I asked her repeatedly last year if she wanted to skip and she said no-- she liked her teachers and friends too much and didn't want more upheaval. This kid has been through SO much change and upheaval in her life... divorce, 6 moves in 6 years, people disappearing from our lives... it's amazing she's as sunny as she is.
Anyway, it's a very difficult decision, but I appreciate those who gave suggestions that are in line with the advice I was asking for. I need to have another talk with her principal and see if we can outline a real plan. I may also ask him to let her try a week in a 2nd grade class and see how she feels then.
Well...you didn't mention anything about how your daughter feels in your OP. It was almost all focused on how
you feel about a grade skip. TBH, based on what you wrote, some of the questions and comments seemed completely reasonable. If you had written some of the information in your subsequent message --- and left out the stuff that was all about you --- the responses you got may have been quite different.
If you ask a question in a public forum, you should expect to get answers that you may not like.
If people here have been writing positively about grade skips, it's probably because skips have worked well for so many of our children. No one is trying to be offensive.
FWIW, my double-skipped child took his teddy bear to school when he was in 6th grade. I wasn't sure what the middle schoolers would think about that. By the next Monday, the classroom was full of teddy bears. In December, they had a Christmas party for their teddy bears.
I thought that was all over (he's in 10th grade now). I was wrong. Teddy went to foreign language class yesterday to give a presentation (everyone brought something from home for this). It was a smashing success for all (including Teddy, who got to go to school).
Yes, there are obviously some differences between DS and kids who are 2-3 years older than him. But he gets along with everyone and is doing fine. Alternatively, our DD has skipped one grade and we probably won't skip her again. This is because she loves her friends and would be unhappy in a different grade.
YMMV.
