Friday, September 30, 2011

Today is the end of Kylee's first week in 1st grade.  And she has done fabulous!!  She begs me everyday..."Please let me stay in 1st grade". 

She adjusted very quickly to the work.  They write a lot more and I'm a little concerned just because her writing skills aren't up to snuff.  Or at least what I think they should be.  We never really practiced on good handwriting.  She can definitely write her letters, but they're still...wonky.  She got a 102% on her spelling test yesterday and is very excited that 1st graders got to check out 3 books from the library instead of just 1.  She is AR testing and they're also did other tests on her to be sure how she fit in academically and she performed better than most of the other 1st graders.  She really enjoys doing subtraction as well.  Addition she's been doing for quite some time, but subtraction is new.

Adjusting socially has been pretty easy.  She already knew a couple of the kids in her class (one from ballet, the other from daycare) so that really helped- seeing familiar faces.  Her birthday is in November (she will be 6) so she isn't really that much younger than the rest of her classmates.  From the beginning she has always gravitated toward older kids anyway...like at church and stuff.  So I am not too worried about the maturity/age factor.  Even when she gets older, mainly becuz, like I said, (wow, too many commas...lol) she isn't much younger than the others. 

I can tell her little brain is finally getting worked because she is definitely tired in the evenings.  Hopefully that will level out when she has had more time to adjust. 

We still need to officially go through all the hoops to get her moved up, but it definitely looks like I now have a 1st grader.  :) 

Thank you everyone for weighing in with your opinions.  I have been asking everyone I know what they think, and most people think it's a great move for Kylee. 

Guess I'd better post some more 'first day' pictures.  LOL.  Wait, I don't think I really posted the official first day pics yet.  Oh well.  I'll get to it at some point. 

Friday, September 23, 2011

What is your opinion?

Many of you know that Kylee is smart.  And that I'm not just the typical mom doing the typical bragging on your kid. 

Kylee started Kindergarten about 6 weeks ago.  Next week she is going to 1st grade. (for a week long trial period)

She is miles ahead of her current classmates.  Her teacher has been giving her work that she usually does toward the end of the year.  She reads, she takes AR tests and yesterday they STAR tested her at a 0.7 reading level.  Which doesn't sound very high, but keep in mind...she's in kinder.  She is 5.  They don't normally STAR test them until 1st grade.

Anyone out there have any experience with their kids skipping a grade?  I know that maturity is a big concern with many kids in this situation, but Kylee is very mature for her age.  She has gravitated toward older children since she was really young. 

Please give me your thoughts on this. 

My thoughts?  I think Kylee definitely needs to be challenged.  She loves Kinder, but she will soon grow bored with the work once she masters everything.  When she is bored, she loses interest in school.  That happened last year in preschool. 

I guess I am a little surprised because I didn't think this would happen so quickly.  I'm a little taken off guard.

So....please share your thoughts.