Skip a grade or stay top of class?

[Sippingteainwonderland]

My concern for dd, (be is pirate school or public, we are up in the air, homeschooling isn't an option financially this year).

My question is, dd just turned 5 ( July 24).

She an read simple books like "pat sat on a hat" books and has a vast vocabulary, my question is she can add up to 20 (can count much higher) and can subtract up to 10.

So is normal for entering kindergarten? I feel like she will be bored.

[Targhee]

That is normal for many K'ers. That's normal for many 1st graders. But there are also K'ers who come reading chapter books and already doing simple mental calculations. There is a variety of skills, knowledge, and abilities. But maturity, physical stature, ability to negotiate the para-academic elements of school are equally important in a school setting. Not a factor in HSing

[linders]

Around here, many kids can do what your DD does entering K. It varies widely depending on their pre-K/home experience and relative age.

 

You also might want to consider your DD's social maturity/attention span before skipping a grade. Would it be possible to talk to the school about the typical day for a 1st grader? It can be pretty intensive depending on the school. Also, consider down the road. A July 24 bday just makes the cutoff in many states, so she will already be among the youngest in a K class. She will be 1-2 years younger than the others in a 1st grade class, and will continue to be the youngest in middle school/high school. For some kids that can be a real problem, others not so much.

[Sippingteainwonderland]

That is true. She can communicate with anyone of any age, my only spiral concern would be pulling her from her class that a few of her friends are going to be in.

[Raining Pineapples]

This is why we ultimately decided to homeschool. My son was doing 3 digit addition and subtraction, could read well, write and was sick of spelling 3 letter words- but a Kindergartner at heart. Not a good fit for him.

 

I approached his contact teacher (we use a charter school with public school teachers) about advancing him a grade. I was advised against it because it is easier to advance them at a later date if needed than to hold them back.  Maybe try K and see what happens? It might give your DD a little breathing room and more time to relax and be a kid. 

[ErinE]

My DS's pre-k teacher had a test for K. It was one of many K readiness "markers" for the local public and private schools.

 

Give the child a four-step assignment: color four pictures out of sequence, cut them out, put them in order, and glue them onto another sheet of paper. If the child can't do it in a reasonable amount of time or acts tired, the child isn't ready for K.

 

In my experience, boredom didn't set in until second grade. Teachers were under pressure to bring kids up to grade level for standardized testing the following year. More advanced kids did puzzle worksheets while the teacher worked with others.

[EmilyGF]

It may be a moot point since many schools won't let a child skip a grade.

 

At some schools here, the children are reading chapter books before entering K and need to know math facts to 20. At some schools, they only need to know letter names. You need to look into the particular school.

[sweetpea3829]

Like a previous poster, this was a deciding factor for our reason to homeschool (I apologize, I realize that its not an option for you guys this year).

 

My DS was reading chapter books by the end of his kindergarten year, and was a full grade level ahead mathematically.  If I were to enroll him right now, he should be enrolled in 2nd grade but could easily enroll in a 4th grade and be academically fine.  But he wouldn't be emotionally fine, as he'd be much smaller/younger than the other kids.  

 

I'd say keep her at grade level for now.  If she were older, I would probably consider skipping a grade but for now..let he be a kid.  Kindergarten isn't usually a boring year anyways, regardless of how accelerated a Ker is.  

[kagmypts]

That would be very normal for a child entering Kindergarten where I live.

[boscopup]

My son went to private K and half of 1st grade. He was reading at a mid-2nd grade level, could add/subtract mentally very well, and was figuring out multiplication of single digits. Yes, K was ridiculously easy for him. The only thing he didn't know going in was how to write his letters. He could write his name, but that was it. Fine motor skills were a bit behind. Academic skills were what were ahead.

