LittleIzumi Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 *warning--I think I am mostly rambling here, sorry* I did skip myself but suddenly that no longer seems relevant :lol:. Mine was in junior high so it was very different. It turns out not only does dd's new (in autumn) charter school move children up in individual subjects above their grade level based on testing, they are also quite open to accelerating an entire grade with a combo of testing & the school psych evaluating the child's readiness. Dd is doing above-grade work (1st-4th work depending on the subject, starting K at school), and with her late birthday she is only a month off of the higher grade's age anyway, but she shows strong signs of ADD & I don't know if they'll need her to sit still too much in 1st :lol:. She's a bit socially awkward but in the same way I am, so I don't think that will mature out of her. I don't know how much writing is required in 1st. That's the biggest issue I can think of--her writing is very much that of a K'er, a mix of caps & lowercase, phonetic spelling, still working on putting spaces between words in her rush to get her entire thought on paper. I don't know if that's okay to start 1st or not. She did take the ITBS for K so I would have some solid numbers for her, but the results aren't in yet. I have to wait until the school gets back to me for more info, so I am hoping someone has done this & can advise me before I go nuts, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 Is this going to be a long-term situation, or do you plan to homeschool again in the future? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverland Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 That's a tough one. I skipped 4th grade, and don't really know if it hurt or helped me in the long run. From my personal experience, one consideration would be if she is athletically inclined. It will be harder for her to compete in school sports with older, more physically mature kids. As for the amount of writing required in first grade, I think that will be very dependent on the school. I would talk to the principal/teacher about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 Is this going to be a long-term situation, or do you plan to homeschool again in the future? I am going with the flow on that one :). Dh will be applying to grad schools eventually so we might move & then I'd have to evaluate the local schools in the new town. I could homeschool again later, but I am not mentally/emotionally in a place to do that F/T right now. That's a tough one. I skipped 4th grade, and don't really know if it hurt or helped me in the long run. From my personal experience, one consideration would be if she is athletically inclined. It will be harder for her to compete in school sports with older, more physically mature kids. Nooooooo, not really thinking about sports. She has my klutz gene. We bang into walls. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 I wouldn't rush it especially if the school is (as you say they are) willing to individuate the lessons to better meet your daughter's intellectual needs. My 2 cents. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 That's really hard. Calvin was the very youngest in his school when he started. I asked about holding him back (for social and coordination issues) and was refused. Handwriting was a real problem: the school couldn't cope with someone who was intellectually quite capable of the work but couldn't write well enough. He had remediation lessons, but that didn't help with the other lessons. Luckily I was able to home educated him for seven years. He went back into school accelerated one year, and now his coordination and social issues are not a problem. Best wishes Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingiguana Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 My sister skipped third grade, but then ended up having to be held back in 6th. I think her social life got a bit messed up in those years, ending up in junior high a year after what had been her cohort. And she never did learn to handwrite. Also, it's not just sports that require some physical maturation. If your daughter decides at some point to go into singing or musical theater, she may find she can't compete with the other kids in auditions. And I can tell you from experience that even if you have a kid who is completely uninterested in these sorts of things NOW, they can surprise you in high school. If she can be accommodated without skipping, I wouldn't see the point of doing it. FWIW, I think lots of kids are in the same boat as your daughter -- working several grades above their age level. It tends to be more of a problem in the elementary years. Once they hit high school, there's a certain amount of segregation into classes that are more appropriate for whatever level they're at. At the high schools around us, most of the bright kids end up doing a number of college classes in their last 2 years of high school. And what I have noticed is that the kids who weren't skipped in elementary school tend to take advantage of that opportunity,while the kids who were skipped aren't quite ready for it. I've also noticed that kids who were skipped early on have a tendency to go into fields that don't require a lot of math. I don't think I have enough data points to say for sure that skipping caused this, but it is something to think about. I've wondered if the early skip closes off doors for some of these kids. Not all, obviously, but if we'd done this, I might have been wondering if mine was the kid who would have really liked to go into engineering but got subtly steered away because their math skills weren't quite ready at the moment they had to make the decision. Because while many bright kids can really blast through elementary math, there does come a time in higher math where they may