Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional lack of motivation and/or attention problems?

Thanks for all these thoughts Grinity.

Although I see the appeal, in our particular situation, I don't think grade skipping is going to work. To be accepted in the higher achieving grade 7 programs, the school looks at the grade 5 report card (thus my "high value rewards" for As) and a standardized test on the grade 5 curriculum, given near the beginning of grade 6.

DH's take on this is that we make DS suffer through the drill and mechanics of grade 5, make sure he gets good grades, and ensure that he is well prepared for the test next autumn. We have become kind of hyper-focussed on grade 5 -- I guess that's why I said earlier that he "hasn't mastered the grade 5 curriculum." It's not just DS who is suffering through grade 5.

So grade 6 becomes sort of a fill in year before he hopefully is accepted in a challenging school for 7th. This would be the year where I could see doing something more unconventional like homeschooling or partial schooling. I mentioned grade skipping to DS once, and he was all for it, because he thought it would mean that he would "get a year off"!! Maybe grade 6 could be that year . . .

The other thing about grade skipping, which his very supportive grade 1-3 teacher said to us during grade 2, is that even if it's clear that he is academically ready, his emotional maturity and organization might not be there.

We started reading Animal Farm in French together, and he and DH have been doing some video game programming, so that's all good. Both ideas came from this group too!