Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources grade skip?

So it looks like Miss 7 will skip year 3 and Miss 4 will skip kindy. I would like to ensure that they've covered the curriculum over the summer holidays so that they both feel prepared and ready for next year's new challenge. But how will I know what to cover? What resources should we use? We currently do mathletics and reading/spelling as after school activities. My friend's daughter who skipped found that there was a big gap between the actual curriculum as stated by the Education Department and what school's actually teach - with the curriculum being the very basic minimum that the school covers, but the reality is that they do so much more in the classroom. Can I do achievement level tests on the kids myself, just to check where they need support? Where might I get this info from? Is ALEKS worth investing in, or will Mathletics be sufficient?

Lots and lots of questions... jojo

Well, isn't it true that if you fill in all the gaps, they will have nothing left to learn in school? One of the points of a skip, I think, is to give the kids a bit of room to grow.

Just a thought...

Hi Jool,

Hmm. I'm a bit confused here.

Are you in the southern hemisphere? Your first post says "WA," which could mean Western Australia or Washington. The g'day implies Australia.

If you're in Australia, I'm afraid I have no advice regarding achievement testing; I barely understand how it works in the US/California.

Most kids offered a grade skip have already mastered a substantial amount of the material in the grade to be skipped. In particular, reading/spelling/vocabulary/maths are often already mastered through a combination of osmosis and extra work at home or in school.

Topics that might require extra work include history, geography, handwriting, grammar, etc.

You could always talk to the year 3 teachers. I did that when my son was offered a skip. You could ask for a meeting with them to go over what your daughter might need to work on.

During 2nd grade, my son's school gave him a pile of 3rd grade books to do in his spare time.

Sounds like Aussie has a reasonably open attitude toward grade skips?


Val

Yeah, I wouldn't worry too much about their level if their being skipped. I skipped second grade right into third with no prep whatsoever -- I *did* have to work a bit, which is why it was so great. It was the only time all through grade school when I had to apply myself for a few months.

If my ds6's school had granted him a grade skip (we tried hard and they just wouldn't), I wouldn't have done anything to prepare him. He'd have caught on pretty quickly -- and places where there were gaps that mattered (science, maybe) we'd have worked on at home if he wasn't able to cotton on at school.

I seriously wouldn't worry about filling in any gaps. Any gaps that they do come across at this stage can probably be filled with a one or two sentence explanation as they go.

As for your 4yo, if she is skipping K to go to Pre-Primary, I can't imagine what a gifted 4yo would miss out on by not attending a year of kindy.

I agree with Kriston - if there are some gaps, that will give them something to do for the first part of the year while they get used to new class. That time will likely pass all too quickly & once again school will seem to move too slowly!


Cheers,
Cass

I agree with Kriston as well. My DS6 just started 2nd after skipping 1st and I am keeping my fingers crossed that there will be some "gaps" so that he can actually learn something. So far, nada, but it's too early to say...