Comments on:

Should Advanced Preschooler Skip Kindergarten?

Gifted preschoolers may appear to be taking in a great deal of data, but they may not truly comprehend it or use it in a gifted manner.
< Back to Article
Posted by Dittomom
January 14, 2009 12:16 PM
school
That may be true for this grade but by the time they reach 3rd grade they all level out. You see the harm more when they reach the middle/high school years. These kids should be homeschooled anyway. It's obvious their moms can do a good job.
194 people found this comment helpful
Posted by awesome514
January 13, 2009 12:36 PM
Perspective of a Kindergarten Parent
My son entered Kindergarten this year with the ability to read at a 1st grade level, write (upper and lowercase)letters, solve addition and subtraction problems into the double digits, and cut, color, paste, etc... He didn't attend preschool, but I worked with him extensively at home prior to his school experience.
I struggled with the decision to send him to the public school kindergarten program. But, I received a lot of negative feedback regarding my options for skipping him forward or keeping him home an extra year. So, I enrolled him in the standard curriculum.
At this point, mid year, I can safely say that I made the wrong choice. My formerly creative and knowledge-passionate child has no desire to go to school. I volunteer in his classroom weekly, and I see his boredom first hand. Plus, the teacher rarely has a kind word about his "progress" and, instead, has conferred with me about how he is easily distracted and too social.
I have tried to handle his education diplomatically, but the school does not offer any programs for advanced Kindergarteners, and the teacher has made it clear that she would not advocate a grade skip. All in all, this has been a disappointing and frustrating year.
I am hoping that the emotional damage of this program is not permanent on my son, and that I can transition him to a private school with a more challenging curriculum next year.
200 people found this comment helpful
Posted by awaken15
January 12, 2009 12:45 AM
I'm a Preschool teacher @ Little Geniuses
All my students are just like the womans child above. I have 2, 3, 4, 5 yr olds reading. I teach 101 Sign Language, 101 Spanish, 101 computers and 101 everything and they are soaking it up like a sponge and they play in between learning... We have fun! They use scissors and art tools. They can tell time (hourly). They recognize coins... They know advanced shapes, skeletal, solar system. We do all the Preschool, Pre-K, Kindergarten subjects and even introduce them to 1st grade materials. Once they learn to count to 20 we go higher and some can count to 200, there is no cognitive stagnation here... They learn Manners 101 and table manners 101. They have high social skills. I have a nature trail they walk every day, I have a professional playground system for their age, classroom and indoor playroom. I even offer home made foods with some organics--moving to full organics once we go through what we have shelved. My clients are also looking for educational options for their children in my area... Our schools systems aren't ready for these cognitively advanced children... I know of Thrive by Five and Zero to Three but is WA state ready for them to enter higher academic public and private schools?
201 people found this comment helpful