[TN4Bush]

I agree that we should group kids by ability not age. My 1st grader is totally bored with the math they are doing. I teach him at home using the Singapore Math books and he is at least a year ahead.

[LowInMo]

Exactly.
My mother had me reading at age 5.
I do not consider myself an exception to the rule. I have seen much smarter 19-year-old kids in college than I could ever hope to be.
And I do not consider kids that do not read at age 5 to be dumb. But it catches up to you. If you have a head start or even if you don't; THE SCHOOL SYSTEM SHOULD KEEP YOUR ATTENTION.
My best teacher was in fifth grade, I didn't require any more attention to history until college to pass the standard tests.

[luckystarmom]

I know that the middle school my son will be going to will bump up kids based on ability. We have a friend whose 7th grade daughter is taking 9th grade math there. My son is a math whiz, and I can't wait to see what he can really do next year. I'm sure he'll be at least a year ahead.

I haven't really wanted to accelerate his math learning until now. He needed to get lots of basics down first: reading, writing, and basic math concepts. Now he's got the basics down, and it's time for him to fly. He's looking forward to being more challenged also.