Mommyj2:
I haven't posted an "official" follow-up for our son's recent skip, as it is still a fairly recent development... and I don't want to jinx it. But...
Our son -- also 8 -- has an early fall birthday, so was only 7 when he started 4th grade this year. His first skip came when he began school in 1st grade at age 4 (turning 5 within several weeks of the start).
As I've shared extensively in my earlier posts, he'd spent the first three years of school quietly spinning his wheels in class, never having to work for his top grades. After a series of testing over the summer, we got a pretty clear indication that he needed another skip, which would place him in the 5th grade classroom skipping out of 4th mid-year.
Although I was comfortable with moving him to 5th immediately, we all agreed to a "test-drive" by having him spend part of each day in 5th and the rest in his 4th grade classroom.
After only a few weeks of this test period (we had planned on a full quarter for the test), it was clear to all that he was ready, and that delaying his skip to quarter-end would serve no purpose. He was well-received by the 5th graders, was performing at the top of the class in all areas, the receiving teacher had zero hesitance... and most of all, our son was thrilled about the move.
Most noticeable to me was that he was getting some genuine challenge in the classroom. Spelling & grammar are still a non-issue for him, but science & social studies both require greater effort on his part. And overall, his teacher is much more demanding of him, clearly not giving him any special treatment.
I think the "test-drive" helped to ease everyone into the transition, especially by making it very easy to "unwind" the decision -- much easier than with an "official" full skip. Trying this approach with your son may help to alleviate your concerns, and I'm certain that the others who are less concerned will be agreeable to the strategy.
I would be hesitant to go the route of one skip now & one skip later, especially if everyone involved is in favor of the double-skip. I think he will be better prepared for the transition into middle school if he is able to go with a class of kids he's come to know over the course of time, rather than going through the "break-in period" two separate times, with the second occurring as he starts sixth grade.
Have you worked through the Iowa Acceleration Scale yet?
Has the school administered any testing that helps to back up this whole idea?
As for friends & family -- although we love all of ours to the greatest degree, we didn't discuss this with anyone who was not experienced with GT-ed as the constant myth-busting just took too much energy and introduced unhelpful doubt into an already tough decision-making process.
Next, if you haven't already done so, take some time to read through the report, "A Nation Deceived"
http://www.nationdeceived.org/There's an executive summary to get your feet wet, and then you can plow into the full report for all the gory details. Somewhere in all of that, be sure to read the collection of stories from dozens & dozens of students, parents & teachers... these ultimately gave me what I needed to make my decision on the early-entrance to 1st grade question.
And finally, the fantastic group of fellow parents in this forum helped me tremendously as I was contemplating this most recent skip from 4th to 5th. Lots & LOTS of great advice from many people who've been down this road one or more times already.
http://giftedissues.davidsongifted.org/BB/ubbthreads.php/topics/54989/1.html
