Smart 5 Year Old

I worry about the same thing. My husband and I are from countries that start kindergarten at age three or four, depending on the area and the child's abilities. Our 14-month-old already knows some letters and numbers. There's no way we're waiting until she's 5 to teach her to read and write, but here, school doesn't start until 5.

Our only option seems to be homeschooling since we can't afford private school and are ethically against it anyway.

Luckily, homeschooling isn't about social isolation. There are associations and groups so your child can meet up with other homeschooled kids. I recently signed up for a group here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LVLifelearners/ that has homeschoolers who can give lots more advice.

You can also do a Google search in your area to find homeschool associations. They tend to fall into two groups from my preliminary research: people who do it for religious reasons and people who do it because they don't trust the schools. Both groups seem to get along despite political differences.

not exactly sure how to accomplish this but many schools offer preschool classes for children with learning disabilities. they usually have kids tat are about 3-5. they also like to have one normal child that can go to the same class for an example to the other children .i would start by contacting head start found in phone book under schools if not contact each scool individually found out who has those classes and talk to that teacher on how to get your child involved...hope it helps,and it is not so much the child being smart enough for kindergarten but emotionally

If you can't afford preschool/daycares, you may want to check out the rec centers. I know that the City of Henderson has some great preschool programs, as well as dance, art, music, sports, ect. If you aren't close to Henderson rec centers, I would bet that Las Vegas or North Las Vegas has similar centers. Call the City's Parks and Rec Departments to find out more. Good luck.

the school told my mother that there was no way my sister could go to school because of her birthday but she went to the office and had a meeting with the principal and basicly yelled at him until they gave my sister an assesment test. But it is already months into the school year so I don't think they will let you do that. The Community colleges have preschool but the waiting lists are very long. Maybe if you think he just needs some time outside the home to interact with other kids you could hire a teenager to take him to the park in the afternoon. Or I know that the North Las Vegas Rec Center I used to go to had a preschool program. Maybe the rec center near you has one. ~V

I would ask the school district how you could go about having a psychological test done on your son. Just because he does not meet the age for school he could be ready socially.

I had one done on my son (here in Las Vegas) and he was allowed to attend school earlier. However, that was a long time ago. Maybe they do not do that anymore.

It is worth a try..