When I was entering kindergarten I missed the cut-off my about a month and my parents did what you are considering - paid for a year of private school.

I used to think that was a mistake - I had a lot of difficulty socially. But now I think that I would have had MORE difficulty if I'd been one of the oldest. And I was in a district with a lot of bright kids. Also - my parents were kind of clueless. I think it would have been easier on me if they hadn't dressed me funny (I'm serious).

The ONLY reason I would suggest not pushing him ahead is if he is small for his age and your family places a lot of emphasis on athletic achievement. Then it might not be the right choice.

I don't think 12k is unreasonable for private kindergarten on L.I. I realize that it's a large sum in an absolute sense, but it's not unreasonable tuition.

I have two wiggly boys and they navigate a very organized, quiet Montessori classroom and love it. I suspect the Montessori director was letting you know that YOU need to be on board with it, not that your son couldn't acclimate to it. IOW, if your environment at home is markedly different, it will be hard on him. I have found that even though my sons are required to be calm and quiet and follow classroom procedure, the Montessori philosophy of freedom within limits has been wonderful for them. I definitely don't see the negative attitude towards naturally active young boys in their school that I have seen in some other educational environments. One other thing about Montessori - there ARE different programs, but there aren't really supposed to be. AMI is what Montessori is supposed to me. A good AMS school can also be an excellent choice, but I've seen some lousy ones. Anything else makes me very suspicious. I'm guessing you were looking at an AMI school because the director had the balls to basically tell you that it was her way or the highway. That can be pretty irritating, but that's the way they are. They do it by the book. It's an educational philosophy that has worked for a lot of kids.

For kids who are doing crazy advanced stuff - like reading at age 3 - maybe Montessori, with it's insistence on mastering one "work" before advancing to the next, isn't ideal. But if your child is in that range what is ideal? We have a couple programs locally that look for 145+ I.Q.s and several children from our Montessori school have gone on to them. So I know that our Montessori school has educated other children in that range and the families have been satisfied.

I agree is a bad indication that the district is sweating 12 days in a kid with a 150 + I.Q. That's really very smart and he's going to need some special consideration.

Last edited by JaneSmith; 03/21/10 12:48 PM.