Gifted Bulletin Board

Welcome to the Gifted Issues Discussion Forum.

We invite you to share your experiences and to post information about advocacy, research and other gifted education issues on this free public discussion forum.
CLICK HERE to Log In. Click here for the Board Rules.

Links


Learn about Davidson Academy Online - for profoundly gifted students living anywhere in the U.S. & Canada.

The Davidson Institute is a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted students through the following programs:

  • Fellows Scholarship
  • Young Scholars
  • Davidson Academy
  • THINK Summer Institute

  • Subscribe to the Davidson Institute's eNews-Update Newsletter >

    Free Gifted Resources & Guides >

    Who's Online Now
    0 members (), 239 guests, and 35 robots.
    Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
    Newest Members
    streble, DeliciousPizza, prominentdigitiz, parentologyco, Smartlady60
    11,413 Registered Users
    March
    S M T W T F S
    1 2
    3 4 5 6 7 8 9
    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
    31
    Previous Thread
    Next Thread
    Print Thread
    #99205 04/10/11 06:04 PM
    Joined: Feb 2010
    Posts: 80
    K
    Kvmum Offline OP
    Member
    OP Offline
    Member
    K
    Joined: Feb 2010
    Posts: 80
    Hi all,

    I haven't posted for a while, but have been lurking during that time and there seems to be a few people who have had similar experiences to us recently. To cut a very long story short, our HG+ dd5 skipped kinder and entered a 1/2 composite class. The skip was completely unsupported and she wasn't coping (social and work wise she was doing fine, but because they just didn't help her adjust to 'school life', she was a mess). Last week we moved her to a new school that has a dedicated differentiation program and overnight she was back to her normal self - however they only places available in K, so she has started there with a view to a skip down the track.

    However there are a few lessons I learned during this process that I thought might be useful to others and I thought maybe a thread on what has and hasn't worked for others would have been a wonderful resource when we were planning a skip... so here are my thoughts:

    1. If you are skipping kindergarten, ask the school to identify what they will do to help the child transition to school life (for example, what they should do at recess and lunch break, where everything they need is, how to use equipment etc).

    2. A school that is willing is not the same as a school that is knowledgable. DD's school was trying to do what they could - they just had no idea about gifted kids and didn't have access to the resources they needed (nor the time to use my endless supply of books on giftedness). If they aren't knowledgeable, make sure they're committed to getting informed.

    3. If you make plans with the school some time in advance of the skip starting, make sure that those same plans are on track closer to when the skip is due to occur - we signed up to a school with small class sizes and entered in to one with huge class sizes due to higher than expected enrolments (which no one mentioned had happened).

    4. Have a plan b (which we did fortunately).

    5. Know that a single skip for an HG+ kid will not necessarily be enough. Make sure the school knows that too. DD was finding all her work too easy despite the skip and despite working with the grade 2s, but the school felt that with the skip they had done enough and she should just get on with it.

    6. Try and find a school where you don't have to speak in code and give them pats for every little concession they make for your family. It puts the power balance out of whack - you end up too grateful for small things. At dd's new school, being gifted is just another need. Goodness knows how well things will work out long term (she's only been there three days), but it is such a relief not to have to beg and plead and talk about your kid in the context of all the other kids. She's just a kid (realise it's hard to find a school like this!)

    7. I'd really carefully consider whether to skip K - think about it in the context of your kid and what they enjoy. I thought dd would go mad in K, doing the letter of the day. As it turns out the continuation of the play based curriculum is just what she needs, despite reading at 4 grade level an doing 3rd grade maths at home (plus this school just lets her read and do maths at a higher level and it's normal for the school to do so - appreciate this is rare in itself). K wont be for every kid, and I didn't think it would be for mine, but it does take the pressure off learning how school works, and for an introverted kid, helps them adjust to being around a lot of people. Having said that, in a small straight grade one class with a knowledgeable teacher who was happy to differentiate, I think dd would have thrived.

    Any thoughts to add? (feel free to contradict mine)

    Joined: Feb 2009
    Posts: 604
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    Joined: Feb 2009
    Posts: 604
    I would agree with #1 completely - when DD started school she started in kinder and went to gr 1 for reading, then she went up for math as well, then mid year she moved up completely. But, because they were so used to seeing her in class, they forgot to let her in on those routines, which weren't routine to her and she ended up in a puddle by the end of her first day in gr 1.

    I would also add to talk to the teacher whose class your child is skipping into. While the school may be willing to try this out, the teacher may not be on board with the whole thing. This could ruin the whole thing.

    Joined: Dec 2010
    Posts: 17
    F
    Junior Member
    Offline
    Junior Member
    F
    Joined: Dec 2010
    Posts: 17
    I think I've gotten very lucky with the whole skip thing. We keep in close contact with her teacher and her gifted teacher. She was in Kindergarten until Dec when they moved her up. Testing took the longest, her teacher requested that she be tested in October and it took until Dec to get the report and the recommendation to skip her. Unfortunately, by Jan we were told by her gifted teacher that she had completed all the requirements for first grade as well. They don't want to move her but have allowed her to do subject acceleration. So she's currently doing 3rd grade reading, math and getting 3rd grade spelling words. Her teacher this year is fantastic.

    We have met some challenges, mostly due to how bored she is and the school does not want to skip her again. They worry about her age, her social skills and of all things her handwriting, which has gotten better, but she just turned 6 less than a month ago and she now writes better than most of the kids in her class. We worry about next year for her as we think we'll meet with resistance again from the teacher, she does have a GIEP, and I'm willing to fight.

    We have recently found out that she's getting substantially more work than the rest of the first graders (Something I really didn't want to happen, just them throwing more work at her), she's happy about it though, my theory is because anything is better than sitting there being bored.

    I will say though that there is a plan "B" we're attempting to get her into a charter school that is designed towards gifted children. It's very scary to think of moving her and sending her to a different school but we've heard nothing but good things about the school so we're looking into it.

    Joined: Jun 2009
    Posts: 367
    B
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    B
    Joined: Jun 2009
    Posts: 367
    I agree with original poster. We chose not to skip early on because we wanted DD to get familiar with all the unfamiliars about how school worked. We did half day though, so she wouldn't be bored out of her mind. We finally had her skipped this past year and it has been a fabulous, flawless transition! Knowing how the school works definitely was to our advantage. We waited until she completed 2nd gr. then skipped 3rd. As the OP mentioned, one skip is not always enough. DD is at the top of her class in the skipped grade still, and is receiving additional advancement within some classrooms, while being in the GT still. Right now, she is happy, though not challenged. For now, we remain put until the pace gets to her again. Just know that a skip is not a solve all. It is merely a stepping stone along the way on where your child needs to be. Be prepared to need to make additional arrangements in the future.



    Moderated by  M-Moderator, Mark D. 

    Link Copied to Clipboard
    Recent Posts
    Testing with accommodations
    by aeh - 03/27/24 01:58 PM
    Quotations that resonate with gifted people
    by indigo - 03/27/24 12:38 PM
    New, and you'd think I'd have a clue...
    by astronomama - 03/24/24 06:01 AM
    For those interested in astronomy, eclipses...
    by indigo - 03/23/24 06:11 PM
    Son 2e, wide discrepancy between CogAT-Terranova
    by astronomama - 03/23/24 07:21 AM
    Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5