Kindergartener going to 2nd grade

[missnoodlesmom]

My daughters teacher called Me 2 weeks into kindergarten and we had a convo about sending her to 2nd grade for math and reading. I was really hoping there would be kids in her class at her level as I don't know if she's socially ready to jump like that.

I just wanted to share a worry somewhere where people would understand that I'm not bragging. Apparently in her Chinese class the first day she recited the little video they had played. She had never heard Chinese before so this really wowed them. Maybe I should have prepared them more for her excellent auditory memory.

[ollyoxenfree]

Did you agree to the subject acceleration? Do you have particular concerns about it? Have you met the 2nd grade teacher yet? 

My DS had a 2-grade subject acceleration from 1st to 3rd. We found it was a very good solution for him. He had 2 very committed, wonderful teachers who made it work. They had to co-ordinate his schedule and work together to integrate his learning in the 2 classrooms. He also had a good combination of personality, social skills and classroom skills for it.  

Good luck. Please let us know how it goes. 

[whatsnextmom]

My eldest had a full grade skip mid kindergarten and then additional subject acceleration from there. It worked really well for her over the years. We put my DS in a school where the general curriculum was about a year advanced and then he had subject acceleration on top of it. Worked for him too. In general, I think subject acceleration can be a good tool for kids. I am surprised the school is jumping straight to a 2 year subject acceleration (they tend to be pretty conservative) but if your DD has the writing skills and ability to sit for longer periods of time, I'm sure she'll do well. There isn't a ton of socialization happening during reading and math. May not be an issue for her at all.

All young kids are wired for quick language acquisition but there are those that are even faster. My youngest is one. He speaks 2 languages now at 11.... 2 fluently, the other conversationally. He thrived in immersion school. Maybe something to consider for your DD.

Good luck to your DD and keep us posted.

[missnoodlesmom]

I'm meeting this week to find out the particulars. I was surprised and hesitant - I guess I haven't considered her to be that ahead since she was being placed in an older group of kindergarteners. She just turned 6 so she missed the cut off to go to kindergarten last year by a couple weeks. 1st grade would still be okay, but 2nd grade worries me. I don't know why. I think I'm just kind of new ro all of this and figuring out my stance.

[whatsnextmom]

Originally Posted by missnoodlesmom 

I'm meeting this week to find out the particulars. I was surprised and hesitant - I guess I haven't considered her to be that ahead since she was being placed in an older group of kindergarteners. She just turned 6 so she missed the cut off to go to kindergarten last year by a couple weeks. 1st grade would still be okay, but 2nd grade worries me. I don't know why. I think I'm just kind of new ro all of this and figuring out my stance.

If it's any consolation, both my kids were 6 in second grade and were going to 3rd grade for subject accelerations. The fact that she's already 6 makes me wonder why they aren't considering a full grade acceleration to 1st now. Grade acceleration doesn't fix everything but it can make in-class differentiation less isolating and further subject acceleration easier.

Good luck in your meeting. 

[Geofizz]

My DS went from kindergarten to 2nd for math last year.  He did just fine as a 6 year old with kids on the cusp of 9.  Just Fine.

Honestly, if your DD has a lot of talent for each reading and math, then 2nd is likely the right place.  1st grade was a lot of making sure those skills they hoped kids would get in kindergarten actually got learned.  When I visited the 1st grade math class mid-year to weigh in on where I thought DS needed to be, the class was still working on number patterns 1-100.  Things like adding 10 to a number leaves the ones place the same.  Things like knowing that 46 is bigger than 37. 

As I recommended to another poster here recently, ask for a transition plan.  This is part of what I think made DS so successful last year.  It was put in writing who was going to escort him to the 2nd grade class and for how long (2 weeks), where homework was going to be, how he would be taught the new classroom routines (like how to announce he needs to use the bathroom), who he'd sit with, the frequency with which the teacher would communicate with us, the form of feedback, and how the kindergarten teacher would adjust his day so that he got the instruction he needed from kindergarten.  Everything was overseen by the vice principal, so all communication was cc'd to her as well.  She observed him 2-3 times in the first two weeks as well. 
 

[expecting-joy]

How is it going? I'm wishing we had your option here. I find the whole placement thing such a challenge. It's becoming glaringly obvious that my (younger) daughter doesn't belong in kindergarten academically, but we're not yet seeing options in school. At least we finally got movement on the school librarian forbidding kindergartners to check out anything but picture books. Yay! I feel so lost as to what we SHOULD do, let alone what we can do. She is ridiculously off the charts in reading, writing, math, foreign-language... Her older sister needs accommodations and it's still a struggle getting any for her, but I think they were expecting our youngest to be about the same amount advanced. They still can't believe she's real and I cannot believe she that far out of the normal range. A three-year skip would be about right for her academically, but I worry so much about how that works socially. So please share how things are going for you. It helps sooo much to hear personal stories!

[missnoodlesmom]

Sorry I've been absent for so long...

Just had my DDs first parent / teacher conference yesterday...it went so well! The 2nd grade teacher was there as well. There are 4 other kindergarteners (not in our class, but from the other 4 K classes) who go up 3 days a week for literacy. The other 2 days she gets differentiated work within her literacy centers in her own classroom. She seems so happy- she's challenged and doesn't feel weird at all. She's generally a sunny dispositioned child so it's great to see her continue that in this environment.

For math, she stays in her classroom because there is one other little boy who is even ahead of her. They have their own math group. The teacher is a whiz at differentiation. I volunteer for math centers 1/week and it's really a beautiful thing!! She will do a whole group instruction on a concept (greater than, for example) and then they go to their centers with a partner for differentiated instruction. Parent helpers and TA float while the teacher pulls small groups and individuals for 20 minute blocks.

I feel like the teacher is loving her and also challenging her. She was chosen to give a speech representing Kindergarten in the upcoming leadership day conference. She's giving the speech in Chinese!

Anyways, I hope things go well for you!