Not sure where to put this post, but thought Learning Environments might work. This post is mostly an emotional outlet for me. I just found out one of DS's best friends is moving across the state this summer, and I'm really down about it, for him and for me; the family is a gifty family and it's a big loss for us.
DS6 is in his first year at our neighborhood school, which we picked with deliberation three years ago, and is thriving. At K age, he gets along well with his peers. He's extremely active, and connects with most of his peers on that level, even though most of them don't have the same intellectual pursuits and maturity level. I'm not sure how long that will last as he gets older, but it's working for now. (Based on reading other threads on this site, I'd say he's MG, with HG in a couple of areas.) However, he has a couple of best friends who are on or close to his level intellectually, and I've been so happy and relieved that there are a couple of real peers in his class for him.
I just found out this morning the best "BFF," the one who is really right there with DS intellectually, is moving across the state this summer, and I'm feeling really down about it. The family is the only other family in the class I can talk to about DS without filters, because they get it, the dad is quirky and obviously a gifty himself, and we had been talking about some out of school learning we were going to do with the boys in the coming year. Now they're leaving, and I feel somewhat deflated. I've been determined to give my children a better grade-school experience than my own, and it's been working for the brief time we've been on this path. Academically, subject acceleration, ability grouping, and the IB inquiry-based learning approach is working for the time being; I feel that if he can continue to have two or three other real peers around him, on top of the many other "bright" kids in his grade, he stands a great chance of having a happier elementary school experience than mine was. He's sad that his BF is moving, and I am too.
