Is it a good idea to skip your junior kindergardener to grade one?

Question

My daughters school wants to skip her to grade on from jk, she is four and will be with 6 and seven year olds, she is big for hr age so thats not an issue, i am just worried about later( highschool) should i just let her be?

Answer 1

What are their reasons for skipping her? There is a big difference emotionally and socially between fours and sixes/sevens. In high school, she will be 14 when her classmates are starting to drive and date. I would leave her be and let her enjoy this time in her life. If she needs extra challenges, can she join a class for art, music, karate or something? Keep reading to her, also! Let her do journaling each day. This will keep her mind sharp and active.

Answer 2

No!! Please let me say that your questions and concerns are something your being so smart about, If I could only go back in time I would have done exactly what your doing now. The school my daughter attended recommended we do the same for my daughter, she was in Pre-K and almost at the age deadline for being to young to attend. When Pre-K ended the school suggested she skip Kindergarten and move directly into 1st grade. I was so proud that my child was brilliant and that my child was skipping a grade that I never stopped long enough to have concerns for her Jr. High or High School years. It wasn’t until 6th grade when I realized what I had done, I never considered the social skills she would lack being with kids (2 1/2 +) years older then her. I asked each of her teachers at the end of 6th grade their opinion on holding her back in 6th again (5 ) said It would be the worst thing I could ever do to her mentally and academically. I was told my concerns of her not having friends was wrong and she was always surrounded by friends. What the teachers nor I realized at the time were the friends she was seen with constantly on recess, lunch, etc.. were actually 4th graders. She is now in the 8th grade and were looking into a private school that we cannot afford. She went from a very strong, outgoing, assertive, self assured little girl to a little girl that's insecure, unassertive and completely out of her element. I can't hold her back at the school she attends now, she really would struggle due to the fact physically she is where she should for a girl 14 or 15. Now I have a child that will graduate 3 months after turning 16, she wont be driving next year like most other kids, etc..
I am sorry for the LONG ANSWER... but I would not want any parent to do this without knowing “damage” that can possible occur from her skipping grades.

Answer 3

Skip her a year at the most. I would wait until she is older - say grade 5 or 6 before you do this. A 4 year old hanging out with 6 and 7 year olds isn't school - honestly they won't want to play with her, they would probably just baby her.... Let her get some awesome confidence by being the smartest one in her class for a few years!

Answer 4

Children do not need to skip kindergarten. I have been a kindergarten teacher for 18 years and I know! It would be best for your child to stay in K w/her own age children and recieve some enrichment with in the school for the areas she is advenced in. For example, if she is an excellent and avid reader, she needs to be allowed to go to first grade during their reading/language arts time. If she is more agile in math, then she should go for math only. Also, you might talk to the school's curriculum coordinator about getting her some free library time if she loves to read. Perhaps she could go to the library for 30 minutes once or twice a week and be allowed to look through the books and choose some to read while there. If the school has a computer room, she could go there and work with a first grade class on the same lessons they are doing.

You should also provide enrichment for her out of school. Take her to the library and bookstores after school or on weekends and let her read. Some libraries have computers children can play learning games on. There is a site called starfall.com that has lots of reading activities. Check out the internet for learning games sites and let her play them at home on your computer. Do simple projects with her such as baking a cake and teach her how to follow the instructions on the box or from the recipe. etc.

Skipping her up now is not a good option. As she gets older and the maturity gap lessens (it will as they age), then the option to skip a grade will not be as much of an issue. Children in primary grades prefer same age or older children to socialize with. She could be shunned by the other children because they will see her as "a baby" simply because she is younger.

I also believe it is good for all children to have "the kindergarten experience". There are things we do in K that they just don't do in other grades.

And finally, I am speaking from experience--they wanted to skip my son up from grade 1 to 2 last year about this time. I said "No." and I am glad I did. He is super smart, but lacks maturity, so he would not have been socially accepted by older children.

Answer 5

WE did this with my dd (now 7). I'll tell you what happened with us -
After a year in private school K dd was reading at a 4th grade level.We moved, and her new class of 1st graders were still working on letter sounds. The teacher was good, but kind of green, and I was afraid of 1. dd becoming a behavior problem because of boredom, although she had been perfect in her previous class - 2. her becoming the teacher's 'helper' and not learning anything new all year long.
It became clear she should move up to the 2nd grade class and she did great all year. Socially, she had to stretch a little but hanging out with the good kids was a good match for her.

Here;s the scary part. When she started the next school year - 3rd grade, at age 6 - there were kids who were 9 in her class. She had one girl who was 10. She had to toughen up really fast to hold her own on the playground, if you know what I mean. That was a big problem for me, because I did not want my daughter dressing/talking/acting like a tween at age 6. (I don't even want her acting like that when she's 10!) However, she was going to have a really hard time socially being on the playground with 3rd and 4th graders ( check your school's recess schedule) while she was acting like a 6 year old. There are KINDERs that are 6, you know? It would be really hard to find a 9/10 year old friend for a 6 year old. And it broke my heart that she might not feel like she has any friends.

Anyway it worked out for us that we moved back and she got back with her old classmates who are about at her level. I would suggest that you stay where you are and just let her be the smartest in class. SHe'll be more at the top of her class through HS and be eligible for more scholarships. And since school won't be a struggle, you can focus on other fun activities during non school time to enrich her, like music, dance, ect. Stay on her teachers, if you are in public school to keep her on a GATE track ( or enriched activities) in CA it is law that gifted kids get special curriculum, just like disabled kids get special treatment. Check for your area. Good Luck with whatever you decide!

Answer 6

I would say not to have her skip kindergarden. I was skipped from Kindergarten to second grade, and socially I just wasn't ready. I was always a lot younger than everyone else. School years go by fast enough as it is, let her enjoy all the years she can. Why not allow her to excel academically in her proper grade, rather than be at the "same" level as the older kids. Let her be a leader in the grade she's supposed to be in. Take it from me, the pressure to fit in hits harder later and she'll be more adept with kids her own age.

Answer 7

No. Seven years olds and six year olds are a lot more mature than 4 year olds. Not only developmentally, but in a lot of other ways. They "date", and know about/discuss things they shouldn't let alone a 4 year old. I think it would also hurt your child socially. It's wonderful she is smart enough but I don't think it's a good idea in the long run. Just make sure you challenge her brain at home, and ask her teacher for ideas on books and other things you can do to keep her brain going and working. If she is disruptive in class from being bored tell her teacher to give her something harder to do.

Answer 8

The social aspect gets bad. I was the only junior in state requirements. I was still 16 when I graduated. I was way too immature to be out of high school. I drifted and didn't get a college degree until I was 30. I was happy as a little kid getting straight A's and I never did well academically after that until I returned to college.

Answer 9

No way should you do this. It is too much of an age gap. It won't show now but when all her friends hit puberty 2 years before her and she is still in to dolls when they like boys she is going to go through so many social problems or worse case will follow these more mature kids to parties that...well you do want to know what they do at these. I was also younger than those in my year level and suffered greatly for it. Kids find enough to bully others over without giving them fuel just for acting the age she will be

Answer 10

Let her be and demand she be challenged where she is. It seems a bit lazy to move her so the school doesn't have to work to meet her needs even though keeping her with her age-peers is in her best interest. If you feel you need to move her compromise and move her up to K, but do not skip her 2 grades.

Cognitive ability and IQ are completely different than developmental stages. She will be exposed to things before she will be able to fully deal with them. Now and especially later. (Just think, she could be a 12/13 y.o. freshman in a school with 18 y.o. boys)

No no no no