I will be honest though, I am worried about the changes and new challenges will overwhelmed DD and cost her self-confidence and self-esteem. Even though DD's achievement scores back up her abilities, did I inflate her abilities? Is she really going to be happier? Sorry, I know I am so wishy-washy.
Thanks again,
Mag
Honesty is good. Then you can trace the fear and take a look at it. Did this happen to you or someone you know that when they finally got challenge, it was really difficult to learn how to work hard? If so, then you can remind yourself that it's better to learn how to work 'semi-hard' at this age, then at some later stage.
I think observing the target classrooms is a really good idea. Then you can be assured that '3rd grade' isn't so scary, and that you aren't misjudging the situation.
Girls can be timid by nature, but there is also to possibility that she is insecure because she is surrounded by a setting that is scarily 'wrong.' Let's say that every day before you sent her to swing on the swings, you dressed her up in a baseball catcher's protective gear. That might actally cause a child to become anxious. Keeping a child in a very underchallenging environment is a similar experience in some ways - kids can percieve that we don't have confidence in them - assuming that they are normal and that we somehow arranged to place them with 'well-below normal' kids out of over concern for their self-confidence.
I'm not sure I'm making any sense, and I sure don't mean to insult kids with developmental delays,in any way, but I've seen that from a 6 year old's perspective being in a heterogeneous classroom can be disturbing in a way that's hard to articulate.
Anyway - being in an enviornment that 'seems more normal' to her might change her timidness...maybe.
Love and More Love,
Grinity
