anyone here skip a grade?

I skipped first grade. Then I took sixth and seventh grades in the same year. Then I skipped a grade in highschool.

My parents let me do that but didn't want me to go to college. wtf...
 
Ky is one of those kids that could go into school as a barely 5 year old (birthday aug 17) but predicting he's going to be on the small side anyway we are going to wait and hold him back so he's the oldest in his class instead of the youngest. The last thing we need is for him to be the smallest and youngest in class, much better to be the oldest and smallest.
 
but what if he or she could hold his or her own socially? and what if he or she is waaay above the standard academics for the grade? you hear of kids being bored and getting into trouble. but i also wonder about being the brightest in the class. that would be good for self-confidence, right? i think if one was to skip a kid forward, it would be at the beginning of kindergarten (skipping it and going to first) or never, since you start developing friendships that would stay with you as you advance each year. i'd hate to think of the social readjustment or hardship if you were to skip the kid from second to third or whatever...they'd have to work so hard to wiggle in to bonds already formed and would also be starting from scratch, not bringing any relationships to the table.
 
Ky is one of those kids that could go into school as a barely 5 year old (birthday aug 17) but predicting he's going to be on the small side anyway we are going to wait and hold him back so he's the oldest in his class instead of the youngest. The last thing we need is for him to be the smallest and youngest in class, much better to be the oldest and smallest.

i was an early birthday, so i was one of the oldest every year, and i really enjoyed that. spangelet's birthday is also in august, so she'll be one of the youngest, but i think it's a little different with a girl. i would definitely hold back a boy if he were to end up the youngest (which i think is what happened with waw and someone else on here...their birthdays were late which made them young.) i can't help but think of boys trying to date in high school where all their classmates are older than them. or driving. that was another big one.

and good point, dharma, about the whole puberty thing. i was one of the first to "bloom" :barf: so i never really had to think about the hardships of being one of the last.
 
but what if he or she could hold his or her own socially? and what if he or she is waaay above the standard academics for the grade? you hear of kids being bored and getting into trouble. but i also wonder about being the brightest in the class. that would be good for self-confidence, right? i think if one was to skip a kid forward, it would be at the beginning of kindergarten (skipping it and going to first) or never, since you start developing friendships that would stay with you as you advance each year. i'd hate to think of the social readjustment or hardship if you were to skip the kid from second to third or whatever...they'd have to work so hard to wiggle in to bonds already formed and would also be starting from scratch, not bringing any relationships to the table.

Its never fun to be the brightest in class. Nerd status is not something kids strive for. If you want your kid to learn extra stuff, teach them at home (in addition to school).

What could the child possibly gain by skipping a grade? Out of your house sooner?
 
Ky is one of those kids that could go into school as a barely 5 year old (birthday aug 17) but predicting he's going to be on the small side anyway we are going to wait and hold him back so he's the oldest in his class instead of the youngest. The last thing we need is for him to be the smallest and youngest in class, much better to be the oldest and smallest.

I was always small for my class being the youngest but it never mattered in the slightest. I was varsity swimming all 4 years of HS and was the captain senior year to boot even though I was 16 for 1/3 of my senior year. Age vs. one's peers in the same grade is no indicator of social or academic success. He could be the oldest and least liked or the youngest and most liked. There's no telling how it will pan out until you get there.

I say put him in there now. You're thinking too much about it imo.
 
If you're gonna skip a grade, junior and senior years are the ones to skip. Get a GED and go into college at 16. Move into the dorms when you're a 18, apartment at 19, be graduated and gone by 20.
 
I didn't skip a grade but because my birthday was in September and I went to private school, I was always the youngest in my class. Started hs at 13 graduated at 17. It wasn't too bad.

As a teacher, I had lots of kids like that and they were fine. I only had one kid that had skipped a grade and she was AWFUL! Mentally she was smarter than most people in the class but physically and emotionally she was a baby. When she didn't get her she acted like a 4 year old! I wonder what ever happened to her. She should be a senior in hs this year.
 
Its never fun to be the brightest in class. Nerd status is not something kids strive for. If you want your kid to learn extra stuff, teach them at home (in addition to school).