 

The teacher sent home little readers for the kids each week. Since my son passed all the sight word tests for K, 1st, and 2nd grade on the first day of sight word testing, his teacher started sending home a 2nd grade reading textbook to read instead of the little readers. We didn't do anything for math, but that was fine, because he talked math all the time (one day we were talking about how to multiply by 10 and 100, and he said, "So 1000x1000 is 1000000!" I was sitting there counting zeros in my head to make sure he was correct :lol: ). We had a lot of good math conversations on the way to and from school. :D

 

K was basically a party all the time - they did a lot of fun things. So my son didn't really care that it was easy. Now in 1st grade, he started to get bored. That's when they buckled down a bit more and did "work" instead of party all the time. I'm definitely glad I pulled him out, but it was easy for me because I was already at home anyway. The day I decided we should homeschool was the day I realized that the hour we were spending working on meaningless, easy homework during the "witching hour" of dinner prep time (with a toddler and a 3 year old running around) could easily be spent in the morning to get ALL our school work done for 1st grade when the kids are all much more calm and happy. I pulled him out, and sure enough, that was a whole lot easier! I hope your situation will change such that you can homeschool in some manner, even if it means finding a babysitter for the day and homeschooling in the evening (K takes about 30-45 minutes in my house, especially if kiddo is already reading and such).

 

Anyway, give it a try at K level. I wouldn't recommend skipping a grade based on what you said alone. I'd wait and see how she does, especially if she has friends in the K class. You can always challenge her at home if she's coasting in school. ;)

[Ellie]

My concern for dd, (be is pirate school or public, we are up in the air, homeschooling isn't an option financially this year).

My question is, dd just turned 5 ( July 24).

She an read simple books like "pat sat on a hat" books and has a vast vocabulary, my question is she can add up to 20 (can count much higher) and can subtract up to 10.

So is normal for entering kindergarten? I feel like she will be bored.

 

It is not likely that the school would allow a 5yo to enter first grade instead of kindergarten. 

[AimeeM]

Is her WRITING up to par for a first grader? My son turned 5 in May; he is learning to read and his math skills are fantastic, but his writing is very "on board" for a barely 5 year old boy. There is no way he could cope with writing across the curriculum, as would generally be expected in first grade, in a brick and mortar setting. Also, my son is, maturity-wise, very typical boy... if anything, he is not terribly social, and prefers his blocks and numbers. He's small. I would never put him with bigger kids.

 

Regardless, schools here will not skip, in general. It could also be normal for your area. Here, your kid (and mine) would be ridiculously bored in the public schools (where the END of K goal is reading CVC words and about 2 dozen sight words; adding within 10 and recognizing patterns), but may be challenged in private (our Catholic schools here outline much higher standards).

[AimeeM]

It is not likely that the school would allow a 5yo to enter first grade instead of kindergarten. 

 

A private school may. My daughter was allowed to enter Kindergarten an entire year early, with an entrance exam and riding on her psych ed eval (and IQ test). She had only turned 4 a week before school started.

It was an EPIC disaster. She could keep up academically, but she was constantly "in trouble" for acting like a normal BARELY 4 year old - an age where you are just learning to share, can't sit still for long, etc. We ended up pulling her out completely, and putting her in an age appropriate pre-k program at a different private school; she may not have been very challenged academically, but she was MUCH happier.

[Farrar]

If this is a way to try and get your dd out of the meanie kindy teacher, I think it's probably not going to work very well.  Your dd sounds like a bright K'er but well within the range for K.  And she's on the young end for grade (and she shares my birthday!).  Honestly, the work level expected in many first grade classrooms would not be to her benefit.  And while she may have mastered some of the academic skills for kindy, a good kindergarten teaches a world more of stuff than that.

[Dramorellis]

In my area she sounds right on target for K. 1st grade would be way, way beyond her abilities at the school we left. In 1st my son was writing everything independently and they were expected to be reading chapter books, spelling tests, count to 100, math facts through 10 etc. I think she would do well in K as it is not simply academics. My son was never bored in K because of the social aspect and the specials(music, drama, science) even though his basic skill sets were often higher or already on target. If it's a school you can be happy with then I say stick with K. Also my oldest has an August B-day so was the youngest in his class and some things were made difficult by that fact and the differences increased as time went on. So a just turned 5 year old in Kindy is fine but a just turned 5 in a class of 6-7 year olds seems not to her benefit. 

