Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion What did you do while waiting for Kindergarten?

Montessori programs can be good (though keep in mind there is a ton of variability in Montessori programs) as they can have mixed age groups (3-5 or or 3-6 or something like that) so a gifted 3 year old could run around with NT 3 year olds and talk to the 5-6 year olds.

We consulted with a psychologist on the hoagies list:
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/psychologists.htm

While this was not cheap, he saved us a ton of time by recommending programs that were appropriate (and also doing some IQ testing to establish probable giftedness).

Keep in mind that public or private school is only part year and part day, so when kids age out of traditional year-round full day childcare there are some pretty big gaps (summer and other vacations) that need to be filled.

Our DS has a fall birthday too.

Shortly after our DS turned 3, the teachers at his play-based preschool made it clear that it was no longer a good fit. There were no behavioral issues, and he didn't seem overly upset, but it was not ideal. Although the teachers tried to provide for him, it just wasn't working well. For example, he'd start on one of the larger puzzles provided specially for him, but one of the other children would try to "work with him" (i.e., mess up all he'd done or run off with a piece).

We moved him to an authentic Montessori environment and the difference was incredible! I know some kids flourish in a play-based program, but DS was obsessed with numbers and words & has never really been interested in "pretend play". The Montessori works let him explore these interests, but because of the mixed age environment his asynchronies were well accepted.

DD4 is at a nature based school with children age 2 to 8. DD has an age-mate BFF who is socially very precocious. DD is hot and cold about the older boys. She did not enjoy attending typical preschools.

She keeps herself intellectually challenged with extracurricular activities. We do science experiments, read a lot, and she's on her piano bench practicing and improvising just about all afternoon.

Now that we've found the right school and an outlet for her drive to learn - which turned out to be piano - we feel quite settled. We have to go through K admission this year and I'm feeling really ambivalent about drastically changing our current schedule.

We also take her to a jazz club every weekend.

It's much easier if you can follow your child's interest and passion. It might not easy to find a preschool that allows for this to happen but there are alternatives out there to traditional preschools.

OK I forgot a lot of daycares have more divisions. My kids went to.one that had under 2s and 2 to 5. That means until nearly 5 there was always someone older to play with. It woukdn't have worked if he had been with all kids his exact age.