Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Music elementary schools.

One of the schools in my plan is the Special Music School, as a hedge. It has great academics and accelerated math. When I googled, some other schools were brought up.

I do not know what options there are, but any specialized elementary schools that have the music focus are great for gifted kids.

Music surely can't hurt. DS started playing a toy guitar that someone gave him for his 5th birthday, iirc. At 8 he was playing in a band with adults; still is. Not very normal, I'll grant that, but he needs an outlet for that ability.

Chess is also a great workout for the cranium. DS started playing chess at age 3. DH and I have been running the Chess Club at his school going on 6 years now. We also ran a Lego Engineering Club and are looking into starting an Odyssey of the Mind team for our school.

Our school is okay for GF [Gifted Friendly] as okay as you can get in NYS. Unless you go to a Magnet School [which can have its own set of issues]. Be prepared to roll up your sleeves and do some legwork for the TAG kids. Unless, of course, you live in a fully funded and mandated state. I sure don't! So, we volunteer and fundraise and go to all the appropriate meetings where we gently poke at the District to consider doing more; or letting us do more. ;-)

I've come to the conclusion that my kid is going to be okay no matter what. Could the schools do more? Always. Would it be nice if they did more? You bet! No one can take the talent and ability away from your child. Have faith in yourself as a parent and know that the kid is hardwired for Giftedness. It's not something they strive for. It's something they OWN. It will shine through in the most unexpected places. When it does, don't forget to smile and relish the moment[s]. You can scratch and claw and fight for services and programs but don't let that become your identity. Enjoy the journey. It's fun ride!

Best,
RCM :-)

Thanks RCM. And I think I am beginning to think that we, as parents, can take away their abilities, or at least diminish them with dysfunctionality.

There is a saying among doctors "not all psychiatrists are crazy but all children of psychiatrists are crazy". And I think that it is easy for parents of gifted kids not to have faith but be crazy about getting for our kids, that they might not learn to get for themselves.

I watched Vitus, the movie someone recommended on this site, and the mother had a breakdown when he scored MG after an accident. It really makes you think about the expectations you develop about your child. I envy your attitude.

Ren

RPM9 - can you comment on your set up the chess club and Lego Engineering club? I'm in the process of trying to set these up at my son's grade 2-5 school - well, unless I decide to HS him this fall.

Chess is pretty straightforward. We got the PTO to fund 30 chess sets. We started meeting in the early evening; once a week for 8 weeks right after the holidays [Jan-mid March]. It's a good chunk of time where the kids aren't loaded with assorted sports practices. Like I said, we started doing an 8 week course but now it's up to 10 weeks due to the requests of students and parents. The kids play chess for a couple of hours and we serve coffee and refreshments. Last year a parent donated delivered pizza! Parents are required to stay - it's NOT a drop-off service. Parents who are not chess players bring other games to play. It's a real nice social game night at a time of year when kids would be otherwise holed up watching TV or playing video games. Our top chess players are VERY serious about achieving their ranking and maintaining it. Many kids are just learning so they get a lot of coaching from DH. DH coded a computer program to keep track of scores and rankings on a laptop.

It might sound funny but the younger kids go nutz for our star system. Each child gets an index card with their name and if they're a fresh beginner they start out with a green star. They then look for other kids with cards with green stars. Once they win a few games as a green they can go and challenge a kid with a red star. If they win, they are awarded red star status and so on and so on; sort of like karate belts. It keeps the players within a good range so they don't get discouraged by losing most of the time. Once kids get up in the silver and gold range then they start being concerned about their rankings. It's a dirt cheap system but the kids LOVE those cards. Many ask to take their cards, somewhat beat up by the end of 10 weeks, home to keep. LOL Sure, why not!

Lego Engineering required far more planning. It's NOT Lego Robotics [don't get me started]. It was supposed to be for mainly the TAG or SNAP kids in our school. The District funded Educational Legos with lots of gears, hubs, wheels and motors. We ran it for 8 weeks. Builds became increasingly more difficult as we went on. Each build introduced a new principle of physics. Early builds were string gondolas and balloon powered vehicles. Later builds were trebuchets and a ground driven [functional] carpet sweepers. The builds were competitive with design tests and trials.

