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Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 185
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Joined: Sep 2013
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but I will raise my hand for the roll call of mothers who expected to return to work when their child became school aged, but who are now planning a sojourn into homeschooling. It's a relief to think of homeschooling our equivalent of pre-K next year and following a wait-and-see approach for kindergarten. If he starts to do algebra in kindergarten, we'll know we made the right call. (I'm only half-joking there.) I definitely didn't consider this when we started having children, never in my wildest dreams did I think I could possibly become a homeschooler! I was a public school advocate, loved working in elemenary education. This is all very mind blowing.
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Joined: Mar 2012
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Thank you, Ashley. I need to research the tests more because I am worried about him hitting the ceiling of the subtests.
I am a former teacher and have a lot of friends in the system still, which is a great asset for us (sort of, they don't know what to think about our DS, they cannot believe his ability and worry about his education as well).
I've read over the new standards online. He's definitely in the 1st grade range for reading, math and writing. He's suddenly obsessed with inventive spelling and writing stories. So as far as early K being appropriate-probably not but what else can I do? Where will he be when he's in K and 1st? 3rd grade level?
My basis for early K is: those early years are so critical for social skills, I am worried about total, complete boredom, thus behavioral issues. Also, this could help reduce chances of grade skipping. Some of my teacher friends just say, "Let him enter K at 5.5 because you are not going to get him in early and then they will skip him to first." I just feel like, can't this kid get one good year of social fun before the insanity of begging for differientation and talking about grade skipping begin? Since you have time until you make a decision regarding K, you can consider some things which I wish I had known before we embarked on our short lived journey into PS (in our excellent school district): how your child will cope with boredom in the classroom caused by being under challenged, how his work ethic and his outlook toward schools and teachers will be affected by how advanced he is, will he try to "blend in" with his peers in order to fit in? Some schools like ours offer a mixed 1st grade-K class for the advanced K'ers - but that was inadequate to meet our needs as well. But, since you have friends in the system, maybe you could try to see if radical differentiation is possible? ETA: As for your question: "How do the results help us in everyday life?" - I was laid back about DS's education until I tested him. As a parent, lot of the things that I had been seeing in him started to make sense. The results told me that he was capable of doing a lot more than I was asking of him.
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Joined: Apr 2014
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My basis for early K is: those early years are so critical for social skills, I am worried about total, complete boredom, thus behavioral issues. Also, this could help reduce chances of grade skipping. Some of my teacher friends just say, "Let him enter K at 5.5 because you are not going to get him in early and then they will skip him to first." I just feel like, can't this kid get one good year of social fun before the insanity of begging for differientation and talking about grade skipping begin? Social skills - you don't need to be in school to get those. And a bad fit among "peers" is just as big of a problem as bad academic fit. This we found out with DS - when he was in with a peer group that he was out of sync with, he really struggled. He is now with a group that is so much more like him, and he is so much happier. One thing I am noticing too - it is not just being a good fit at the start of the year, but whether the class will move *fast* enough to suit your child. If the other kids are not able to learn as quickly or teachers are not able to support a rapid pace of learning - as ashley stated, how will he tolerate that? Those were the two issues we found with DS even at the age of 3 in daycare - that combination of slow-moving pace of the classroom and age peers not being at same level was making him miserable, and we had to move him into a environment with more like-minded peers and where the pace is noticeably faster despite his young age - and he is thriving there.
Last edited by notnafnaf; 10/10/14 02:37 PM.
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Joined: Mar 2014
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I agree with notnafnaf; he doesn't need kindy for social skills and depending on his temperament, it may be a detractor. My DS is a very social child and would pick being with friends over an intellectual challenge because he knows he can learn stuff at home. He loves school and the interaction with the other kids but he was going anyway as I am a single working parent.
Kindergarten is for teaching how to sit on the rug in a circle, queue, be nice to others, and raise your hand. It's really less about academics and learning than it is about teaching conformance to the classroom rules. If you play school with him at home, you can teach him all of that and still challenge him intellectually.
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Joined: Sep 2013
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What I am hearing is that maybe it's not a big deal to skip K? If they won't let him attend early, then it's ok to skip to first grade. Hmm, I hadn't really considered this. My teacher friends keep talking about how K is so fun and special and I didn't want him to miss out but you know what? He thrives on academic challenge, he glows when learning something new and he he along very well with older children and is the size of a child two years older. He is struggling with social issues at school, I haven't teased out the root yet. I have a lot to think about and all of your responses are tremendously helpful in working through this. Can't thank you enough.
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Joined: Apr 2011
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K isn't wonderful and fun if it's a bad fit... It's curling up in a fetal position sobbing and begging not to go and asking why there's no one like you and what's wrong with you...
Where we are, testing and a professional directive is 100% critical to early entry, acceleration or pretty much any other consideration. I put off testing my youngest because testing young is tricky and she's so social that I hoped she'd cope... Then I found myself wishing I'd at least BOOKED the assessment earlier on, so that I didn't have to wait 4+ months just to get an appointment once I decided we really had to act right NOW... You can always cancel or delay an assessment and some lucky person gets a cancellation with a specialist they're desperate to see. I really can't believe I made the same mistake of waiting too long to book AGAIN.
But like others have said I am also aware that having tested at 4.5 we will have to repeat tests in the future.
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Joined: Jul 2014
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I am a fan of early entry - it has worked quite well for our oldest so far. We may be looking at further acceleration, but it did give DS two good years in brick and mortar school. I agree that the playful nature of those introductory months can work quite well for gifted kids provided they are clearly younger than the rest of their classmates. After two years, things appear tie be coming. Apart at the seams a bit - pace gets more of an issue after a while.
I would research the early entrance requirements for your state very carefully and then book a testing date as late as possible (if possible, with the option to squeeze in another one in time in case he's sick). From my experience, I'd say forget testing a three year old, it's just too much hit and miss. Four might work. 4.5 might work even better, but it appears Thetis too late for you. And yes, no matter how well you think you know your kid, testing may have surprises in store. Knowing is better than not knowing.
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Joined: Sep 2011
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My teacher friends keep talking about how K is so fun and special and I didn't want him to miss out Interesting…. none of my kids found K to be anything special at all - lol! polarbear
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Joined: Nov 2013
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While there are many arguments for and against early testing, James Delisle looks at it in interesting way in Dumbing a Down America. He treats testing for Giftedness similarly to testing for disabilities and in the latter case, the earlier the test and intervention the better generally. His question is, why hold off testing if it can be done by well qualified testers. He also says any label on a child should be considered tentative as they grow and change, but his view is that labels are helpful if they open the door to more appropriate educational opportunities.
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Joined: Jan 2013
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I don't have good advice but we are in a similar situation with DD who just turned 4 about 3 weeks after the cut off date. That means she is scheduled to do transitional kindergarten next year followed by a year of kindergarten starting 3 weeks before her 6th birthday. Currently by my estimate she is moving into early 2nd grade math and reading levels. I don't know whether to do transitional K next year as she is turning 5 then try to skip to 1st or try to enter K next year at least. I hate to have her make friends in TK then skip and lose those friends since social interations would be the only thing she will get out of the year besides getting used to being in school all day every day. I think we will test but we may be able to wait until 4.5 years or so.
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