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    Joined: Feb 2009
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    It seems like a lot of parents here have children who "need" additional challenging material. They actually seem to "ask" to do work. I know with this being a Gifted Forum most children are capable of doing work in some if not all areas above their grade level or even several grades up.

    My DD7 spends 1/2 day in 1st and 1/2 day in 2nd (bumped up for Language Arts/Reading). We knew she was a really quick learner and was reading/spelling way above grade level. When we had her tested, her testing confirmed she was HG so we got the school to accelerate her for 1/2 day starting in February. Even in her 1st grader room, the teacher instructs her using a 2nd grade math book so she doesn't do the math with the class, but rather by herself in the 2nd grade book. At first she really loved it and the 2nd teacher worked hard to accomodate her even above the 2nd grade level.

    Recently though DD has started to say that she doesn't like it as she doesn't get to play like the kids do in 1st grade. In 1st grade they have "centers" with puzzles, games, etc. and basically for her this meant tons of free time to do whatever her heart desired. Read into this no education taking place. In 2nd grade the teacher keeps all the kids busy, not with busy work but really works hard to have individualized learning for each child at their level. Read into this, daughter is learning a lot. My DD said she may be capable of doing 2nd or 3rd grade work, but she is only a 1st grader age-wise and should get to play as much as 1st graders do. Sometimes she mentions she doesn't like splitting her time between 2 rooms.

    We are really considering petioning the school for a full grade skip next year moving her right into 3rd. I don't know if the school will buy into it or not. My DD when asked what she thinks, likes the idea. She is doing great in her 2nd grade subjects and is in the highest group of 2nd graders even. Do I need to be concerned with her lack of ability to want to "work" in school? Will this pass if she is in a 3rd grade environment all day and doesn't know what the other kids are doing in a lower grade? Do any other gifted kids really lack the drive to want to work all day and would rather have free time/play time? I'm afraid if she doesn't get used to working in school now, it will be difficult when subjects come that really requiring some working on her part. Plus I don't like her spending all day in school not learning anything new academically if I don't grade skip her.

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    I don't think the problem is that she doesn't want to be challenged. The problem is that she wants to play as much as the other kids. She probably finds it unfair that the rest of the class gets to do what she considers playing and she has to do something else. Would it be possible to ask the 1st grade teacher to let her to participate in the centers and give her 2nd grade math only if the rest of the class does a seat work?

    As for the grade skip she would probably be more than fine.


    LMom
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    Thanks LMom. Actually the centers take place when she is in the 2nd grade room so she doesn't even see them, she just knows they are going on. When she is doing 2nd grade math the other kids are having instruction in 1st grade math. I know she just wants to play, but am wondering is there a maturity that is not there yet that would make the grade skip difficult. Academically she is ready, she plays well with the older kids, they like her, size wise she is big for her age, social maurity is there, but this desire for free time to play is concerning that I may be "cheating" her out of something.

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    We went through the same thing a few months ago. DD6 was splitting her day between kindergarten and 1st grade, and at first loved it. But then, got more and more frustrated for the same reasons you mentioned - the kindergarteners were getting to play and she wasn't. She also was starting to notice that she didn't really feel like she belonged in either room anymore. We ended up moving her full time into 1st grade mid March. (She too is doing 2nd grade work in 1st grade, and could be doing more). When we asked her about the idea of moving up she loved the idea, because then she would be doing the same as everyone in a room again.
    It has worked out really well and she will be going up to 2nd grade next year, with another possible mid year skip if we need it.
    I have had lots of thoughts of whether or not I'm "cheating" her out of things from kinder, but she is so much happier now in 1st than when she was splitting that I've finally accepted that she really wasn't being cheated out of anything.

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    Thanks Kerry, what you said made a lot of sense. I did talk with her in more detail today after school and learned that some of the things that make her not like splitting up the day is the lack transferring back and forth. Sometimes the 2nd grade teacher forgets to send her back and then my DD misses lunch with her class so she needs to take her lunch tray and have lunch in her classroom or worse yet at recess. It is this splitting up the day that I don't like for her and I can see now that she doesn't like either. I really hope the school will hop on the bandwagon for full grade acceleration next school year. My DD is a back and forth on whether she would like to be in the 2nd grade for the whole day now or not. She does want to go to 3rd next year. Its rather perplexing.

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    Originally Posted by DorothyS
    Do any other gifted kids really lack the drive to want to work all day and would rather have free time/play time?
    I sympathize with your predicament and this has been one of the issues that has made me seriously think about homeschooling. Unstructured free/play time is essential to my daughters. That's why it's so important to me that, when they are given structured school work, it's appropriately challenging. Otherwise it becomes the worst of both worlds where children are overworked but under-challenged.




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    Originally Posted by inky
    Originally Posted by DorothyS
    Do any other gifted kids really lack the drive to want to work all day and would rather have free time/play time?
    I sympathize with your predicament and this has been one of the issues that has made me seriously think about homeschooling. Unstructured free/play time is essential to my daughters. That's why it's so important to me that, when they are given structured school work, it's appropriately challenging. Otherwise it becomes the worst of both worlds where children are overworked but under-challenged.

    This is exactly why homeschooling is working so well for us. DS8 was not open to afterschooling. But did not learn anything last year in school. Both my kids need and crave a lot of unstructured time.

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    There are times when my DS6 wants no challenge at all. Notes come home saying he had a bad day etc. He participates in 4 different grades and somtimes he just flat doesn't want to...

    Even kids with Uber brains need time to do nothing, occasionally their timing just isn't great!


    Shari
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    Ability doesn't make us, Choices do!
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    I came across this article "The Serious Need for Play" and thought the last sentence put it nicely:

    �Play has to be reframed and seen not as an oppo�site to work but rather as a complement,� he says. �Curiosity, imagination and creativity are like muscles: if you don�t use them, you lose them.�

    http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-serious-need-for-play&offset=4

    Unfortunately, when we ask for more challenging work for gifted children, it is often interpreted as asking for MORE work. This makes the play deficit even worse. cry

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    I so agree! It's one of the problems I had with afterschool homework. You've had him for 7 hours! Let him play for at least a couple of hours, will you? Sheesh!


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