Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments skip or not

Hi all, I'm thinking I'm very close to deciding not to push DD5 for a skip this year but wanted to sound it out first.

DD started school a month or so ago, she will do until December and then next year graduate as a first grader to year 2. It will be a composite of either 1/2 or 2/3 - I'll be pushing for 2/3.

DD got it in her head a while ago from her grandparents that kids don't read etc until school (I'm very unimpressed by this) however now she has started she will be up to year end reading within the month if not sooner. I know that I can push to keep her as year 1 this year and get her classified as a 3rd grader next year in the 2/3 class which will keep her with some of her friends. She LOVES her teacher who seems to me to be very open minded about giftedness. She has made friends in her class, equally though the girls she has lunch with daily are all year 2/3 now.

She also is saying she finds math very hard, which I think is odd because the math she does at home is 3rd/4th grade so I'm going to talk to teacher about what is going on here. I'm sure we can fill any gaps in the next weeks if need be.

The only reason I feel some pressure to skip is that we have our IEP meeting next week and this is the time to push. Also if I leave it any later the school year will be more than half over for the incoming class and I think it will be harder for DD to fit in mid/late year. I also think that while DD is very happy right now she will very quickly top the class (so long as she doesn't go into chameleon mode) and she does not do well when bored.

Her class only does incidental science, although she is quite happy with grade 5+ concepts so I don't think a skip will help with that, we just do it at home. We also though, are doing a few hours of math at home a week now at her behest which I just think is unfair at 5.

Any tips? I'm really finding it hard to figure out if my ego is causing me to want her to skip or seeing the potential problems ahead. Or do we take the happy situation for now and accept that any problems that are likely to develop won't be fixed until February - could be a very long year....

I think I just feel very strange about it because even though it is mid year here, DD has only been there such a short time it feels too soon to push for anything. I'm very worried that she is just going to blend into the furniture and her little spark will fade away. (I could be projecting my own experiences here


PS: we don't have the Iowa acceleratio0n scale here as far as I know, and skipping is often discouraged but we did get this on the table with the principal before DD started,

It was my understanding that anyone can purchase the IAS, for example:
- through Hoagies
- on amazon
- from the publisher, Great Potential Press

Even if your school does not have an existing policy to utilize the IAS, you may find it helpful for making your decision as a parent.

Thanks, I'm not sure if it holds water in New Zealand but I'll look into it.

I don't remember where but I am sure I did hear of it being used on one of the NZ sites. If I rember I will PM you. She started early in the year so she should go to year 2 next year but you want her to go to year 3? It would be next to impossible at out school but your school is doing an IEP (The teacher I asked about it suggested I talk to my MP but he didn't believe is any bit of paper saying my son was gifted) so it may work.

Thanks everyone, I think DD will be ready to skip in a few months, so I am just going to hold off until the end of year when I know we'll have solid evidence to support a skip. I may keep DD at home every now and then for a "school day" and let her do things she is more keen on to get us to the end of the year.

Teacher is thinking about trying to slingshot DD in areas she struggles with but taking her back to pre k levels (a couple of math concepts) to build her confidence and then letting her go as fast as she wants - which is why I love this teacher.

Puffin, I think the skip will be more possible because it is a composite class (2/3) and the brightest in her class now will go into that class instead of the (1/2). So they can't argue social interaction. DD is more than 3SD above the mean so they know it's coming at some stage.

squishy am sending you a pm

That's an interesting notion. DD4's new school recommends subject acceleration as needed but they are very cautious about grade skipping for many reasons.

I can see why this is a difficult decision. My natural inclination would be to leave her where she is if she is happy but you don't want to wait until she starts getting miserable. When my DD4 became bored at her last school, oh my, did she let her teacher know it. Talk about being challenging when not being challenged. I definitely do not recommend waiting until the proverbial has hit the fan.

Her current teacher sounds great and seems to understand your DD's needs. What does she recommend?

her teacher hasn't seen enough evidence to suggest a skip is necessary so she won't comment, fair enough I guess. I don't think I'd be half as concerned if we didn't have this meeting timed for next week, however it really can't be any later.

I hope DD makes a pain of herself if things go bad, I'm worried she won't say anything. Anyway after a good night's sleep and having kept dd home for a rest day I'm feeling much more positive about things. I have to remember that it's not a race and as long as 12 years from now she can say she is happy and go into the college course of her choosing then all will be well.

You can coach her on what to do/say and do some role play using the language you'd prefer she use. In your shoes, I'd also tell my child she won't get in trouble with me if she uses the techniques I taught her, and that I will defend her to the teacher as needed if her self-advocacy doesn't do the job.

Good luck! Your daughter sounds lovely! I really hope things work out well for her.

ds8 is 2 points off 4 std dev above the mean and ds6 3 std dev. If the school doesn't acknowledge giftedness it makes little difference.

If she does skip make sure she is formally reclassified so that a principal or process change doesn't cause he to be put back to her 'proper level' and don't change schools. The school my kids are at convinced the parents of a kid who was a couple of months too young by their standards (May birthday) to put him back a year so he didn't go to intermediate too young.

And is case you are wondering I don't change schools because I don't think any of the others are better.