Personally, I prefer social/play based pre-school options for most HG/PG kids.
That is what the Montessori program is. And Mr W was falling apart under it. He was acting his age when he was capable of being much more mature.
At 5pm, at the Montessori place, all the kids would be put in the gym to wait for parents to pick them up. The first week, Mr W got the Kindergarten kids to accept him and from then on spent time with them. He was 2 years old and these were the kids he connected with. He was tremendously happy being with them. And they really enjoyed him, telling me "he is really smart!" and "he is a lot of fun to play with!"
How can he learn anything socially if his classmates could barely talk? With whom could he talk about dinosaurs? Or play hide and go seek?
After his first day in PreK with kids 1-2 years older, his first comment to me was, "Daddy, they can talk!" - meaning his classmates.
Last night when we picked him up, he was working on the computer learning "big words" while the other kids 4-6 were running around playing. Sitting next to him was an 8 year old boy doing the same thing who was in after-school day care. They were talking back and forth about the game and how to get to certain sections.
Again, in which case is he learning to be social and forming bonds with others?
In my own recollections, I was tremendously lonely in school unless I was with older kids. I do not want that for him. He is much more social than I am to begin with - as well.
