Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Acceleration to middle school from elementary scho

PS. I have a son who skipped 5th and he had no trouble academically or socially. He still was the top student. The only downside was maturing physically later than his friends, but he has survived puberty and is a strapping 14 yr old sophomore.

I so agree, Cym! We have to keep in mind that their normal is just different, by definition. Yes!

Heheh. Sounds like she'll do fine. Heheh.

I have always kept my daughter in her grade level due to my concerns of puberty. This was never a problem in our last school because it was so challenging. However, the funny thing is that she ended up maturing early, even though she has a summer birthday and ended up looking physically older than she is. LOL

We went to the library today and looked at the text books for the district in the reference section (nice they have them all there). The science and social studies for 6th grade looks pretty easy for her. The math could be tricky. She has not done pre algebra yet. My husband suggests we teach her whatever she needs to catch her up in math (her gifted math program now has completed all of 5th grade math and half of normal 6th grade math. Skipping 5th grade gifted math means instead of entering 6th grade having completed all of 6th and half of seventh, she's a year behind). I'm wondering if WE can do that. And of course, HOW? I wonder if the school would tell us what we need to do.

depending on the school, I've found that a lot of what is taught in the first month or two (or three) is review. She might get a good "review" of 5th grade math early in 6th.

The school here has three levels of math in 6th grade:

6th grade regular math (which she's done half a year of already in 4th grade)
6th grade "advanced" math (which is technically 7th grade math)
6th grade "Gifted" math (which is technically 8th grade math)

She needs placement in at least the "advanced" math to qualify for gifted science. She will already qualify for gifted social studies, reading and language arts.

They want her to take a placement test they give to ALL incoming 6th graders to determine level. Granted she WAY outscores the 8th grader average on the MAP test for math already (we aren't sure WHY this is---she has trouble with rapid calculation, has not really memorized the multiplication tables but she is good on these tests).

I don't want her to take endless tests, but also don't want to dump her into 8th grade math. She'd be just fine in the "advanced" class, but am bummed out that IF she stayed in 5th grade gifted math next year, she WOULD be in gifted 6th grade math and learn so much more. Math isn't her favorite, granted.

This morning she told me she is 100% for going to the 6th grade. I haven't been sleeping because of the stress of this and other things so that made my day.

Hi Marieg,
Welcome! I'm so glad that you have a place to talk about all this - it's really cool and really a big deal.

You've gotten some great advice. I can second the Aleks.com for hole plugging - it's a great idea, and not taxing - you may need to look up a few things in 'homework help.com' or a text book from time to time, but it's great for 'speed learning/review.'

What a relief that she is 100% for 6th grade! But don't be suprised if some feelings come up between now and then. With her test scores, I would have been willing to reccomend some serious arm twisting if she hadn't been so confident. I like that Gross Article from Hoagies - remember when you read it, that those 'high-sounding IQ scores' are on an older test (SB-LM) but basically is exactly like what your daughter scored on her modern test. I call it 'old Coke v. new Coke' to keep it all straight in my mind. You don't really have to understand all the nuances, just keep in mind that the scores you posted are just as high for the modern IQ tests as the kids that Gross Studies. You may want to get your hands on the raw data from your test and get 'extended norm' scores to help you keep track as you read through the older literature. (there is a post about that on it's own topic from today)

As for Aftercare - I totally sympathize. The only way to know how supervised the programs are is to observe them or at least chat up the teacher. Perhaps there is a library or a private aftercare that would work better, but if the 12-14s are well supervised in their aftercare programs, it may be ok. Can she start with the older kids, and have the option of visiting the younger group, perhaps in a helping role, at 3pm?

As for keeping a foot in the 5th grade world, there seem to be some children who are 'citizens of the world' and hop around with glee, and others, like my son, who just want to 'fly under the radar' and really identify with their grade. After all, we use the same word to sort children in schools as we do for sorting eggs, and I can feel a not-so-subtle vibe of 'older is better' whispering in the school halls. I wish it wasn't so, but I believe it is there to some extent.

Anyway, whatever you decide, there is sure to be more excitement to come. Hopefully by being nervous here, you can put on a show of a confident and hopeful exterior to your DD, so she can have that comfort. Not that we can really fool our kids much, but they do appreciate our efforts, I think.

Love and More Love,
Grinity

Which textbooks? This really matters. Some are easier for parents to understand than others.