need to wait for the brain to mature before they can go on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacie Leigh Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 (edited) My brother skipped 4th grade and did great... He was an A-B student but the tallest and most physically mature in his class. I think it was more that they wanted him on the basketball team, which started in 6th grade than that he actually "needed" to be skipped. He didn't miss a beat though. He has a September birthday so it wasn't a huge deal. Instead of graduating late into 18, he graduated at 17 and turned 18 after he started college (which he graduated from with honors at 21. :)) My younger sister was at least as advanced and driven, but not need on the b-ball team, lol. She was socially difficult and small for her age and, though she was bored with her schoolwork and had straight As, the same school did not move her up and she is still, at 21, wishes they had. I don't know if she would have done better with older students or have regretted it that way too? Edited June 30, 2011 by Stacie Leigh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 I think it comes down to maturity. I wouldn't skin any grades if the child is on a same maturity level as her peers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieC Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 I homeschooled my dd for K and then the school put her directly into first grade. She missed the cut off by less than a month and it was the correct move for my dd. I had IQ testing that had been done for entry into a gifted school (for which she qualified, but did not get a lottery slot) and I feel that definitely made a difference in the reception we received regarding the skip. The school also gave my dd a reading test, writing test (she just had to write a couple of sentences) and an above level math test (I think it was an end of first grade test). Even with the skip, I felt like first grade was very easy for my dd and I can't imagine how the year would have gone had she been a 6 year old kindergartener. (And technically, it wasn't a skip - the district recognized my homeschool as her kindergarten year.) Good luck with you decision! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 I homeschooled my dd for K and then the school put her directly into first grade. She missed the cut off by less than a month and it was the correct move for my dd. I had IQ testing that had been done for entry into a gifted school (for which she qualified, but did not get a lottery slot) and I feel that definitely made a difference in the reception we received regarding the skip. The school also gave my dd a reading test, writing test (she just had to write a couple of sentences) and an above level math test (I think it was an end of first grade test). Even with the skip, I felt like first grade was very easy for my dd and I can't imagine how the year would have gone had she been a 6 year old kindergartener. (And technically, it wasn't a skip - the district recognized my homeschool as her kindergarten year.) Good luck with you decision! That's nearly where we are. She's less than a month from the cut-off from being a 1st grader anyway. :glare: I'll definitely talk to them more about the options for accelerating within subjects & generally & see what would be the best option for her. The principal & superintendant (they were all present at the open house last night) said they accelerate in the individual subjects based on testing, but I don't know if that's based on standardized testing, which isn't done until 3rd grade, or if they conduct tests within the classroom. The superintendent mentioned a girl who was in 2nd and attended 4th grade math, but I didn't want to ask too much about the testing in front of the tour group :o and the principal seemed less familiar with the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 I don't think it's standarized testing. In our school the first three weeks are devoted to evaluating each child individually in reading and math. Maybe that's what they are talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 I started school early. I was exactly one year to the day younger than one of the girls in my class. I missed the cut off (which was lateish anyway) by 9 days. My mom thought that I was ready to start first grade (the school had no kindergarten) so she asked them to take me and they did. How did it work out? We moved so that I could go to that school. So I started school but lost all my friends and my home, all in the same month. That was probably just as well, since most of my friends went to kindergarten and going into first grade would have looked weird to them. When I saw them again the next summer, they told me how fun kindergarten was, and how they got to finger paint. I felt cheated for years, LOL. I was very short for my age, so people tended to think that I was 2-3 grades younger than I really was--in 2nd grade, people thought I was a kindergardener. OTOH, the school experience itself was quite positive. I was at the head of my class all the way through 8th or 9th grade. I read early and well, and became an instant bookworm. I was good at music as well as academics, and I loved learning to read music and singing. I was a natural speller, and I didn't have any trouble learning math or religion or social studies. I had a hard time with handwriting and PE and drawing. Looking back on it, I know that this is because I didn't have the motor development to do grade level work in those areas. At the time, I just thought I was incompetent. I couldn't even imagine kinesthetically how to do some of the writing exercises they wanted us to do, where you move your whole arm and still control where the pencil writes. It was, quite literally, inconceivable to me. I wish that it had been better understood that you could be a fairly gifted