Jimmy and I are weighing the pros and cons of letting Abigail start kindergarten early. By most state guidelines, she would not start kindergarten until 2007. But in Ohio, we can apply for her to be granted early admission. The first step the school board asks parents to do is to read over materials on early admission. As we read over the information they’ve given us, we decided to ask your advice: the people who know and love Abby.Pros: Abby is already noticeably smart for her age, well-ahead of many of her peers; she learns things very quickly and remembers, as opposed to quickly memorizing something, but then forgetting it the next day. (She has memorized 26 Bible verses, one for each letter of the alphabet!) She is tall for her age and extremely comfortable with people. We are concerned another year of preschool before kindergarten will bore her, since much of what her class mates would be learning, she already knows.
Cons: Research seems to show that the majority of kids who start kindergarten young do not do as well in the long run on standardized testing and in the classroom. Being the youngest in the class also means kids may tend to be more prone to peer-pressure. Kids who start kindergarten younger are less likely to be in honors classes later in school.
Please feel free to give us your completely uneducated opinion, your slightly educated opinion, or to do a little research along with us (there is tons on the web, more than we can read through) and tell us what you think!!
5 comments:
D.J., my son, will start kindergarten this fall. His birthday is in November, so he will be almost six when he starts. I think he would have been fine going this year because he already knows how to read and stuff, but because he is kind of small, I was glad to give him another year to grow. The preschool he attends is wonderful. His teachers have been good about working with him on his level and even giving him extra work to challenge him. I was worried about his being bored, but he loves the social aspect of school, so he has not gotten in trouble or acted bored.
I was always the youngest in my class, born in August, but I did ok. However, I have had students who were placed a year ahead in their class and sometimes I saw social challenges in that area that were hard on the child. I don't think I have given you a definite yes or no answer, but these are just my thoughts from my own experience. I didn't even know you could apply for early admission.
Sarah's birthday is in August, and I had struggled with holding her back a year. In the end we felt that she would be bored if she had went another year of preschool, so we are letting her start Kindergarten in the fall. Honestly, I think Abby is as ready as Sarah. Rodney and I know several adults that started early and none had any problems. Rodney started at 4 and never had problems until his parents'divorce. My inspiration for sending Sarah on was the Stockstills, our shepherds at church. Their younger daughter, Claudia, was small for her age. Then Cindee homeschooled her for the first couple of years, and when she went to attend school she tested a couple years ahead. So they let her skip a grade. I hope my girls turn out to be as good and self assured as Claudia. Cindee's perpective was: she can do it. Nobody can judge the long-term consequences since we can't see the future. Don't judge Abby by what the average kid has done. Definitely pray about it, since God DOES know the future and DOES know Abby better than anyone. (That is what changed my mind with Sarah.) But if I had a vote to place I would say to send her this year. I think she'll love it and I think she will excel. (And if you choose not to send her I think she'll be fine, too.)
Elena
Hey Tiff...i just thought id take a look at this blog...and its really cute. I miss you guys soo much. Im thinking about you all the time. Give the kids a huge hug for me. Tell Abby that i miss her and taht i cant wait to see her. I love yall...
lucy
Jimmy and Tiffany - Hard decision. My neice went to school when she was almost 6 - my brother (her dad) did not want her to be the youngest in her class even though she was super smart and could have gone when she was five. He didn't want her to be the last one to drive, the last one to stay out late and he wanted her to have the best shot at scholarships possible as they have four kids and don't know how they are going to pay for college. So, Dana and Brit (my niece) are in the same grade. Brit is an advance placement material for every subject and gets straight As. It is easy for her and she has a lot of homework, plus is a basketball star. She seems to be well adjusted and has never complained about starting school 'late'. Dana is a full 10 month younger than Brit. Is in advance placement in most subjects and get As with some Bs. She is a star 'singer' in the county choir and is a well adjusted kid. She has never complained about being one of the youngest in her class. Their friend - who is 10 months younger than Dana - started Kindergarten at 4. She is in advance placement in many subjects, a straight A student and the only thing I have hear her complain about is being SHORT. Bottom line, each of these parents did what they thought was best for their child. and each made different decisions. I trust your judgement - what do you think?
Love you all.
I'm posting this anonymously because I'm talking about my relatives, but you know me as "Chief."
What a blessing and a huge responsibility to have a smart kid. When I talked to Abby on the phone, she sounded like a seventh grader!
This is just what *I* think *I* would do if facing this situation with my own daughter ...
Does the school district have a gifted program? How early can you get her tested and enrolled? I lean toward keeping her with her grade and sign her up for gifted activities, and do extra activities at home, like workbooks, field trips, science projects, creative projects.
If gifted program isn't an option, then I would carefully consider how mature she is. And if I did go ahead and put her in early, I would watch her SOOOO closely as she continues through school, to make sure she is on an emotional and social par with everyone else, and to make sure she isn't identifying herself only as an academic achiever.
My opinion comes from my observations, since I don't know any of the research. Smart people whom I know personally have done best when they've stayed with their grade and participated in enrichment activities and Honors programs. They were brilliant, which made them unusual among the general population, but in the gifted program they were surrounded by other kids like them, so they were "normal." I think this gave them a good social foundation.
The two people I can think of who skipped a grade (or grades) are STILL not emotionally and socially "right." One is in early 20s and the other is in late 50s. They're both socially awkward, know it alls, very demanding and usually annoying to be around, and didn't achieve up to the great potential everyone saw in them as children. Interestingly, they are father and son. So it may be genetics or environment in this case. ;)
Anyway, I am NOT saying that kids who skip grades are ALWAYS going to be social outcasts and end up as weird adults. I AM saying that smart kids will likely be on the fringe of the general social arena anyway, regardless of if they skip a grade or stay with their classmates, so if they're more immature than their classmates, they may suffer socially and emotionally.
So. Am I rambling yet? ;) This is all IMHO.
You know your daughter best and will make the right choice for Abby and your family. I look forward to watching her grow into a sweet young lady.
With Love and Prayers,
The Chief
(P.S. My sister-in-law taught kindergarten for years and has a special interest in gifted kids. So I'm going to forward this to her to see what she thinks.)
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