It does help. Thanks for putting it so well. You wrote a lot of what I think about in disjointed ways, and your ideas are a major reason for why I'm thinking about another acceleration in one subject only.
I haven't mentioned that he's very, very science-y and engineering-y, which is why I'm thinking about asking for an acceleration into 5th grade science. He thrives on technical stuff.
Val
Hi Val,
Glad it helps! I think much of it is looking at the big picture of where you want to be in the long run. Our guiding principal is that we are trying to create the foundation for a well-adjusted, well-rounded adult. The recipe for each kid on how to get there is different for each kid.
For science, do look at what he would be doing in the next grade up. Our school has been very weak on science and frankly there would be no point in moving up for science until 7th grade which is the first time has moved beyond growing seeds in a cup. DS's science happens mostly at home. We read a lot of science books for bedtime reading and we have science magazines around. There is a lot of great science that is never actually covered in our schools, so we have gone with the breadth at home approach rather than counting on the schools for this one. It sounds like your school is very different from ours, though, so it may well be worth the acceleration for your DS.