[Grover]

My concern for dd, (be is pirate school or public, we are up in the air, homeschooling isn't an option financially this year).

My question is, dd just turned 5 ( July 24).

She an read simple books like "pat sat on a hat" books and has a vast vocabulary, my question is she can add up to 20 (can count much higher) and can subtract up to 10.

So is normal for entering kindergarten? I feel like she will be bored.

 

awww c'mon, NO ONE is going to mke a quip here?

 

How is she at walking the plank?

 

Parrot training?

 

Does she fit her own eye patch?

 

Can she swing a cutlass on a second grade level?

 

Sorry.  Couldn't control myself.

 

Honestly, I'd have thought she wouldn't be alone at all with that skill set in kindergarten, so should be just fine. 

[ErinE]

K was basically a party all the time - they did a lot of fun things. So my son didn't really care that it was easy. Now in 1st grade, he started to get bored. That's when they buckled down a bit more and did "work" instead of party all the time. I'm definitely glad I pulled him out, but it was easy for me because I was already at home anyway. The day I decided we should homeschool was the day I realized that the hour we were spending working on meaningless, easy homework during the "witching hour" of dinner prep time (with a toddler and a 3 year old running around) could easily be spent in the morning to get ALL our school work done for 1st grade when the kids are all much more calm and happy. I pulled him out, and sure enough, that was a whole lot easier! I hope your situation will change such that you can homeschool in some manner, even if it means finding a babysitter for the day and homeschooling in the evening (K takes about 30-45 minutes in my house, especially if kiddo is already reading and such).

 

The bolded is what made school tough for my DS. Eight hours away from home and he must come home to spend 30-60 minutes doing "homework". Granted 30 minutes was reading he did before bed, but making him write down the book and the author the next morning before school was another fight.

[Ad astra]

K was basically a party all the time - they did a lot of fun things. So my son didn't really care that it was easy. Now in 1st grade, he started to get bored. 

 

The "party" aspect of K is VERY tempting for me. My DS, who will be technically a pre-K'er from this fall, has been attending a private preschool two mornings a week and, although he is accelerated in academics, having nothing but a blast there. He is VERY outgoing and needs this social time. He loves his friends and teachers. He writes me a short letter when other kids are scribbling or drawing, and the rest of the time is spent on free play, story telling or in the playground. 

 

To OP: If homeschooling were not my option, I'd give K a try without grade skipping but continue to "afterschool" my DS. Doing K or 1st grade seat work only takes about an hour a day anyway. Then, when things get more "serious" and he starts to get bored in the first grade, I'd reconsider my options.  

[Ellie]

awww c'mon, NO ONE is going to mke a quip here?

 

How is she at walking the plank?

 

Parrot training?

 

Does she fit her own eye patch?

 

Can she swing a cutlass on a second grade level?

 

Sorry.  Couldn't control myself.

 

Honestly, I'd have thought she wouldn't be alone at all with that skill set in kindergarten, so should be just fine. 

 

::hangs head in shame for not recommending Talk Like a Pirate Day.::

 

[desertflower]

I didn't read all the replies so I apologize if I'm repeating info, but u could try talking to the kindergarten teacher. I think it's different for every state.

 

Hth

[Arcadia]

So is normal for entering kindergarten? I feel like she will be bored.

It depends on the school. In my area, most kindergarteners would have gone to preschool and mastered those skills as well as writing short sentences.

My older at 4yr 8mths entering public school kindergarten was behind in writing and blend in with the chapter book readers.

The writing required for 1st grader is a lot and the private school had harder standards.

[SarahW]

I'd totally send my kid to pirate school.  :thumbup:

 

Seriously though, when CP went to K he "tested" into the "advanced" class. It was for kids who knew their letter and sounds, basic addition, and colors and shapes. It was a charter school, but you could investigate your options and see what's available.