student and still not be able to produce good penmanship, but other than that I am very glad that I went to school early like that. When I went to high school, I stayed with a tough curriculum, and ended up getting a chemical engineering degree and working in the industry for quite a while. It worked out very well for me. In college I never felt 'young' at all, and I don't think that I missed out on anything good by starting early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverland Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 Because while many bright kids can really blast through elementary math, there does come a time in higher math where they may need to wait for the brain to mature before they can go on. :iagree: Of course this doesn't apply to all, but that describes my personal experience when I was a kid and skipped a grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Being bright and so close to the cutoff, personally I'd have no problem putting her in first. Also, I'd ask for lots of specifics on the differentiation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 One of mine skipped 2nd. Academics and writing were not an issue as he fell into the top 1% of the grade he skipped in to. It was good - he found many social/emotional peers in the grade he skipped into. It was also bad - the competitive clique continually objects, to the point that I had to tell guidance I would press charges against the perps if they kept allowing the criminal behavior past 5th grade. Sports is a nonissue as the school has no sports until high school; ds is in age group in a club. Since your school is offering subject accel, I wouldn't skip unless that is the right place for the social/emotional..the psych can offer a good opinion on that. Keep in mind that red-shirting may mean more than a 2 year age difference between your skipped child and others in the same grade. This is something to consider. Many, many parents around here hold their kids back if they are close to the cutoff. My daughter has a February birthday. The cutoff is September 1st, so you would have expected to find several kids younger than her in her class (she attended school until 2nd grade). There weren't. She was the youngest. That amazed me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Calvin will be 17 1/2 when he finishes school. He either needs to go to university early or take a gap year. We are not worried about that, but some parents might be. He's also doing very well in school, so I have no problem with his being a year accelerated. I met another parent who felt that, as it turned out, their child was average in the year they were accelerated into. The child might have looked better in the age-locked year and been more successful when applying to university. She regrets allowing the acceleration. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 The success of a grade skip depends on the child, I think. My oldest daughter started kindergarten at a charter school, was bumped to first grade after the first 30 days, and has remained grade skipped since with no trouble. Up until this past school year, she's always been in a public charter school. She was in a K-8 charter in CA, and then a virtual academy charter for 9th grade in MN. We homeschooled 10th grade. The grade skip has never been an issue. It comes up so rarely that we tend to forget until someone notices and comments. She has a late summer birthday, so she would be one of the youngest kids in the class even if she hadn't been grade skipped. That makes her very young for her grade. She'll be 15 in July, but is going into 11th grade and will be taking college classes full time through our state's dual enrollment program, which is only available to high school juniors and seniors. She's done nearly all extra-curricular stuff (religious education, sailing team, summer camps, outsourced classes, etc.) with her grade mates, rather than age mates. The sole exception was Girl Scouts, where we kept her in by age. Honestly, the only real trouble we've had is that she needs to fly to VA this summer for a high school Latin camp, and Delta considered her a minor traveling alone (14 and under), since she doesn't turn 15 until four days after she leaves for her trip. So I'm flying out there with her, and then she'll fly home by herself, because then she'll be 15. She's always been a mature, self-motivated, self-disciplined kid. It was hands-down the best thing we could have done for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieC Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Although sometimes a grade skip can make kids really young for grade, it did not in my dd's case. She ended up being 19 days younger than the next youngest child in her class and 13.5 months younger than the oldest (who was red-shirted with a July birthday). Given how close your dd is to the cut off anyway I think you should continue discussions about it with the school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchel210 Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 My dd homeschooled for K and half of first. She has been tested gifted and work is very easy for her. She isn't ADD but she does love to move around and chat. She rushes through her work so she can have fun...but she always gets everything correct. When they went into public school she missed the cut off and even though she was testing above grade level and homeschooled for all of K and half of first...they put her by age to K again. She had fun and loved K. She worked a lot with me after school and did higher level work in the gifted program. Now she is going into 3rd and is happy as can be. She has loved being in 2nd this year and looking back...im really glad she didnt get rushed up into 1st that year. She wouldnt have had as much of a relaxed year and get to still be a "little girl". I am glad she got