Hi KatBarber -welcome!
At this point, it is my opinion that you are still the parent, and need to make decisions for your child, even if he doesn't like it. If you feel that it would be more appropriate to skip a grade, then maybe you can do some other things to help ease things. For example, promise that you will facilitate play dates etc. with kids from the former class, and start doing that over the summer. Also, is there any chance that the school would let your DS go down a grade for any classes, like gym or some other specials? There might be at least one class that is at the same time.
Of course, there are other things to think about when determining whether a skip is the right thing to do. I recommend filling out the Iowa Acceleration Scales.
My DS7 is a bit younger, but he skipped 1st and then we transferred him to a different school mid-year. He was reluctant to transfer, but it has all worked out fine. We still see his friends from kindergarten, and any friends he's wanted to see from the first half of this year. We just told him we needed to find the best school fit for him, and although we showed compassion for his concerns, we put it in terms of this being a decision his parents needed to make.
Good luck!
