Being smart isn't all that it takes. Maybe this will help a little!
Step 1
Make sure you are ready. Most schools will not even consider skipping you up unless they can see you are going to succeed. If you've been promoted early, you already have friends of different ages. Make more.
Step 2
Grow up. If part of your behaviour has included speech or actions shouting "Look how smart I am!" cut it out now. Nobody likes this kind of person, especially if they are the youngest, newest kid in class. Don't pretend to be stupid, but don't imagine anyone else is stupid either.
Step 3
Don't lose touch. Maintain connections with your friends in your former class. You can easily do this outside of school or in a sports or club atmosphere. Your friends in your previous class will really like having an upper grade friend, so don't ignore them, do things with them after school, talk with them at recess and lunch, and introduce them to your new friends. Your social skills need to come up to speed with the grade you are at now, so act more mature, and you will be treated with the respect you deserve.
Step 4
Keep up the good work. You have probably already been doing above grade level work, and if you have been in a Talented and Gifted (TAG) program, you have had to do the harder work and the work you had to do in your regular class! It is quite possible you will be doing the interesting work you did in TAG without the back-level work.
Step 5
Don't forget why you are here. Please remember, you were put in a higher grade not because you are smarter than anyone else, but because your parents and teachers want you to be with your intellectual and emotional peers. Peers means they are like you, not better or worse, you are not better than anyone because you were promoted, you are just as good as you were, but now you will be more challenged.
Step 6
Ask for help if you need it! This will take a lot of effort on your part, and do not be afraid to ask for help from your teachers, counselors, pastor, family and friends. Ask for more time to do homework, a better place to do it, maybe even a new computer!
Step 7
Increase your self confidence. Since you will likely be the youngest kid in the class, think about taking a self defense class, not because you will need to defend yourself, but self defense classes teach a child how to respect themselves and others by being confident with their abilities.
Step 8
Do not be afraid to be wrong, we really learn more from our failures than we do from our successes. Thomas Edison tried over 2000 different ways to make a light bulb before he got one that worked, he said he was learning from all those previous attempts, not to mention he then knew over 1999 ways not to make a light bulb!
Step 9
Know that you aren't the genius it seemed like you were in an easier class. You will be facing more difficult challenges now. Make sure that you're not acting like a know-it-all. People will respect you if you're smart, but they'll get annoyed with you if you're always the teacher's pet.
Tips
- Coming into a class as a skipped-year student sets expectations for you with both your classmates and your teacher. Sometimes this means you can coast for a while. More often, it means your work, behaviour, and attitude will be scrutinized. Work hard, but don't work too hard.
- Don't be the first person to put up your hand every time the teacher asks a question.
Warnings
- You may initially have trouble adjusting, but don't ever give up.
- Don't give up being your age, and don't stop doing things that make you happy because your new classmates don't think its cool. Share your age appropriate pastimes with your younger friends, and explore the opportunities to do new activities with a little caution.