to enjoy herself. I know now going into 3rd...she has to take school more serious...but it will still be easy. Either way, I work with her after school...but emotionally...I think I made the right choice. I was lucky that our school had gifted program. She was the only K in gifted since the school doesnt test till 3rd...but they had to give her higher work. I figured she would jut be the smartest in her class...which works out great. It all comes easy and she feels great about that!:001_smile: NOW...my middle baby is different. She is a true 10yo going into 5th and would benefit from skipping up to 6th. Emotionally and educationally! I just work on the side with her. We are doing extra work all summer and by middle school she will be ready for all advanced classes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 My DD did (skipped JK, went into K a year early), and was fine as far as maturity and social skills went. In fact, she did better with the kids who were older than she did with kids her age. However, academically it wasn't much better than having her in JK would have been. She simply needed more detailed, higher order academics than she was getting, and accelerating her to the point that she would have needed to be would have been simply too much, but if she'd had a school that was more flexible and able to work with her academically, the grade skip would have met her social needs quite well. As it turns out, in the last year, the coaches/instructors in DD's other classes have ALSO chosen to skip her a year, so that she's with children slightly older than she is, even when it's not academic. This has happened with two separate dance teachers/coaches in the last year, as well as in Sunday school and Science lab, and while our Co-op group is multi-aged, inevitably DD ends up with the older kids when the group splits for activities. It's not that DD is physically advanced-but behaviorally and socially she just plain does better when she's not the oldest, so as soon as she ends up being one of the oldest in the class, I get the "We need to move her up!" talk. If the school has access to the Iowa Acceleration Scale, it can be very helpful in deciding whether a skip is a good idea or not. For DD, having her with older kids makes it easier for everyone, and then we can work with the academics from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 I skipped 1st grade. We didn't have a gifted program until 4th grade when I got bussed to a different school to be in the gifted program. I never had any problems with the academics. By 7th grade I was seriously suicidal & the only thing that prevented me from making an attempt was that I couldn't be certain that I'd die. If I could have been sure, I'd have done it. My folks made the decision to let me skip because I was already moved up to do math and English in the 2nd grade classes and they thought that when they finished up their schooling, we'd move, and they'd have me stay back. That didn't happen. There were other issues making my social isolation really rough. If you keep a close eye out for your daughter it may be okay - and you're hearing from other people on how a grade skip worked for them. Academics were easy even a grade ahead. Think about how you'll handle dating. When I was in 7th grade, the only kids who let me hang out with them were the ones who were already having sex. Learned a lot from them. I did end up switching schools again and repeating 7th grade - by my choice - to get into an even more accelerated math program. It was completely my decision. I'm convinced that had I not switched schools, I would have made the suicide attempt within another year or two. The neighborhood I lived in contributed to my isolation and some of my parents choices exacerbated it to a pretty extreme level. I may have had similar problems had I been with age peers. But the age difference gave them something that set me apart more. I don't think I'd let my child skip a grade. And I wanted you to know that planning to move and then catch up if needed just may not happen - that had been my folks' plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynnG in Arizona Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 My second daughter started Pre-K at the age of 4 years, 9 months, right "on time". It was a full day Pre-K program, and when I showed up at her classroom that first afternoon, she wasn't there. When I started to panic, her teacher told me that the principal made a command decision to move her over to the K room because my daughter was fluently reading The Giving Tree to the other students. I decided to go with the flow that year because we were moving anyway the next May. I had her tested by two independent schools at the end of the year, and both schools told me that she "needed" to be accelerated into 1st for the next year . . . that it would actually be detrimental to have her repeat kindergarten. I really agonized about it, but it really turned out just fine. I did end up homeschooling her full time starting in the fourth grade, but it wasn't for any reasons related to the acceleration. Now I just graduated that daughter at the age of 17.5, and she is headed off to a four year university. Yes, she won't turn 18 until three months into her freshman year. But I can tell you as her parent that she is so chomping at the bit to start college that it would "actually be detrimental" to delay her. ;) I honestly wouldn't worry too much about accelerating your student given that she misses the cut off by such a small amount of time. I personally would hesitate much more if she were born much later into the year . . . my November-born daughter was about as late as I might like to go. But September? Gosh, in many parts of the country she would make the cut off into first grade. As homeschoolers, we tend to be a fiercely independent bunch. We know what's best for our kids. (myself included) BUT . . . sometimes it can be quite helpful to actually get some outside perspective from school and/or testing officials. They have that unbiased viewpoint that is not clouded by us being too close to a situation. So if you are being told consistently that your child is ready to go into first grade by people used to working with many, many students, I would take that into consideration. Good luck making your decision!! I have to make it again myself with a daughter who will be 6 this October. I did kindergarten with her last year and am starting 1st grade this year, but I still agonize as to whether that's the right thing to do. ;) So I completely understand what you're going through - been there, done that once . . . now doing it again 12 years later! