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Joined: Aug 2008
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In the end, our 'likes plenty of time to do nothing' kid got a gradeskip because he 'just didn't think it was fair' to do one drop of work more than the other kids were doing. This has been bouncing around in our heads for the last year. He already got an early admission, skipping K and starting out in 1st at age 4. So now he's 2yrs younger on average than his classmates (esp. the boys). Another gradeskip is as scary to me as it would probably be to him.
Being offended is a natural consequence of leaving the house. - Fran Lebowitz
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This is the same kid who can spend a 60 minute car ride telling about how all the horcruxes(?) come together in the last HP book with excruciating detail. But ask him to put it in writing and you get: a topic sentence, three or four body sentences and a closing sentence. With nary an adjective or adverb in sight. Dandy - I have some good news! You son is way ahead of what mine was able to do with writing at that age. Until your son is keyboarding at 90 wpm (maybe around age 9 if you start now) you aren't going to see that level of detail on paper. Think about if you had to post these messages on a text message keypad. Try that for a few times, and then see if your brain doesn't start 'simplifying.' Just keep your son talking his papers, to a video camera or scribing and letting him edit, so that you can get him over this small -temporary-asynchrony. Really - at age 13, my son is putting together a project on his computer that is 63 pages long. You still get to be concerned that he isn't learning how to learn, but not in this one particular area, ok? Smiles, Grinity
Last edited by Grinity; 08/21/09 12:44 PM.
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Sounds like what might be helpful here is some unschooling, ie "child-led" activities.
Are there some projects your dc would be inclined to do based on their interests that might also incorporate some traditional subject matter? That way, it is not "more school work" but they would be still learning... We are try to be very responsive to any projects he wants to undertake for pleasure. This last year we did a variety of science experiments as well as plenty of bug & critter hunting expeditions. But I guess I'm just not crafty enough, because the moment he smells a "teachable moment" coming at him, he's done. Our whole family is addicted to the Steve Spangler Science stuff, and have even found some local (& cheaper) sources for many of the items. And while he definitely enjoys the time we spend together (generally), it is still not enough to off-set the "No work & all play" environment at school. I keep circling back around to that.
Being offended is a natural consequence of leaving the house. - Fran Lebowitz
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Grade skip, grade skip, grade skip...
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Until your son is keyboarding at 90 wpm (maybe around age 9 if you start now) you aren't going to see that level of detail on paper. Think about if you had to post these messages on a text message keypad. Try that for a few times, and then see if your brain doesn't start 'simplifying.' Honestly, I've forgotten about this aspect. There's definitely a severe bottle-neck at the tip of his pencil, and he is very adept at the on-the-fly "simplifying." One of the district counselors mentioned keyboarding as an option for writing assignments -- I suppose I need to pursue this. Think about if you had to post these messages on a text message keypad. What do you mean?? All I've ever used for posting here is my little cell phone. Ha!  JK. ROTFL. G2G now or I'm going to have my very own "teachable moment" if our staff doesn't get their paychecks soon. TTFN
Being offended is a natural consequence of leaving the house. - Fran Lebowitz
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Grade skip, grade skip, grade skip... Opps - missed that part! Maybe one more will do the trick? loved the idea of the pencil-tip bottleneck - you have a way with words. ((shrugs)) Is moving to Reno NV in the cards? Best Wishes, Grinity (and BTW, I know Dottie's son, and he's thriving on his radical acceleration path)
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Anyway, I recently spoke with one of the Resource Teachers at DS's school and seemed to make some headway. First, I explained what I wrote above that I've heard from all the parents I know of gifties who exhibit their GTness at a young age. Then I told her that DS thinks that: 1) school will always be easy, and 2) he's always going to be the smartest kid in any room. I told her I know that a lot of smart kids don't show their gifts early -- that in 3rd or 4th grade there will be people at a similar level to DS (she really responded to that). I also told her that DS has started saying, "I can't do that" when presented with things that he's not certain he knows -- although when pressed, he can not only do that thing but additional similar ones that are more difficult (so ability is there, but not confidence).
