Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Got IQ Results - Best Possible Options?

My just turned 7 year old pg son entered kindergarten early. So he's already skipped one year. But that clearly was not enough. Kindergarten was okay just because everything was new, but come first grade he flipped out. We had some serious behavioral, depression issues, so something had to be done. We ended up doing EPGY math, which I would go to the school and help him with. Little did I know that he advanced through to algebra in about a year. I'm no math genius, so we had to hire a tutor to come over and work with him. This is a teacher at the school who my son absolutely loves. So it's working out really well. Also in first grade, we pulled him out of reading class all together. The 5th grade reading teacher would work with him and so would I. My son does not mind learning without being in a classroom setting, but I know that some kids would feel isolated in a situation like this.

He is now in second grade and we ended up putting him in advanced 3rd grade reading classroom setting. They are working on the fourth grade curriculum, which seems to offer some challenge for him. The math is still going fantastic and he is absolutely completely challenged there. Is everything perfect? No ,absolutely not. But it is pretty close. I have kind of realized that the main thing is to look at the demeanor of the child and say to yourself "is he happy?" So we are leaving it as is. Another grade acceleration might be a good idea, but the fact is, he does not want it. I feel the day he decides he might want it himself, we might consider it. He is getting to know the kids he would be with since he does the language class with them, so if we did end up doing a full grade acceleration it wound't be too scary for him. I think it is important to look at the child, listen to the child. I used to think they have to be pushed to the level they are at, but I realize now that as long as they are happy in the situation and you know that they have certain areas they are challenged in, it really is all good. Yes, he complains sometimes that science and French is way too easy and too slow, but I think he still gets enough stimulation from reading class and math, art and music to feel he has a purpose to go to school . How is your son feeling about school?