Anyone have experience with Combined 1st & 2nd Grade ?

I have had two children go through the combined classes. Both are gifted children and did very well. Most of the teachers are open to talking with parents. Any concerns you may have, discuss them with the teachers.

My son is in a montessori school and also had a 1-3 classrroom. His birthady is in late June, and although he is academically gifted, he is emotionally immature compared to his other classmates. His teacher was often very frusterated with his behavior, a problem he never had in kindergarten or preeschool with children his own age. We almost removed him from the school as a result, even though for the first time he was actually being challenged in the classroom. I don't regret my decision to put him in Montessori school (it was actually recommended since he was so advanced academically, but not socially), but I would say that had his teacher not retired this year, I would have demanded a new teacher. So my advice to you would be to ask some current or past parents from the class about how she deals with the children's behavior. Mine had very high expectations, which even the principal agreed exceeded my son's maturity. In fact, he had a project due every week and homework every night. At times, his homework exceeded an hour and half, which I found ridiculous for a first grader.

I taught briefly in this type of class and noticed some distinct differences. I would not put a child with a summer birthday, or later, in such a class. Many adults and children assume a level of maturity that is inappropriate just because of the size of a child. Very sad! This class appeared to be an alternative for low achieving students from the previous year (as opposed to "holding them back") and some of these children have some impulse control problems. I saw a bigger boy be very angry with a clearly younger child because I was going to recognize the table that was ready first (younger child was doing fine). It is not unusual for these acting out children to not receive a diagnosis until later in the elementary years. Even one year in close proximity to such a child would make the school year difficult.

Thank you for your reply. For exactly the same reasons we finally chose to place my son in the combined class vs. the regular tract. And thanks to your input, we're feeling more comfortable about our decision because the reasons that you mentioned are the ones that teachers used as examples as why they think the combined track is a good one: mutual respect, help, and most importantly accountability. Let's hope it's as a good fit as it was for your son. Thanks again.