Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school Feeling stuck - Early Entrance

My exceptionally gifted daughter turns 5 22 days after the kindergarten cutoff. We are trying to weigh our options for next year and I just keep getting more and more worried that we won't find the right fit for her (and us). We are 55th on the waiting list of the Classical school we want (her high SB-V got us accepted for early entrance) but were denied early entrance from the other classical school nearby since she does not currently meet 70-80% of Kindergarten benchmarks (only meets them in reading).

We still have to go through the Early Entrance process for our local school and we have an application in for a Spanish immersion program as well.

We aren't sure what to do. Keep her home another year and risk having her be bored next year (I won't stop teaching her at home!) or "settle" for a school. It's just kindergarten so is it really a big deal?

It's hard to be in that situation. Did the psychologist who tested your kiddo have any recommendations? Are there any possibilities of keeping your DD home and then going right into 1st?

I'll tell my story again....Our DS, a Jan. birthday, was quite ready for kindergarten a year early, but the psychologist suggested to us that we'd have a lot of school changes/advocacy throughout DS's school life, and so we should let him stay home and play another year, go to kindy with agemates, and then skip 1st. We did this, then ended up switching mid-year to a school for HG kids halfway through 2nd (and the new school is finally a great fit). The problems we encountered early on in kindergarten were that DS did not think that school was a place for learning, since he knew pretty much everything ahead of time, even though they tried to differentiate for him. He did learn to write, which he refused to do at home, and how to "do school" for a whole day. DS cried a lot before school when he was in kindergarten, telling us how much he hated school and didn't want to go.

The first skip in the local school was much better than kindergarten, as there was at least one kid who was as advanced in one subject as DS. But there were still many pullouts required, and the pace of the classroom was slow. Is the classical school you're considering an accelerated program? I think pace becomes a huge issue for EG kids.

All that said, because you obviously care about doing what's best for your DD, whatever you pick will likely turn out fine, since you will advocate when necessary, and also you can always change if things aren't working out. Changes in the first few years of school are generally easiest, before great friendships are made. Good luck!

There's been some discussion on this issue quite recently on some earlier threads. You may have already discovered these, but if not check them out to see if they offer any helpful thoughts:

http://giftedissues.davidsongifted.org/BB/ubbthreads.php/topics/120730/1.html

http://giftedissues.davidsongifted.org/BB/ubbthreads.php/topics/119689/2.html

I cannot offer any personal advice on this issue but from what I've read, skipping first grade seems to be more common since many schools are reluctant to allow early entrance (I imagine this is exacerbated by high levels of redshirting in some districts). I think language immersion programs might also be an excellent option, although I've read little about this on this forum. I was in a French immersion program all through elementary school, which was very successful for me. Good luck!

DS4 was accepted to enter Kindergarten early in private school. (Misses it by 8 weeks)
However, there was extensive testing and the only reason I think they allowed to even entertain the thought was because we managed to get him early entrance into PreK-4 last fall. My argument was he had already done PreK-4 so please test him into Kindergarten so he doesn't have to do PreK-4 all over again. He passed the test with flying colors.

For your situation, since you have already "home schooled", is to continue homeschooling and focus on your DD's "weaker" points so she can master them by the time the next school year rolls around. THEN try to get early entrance into 1st grade next year.

Being EG and the oldest in the class just seems to be a recipe for disaster. We are concerned enough about the fact that DS will not even be close to being challenged, even though he IS accelerated.

Thanks everyone. I'm still not certain what we will do - we found out we were accepted into the Spanish immersion program but honestly I don't know much about it and I don't understand how immersion works in teaching kids English (or anything) until the language is mastered. We are also still going through the early enrollment process at our local elementary.

We're torn because if we wait until next year and try to skip KG we will have a terrible time getting into the school we want since they have very low turnover. Argh! I wish this was easy.

My immersion program was 100% French up until the end of Grade 6. Grades 7 & 8 were 50% French. When our class entered the English language high school (with 25% French), a disproportionate number of us ended up in the enriched English classes. I think learning another language at a young age really helps you master languages in general. All of our math and science courses were also in French and several of my classmates ended up winning county-wide math contests. I think it only benefited us and has really helped me learn other languages, too. Again, good luck with your decision! Let us know what happens (I also have a son with a late birthday so this is an issue of great concern to me).

We have a spanish immersion program here that starts in kindergarten. The math and science scores are lower there than at the regular public school, but it's hard to know if it is due to the school curriculum or a selection bias (if kids who go there are not going to do as well in math/science anyway for other reasons).
I think it's a tough curriculum if you don't speak/read Spanish yourselves. In our district out in California, alot of bilingual kids go there, so if you are not bilingual yourself, your child will be at a disadvantage. HTH.

I am having similar concerns. My son had his gifted/kindergarten readiness assessment this morning. I get the full results next week but the doctor told me before we left that he would be recommending an early start for him. This was a private assessment and should we decide to pursue early entrance, it will be at the Montessori school my son has already attended.
Where I am stuck is looking at how an early start will work long term. If we switch over to public when he is older, will being young for his class hurt his chances of getting into GT programs?
I am thinking about just taking it year by year and going for the best fit I can find at the time. I'd appreciate any advice.

Here's the thread I was looking for earlier. It's on skipping kindergarten: http://giftedissues.davidsongifted.org/BB/ubbthreads.php/topics/108045/1.html

Lucky for you school is still in session. Take a half day and go visit the Spanish school. Sit in various classrooms. Soak in the culture of the teachers, the students. Sometimes a school develops a culture of accepting diversity, and intellectual diversity is part of that.

As for the school you think you really want - also sit in their classrooms. If their Kindy is half day, many kids can thrive even if the fit is poor. Once you get to know them and they get to know you, the long process of advocacy can start.

Try and take some pressure off yourself. If your DD is unusually gifted then you are going to need to stay flexible, make lots of course corrections, and look for the 'least worst' option. If she's more the 'in good company' sort of gifted, then maybe it is true that you can magically find the right school and let this whole struggle fade. Psychoeducational evaluation may help you have insight into this, as might spending time around other kids, both 'bright skewed' groupings and 'truly heterogeneously' grouped. That's why observing the classroom is so important.

Best Wishes,
Grinity