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melodiya99 Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 I missed the K cutoff by 5 days, so they wouldn't allow me to start K (even though I had already read tons of classic novels), but in first grade it was clear that I was way ahead so I skipped second. No regrets--I wish I was skipped again. As it is, I felt bored and unchallenged all the way though college and graduate school. I can't imagine having had to sit through another year...for some kids skipping can be really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firestar Academy Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 I should have been skipped. The school said i couldn't b/c I wouldn't tie my shoes. I had no interest in learning to tie my shoes. so, instead, in K, they put me in 1st for reading/math. in 1s, I had to go to the second grade classroom for reading/math and was in the gifted program. I resent my parents for not pushing the school. as it was, I wasn't in any grade but just classroom hopping around the school. I had no 'desk' of my own. I ended up graduating college in 3 years with 2 majors and 2 minors. Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchel210 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 I should have been skipped. The school said i couldn't b/c I wouldn't tie my shoes. I had no interest in learning to tie my shoes. Robin What a great reason ...(not) My 8 yo is on a softball team with all 8/9 yo girls...so 2-3 grade...3 cant tie their shoes. :lol: It is crazy the way schools used to make decisions for some things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 (edited) I skipped. Academically I was way ahead and still ended up in advanced classes with the older group. However, I was immature socially. Long term this was extremely bad for my self esteem and while I did well in school I think the effects on my self esteem still had an impact on my performance in school and university studies. Fast forward. My oldest was quite advanced academically. He just missed the cut off for his grade. Despite being very, very advanced academically, he was very very immature. Numerous people suggested he skip (grade 3). DH was all for it. Against my better judgement I agreed. Ds is entering his last year of high school. It is quite clear he never should have skipped and we have serious concerns about being mature enough for college. We are considering what we can afford for a gap year. It's really hard to take back a skip. One thing to consider is that there are issues with being the oldest and there are issues with being the youngest. However, the oldest has just a bit more social maturity and that can them with whatever issues come about from being the oldest. The youngest typically does not have extra maturity. So, from the hindsight is 20-20 viewpoint I would suggest find ways to keep you dd stimulated and learning, through enrichment rather than skipping. You might be better looking at this issue in middle and high school when you have a good view on her maturity issues. You may want to graduate early. Edited July 16, 2011 by betty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeanM Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 I've also noticed that kids who were skipped early on have a tendency to go into fields that don't require a lot of math. I don't think I have enough data points to say for sure that skipping caused this, but it is something to think about. I've wondered if the early skip closes off doors for some of these kids. Just to add to your data points, I have a relative who skipped in early elementary who went on to major in physics. Another friend from school skipped early and went on to get a degree in chemical engineering. The other person I knew from school who skipped a grade majored in music. All three were happy that they had skipped, and wouldn't have changed anything. I'm definitely not trying to say that grade skipping works for everyone, but at least these people had very positive experiences. Also, I wanted to point out that it definitely is possible to skip early and still go into fields that require a lot of math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted July 20, 2011 Author Share Posted July 20, 2011 Thanks for all the different viewpoints!! I wanted to mini-update because that's all I've got, lol. The possibility has been discussed among the school administrators. At Back-to-School night in August, I should be able to speak with the school psychologist, and I will definitely be filling out the paperwork for dd's evaluation. The psychologist will administer several tests and recommend whether she be moved up or not, with some discussion. I am fairly comfortable that her needs will be met either way, as they do accelerate individual subjects as what sounds like the rule, not the exception, and there are enough arts-based classes to keep her distracted anyway. Plus, they give very little traditional homework so I can afterschool to my heart's content! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.