PennQuaker09

Where I'm from, kids are not allowed to skip grades. I was highly advanced and I was still never allowed to skip. They did have a gifted program and that was still boring.

I would say that if your child is developed enough on the other fronts, go ahead and have her skip to third grade.

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Shari Nielsen

I agree w/ the other posts re: considering maturity, etc. My daughter was super advanced and bored in k and 1st grade and even now in 2nd. We tossed the idea around and decided against it. Our concerns were maturity, self-esteem, social issues when she is a pre-teen/teenager, going to college a year younger than most....even something as simple as playing sports and having the same physical development as a freshman while competing as a sophomore.


What we did decide to do (along w/ her teachers) was to give her more advanced stuff to do in school. For instance, she is doing literature circles w/ the third graders (while she is in 2nd), she will get different math assignments, and have different homework than the rest of the kids. She doesn't realize that this major difference exists, she just thinks all kids get slightly different stuff to do and that's how it is.

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Claire64

Thanks everyone!

For now, we've decided not to skip her to the third grade. While, I feel she is ready now, I'm not comfortable with her being younger than everyone else in middle and high school.

I've made a few calls about private schools and I have a couple meetings lined up to talk about Kathleen possibly transferring and what accommodations they can make for her.

jtee

A few years back we had a gifted 13 year old do an internship at my company. He was attending the University Of Washington (computer science major). He was a smart kid, but he was just 13 in nearly all other ways other than being extremely bright academically. He wanted to play video games like most boys his age, and he had a hard time being in work environment 8 hours a day. In other words, he wasn't a 25 year old college student at the age of 13. We dealt with him not as peer, but as 13 year old.

Objective1

When I was in elementary schools, there were two kids I knew of who skipped a grade and it worked out perfectly for them.

The thing is... If school it too EASY for your child, grade after grade, it will be more difficult for her when she gets to a more advanced level - or come accross a hard situation in life - and all of a sudden it's not so easy anymore and she must now work hard to succeed. See what I mean?

We don't want our child to become lazy or to lose interest. Children need to be mentally stimulated and challenged in order to develop their thinking skills. Also, it gives them a sense of pride and boosts their self-esteem when they succeed after having to work hard to make it happen.

Ultimately, you're the one who knows your child best and seeking other parents' input/opinions/experiences by sharing in this forum is a good idea, no matter what you decide in the end. You know, your issue is just one of those things that will probably have a good side and a bad side one way or another, so might as well listen to your instincts.

Claire64

Thanks again everyone for your advice.

I've spoken to my husband about this a lot, and we've had several meetings with the school and we've decided not to skip her ahead this year. We're looking into private schools right now and need to decide between two. One uses a more advanced curriculum and the other is very flexible and the classes are very small, so the kids can do advanced work if they want to.

maiya2008

Hi,
I think it is wonderful that a child is honored with skipping a grade.
I would love for my child to skip a grade.