[mymomtime]

I have a similar situation. My 4.5 year old is academically ready for kindergarten this year BUT is not ready in maturity or fine motor. He turns 5 at the end of December. He currently plays at preschool during the school yearut isn't learning anything academically other than working on his fine motor and handwriting.

 

My plan right now is to send him next year to half day kindergarten and after school. I'm a bit concerned he will be bored and act out, but we will see, it is a full year away. I've talked with a teacher at the school and unfortunately she told me they will just send more challenging work home with him. I'm not sure this is acceptable to me, but I'm also appeasing my husband who isn't completely on board with homeschool.

 

Good luck in making your decision.

[boscopup]

I'm a bit concerned he will be bored and act out, but we will see, it is a full year away.

 

I forgot about this part! My son was pretty bored the first semester. His private school assumes the kids haven't learned to read yet at all, and they go through letter sounds and early CVC blending the first semester. MOST of the kids were not reading until 2nd semester. So while they were doing letter sounds each day, my son was pretty bored and started to talk a lot. That was unusual for him. He's usually quiet and very well behaved, especially in classroom situations (he's done Bible class at church since he was 18 months old, so he knows how to sit in a chair without talking while the teacher is talking, as they learn that from the very first 18 month old class). He wasn't "bad", necessarily, but he definitely got in trouble for talking sometimes. This eased up in the second semester, when the rest of the class was reading also, so the reading lessons were slightly more interesting. And reading class was a small part of their full day K experience.

 

You'll definitely want to see what your school's K class is like. K classes vary from school to school, with some being like my son's and actually doing K level work, and some doing what would basically be full 1st grade level work, where what your DD is doing would be "behind". :rolleyes:  (I disagree with schools that push 1st grade into K)

 

Another thing to be aware of is how much redshirting goes on. If you skipped a grade, would your newly 5 year old be with a lot of 7 year olds? My son was young for his grade (late June birthday), and the redshirted kids that were 6 years old going into K were a bit of a social problem for him, because he acted like a normal 5 year old, and the 6 year olds brought the maturity level of the classroom up a tad. He had more trouble fitting in because of that. Though he also tends to do better socially with kids a year younger than him anyway (and if he'd been born on time, he would have been the next grade down, since he was due 2 weeks after the cutoff in my state). I was surprised at the maturity difference of just one year.

[73349]

That's a pretty normal level for entering K *or* entering 1st here, but early admission/full-grade acceleration is hard to get. You'd do better to survey parents in your town and/or ask about the local policies for grade placement.

[SKL]

Because she is a young 5 in a private school, it is very possible that a fair % of the class will be a full year older than she, plus some of them will be reading fluently etc.  For my kids' school, the reading level you described would be average for early KG.  Her math skills sound a little more advanced than her reading skills.  I'd send her to KG and give her some math, reading, and a little writing to do at home.

 

My daughter started KG at 4.5 being able to read 2nd grade books and do 1st grade math.  She never complained about being bored or any of that.  I told her the papers they were doing to learn letters and numbers was for handwriting practice.  At home we would read a variety of fiction and nonfiction books and do mental math problems.

[fdrinca]

A private school may. My daughter was allowed to enter Kindergarten an entire year early, with an entrance exam and riding on her psych ed eval (and IQ test). She had only turned 4 a week before school started.

It was an EPIC disaster. She could keep up academically, but she was constantly "in trouble" for acting like a normal BARELY 4 year old - an age where you are just learning to share, can't sit still for long, etc. We ended up pulling her out completely, and putting her in an age appropriate pre-k program at a different private school; she may not have been very challenged academically, but she was MUCH happier.

 

I used to sub in a high-performing district in the Bay Area. I remember one little girl in a Kindergarten class, moved ahead based on academic skill. She was bright. She was articulate. She was FOUR. No one in the class really enjoyed playing with her because they were all at a different level socially. Don't discount the importance of having a peer group.

 

Another boredom set of questions to ask: does your child like sitting at a desk for hours at a time? (I confess this is the threat I make every so often when my kids grumble about our work.) 

