Our DD was granted early entrance to K when she was 4 yrs 9 months. Our district requires 5 years by first day of school. We also have a nephew who was 4 years 10 months whose parents got early entrance to a magnet school. He is an active boy, who the teacher rates as "average" in his class, but he sits quietly and listens. He does not read as an entering 1st grader more than 3 letter words, but is doing fine.
For DD, the attributes that made her a successful student were:
-she was used to school atmosphere and could sit still
-academically ahead of the class (reading, math etc)
-fine motor skills were normal for the age group
-outgoing personality
-wanted to start Kindergarten
The person who tested DD for Kindergarten listed all these as the reasons why she thought DD would be ready. She felt that the younger the child, the more advanced they should be in case the skills would "level off" at some point. With GT kids that isn't true, but they want the early entrance to be a positive experience for all kids.
Jen
