Best to live abroad in 5th grade or 6th grade?
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Anonymous
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My family has the opportunity to live abroad for one school year and it’ll either be my kid’s 5th or 6th grade year. From an academic and social perspective, is it easiest to be abroad in 5th grade (missing the last year of elementary in dcps) or 6th grade, missing the first year of middle (either dcps or maybe private).
While we are abroad, my kid will be in an international school. She’s excited about the idea of spending a year abroad. We did this once before when she was in kindergarten and even though she was young, she has fond memories and feels good about another international adventure. She doesn’t have strong opinions right now about missing 5th versus 6th. Any thoughts on whether it’s best to miss the last year of elementary or the first of middle from an academic and social perspective? |
Anonymous
| How old is your child now? In dcps, do all/most current 5th grader at elementary school kids go to the same middle school at 6th grade? |
Anonymous
| 5th is the better year. Then your kid can start middle school with the cohort. Starting in 7th grade when the other kids have had 6th grade to settle in and make friends groups can be rough (we moved back from overseas when my kid was in 7th and middle school as a new kid is rough in general.) |
Anonymous
This. Plus 5th graders might be nicer to a new kid than 6th graders. |
Anonymous
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This is a really hard choice and so hard to know based on your kids personality and her friend group. My personal opinion, having two girls and a boy, is the grades 5-7 are the absolute worst for girls in terms of friend groups and mental health. There is a weird tribal thing that happens where girls circle up into small groups that then ossify (for a period) and it can be hard to break in. It’s like a weird game of musical chairs and you can end up with no chairs. For my older daughter this happened in 6th grade. I thought my younger daughter had survived it but then it happened in 7th grade.
I guess if you’re gojng into a school where lots of kids are new (private school with a big entry year) maybe it wouldn’t be so awful. I think I would say 5th grade, especially if she doesn’t go to a school that does a lot of special graduating class 5th grade stuff that she’d be sad to miss and if she is gojng into a MS where people will basically be making new friends. I think I have a little PtSD from getting two girls thru middle school. |
Anonymous
| Keep in mind that other countries don’t split up kids into 3 school ages like here. |
Anonymous
| I would go during their 6th grade year. Let them have their last year of elementary school here in the states. Move when there are big changes in 6th grade and keep them a kid a little longer. The drama that occurs from end of 5th to 7th grade is bad. Great time to be away. |
Anonymous
Agree that she should start 6th when everyone is new to the school, so she should go abroad for 5th. |
Anonymous
I'm in another country teaching at an international school. Our school absolutely DOES split kids into 3 school ages: IB PYP, IB MYP, and IB DP. Other overseas international schools where I have taught were American curriculum and also followed the US education model. OP, this will be a great experience for your daughter. |
Anonymous
| 5th grade. Then your daughter can return for middle school when new friend groups are forming and be fine. |
Anonymous
This |
Anonymous
| It seems like some people are chiming in from areas where middle school starts in 6th (e.g. Loudoun) and other where it starts in 7th (e.g. Fairfax). Which is it for you OP? I would time your plans accordingly. It seems better to time your year so that you daughter can start middle school when you return, whether that means spending the year abroad in 5th grade to then start middle school in 6th, or spending the year abroad in 6th grade to then return and start middle school in 7th. |
Anonymous
This. It was really hard for my kid to enter a MS in 7th and make friends. In 6th, at our school anyway -- a 6 - 12 -- all kids were new together and bonded quickly from what I've learned. My kid entering in 7th struggled to fit into any of the groups. She transferred for high school and it was a much, much better experience entering when all kids were new -- even though many knew each other from other MS they were still more open to all the "new-to-them" kids |
Anonymous
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Will you be moving back to the same area? We are local and middle school starts in 7th.
Every place splits up grades differently and your kids will change as they grow. Move when is best for you. 5th or 6th won’t be a huge difference either way, they are both young ages. |
Anonymous
| Are you fleeing the U.S. because of trump ? |