STARTING KINDERGARTEN EARLY

By Maddie Kampf

WHEN PRESCHOOL IS TOO EASY h ttp://youtu.be/bfvuBnm0n9Q h ttp://www.youtube.com/watch? v=PikM1-O7cbI 4 -year-old reads The Constitution 4 -year-old Math Whiz

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF GIFTED PRESCHOOLERS E arly verbal ability S trong mathematical skills L ong attention span E arly ability to reason abstractly E arly interest in time

LET THEM REACH THEIR POTENTIAL

An proficient and effective option for allowing gifted children and/or children with advanced skills to reach their potential and be engaged in challenging content is to let them start school early. Research indicates that parents judgments are usually accurate about whether or not their children have advanced skills. Administrative rules and practitioner opinions often hold back able students who are motivated to learn. Children who are admitted to school early, when after careful consideration is taken, generally are very successful both academically and socially.

BOREDOM
Academically challenged children = Happy Children By starting school early, and under challenged preschool-aged child doesnt learn what its like to be bored in school. By being placed in a classroom that is appropriate for the childs ability level, the child will avoid finding that school is too easy and that he/she can succeed without having to work hard. Also, when children are placed in classrooms where they are challenged and not bored they learn that working hard and continuing to improve oneself are a phenomenal part of learning.

AVOID AWKWARD GAPS

S ometimes when children are accelerated during later grades, they experience awkward knowledge and skills gaps.* T his is avoided with early acceleration because the knowledge presented will be new to most students.

*Grade acceleration does not lend itself to long-term knowledge gaps.

SOCIAL ASPECTS OF EDUCATION

One worry of parents and administrators is that children who skip grades will have to leave friends behind. Bright students tend to be more emotionally and socially mature than their same age peers. This problem is completely avoided when kids start school early because everyone is making new friends in Kindergarten. If the decision is made not to accelerate bright students, they may struggle to find same age peers that they can relate to and who have similar interests. Many parents report their child having more friends after acceleration.

PSYCHOMOTOR CONCERNS
Another concerned voiced by administrators is that, although students may be cognitively advanced, they may still lack the adequate psychomotor skills to be successful in Kindergarten. What the research says: Research shows that because of their more advanced cognitive development, early entrants to Kindergarten and first grade perform as well as or better than their older classmates in all areas (p. 17).

FINAL THOUGHTS
I owa Acceleration Scale- assessment and guidance tool that can help parents and teachers decide if kids are reading to begin Kindergarten. G oal for all parents and educators: Have kids in a challenging environment in which they can learn and reach their fullest potential.

REFERENCES
The information from this PowerPoint was taken from A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back Americas Brightest Students.

Colangelo, N., Assouline, S., & Gross, Miraca.. A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back Americas Brightest Students. (2004). University of Iowa, Iowa City.