Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Elementary School So howis it going?

DD9 seems to be off to a good start in 5th grade, although we've had less than two weeks of school, so it's really too early to tell. The principal and all three teachers have assured me that she'll be challenged, but AFAICT they're still working on beginning-of-year assessments, and aren't doing any actual work yet. OTOH, no actual work = no complaints the work is boring.

Swimming every night seems to be helping with mood / sleep / time management. She's got team practice for an hour twice a week, stroke class for 45 minutes twice a week, and a leveled class for 30 minutes on Monday (which has historically been the day she's had the least energy left for sports).

I've heard no stories of sitting sullenly alone on the curb at recess (which does not mean it's not happening, but at least she's not complaining). The girl who sits next to her in homeroom appears to be becoming a close friend. Fifth graders do Safety Patrol, which is an opportunity to get to know other kids better in a one-on-one or small group environment, which DD finds easier than in the classroom or on the playground. Lunch is coming home mostly eaten.

DD had an appointment with an anxiety specialist last week; too soon to know if that's helping, but we all liked him. He had all sorts of cool toys in his office, and DD ordered a Ball of Whacks and a 2x2 speed cube over the weekend after playing with them during her session.

My kids start school today. Here is a general question. If you are trying to get some new accommodation made for your child (not something that has been previously agreed or is on an IEP, which MA does not have for gifted students), how long should you wait for the teacher and school to "settle in". In our case the request will be for subject acceleration in math. I am thinking of waiting perhaps two weeks. Before that, teachers and administrators have lots of logistical issues to deal with.

I actually found that the "welcome to my kid" email sent on the first day of school worked quite well. The teachers were aware of his needs, and it has helped make the transition easier than last year. If it were me, I'd send a hello, I know you're busy, but wanted to give you a head's up that you may notice ... It would lay the groundwork for the request for acceleration in another couple of weeks.

Good luck!

It would also depend on how old the child is, and what the acceleration will entail. the older the child and the more complicated the acceleration, the sooner to request it.

We are in the third week of school here, and they are doing MAP testing today and Friday for our son's grade, so if you request it too soon for a little one, the school won't have the data they need to make a decision.

Despite how well things are going, I am not impressed at the moment with our new gifted specialist, who bumped into me in the hallway this morning and requested a parent conference because of "concerns" and midway through the conversation, she admitted she hadn't even read his file. since this is only his second year in school, the file can only be so big.

thankfully, my partner bumped into last year's literacy teacher on her way to work (the teacher had a doctor's appointment scheduled and was therefore not at school today) and the teacher immediately offered to go speak to the gifted specialist first thing tomorrow to give her a better understanding of our kid.

the specialist has transferred from the surrounding suburb where the gifted program is mainly filled with highly motivated, high achievers who may or may not be gifted.

So, I'm going to throw this out, though it doesn't relate to where most of you are at it may provide future insight down the line to many of you.

DS 19 is in his third week as a Freshman in college, I know, doesn't seem relevant to most of you but yours will get there sooner than you think so it may be worth a read.

The vast majority of his general education requirements he completed in HS so he's full bore 1st semester into core classes for his major of Physics. He's not sure that's the track he'll continue on, his first inclination was Bio-Medical, however, the Physics Dept. offered him a considerable scholarship, he also was blessed to receive the President's scholarship. There are a lot of common starting core classes between the two majors, Physics I & II, Chem. I & II, Calc. I & II, and numerous others, so little lost if he majors in Physics for the first year or two and decides to switch to Bio-Medical.

Of course with all such blessings come some expectations, maintain a 3.0 for the Physics Scholarship, which should be completely doable, and a 3.5 for the President's scholarship which is much more demanding. The classes he says are actually a little easier than he expected them to be, however, as he well knows, it's not like you get a lot of chances at this and the stakes are pretty high. He knows school comes first.

It’s been over 3 decades since I’ve been on a college campus, I hadn’t stopped to consider before now the stress put on a first semester Freshman in college. A completely new environment, living with someone new, sharing a sleeping quarters with someone on a regular basis for the first time, being completely responsible for everything you do or don’t do, time management, eating different foods on their schedule instead of the one you’re accustomed to, away from the vast majority of the friends you’re accustomed to seeing regularly, the lure of a new tempting social environment, community bathroom facilities….it’s a lot to transition into. Then throw the perfectionism and sensitivity that often accompanies a GT student with the pressure of performance and you’ve got quite a test on your hands.

The good news is he seems to be making the transition okay, not without trial mind you but I’m proud of him. If there is anything he needs to adjust it’s the same thing as the vast majority of new college students, time management. He’s accustomed to getting into the gym about 5 times a week, that physical release is important to both his physical AND mental well being. He’s putting school first alright, so much so that by the time he’s done with assignments the gym at school is closed. He needs to trust himself to take a break late afternoon and train, release some endorphins and get rid of some stress, then have at it again.

He says the honors course he's taking is really interesting, most of the honors courses are largely discussion based and he says it's opening his mind up to new thought patterns which he's excited about. It's really nice to see him excited about learning again after having often been bored through much of MS and HS.

I sent that email the first week of school, because that's when the opportunity arose. I'd emailed all the teachers to let them know that DD would be out of class for an appointment to deal with anxiety issues, and one of the teachers emailed me back to say she'd noticed a specific incident had made DD worry. I knew (from a prior conversation with DD that had made zero sense to me at the time, but perfect sense in light of the teacher's comment) that the underlying issue there wasn't anxiety, but "DD's brain works really differently sometimes."

So I emailed all the teachers to explain what the "brain works differently" issue was, because it's something that can really interfere with DD's ability to demonstrate what she knows. And added in that she was way ahead in math (as demonstrated by testing on the end-of-current-grade test) and was really excited that all of the teachers had expressed commitment to challenging all the kids.

Too soon to know what will come of it, in large part because the settling in hasn't finished. But it at least gives them a heads-up that she's ahead and that we expect them to live up to their statements.

Thanks, Bostonian, for your question (and the responses).

My ds is in his 4th week of Kindy. He just turned 6 (ugh, just missed the cut-off) so he's ahead AND older. He's fitting in well socially (he probably errs on the young side) but super bored. I have waited to talk to his teacher because of the beginning of the year + a near teacher's strike. I believe he will also be ahead for first grade as he is reading maybe 3rd grade (guessing) and doing multiplication/division. They are taking Aimsweb (?) testing this week. Do you think next week is the right time to discuss this? Should I start with the teacher no matter that I don't think she's seen ds' abilities? Help.

Just a thought because my first kid's in pre-k so it's just a thought. Wouldn't you want to tell the teacher before the testing in case they want to do out of level testing?

Old dad, I was in a somewhat similar situation at my UC, I had a regent's scholarship that came with perks like early registration but a very high gpa requirement too. So I was the only freshman in what were supposed to be lower level survey classes that ended up being full of upperclassman finally able/willing to take them... Scary crash course the first term but it really helped me take off with college work and take full advantage of my time there. I worked HARD but also began dating my now husband so it couldn't have been too bad it sounds like your son is doing really well! Let him know you're supporting him but I bet he thrives. And make sure he takes some real breaks when he can

Not sure if you're referencing me or not...but that is a good point. I have no idea how the testing works here (the only way I even knew it was going to be done was b/c I got an email from the PTO requesting help getting the kids back and forth to the testing in the library). I hate feeling in the dark - and ds' teacher is not incredibly approachable.