Daughter Is 5 and Reading in Kindergarten, Should We Keep Her There?

don't skip kindergarten! it's the funnest!! As long as her teacher isn't bad, she'll do great in kindergarten. Many school districts no longer allow kids to skip grades because it messes up kids' social development.

You should be more concerned with her 1st/2nd grade teachers. In kindergarten, they tend to put all the advanced kids together. In 1st/2nd grade they like to mix them all in with the normal/slower kids thinking they need a good example to pull them up. As long as she has atleast 1 kid on her level to compete with, she should be OK.

My oldest was ready for kindergarten by the time he was 3! By kindergarten, he would get annoyed at family asking what he was learning, because he wasn't learning anything new. But he was learning about how school works, how to interact with kids at all levels and deal with the adults (he had to beg the librarians to let him pick out chapter books to take to class). I worried, but knew I was going to test him for ALPS. Since being in ALPS, he has thrived and is with a bunch of other kids on his level. That being said, they are revamping the ALPS program, so it is a wait and see what is going to happen. A little birdie told me that next year they are going to give them cognitive ability tests and sort out the truly gifted from the accelerated learners. Only those deemed gifted will have a separate class, and the accelerated learners will be placed in regular classrooms with teachers certified to give them harder work; so I plan on working on story problems to prepare mine. This young, they need to learn the social skills with other kids their age; it does put to much pressure and added woes on them. I do a bunch of stuff at home as well to keep them interested in learning at their own levels. Good luck!

My son was the same way. He was reading on a 4th grade level before kindergarten. Jordan School District offered to jump him forward to 1st grade, so we went through the same things. We finally decided to keep him in K due to the social aspects - especially as he grew into a teenager. We didn't want him to have to deal with all of his friends driving and dating a year before he was old enough. We also wanted him to enjoy school and it is possible if we moved him up, he may feel more pressure and not be as successful. He loved K and in 1st grade he was placed in the "Accelerated Learners Program (ALPS) - kind of a gifted/talented program. He has thrived and is very happy in this program. Good luck!

K.,
I am also the mother of a fabulously intelligent young child (I am not objective at all . . . I admit it!) Anyway, she was also able to read prior to kindergarten. She is also very mature emotionally. Initially, we opted for private school which has a more rigorous curriculum. She absolutely thrived there but she was becoming a stranger to the other kids in the neighborhood, so last year we decided to enroll her in public school. My husband and I are both proponents of public school having received our educations there. She is still well ahead of the other kids in her class in all subjects, but she is has met a lot of great friends and is now really part of the community. When I start getting worried about the fact that she isn't being challenged, my husband reminds me that a kid doesn't need to learn everything before age 10 and that she will learn all she needs to be successful in time. I think one of the most imporant things to remember is that we not only go to school to learn academically, but school is also the place where we learn our social skills. I think public school is a microcosm of what kids will deal w/ in their adult worlds (I am always amazed at how much the workplace can resemble high school). Social skills are just as important as academic skills and skipping a child ahead may put them behind socially. That being said, we did consider skipping 1st grade to give her more of an academic challenge but decided that we wanted her to have a head start socially as well. Your child realizes she is smart, and I am sure that gives her confidence which is more important and marketable than any fact or figure she might learn at this early age. If she is confident, she will be a success in whatever she does (or she will have the ability to pick herself up when she fails - either way confidence is an invaluable trait). You can always supplement her school work w/ academic games/workbooks/summer school programs etc ... Anyway, I wish you luck making your decision!

I was moved into second grade after only one month in first grade. I was bored in first grade, and even more bored in kindergarten where I already knew how to read. It was hard on me socially. If it were my daughter, I'd wait. There are so many social things kids learn in kindergarten. Especially if she just made the cut off, she would be with kids much older than she is if she were moved to first grade. Try to find time to work with her at home to give her the intellectual stimulation she needs. She may also need a little extra discussion about school and the social aspects so she can process the fact that it is rough being different in any way, even if that difference is being far ahead intellectually.

Hi my name is Steph I"ve actually experienced this myself, I think you should leave her in Kindergarden this year and if she is still showing this awesome advancement (which I'm sure she will) then I would think about moving her from first to second grade! Hope this helps and goodluck!

I skipped kindergarten. I was the same way, I started reading at the age of 3. Jordan School District told my mother that Kindergarteners can't read, so they don't teach them how. They based that on a study done back in the 1920's. Nice. Anyway, my mom pestered and pestered until they tested me and I went straight from preschool to kindergarten. In a lot of ways, I wish I hadn't. Every report card I ever had stated how I was less mature than the other children. Being that I was a full year younger than everyone else, I don't wonder. But I remember feeling like I didn't know how to be more mature and feeling like a failure. Studies have also shown that just because a child is gifted, doesn't mean they're going to become some great prodigy, like my mom thought. My social experiences being what they were (sparing details on troubled teen past) I barely graduated high school and never went to college. I'm not saying it's all 'cause I skipped kindergarten. I'm just saying that the social aspect is a HUGE part of school and can really affect academics if your daughter doesn't adjust well to being with the older children. I hope I've given you something to consider. Every situation is different and unique, and you're the mom, so you decide what's best. Good luck!