 

It's hard to know what may cause more damage: keeping a child in age-level classes with the potential for boredom/acting out/disenchantment with learning, or pushing a precocious child ahead. 

 

You could ask yourself: Is your child really ready to meet all of the academic milestones nearly two years ahead of schedule? Are you really ready to say that your daughter would be ready to graduate from high school at 16? 

[kiana]

In addition to what other people have said:

 

I really don't think a full-grade acceleration should be considered unless the child is going to be near the high end of their new class. I don't see the point in taking a nice, bright kindergartener and turning them into a mediocre first-grader.

[kiwik]

awww c'mon, NO ONE is going to mke a quip here?

 

How is she at walking the plank?

 

Parrot training?

 

Does she fit her own eye patch?

 

Can she swing a cutlass on a second grade level?

 

Sorry. Couldn't control myself.

 

Honestly, I'd have thought she wouldn't be alone at all with that skill set in kindergarten, so should be just fine.

Well I was tempted.

[Mike in SA]

K is way too early to accelerate.  Be prepared to enrich, and watch growth for 1-2 years, at least.  Kids mature at vastly different paces, but somewhere around 7 is where you can really start to see differences.

[nature girl]

While I completely agree with everything being said here, I think there are a couple of pieces being missed. The OP has said things that make me believe she's from an area where these skills might actually be advanced for K. In much of the country most kids are sent to preschool and/or there's a fair amount of parental involvement, so these skills are typical or even behind for many kids entering K. But in areas without that support, kids don't begin to learn letter sounds, or even RECOGNIZE numbers let alone add, till their K year. So her DD may indeed be "top of the class" for her area.

 

That doesn't mean she'd be bored in K, there's always differentiation, and I think there are usually enough fun activities in K to keep kids engaged, but from the other post, the OP is looking for a way to get away from a horrible K teacher, and I don't blame her for thinking this might be an answer. Even if her DD is behind the other 1st graders socially/temperamentally/academically, it may be a safe place to park her for the year, after which she could repeat 1st if necessary. If all this is the case, I'd talk to the school and see if there's a way it could be tried for awhile. Nothing is permanent, and if it turned out to be a disaster she could always be moved back to K.

[SKL]

I think I missed the post about what is scary about the KG teacher.  That is unfortunate, but I don't personally feel doing 1st grade twice (especially in private school) is a good solution.

 

I know how that goes, though. My kids had a pretty awful 1st grade teacher.  They didn't really realize how awful she was, though, and I don't think there have been any lasting effects.  I think it's worse if the child is struggling.  Usually awful teachers will at least leave the brighter kids alone.

 

My kids were young for their grade and one of them was not advanced for the accelerated grade.  The teacher gave her a really hard time over every imperfection because she believed it was a mistake to put the kid in that grade in the first place.  Thankfully, I feel it only made my daughter stronger, but then she's a tough cookie - and she was not a whole year young for the grade.

 

I would also note an interesting statistic I discovered.  Kids who are young for their grade are statistically more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD.  To me, that means schools do not tolerate normal age-appropriate behavior of younger kids and they allege behavior problems and push for medical solutions.  Something I would rather not deal with.

[Mswin15]

That is pretty much expected entering public kindergarten here. If you aren't doing what you described by then end of the first six weeks you are considered behind. My daughter went into Kindergarten at 5 1/2 reading chapter books. I never considered skipping her a grade in school. I would be surprised if your daughter is considered top of her class reading CVC words starting K. Someone mentioned writing across the curriculum. That is a huge consideration for acceleration at that age. 

 

Your daughter just turned 5 so she will be one of the youngest in her class anyway. There's a lot more going on in K besides those basic skills you mentioned. Sounds to me she is exactly where she needs to be!

 

[Evan]

My concern for dd, (be is pirate school or public, we are up in the air, homeschooling isn't an option financially this year).

My question is, dd just turned 5 ( July 24).

She an read simple books like "pat sat on a hat" books and has a vast vocabulary, my question is she can add up to 20 (can count much higher) and can subtract up to 10.

So is normal for entering kindergarten? I feel like she will be bored.

