Does skipping preschool and kindergaten have any negatives?

Question

My son is 4, in preschool, and reads sentences very fluently. They are learnign the alphabet and sounds in preschool. I would like for him to receive some challenge at his level, maybe skip to 1st grade. Everything they are learning he already knows and I'm afraid it will slow him down and/or bore him. Any suggestions? I don't think they haave a gifted and talented program but I can ask. Thanks. He's my 1st child so I'm clueless on what to do.

Answer 1

Your child should never skip ahead at this stage ofhis education. MANY, MANY, MANY 4 year old can read sentences if the parents have spent time with them. So to decide on that aspect that the child is "gifted" and decide to start tinkering with his education is a bad idea.

If it is detected at a later age that indeeded the child is educational advanced for the grade he is in the talk with the school advisers etc. to make the decision.

Answer 2

I guess thats really up to you. I would still put him in kindergarten personally. If not- then whats he going to do? He's going to be bored waiting til he hits the right age for 1st grade. Most schools require a specific age for kindergarten & 1st grade.

My 2 almost 3 year old is starting to read & spell... Already knows abc's, counts, knows shapes and colors && so on. My older child was the same way, actually was the one that ended up teaching a lot of the stuff to my middle child (2 year old) these things. STILL going to kindergarten.

As for skipping grades when he is older- at least put a lot of thought into it. I skipped a grade went from 7th grade to HS, just because there are some subjects that are done great doesn't mean your child is a pro at all of them. I went from NEVER getting under 100% on anything to failing math- missing the one year of math was enough for me to get a big F. I still graduated a year early, but yeah.

Answer 3

Your child's preschool teachers and directors can give you a fair evaluation of his social, physical and emotional development (compared to his peers). Ask them for their opinions -- and be open minded about hearing what they have to say.

Your son may be exceptionally bright verbally, but struggling in another area that could make socializing in an older age group more difficult.

Things to consider -- stage of potty training, dependence on pacifier, blanket, etc., competence in self-feeding, whether he still takes (needs) a nap, his reaction to stress (crying, biting, wetting himself) or to other social issues (taking turns, sharing toys).

Many bright children benefit from the structure of preschool and Kindergarten, because the focus there is on social skills as well as it is on educational development.

Absolutely check with the school for gifted programs -- even small schools will allow a student to 'go up a grade' for some classes, and return to their same-age peers for others.

Example -- my children are strong readers, and 'went up' a grade level for reading and math classes, and then back to 'regular' classes for the rest of the day. They were challenged in their strong areas, but developed peer relationships in their own age groups. This was very important for gym class, for example, where the older children were larger and more coordinated, and more competitive.

Answer 4

I think that it's great that he is advanced, but propelling him into an older grade without doing kindergarten could hamper his social skills. I would put him in a half-day kindergarten and then work with him myself in the afternoons. I would continue enrichement throughout school and certainly look into a gifted program.

I agree that he needs more advanced lessons, however kindergarten is about social skills and motor skills, as well as cognitive development. Skipping him to grade 1 might mean that he would miss out on those essential lessons.

Look into a gifted program where he will be with peers who are at his intellectual level AND his social one. Furthermore, at his age (4) he will not be able to focus for as long as the grade 1s even if he is advanced, and behavioral problems could arise.

Answer 5

I was essentially in the same boat when I was younger. Honestly, it depends on how mature your child is. Some kids can deal with being in a class with kids two years older than them, others can't and may end up crying out for attention.

What I would do is to see if the school offers something like a visitors program, where you and your son can visit for a few days and see how he interacts with theother kids. This will give you a good idea as to how he will do in the class.

If it seems to work out, then go ahead and enroll him in 1st grade, but I would also suggest that you make sure he does some activities outside of class with kids his own age (maybe a painting/music class, or even just playing with the neighborhood kids)

Hope this helped, best of luck!

Answer 6

Having a gifted child is a challenge because you have to make life-changing descisions for the child. In your case you seem to want your child to be fast-tracked so that he doesn't get bored.
The problem here is that while your child needs to be challenged, he also needs to learn social skills that he would get from interacting with his peers.Any academic acheivement will only be worth something if your child is able to communicate and be socially competent.
Your child's future happiness depends largely on his ability to socialize, and a happy median needs to be found so that his intelligence doesn't become an obstacle.

Answer 7

It's not a good idea. If your son was that far ahead of everyone else academically, his school would suggest some options to challenge him. In addition, there is no way that a 4 year old is socially ready for first grade. Let him progress naturally though school, and ask his teachers to challenge him with harder work if necessary.

Answer 8

Your son reminds me of my 15 year old daughter. She was reading by 3. By 5 she could easily read the newspaper, even though she couldn't really understand the articles for the most part.

When she entered kindergarten (public school in our neighborhood) she was quickly identified as a reader. They tested her and said she was reading at a 6th grade level with comprehension at the 3rd grade level. The only program they had to help her was a move to 1st grade during reading time. She immediately moved to the highest reading group in her 1st grade class, as you might expect. She finished the school year this way.

When it was time to enroll her for 1st grade, the school was going to place her in 1st grade reading again because they didn't have a program to send her to a higher reading class and they didn't have a program for gifted students until they reached 3rd grade.

We made the decision to remove our daughter from the public school system and place her in private school. It's been enormously expensive, but in the final analysis I would have to say well worth it.

She's a sophmore in public high school now. She's in AP calculus, AP Euro History, French 4 (her private school taught French starting in the 1st grade) AP Chemistry, etc... She finished last year with a 4.4 GPA and currenty has a 4.3 based on midterm grades. (her grades are weighted 1 point due to the difficulty level of the classes she's taking) She's not a study-only kid either. She's in drama and the drama club, she's on the school soccer team, she's on the school mock trial team (the only sophmore) and she has a paying gig in Hollywood doing improv. Her plan next year is to enter the International Baccalaureate program through her school. She should have 2 years of college under her belt by the time she graduates high school.

Although I always welcome the chance to brag about my daughter, and she is bright, I have to say making good choices with her education has been instrumental in her success. Not all schools are good fits for all students. Most of the previous answers I've read here are spot on in my opinion, but sometimes the only solution is to spend the money. Check it out, very carefully!

Best of luck!

Answer 9

a good preschool or kindergarten teacher will challenge kids at the level where they are. my kids went to public school, both were reading by preschool, and one was reading at a 5th grade level by kindergarten. there were other kids in their class who were also good readers, and the teacher made a reading group for them at their level. they also got extra challenges in math. i'm really glad i sent them to kindergarten. it's not just about academics, but about social things, making friends, ability to function in a group, etc.

that said, there are a few kids who are really extremely gifted (beyond just being early readers and good at math). if you have one of those, you definitely know it for sure. for a kid like that, i'd look into a private school or at least a school with a gifted program.

Answer 10

I've only heard good things about skipping kindergarten. Public schools seem to have age requirments, while private schools seem to be more flexible especially if they're trying to fill a class and increase tuition revenues.

Gof for it!