Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school anyone sending their child to regular pre-k & K?

Is anyone else just sending their child to regular preschool and then to kindergarten at 5?

My DD3.9 has been going to a play based preschool 6 hours a week and as of this moment we plan on having her go back there next year for 9 hours a week (3 days / three hours per day)and then attend traditional Kindergarten when she is 5.5. She likes being around other children, singing, and doing crafts. The kids do not communicate on her level, so she talks to the teachers. I do worry how things will change when they start to "learn" things she learned ages ago and she is suppose to just sit there.

She knew letter sounds, was able to do one to one counting, knew shapes like trapezoid etc. before her second birthday, started reading at two, at three she did spelling and simple math like adding and subtracting and has an absurd memory and vocabulary. Her fine motor skills are great (with letter writing, coloring, crafts) but her emotional maturity and impulse control are still at age level if not a little younger.

Homeschooling does not seem to be the right option for right now. She is also highly social and extroverted, yet it is hard to imagine her entering kindergarten in Sept 2011 when she had mastered end of kindergarten skills quite awhile ago. I just feel she needs the socialization and time to mature before she is mixed with older kids. I am the opposite of so many people on here who want their child to start K early so was just wondering if anyone else is following this path. In addition, I don't know how gifted she is and don't want her to get in over her head yet.

I honestly question my choices as I write this. Any input?

Just thinking that if she is still enjoying it there, then that's great. Just being able to have some fun with kids is good for now.

However, I suppose you'll be researching now on what is available in your area for Jr. K or Senior K, or what K is really like.

K really is just for lots of kids to learn to socialize and start understanding daily routine, etc. As some kids don't even go to preschool, K is the starting point for them.

You might skip K all together and go to school in Grade 1. (I've heard that K is not required.)

But by the time your child is 6, she will probably be very capable and find Gr. 1 material to easy.

We started with social preschool but quickly realized it just wasn't a good fit. I know there are a number of people on this board who applaud the social route and said it was the best thing for their child/ren. It really comes down to the individual child. If she enjoys it and is getting something from it then by all means send her next year, especially if you plan to place your child in the public K program. JMHO, but the minute we sent DD into the academic route, we knew public K made no sense. She is in with the 3 yr old class and they are already doing K material. DD is writing her name and is already learning to write cursive. By the time she is in K she will have gone through 1st grade curriculum and ready for 2nd grade so I couldn't imagine placing her in public school. (And truthfully, DD has been able to do most of 1st grade and some 2nd grade since turning 2 so the school is advanced but not to the level she is capable of and for now I'm okay with that. Her challenge is the language and once that is mastered, hopefully she will still be excited by learning and school.)

I have a son that attended social preschool and a regular K. He is HG+. It was generally a good experience. Not perfect, but good. It helped that we had a highly flexible and creative K teacher. He is also quite extroverted and social. He enjoys kids of all ages. We didn't run into problems until 1st grade, at which point they became huge. If something is working well for you, I say go with it. Cross your bridges as you get to them! We are homeschooling now (starting at 2nd) which we never anticipated, but that's been great. Good luck!

I guess we are doing that. My DD wasn't doing nearly the things that many children here are doing early, she has just started reading. She probably knows all the K material at this point. She'll be entering K in the fall. She has a May b-day, so there really wasn't a possibility of early entrance. We knew she was "smart" but her test scores totally surprised me, coming back so high.

She goes to a play-based preschool, one that she has gone to since she was two. She is very social and loves going. She has lots of fun. They do some academics, but she is in a class that actually has some just turning 4 year-olds in it, so the academics is limited. I don't think her teachers truly know what she can do. She goes part-time and we do somethings at home.

We are looking at our public school and at a private school. I actually think that the public school may be a better fit for her. We are meeting with them soon to talk about Kindergarten and her assessments. She already has an IEP for articulation and goes to the school once a week for services.

I don't know if we are doing the right thing, or really where she will be next year. I am thinking about applying for early entrance to 1st grade. But, I think that she will LOVE kindergarten and "doing" school. The public school has a great G/T program, but it doesn't start until 4th grade.

I don't know. I wish I had a crystal ball.

DS6 went to a regular pre-k & K and was grade skipped after about 7 weeks in K (testing was done as well). DS4 will be going to the state pre-k in August (late birthday), and regular K next year. We had no other options, but for DS6, at least, it was the right move.