 

I think that kindergarten approaches and content can vary a lot from district to district.  Sometimes these things can even vary between elementary schools in the same larger district.  If I were in your place I would identify what the readiness criteria are for kindergarten in your local public and private elementary schools and compare that with where my child was.  If there was a big gap in either direction then I would either avoid that option or make sure that we were able to identify an adapted plan for my child before school started.

 

To give you some context, what you are describing is where our daughter was when she started kindergarten last autumn. That level placed her in the clearly ready but not advanced group at her school. However, she had gained a lot of ground in the two months right before school started to reach that level and that exponential learning curve continued throughout the year. By Christmas time she was into, or perhaps at the top of, the advanced group. She was only attending kindergarten three days a week so we were able to provide her with some extras at home and meet her needs that way. This had been addressed up front so everyone was on the same page and it worked very well.  She will be doing first grade through the hybrid gifted track at our local elementary school.  Eventually this can feed into a language immersion gifted program, or a STEM gifted track, or an option to do alternate years.

 

In contrast our next younger daughter is quite a bit beyond what you are describing (partly because she joined in on a lot of what we did with her sister last year and partly because she is just a precociously curious child).  She won't be five until the end of the year so she is technically a few weeks past our kindergarten cutoff.  We've struggled a bit with what is best for her.  Originally we were just going to continue going forward at home but she wants to participate in the hybrid option through our local elementary school, we've found the program to be a good program overall, and we suspect that the gap is only going to be wider next year.  For that reason we did get special permission for her to start kindergarten this autumn in the same program her sister was in last autumn. Academically she will be a bit advanced for the group and we think she will be ok socially as she has had the experiences of being involved with jr. swim team, and some other youth sports. We will continue working with her at home to meet her extra academic needs, then take some time to regroup at the end of the school year and plan for the 2015-2016 year.  She may end up skipping over first grade, but we're hoping to find a solution which avoids that.

[Staceyshoe]

My son was quite advanced in K at public school.  There are so many hands-on activities, songs, stories, games, etc that he had fun.  He didn't learn anything academically, but I still feel like it was a valuable experience for him.  He didn't have time to get bored because they don't have down time at that age.  (His K was half day so maybe that helped too.) 

If you are really concerned about curriculum matching her academically, you can request a grade skip (whole grade acceleration).  My oldest went through one at public school.  There is an assessment process.  Even after it was approved by the committee, we weren't obligated to go through with the skip (though we did).  But at that meeting, the principal, teacher, gifted coordinator, and school psychologist were all present.  They told us to let them know if something wasn't working well and accommodations would be made.  At this school, there is no screening for giftedness or gifted programming until 3rd grade, and my ds was in K.  He was suddenly on their radar screen and wouldn't have been without going through the whole grade acceleration procedures.

[arliemaria]

In addition to what other people have said:

 

I really don't think a full-grade acceleration should be considered unless the child is going to be near the high end of their new class. I don't see the point in taking a nice, bright kindergartener and turning them into a mediocre first-grader.

Thanks for saying this.  I am debating with myself about homeschool K or homeschool 1.  I really don't see much difference in our curriculum either way.  I guess it truly doesn't matter, but I don't want his work to be mediocre.  So maybe we'll basically take a Year 1 curriculum and do it over more than a year time span.

[BatmansWife]

I'm kind of surprised that this is all considered normal for entering K.  I don't know what the public school requirements are for entering K...since my kids never went to K public or private.  But, I do remember when my youngest sister went to K (she's 12 years younger than I am).  Her K class learned their letter sounds with The Letter People.  Of course...that was 30 years ago.  :lol:

[AimeeM]

I'm kind of surprised that this is all considered normal for entering K.  I don't know what the public school requirements are for entering K...since my kids never went to K public or private.  But, I do remember when my youngest sister went to K (she's 12 years younger than I am).  Her K class learned their letter sounds with The Letter People.  Of course...that was 30 years ago.  :lol:

 

It depends on the area.

