I have an issue with societies need to put age limits on what my kids are aloud on participate in!
When my girl was three she was clearly quite capable of participating in gymnastics with the 6 year olds but wasn’t aloud to. We were asked to leave the kindy gym when she climbed a rope to the roof. It was very high and I understood their concern but why not just put her into a more challenging group. This same girl has asked her school if she can race with the boys in a higher grade to give herself a challenge but was told no.
My second girl is stuck doing to same level of gymnastics until she is old enough for the next group. She also left little athletics because there was no challenge.
Now I have a boy who is sooooooo ready to start school next year and is forced to wait another year. He will do kindy twice. His kindy let him go up a level early due to the fact that they just couldn’t believe he is only three! He is a new years eve baby and very tall, most of his friends are 5 and shorter than him. his social skills, language and motor skills are excellent and many teachers were surprized to hear he wasn’t starting next year. All three of my kids would have thrived at school a year earlier than they were aloud to attend. All the mums on this forum need to think and plan for the eventuality that your kids will be held back by their age. Three year olds who can read and are physically superb have no easy place in this world. I hope that some mothers have an easier time than I have and that other countries are more flexible. But for all of my whinging I would NOT stop teaching them! What they gain is priceless compared to what they are not aloud to do.
I think Its time society recognized ability over age!
Have you ever considered homeschooling? There are many misconceptions about socialization in homeschooling that most parents don’t consider homeschooling because of them. Once I learned about early education from Doman and others I decided that yes you are right my son will always be held back or board if I send him to school. I have the control when he is home with me on what he is learning and that activity’s he is doing. Plus, when I am teaching at home about God I don’t want to be undone at school and it would be. I think you need to find another gym. I got lucky my son was only 15 months when he started mommy and me class and they ask they be 18 months. They let him try it out and couldn’t believe how well he listened and focused. We go to that class and a boys gymnastic class with 8 year old’s. He does what he can and I help (I also coached before), I coached at another gym and they go by skill so age should not hold them back. Bottom line find a new gym for gymnastics. Also with homeschooling we go to the YMCA everyday and he can swim and do all kinds of stuff in the water by himself. We go to the basketball court everyday also and I plan to continue this even when he is in school age because he will be home-schooled. The freedom is wonderful and you can teach your child on their learning level and learning style which schools don’t do. Also schools educating is more of an indoctrination than an education but that is for you to decide. Kids that are home-schooled are more sought out for by colleges because 1. they have higher GPA’s and SAT’s and 2. are more mature among other reasons. Just some thoughts and wanted to let you know there are solutions to what you are going through they just might mean taking some big steps. Hope my thoughts were of help.
I don’t mean to be rude, but have you considered homeschooling? Statistically, your very bright and ready children, if they are kept from a challenge, are less likely to complete college than their peers who are average. School will become a bore as they will not have to work. They will not learn to manage their time or learn to study. Eventually, the other kids will catch up, usually about the end of high school. Those kids will have learned valuable skills that your children will miss simply because they are ahead now and will be unchallenged. They will be overwhelmed in college. It is the danger of early education and naturally gifted children. You have to stick with it or it may not be the blessing you hoped it would be. It may end up being a curse. The most successful people in the world were not the bightest. It is those c’s and b’s kids who had to work to get where they wanted to be that statistically make it. Obviously, it is not true of all bright kids, but it remains generally true non-the-less.
Just a thought.
Sonya
I did seriously consider home schooling but decided it wasn’t for me on a long term basis. I havent ruled it out entirely but my reasons for deciding not to ATM are that firstly i don’t have my partners support, I think it would be a battle of wills between us. My first child would thrive being home schooled but would struggle with out constant friends her age she is a real social bug and talks constantly. My second child I couldn’t homeschool as she would be such a challenge! Oh my she is a challenge soooo like her father! My son I will be homeschooling this year due to a lack of choice. He will thrive in this environment. I will continue to teach him reading and then expand his general knowledge so it doesn’t effect his schooling too much. The girls do go to a lovely small Christian school which teaches great family values and all the kids are just lovely. I spend a affair amount of time in the classrooms ensuring my kids are stretched but found my oldest basically had this year off! They are enrolled in piano to challenge them as they are not held back by age! My oldest finally has a gym teacher who recognized her talent and last week skipped her a level but my middle has a different coach…and they claim insurance cover as their reasoning. It’s just soooo frustrating that it keeps happening. We are thinking perhaps horse riding and swimming are two things they could try that may not restrict them by age but all three swim well. Then this year before school ( they get up at 5 am every single day!) we will do math extention because I think the school will allow them to do math at their own level. I have already convinced some teachers to give extention spelling words and reading activities. After school I have decided this year to teach cooking, sewing and am thinking of investing in some gymnastic equipment to extend their skills there reguardless. other mums at school have told me it’s better for the smart kids when they reach high school! But I won’t wait that long. I agree all children need to be challenged or they will never learn to push themselves. I guess I now have to figure out how to teach them without allowing everyone else to hold them back. The best idea I have is teaching things not in the standard education system but that they can build on later in life
My DD has the same problem but at her daycare and also when we have attended mothers groups. My daughter was trying to do an activity labelled 3+ and a child but the daycare providers told her she wasn’t allowed to do it because she was too little. My daughter has the same activity at home and is quite good with it.
My dauDD learnt many required skills by 18 months and talks very clear with 95% understandable vocabulary, has a large vocabulary and speaks using 6-8 words sentences and she is 2. Her peers at daycare are older by just a tad few months. None of these children know how to say more than moo or baa, give milk, me tired go but my daughter was unable to attend preschool at 2 because they said she wasn’t ready although she has all the necessary skills and mature attitude to attend and my daughter misses out because she loves learning and is more than ready for preschool.
Children don’t start learning the alphabet and numbers until kindergarten (from 5 years) but my daughter already knows everything she should be learning at preschool except not a fluent reader though she is trying to read. I came to the conclusion that so long as my daughter is not misbehaving at school, I will be the one to teach her all the things restricted to her by age or for another reason, so she isn’t missing out or keep looking until I find a place more accepting. In France, early learning is not something you will ever really hear people talking about and not many people are kind to me about it.
If you can look around for another gym that might help even if it will cost you more in fees or travelling distance. Or at least talk about negotiating a trial to give your child a chance to prove capable?