Zia�s Mom,
I always benefit from considering dissenting opinions when I am trying to crystallize an idea in my mind. I assume you are interested in all the pros and cons for your argument, so let me play devil�s advocate here.
Obviously, you know your child best. Around here, almost 5 means one more year of pre-school. Almost 5 and starting 1st grade is a two year skip. Almost 5 and starting a 1st grade class which teaches a 2nd grade curriculum seems like a challenging start point for a very gifted child.
If you are looking for your money�s worth in an elementary education, you won�t be satisfied with even a 2nd grade placement. I think it may help to consider that you are investing in your child�s grade placement for future use. Utilizing a scribe for a gifted child without a learning disability may be an over-extension.
My analogy would be to compare this decision to the current mortgage fiasco. Just because you qualify for the 1.5 million dollar house mortgage, doesn�t mean it�s a wise choice. There are other factors that you may not have fully considered, such as an ARM (God forbid) or spiking insurance rates, property taxes and utility bills that are out of your control. If you chose slightly more conservatively, these other factors may still hurt, but will probably not result in foreclosure.