I said, "DS is an academic early peaker," and she said that was a very good way to put it, and that she could see kids like that as a group that could likely benefit from the Resources Teachers' help. Wow Mom to 2gs - very delicately put. Sounds like you've made an ally! Thanks for showing us that it can be done, and how to do it! I pray that the resources start rolling your son's way. Sadly, my experience is that no matter how you word it, and no matter how receptive they seem, one just isn't going to get differentiation that is 'enough' if the child is more than 3 grade levels beyond the group they are with. Some kids have a lot of inner resources, so they aren't as picky about it, but I really do believe that even the stoutest-heart kid will reach their limit if left to rot too long. Best Wishes, Grinity
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I remember how petrified I was when we made a last-minute decision to put him in 1st grade @ 4yo, skipping K in the process. It gave me the same feeling as looking over the railing of a balcony from 30 stories up. (Reading A Nation Deceived helped immensely with the decision-making.)
I was a nervous wreck all day until I picked him up after school & learned that he was just fine.
After that experience, I've not been too keen on the idea of another skip.
A couple months back, his principal was reasonably certain they'd have a 4/5 split again this year... which would have been ideal. He would have been doing much of the 5th grade (math, language, reading) but in with his friends for everything else.
So while the notion of skipping him to 5th still gives me the willies, I suppose it sounds more reasonable to me than homeschooling.
The whole conversation may change after he is formally tested next week... we'll see. (But not soon enough!)
Last edited by Dandy; 08/22/09 10:52 AM. Reason: Corrected some word-salad
Being offended is a natural consequence of leaving the house. - Fran Lebowitz
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Sounds like what might be helpful here is some unschooling, ie "child-led" activities. Are there some projects your dc would be inclined to do based on their interests that might also incorporate some traditional subject matter? That way, it is not "more school work" but they would be still learning... We're really hesitant about these options, as he has a keen sense of "time for this & time for that" and doesn't like it when the "extra" school work infringes on "his" time. This is why I am so adamant about finessing a solution within the school day. I want him to have all that tree-climbing & bike-riding time -- you know, be a kid, too.
It would really suck to spend a full day behaving & getting work done in school... just to come home and be greeted with MORE work at home. We have the same thought regarding this. There's just no way that DS is going to have any desire to do more work after school. I can only imagine - DS hates to do homework that's required by the teacher, he's certainly not going to look forward to anything additional, especially if it's imposed by me. I can hear it now "But MOOOOOOM! I already spent all day in school and you want me to do more work. It's NOT FAIR!!!", and so on until I begin plucking the hairs out of my head one by one, because that's nowhere near as painful as doing additional homework.... We used to do a lot of things like that - I'm a big believer in learning through play and following where his interests lead. I think Dandy's dc and mine are very similar - if DS feels like he's learning something, it's all over. Of course, if I take the sneaky approach, he'll usually fall in...ie. if I start watching something interesting on The Science Channel and he's nearby, he'll usually meander in, but the key is for me not to say "Hey, check this out!". Or, if I get the telescope out, he'll want to get involved. However, if I say "let's get the telescope out and see what we can find", he's turned off instantly. His lack of interest in learning is, I believe, a result of being bored to tears in classrooms yet required to be there. I'm not even sure I can call it a lack of interest in learning, perhaps it's more the teaching aspect of it. More times than not, he's expressed that he doesn't like having to sit and listen to the teacher go over something when he's got it after the first lesson/instruction. Truthfully, that would drive me bananas, too.
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I hear you JDAx3! I love these gifted analogies from http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/analogies.htmI even added one myself. Not this one though: Feeding an Elephant
Highly gifted children learn not only faster than others, but also differently. Standard teaching methods take complex subjects and break them into small, simple bits presented one at a time. Highly gifted minds can consume large amounts of information in a single gulp, and they thrive on complexity. Giving these children simple bits of information is like feeding an elephant one blade of grass at a time - he will starve before he even realizes that anyone is trying to feed him.
[Excerpt from Helping Your Highly Gifted Child by Stephanie S. Tolan, ERIC EC Digest #E477, 1990]
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