I'm new here, so let me preface this by saying I'm not trolling! This is a bit tangential as well, but still related to the grade skip.
I am interested in some of the earlier comments about "stardom" for little ones who have received grade skips or extra attention for being HG. Do you think this is always positive? In my son's case it most definitely was not. Several years ago in 1st grade, he spent half the day in the GT classroom because the teachers didn't know what do do with him...and ended up skipping him the next year. One teacher used to call him "Little Einstein" in the hallway and he received a great deal of attention simply for being smart.
My concerns were:
A. He was showing increasing amounts of perfectionism
B. His self-esteem was becoming tied to this attention
C. The teachers were pointing out his differentness to the other children
D. He became boastful and started helping out the teachers with "C"
Of those, I think "b" was the most troublesome for the long term. Something strange happened to his little ego during that period, and it took about 2 years to undo. I always try to praise for hard work rather than intelligence.
My advice to any parent of an elementary aged kid with an impending grade skip is to what Master of None suggests, and "Just keep talking to him so he has a frame of reference for what's going on and doesn't peg his self esteem on anything in particular." In addition, have the discussion with his teachers and principal.
Finally, I'll just point out that this was only one experience, and there are multiple variables that played into it: my son's personality, the teachers, the school district, the general "vibe" of the school, etc. As Howler Karma said, you won't know until you try it! I wish you all the best. Having a HG child can be a hard road to travel at times -- at least in regards to education.
Kitty
