Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Request for Stories: Raising the Young & Gifted

My daughter and I were in a playgroup when she was just a few months old until she was around 4. I loved the activities and meetings. My daugther is an only child and this was an easy way of teaching her social skills and manners. She is not a very social child and enjoyed the toys. We met at each other's homes. If I were to go back to this time, I would choose a group within the neighborhood for kids going to the same school.

She attended preschool at two twice per week in the morning. It was a really good one. For three and four (preschool), she was there three times per week, but participated in after-school fun such as science and French. I was glad that she went to Kinder with many of these kids. She has a hard time meeting people due to extreme shyness.

Most of the time, we explored. She was a very curious child and I tried to satisfy that by taking her places and talking to her. We could spend hours just walking down the street comparing different types of leaves.

Her vocabulary grew, but she did not want to read early. I read to her and she loved it. I did not approach teaching her to read. She was a hands on kind of girl. We bought lots of baking soda and she liked using fine motor skills.

Her public school was great and had many very bright students and exceptional teachers. She learned so much there. She began reading in kinder, but did not pursue it too much. She was still ahead of her "supposed" grade level. Many students in her class were three years ahead. However, due to her hands on personality, she loved writing. She began writing early and just wrote and wrote constantly.

Then, in first grade, she decided to read and was three grade levels ahead by the end. The teachers allowed the students to read on their own so there was a box for her interest and level.

Now, she is almost twelve and at least four years ahead in every subject. I strongly suggest just being together and satisying your child's curiosity. We were not that structured and just went to museums and zoos and places she could explore her world. If your child is gifted, he or she will have insatiable curiosity.

At this age, go with the flow and follow his or her interests. They may not be typical (such as my daughter not wanting to read), but this is an important step for teaching them to love learning. That will carry your child very far. She is presently taking a Latin course and it is satifying word order in sentences and roots, suffixes, prefixes and other questions she has.