Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Identifying A Gifted Preschooler

Continuing the hijack... but I recommend you do a search for skipping 1st grade on this forum, as there is good info out there. To answer your questions, skipping first, along with going to K with agemates instead of early entrance, is what the psychologist who tested our DS suggested. She said there would be a lot of accommodations needed in our kiddo's schooling, and we may as well let him play another year at home instead of starting K early. She also thought the more fun K year, with less focus on academics, would be better than 1st grade, which is usually a learn to read/learn to do basic math year that can be very hard on HG kids who already know the material. We got a copy of the Iowa Acceleration Scale forms and filled them out, and had the school also fill them out. We all came to the conclusion that he would be an excellent candidate for a grade skip.

We do not regret the skip. It turned out it wasn't enough, and mid-year second we transfered our kiddo to a school for HG kids that was accelerated at least one year. My kiddo had poor handwriting, which was an issue at the local school (they didn't want to accelerate him where he needed to be in some subjects because of his handwriting). The HG school worked around the handwriting. Besides handwriting, DS was small for his age anyway, and so smaller after the skip, and he's not especially sporty. He's coming around now and can hold his own in sports (he's 8 and a rising 4th grader), but I think it was kind of hard on him when he was always the worst at sporty stuff.

I would suggest investigating what sort of acceleration policies your school has.

Thanks I will do some investigation. The idea of giving them the basics of K appeals to me, as does skipping a lot of the 1st repeat (add ons). My DS is actually tall-average (80%) and sporty 'enough' to hang with slightly older kids...but it was just until recently that I can see his maturity really making leaps that would lead me to see he could handle this.

He is entering K already reading chapter books, doing pretty complex math equations in his head (some multiplying/division, very good with adding/subtracting and reasoning out problems)...I don't even know what they average 2nd grader is supposed to know at the first of school.

Hi RaSha,

In our experience we weren't able to find a preschool that had any academic challenge. The best we found was billed as a montessori but offers a lot of free play and is mixed age.

Evemomma -- We are now in the same boat as you as our DS is 5. 1st is not a current option for him due to poor fine motor skills, and emotionally he's not ready for 1st either. But a caveat to assuming K will be a relaxed environment. When we looked at the best rated public K in our area we found that it was not a relaxed playing/social year at all. In that district they want all kids reading by the end of K (and retain any who are not). This helps protect the school's test scores down the road. As many kids come in barely knowing letters this means a monotonous curriculum built around learning to read, many hours a day are devoted to it leaving little time for other stuff. This school has a gifted pullout for one single hour a week for kids who can add, they get to learn simple subtraction, still not right for DS. Peeking into K rooms revealed wholly a group instruction method, no kids doing their own thing. Basically to me it appeared K and 1st were not different in their teaching style or expectations for behavior. K was a mini 1st grade with a basket of toys in the corner for kids who arrive to school early.

So for us the outcome of observing a bunch of K classes at various schools is we are having our DS return to his preschool for another year of play. The school nominally has a K program he will attend but mainly it will be another year of play as well as working on his fine motor issues. Additionally we'll homeschool a bit.

I worry that making him go to a public K with an academic program set at the wrong level, that has high expectations for "good" behavior, would only convince him that school is worthless. He may get that impression later but i'd like to put that off as long as possible, I think our school system is more likely to differentiate better later on when his writing and maturity level are better. K is a year where there are actually some alternatives out there in our community, whereas 1st is not.

Polly

Polly...

I have exactly the same worry that ds will not value school for learning. Sigh. We shall soon see.

Check out your local Montessori programs. Also, call around to local museums and ask what they have for children his age.
Music Together classes are super fun, filled with learning and age appropriate silliness.

Yeah. sigh.

I don't think either of my kids are PG... more like HG or MG (I'm HG), but my daughter sounds similar to your son.

I put her in a play-based preschool to hopefully encourage social skill development. There were no academics whatsoever. All painting, drawing, games, stories, crafts, etc etc.

She had anxiety (part of her make-up), but she wasn't bored. It actually set her up well for school because she wasn't disenchanted by a boring boring boring atmosphere.

With these kids, at that age, I think we're forced to satisfy their thirst for learning ourselves, and let preschool be about fun.