Hi Delbows,
It turns out that this weekend was DS11's one year anniversary of his mid-year gradeskip. We tryed to keep things as low-key as possible, but mid-year skips are a big deal to the kid. Let's compare it to starting at a new school mid-year. I think most people would agree that entering a new classroom mid-year is a lot for a kid to handle.
Kids seems to be very "grade=value" orriented. I don't think it's a coincidence that both chicken eggs and school children are graded and assigned grades. My son felt during his subject acceleration experiences that the older grade kids would resent a "little kid" getting the pearks that they had to earn by waiting. Also some kids seem to consider doing what no other kid is doing as social poison. So "going against the tide" is an accomplishment.
In our situation, it was the first time that DS had been challenged intellectually (in contrast to memorizing math facts or handwriting) or been surrounded by kids who outshine him, so one year later, I felt comfortable to mention it a few times and verbal praise him. No we didn't have a party or give a physical gift, and yes, I worry about his generation, but I don't think you are going to solve this problem at this time.
Bottom Line - Rituals are important. Kids need them. Even the most intellectually advanced seem to me to also have a "kid brain" that opperates very concretely.
Suggestion: (Humor Alert) Send them a Dr. Sylvia Rimm parenting book in honor of his "graduation." You can get Amazon to mail it directly to their house.
Big Smile,
Trinity
