, too - lol).

We're extremely lucky here, because although the school has admittedly never seen anyone like DS, they are really going to try hard to give him an academic challenge. A plus is that the GT teachers definitely get it (in terms of the academic level that my son is at). We'll see how everything plays out. I'll meet with them just prior to the start of school next year to discuss the program that they have come up with for DS. DH's hope is that it will keep him interested for at least a few weeks, and then we'll reassess.... and maybe by then he'll be a first grader - lol. And hopefully the behavior problems will improve....

LOL, groups of one still make me laugh, I see DS's future as many groups of ones. His latest math interest is factors and double digit multiplication and long division. It amazes me how he suddenly learned about factors (from that show cyberchase on TV) and then got it right away and was suddenly able to give all the factors of numbers like 68. That is so crazy to me. I don't imagine they will have a group for him in the first grade class that would be a good fit.

That's great that you are at a school that seems to get him and is going to try to challenge him. I think we have a school like that as well. I am hopeful and looking forward to seeing how it goes in the fall.