Hi everyone! I'm new here. I grew up in gifted programs and they were my only sanity in school. I generally hated the monotony of schoolwork, felt extremely out of place with my peers, and suffered from severe ADHD. Now my oldest daughter has been obviously bright since toddlerhood, writing letters around her first birthday, reading at age three, reading proficiently at age four, and now at age six is testing well above grade level for reading and above grade level for math. She is an abstract thinker, extremely mature, an "old soul" if you will, uses extremely complex vocabulary and easily carries on conversations with adults with losing interest. She is currently writing a book (she just picked up a composition book and decided to write her own American Girl character. She just started this) and she is determined to get published. She is interested in
Her first STAR test put her at a 5.4 grade level for reading and a 2.8 grade level for math. We homeschooled last year, and I know I slacked on math because I hate it and it was intimidating to teach it, so I have no idea how much of this is aptitude and how much of this is what she has been guided in. My question is this: At this age, what grade level difference did you see between your child's performance and age? I know there is a world full of extremely smart people out there (I live in the home of NASA, so there are a LOT of brilliant people around here) so I want to be realistic about where she is in reference to peers. Would you call this 'gifted' or just bright? I'm really not entirely sure, and before I advocate for my child, I want to ensure I am not just assuming my kid is such a smarty pants. (Though my gut says she is gifted).
