Hi, Kristin. Mind a suggestion from another mom? Consider alternatives before advancing him a grade. Mature or not, if you do he'll be a whole year younger than the rest of the class, and that will make him less desirable as a playmate, teammate, etc. -- he'll also be a year younger than his yearmate girls when he gets interested in them later. Even though he may be bright and mature, that physical difference can hurt him socially. Also, how long will it take him to learn the stuff in the year he missed and then be bored again? School, by its very nature, is not designed to challenge bright kids. A gifted teacher can alleviate some of the boredom but how many years will he have a truly gifted teacher? Alternatives: 1. Look at the private schools in town. Are any of them set up to cope with beyond-age-group bright kids and keep them challenged? 2. Look into Montessori. Their multi-age classroom setup provides a nice way to allow brighter kids to be challenged without removing them out of their age milieu. 3. Consider homeschooling. I put this last not because I consider it the least desirable alternative -- I've been homeschooling for 4-1/2 years now -- but because there is often a knee-jerk reaction of "Oh, I couldn't do that, I'm not patient/bright/gifted/rich enough." Both of my kids are very bright and I didn't want them to face the mind-numbing school boredom that their father and I went through. I've found computer programs and books that interest them, and vary their assignments to keep them challenged. My 8-year-old son is currently working on double-digit integer math (with negative numbers) and my 11-year-old daughter writes a subject report every other week (taking notes on at least two books and integrating the material into a report). There are TONS of resources out there to help you, and the mother/child bond ensures the mother is able to recognize whether any particular crisis needs "Of course you can do it, look at all the stuff you've learned that you thought you couldn't" or "You get in there and do it NOW!" <g> It requires a commitment from both parents to live on one income, but it can be done -- I'm dragging through grad school slowly because if I went full time, I wouldn't be able to HS the kids -- and we don't get a second chance to raise them. Sylvia Steiger RN SFNP BS, Cheyenne Wyoming USA http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/SylviaRN/