Mana, that really sounds like a good plan.
Honestly, depending on a child's LOG and the size of the area in which you live-- that is, the size of the pond, as AvoCado helpfully put it--your child's friendships are likely to take one of three paths:
a) "good enough" and domain-specific/shared-interest friends-- they may be similar age or not, but have some shared interest/ability/developmental level in common and both parties can live with the other differences. This type of friend is NEVER going to be a soulmate, though, and your child is eventually likely to 'grow' past the other party, which is painful. Most other gifted students are in this category for kids with high LOG.
b) one-way friendships-- your child IS the friend to his/her friends, but in spite of all that they get out of the friendship, your child feels that the friendships are missing something critical, or are hollow somehow. Generally the other party is unaware that the friendship feels anything but genuine. This is, (I hypothesize) due to different developmental levels socially. Davidson and SENG both discuss this in their materials about friendships, and I've seen it time and time again in my DD14. Most non-gifted-- and some MG-- kids are in this category.
c) Friends who eventually become so insecure that they turn into something harmful to your child-- jealous/envious frenemies who passive-aggressively undermine and pick at your child. This is a VERY real phenomena, and a child who places value on his/her loyalty won't necessary enforce boundaries and shed the friend when they should-- parents may need to step in and gently discuss healthy relationships and boundaries. Tiger-parented or status-conscious peers whose identity is "I'm smarter than others" tend to be this type.
d) True peers. This begs the question, though-- "in what sense of the word?" Intellectually? Cognitively? Socially? Most kids who are EG/PG only find such peers in programs or activities specifically intended for kids at this LOG. This is where summer camps and other away-from-home things come into play. Luckily, those kids can maintain contact throughout the year with modern social media and e-mail/Skype, etc.
My DD14 has never had a "best friend." Not one that is in the true peer category, I mean. She has only met a couple of other PG youngsters, and only one of them is a chronological peer (well, almost). The two of them share pretty much no interests, and are socially/philosophically at opposite poles. Not much chemistry between them, sadly. (And I mean that for both of them, actually.)
The closest friendships my DD has had have been with HG children a few years older than she is-- or with 2e kids 2-6 years older. She has learned to be choosy about another person's level of inclusiveness and prosocial behaviors.
We are hopeful that college will bring more opportunities for authentic friendships that have the depth that she has been seeking.