What could the child possibly gain by skipping a grade? Out of your house sooner?

good point!!! ;) it's not about "gaining" anything. it's about being appropriately placed, with the correct balance of social and academic. it's finding the right position so your child is challenged and also happy among peers. it's trying to find the best possible place for your child. it's not about anything else.
 
Its never fun to be the brightest in class. Nerd status is not something kids strive for. If you want your kid to learn extra stuff, teach them at home (in addition to school).

What could the child possibly gain by skipping a grade? Out of your house sooner?

You can be the brightest in the class, it's when you show it off that's when the problems come out.
 
I was always small for my class being the youngest but it never mattered in the slightest. I was varsity swimming all 4 years of HS and was the captain senior year to boot even though I was 16 for 1/3 of my senior year. Age vs. one's peers in the same grade is no indicator of social or academic success. He could be the oldest and least liked or the youngest and most liked. There's no telling how it will pan out until you get there.

I say put him in there now. You're thinking too much about it imo.

There are other reasons in play here to, but we have decided to wait an extra year and that's how it will go. Also putting him in now would be less then ideal since he's barely 18 months. ;)
 
There are other reasons in play here to, but we have decided to wait an extra year and that's how it will go. Also putting him in now would be less then ideal since he's barely 18 months. ;)

oh well he's got eons until kindergarten...why was this even a concern yet?? :p
 
Cause it really does go by fast and you immediately start thinking about things like that when kids are born.
maybe moms do.....

of course i only have the one to worry about, but school is way far away still.
 
maybe moms do.....

of course i only have the one to worry about, but school is way far away still.

My oldest starts preschool in the fall and Kindergarten next fall, I still feel like she should be two and am not sure I'm ready for school yet. :( I think the fact that I'm slightly worried about how she'll take to a conventional classroom learning environment and am concerned we are going to struggle with her in school doesn't help, but then I'm probably reading way to much into it and need to stop worrying, but worry seems to come with the job title.
 
yeah, I went to grade 9 at age 13 and to college when I was 17
yeah, that happens. i was surprised at first because high school at home begins in grade 10, so starting it at 13 would be not just rare but damn near impossible without skipping a grade.

The poor bastards who start college at 17 have to go their entire first year and part of their second without being legal to drink.
 
Its never fun to be the brightest in class. Nerd status is not something kids strive for. If you want your kid to learn extra stuff, teach them at home (in addition to school).

What could the child possibly gain by skipping a grade? Out of your house sooner?
totally. my kid is going to be skipping every fourth or fifth grade. they're out once they can drive.
 
I lived in a really small town in an alternate universe when I was young. All the smart kids were also all the popular kids. I was one of those really smart types and a big fish in a small pond. The school told my parents that I should skip a grade, but my parents declined for all of the reasons already mentioned here. They wanted me to be with my peers and continue to develop the friendships I had. They realized how traumatizing it could be for me.

But that's just me. I think everyone is different. I had a friend in school who skipped second grade and joined my third grade class and she blended in rather well. She was still one of the brightest kids in my third grade class and was not at all socially immature. She actually did better socially in my class than with her own. I suppose it just depends on the child.

I do think that social standing and relationships are more important as far as skipping grades than actual academics. If academics is the only issue and the school is not working to challenge a child no matter what grade and level, then it's time to look for a school that will. There are also after school programs and home schooling to help with this.
 
I started school a year early, so I'll be 17 when I graduate high school in 2009. My fourth grade teacher wanted me to skip a grade, but I didn't.

Bad idea. You end up sticking your kid with kids who are much more socially advanced. Then you end up getting made fun of for being the smart runt and no one likes you.

I think that's stereotyping smart kids. I was going to be tied for valedictorian of my class, until I got a B+ in English... but I've never been made fun of for being smart.
 
I started school a year early, so I'll be 17 when I graduate high school in 2009. My fourth grade teacher wanted me to skip a grade, but I didn't.



I think that's stereotyping smart kids. I was going to be tied for valedictorian of my class, until I got a B+ in English... but I've never been made fun of for being smart.

Certainly there are exceptions to the rule, but I know that when I was there the smart kids got their balls broken.