Lego Engineering came out of listening to Administration moaning at TAG Meetings about the scores for Physics in High School. We pointed out that music scores tend to remain good all through school. We added that music is introduced at very early grades yet physics is not. We maintained that there was no reason not to introduce physics [and basic math related applications] in Elementary School. They agreed to give it a shot and we ran with it.

It's important to have a VERY good relationship with Admin. They have learned that we're not just at their door complaining and poking and prodding them to do more we are also in the trenches DOING the MORE. They just need to sanction it. Admin's biggest roadblock is funding and volunteers. We have a great PTO with a healthy bank account and we're willing and able volunteers. Win, win.

Trust me, my attitude grew over time.

When DS was flagged, tested and 'diagnosed' as gifted I felt like OMG, I have to DO something NOW - lest this delicate thing born today shrivel up and go away. LOL In a way I was resentful of the parents of 'regular kids' who didn't have this huge responsibility thrust upon them. It took time to realize that 'hey, kiddo was talented loooong before the school system came along'. That ability just didn't have a label yet and it wasn't going to go away so I could allow myself to start to breathe normally again.

I'm hoping along with 2 others, to start a parent org of gifted kids in our district to tap into parent resources to do a chess club and LEGO club. I enjoy doing physics w/ LEGOs at home, but I don't have the expertise to do it on a large scale. i use the LEGO Motorized simple machines kit and Science and Technology kit. I coached a LEGO Junior First LEGO League team last year.

I'm curious about your comment "It's NOT Lego Robotics [don't get me started]" comment.

I was going to fund a LEGO club myself but w/ a baby, I never got it off the ground. The Principal didn't seem to gun ho. A friend and I have toyed with the idea of doing it in the community - starting a Kids Science Museum ... that idea I'm still toying with.

Well, I don't think the ability goes away but I do think it can go dormant. I've seen that in my kiddo already ... that spark is no where nearly as bright as it used to be.

I agree with Dazey. I think there's a delicate balance between obsessing unnecessarily and doing nothing when something is necessary. If I had left DS7 in the classroom he was in last year, his spark would have died. I don't just think that, I *know* it. I'm 100% certain of it. He was miserable and acting out in utterly uncharacteristic ways, and it was a very, very bad situation for his sense of self and his behavior. Immediate action was required. Frankly, I count myself lucky that the situation was so clear-cut. I don't second-guess myself much about it. Others in more borderline situations have a much tougher row to hoe as they try to figure out what to do. I feel for them.



This may be true of your child, RPM9, but I KNOW it's not true for all GT kids in all situations, and the sentiment is a bit troubling to me. It sure wasn't true of my child last year, and to my taste, it's too close to the "GT kids are going to succeed no matter what" line that schools often buy into, wrongly. GT kids have frighteningly high dropout and suicide rates. Underachievement and social isolation are common. Big problems are lurking out there for far too many GT kids, I'm afraid.

That means that sometimes the parents of GT kids really *do* have to "DO something NOW." Or else.

GT kids are still kids. And all kids--GT or not--can get into situations that are bad for them, sometimes through no fault of their own. That's why they have parents to help them. Every kid is different and not every kid needs immediate intervention, but I think it's important not to treat those of us who saw problems and intervened as "helicopter parents." It seems to me that we get enough of those unfair stereotypes from outside the GT community!

I'm sure that wasn't your intention, RPM9, but I worry about anything that seems to discourage people from taking problems seriously. Sometimes problems *are* serious. Talent and ability are nice, but they don't guarantee a sane, well-balanced, fulfilling and/or productive life. To get to those, nurture and meeting a child's needs are necessary.

>"This may be true of your child, RPM9, but I KNOW it's not true for all GT kids in all situations, and the sentiment is a bit troubling to me."<

Why should my experience with my child trouble you? We're quite fine, I can assure you. Thanks for your concern. DS10 can cope with a wide range of situations. [Life Skills 101]

I won't address the rest of your rant as you seem to have raw nerves dangling in the wind. Good luck.