Where my sisters live, pre-k is provided free (lottery) for EVERYONE. It is assumed that parents will take advantage of it. My nephew is entering K quite a bit "behind" the others, because he DIDN'T attend pre-k, and his skills vary pretty wildly.

 

Where *I* live, free pre-k is only available to the low income/special needs children, so most children (middle class to upper middle) do NOT attend; most women I know are SAHMs, so it isn't considered a worthy expense when they stay home. The END OF YEAR kindergarten goals here are, imo, much more developmentally appropriate - the children will have learned their letters, numbers, shapes, patterns, and will be adding within 10, reading CVC words, by the end of their kindergarten year. While they are assessed prior to kindergarten, no prior academic knowledge is ASSUMED. Now, while I consider it more developmentally appropriate, my middle son would have been bored off his rocker - he would have learned nothing new, and all of the fun hands-on stuff are things he would have hated (he doesn't like crafts, dislikes messes, etc), which made me feel better when I was feeling the kindergarten blues a few months ago, lol.

 

[boscopup]

Thanks for saying this. I am debating with myself about homeschool K or homeschool 1. I really don't see much difference in our curriculum either way. I guess it truly doesn't matter, but I don't want his work to be mediocre. So maybe we'll basically take a Year 1 curriculum and do it over more than a year time span.

If he's K age, give him work appropriate to his ability and let him go at his own pace. If you do all grade 1 curriculum in K and grade 2 in 1st, there is nothing wrong with that. My current K'er is halfway through first grade math and reads at a 3rd grade level. His LA does not have a grade associated with it, but I give him appropriate input and require appropriate output. It's not a big deal.

 

None of my kids work at exactly their age based grade level. In some subjects they might be as much as 3 years ahead. In some subjects they might be a year or so behind. Not a big deal. :)

[Guest]

Financially, K is the cheapest grade to do. All you need is phonics and math. Get some printer paper and form letters/simple sentences. Free programs abound for all 3. Use your library for anything else. Pack in some crayons, watercolors, scissors, colored paper, and glue sticks. Walk around outside, look around. Draw/paint what you see. Reading here will make you feel you need TONS of stuff but you really don't.

 

I would advise against any type of school for a child that bright. it was a disaster from Day One for mine. That said i would not skip a grade. The maturity difference is too great.

[kiwik]

Financially, K is the cheapest grade to do. All you need is phonics and math. Get some printer paper and form letters/simple sentences. Free programs abound for all 3. Use your library for anything else. Pack in some crayons, watercolors, scissors, colored paper, and glue sticks. Walk around outside, look around. Draw/paint what you see. Reading here will make you feel you need TONS of stuff but you really don't.

 

I would advise against any type of school for a child that bright. it was a disaster from Day One for mine. That said i would not skip a grade. The maturity difference is too great.

But she has to work so the child has to go somewhere and school is what is available. Kids here range a lot, from knowing 6 letters to being able to read (though more than basic reading is unusual). Most of them have been to preschool, some have been going since six months, but our preschools don't teach academics. It is not that they prevent kids learning academics just that there is no compulsion. They will gently encourage the kid to learn to write their name and most have a mat time with songs etc but they are not expected to do much. Many parents think they can just leave it to the preschool so many kids go to school not knowing much in the way of academics.

[Coco_Clark]

You need to talk to the school.

 

First off, skipping grades isn't really "done" anymore except in extreme circumstances. Especially not in K, because at least half of K is learning how classrooms work. It's not simply a matter of choosing her grade. Bits a decision the school makes.

 

Second, as has been mentioned, the normal range of kindergartners varies wildly. In my area they test potential kindergarteners in the spring and if they do not know letter sounds, numbers to 20, ect they are placed in a preparatory summer course. Ridiculous, I know.

 

My oldest was about where your daughter is beginning K at 5, beginning to blend simple words, addition and subtraction within 20, counting and skip counting to 100, writing legibly but mostly in all caps. He was probably in the lower 1/3 of his age range ar our co-op as far as ability. It's an intense group, but Id guess your daughter is right on target.