Hi all! This has grown into such a great group!

I wanted to post an update because dd5 had her "kindergarten evaluation" today.

Just as a little background (since it's tough to keep everyone's details straight) ... dd5 is heading into full-day kindergarten at a private gifted school. She also attended most of pre-school there, so the teachers should be somewhat familiar with her. However, I felt concerned that dd could throw the evaluation with silliness or lack of effort and not be placed in the appropriate, challenging reading and math groups (which is a major reason we're sending her to this school).

Anyway, on the positive side, dd did take the screening seriously (I asked the teacher afterward - and she confirmed "no silliness"). However, that's as much feedback as I got from the teachers (there will be two kindergarten classes - dd met with each teacher for 10-15 minutes, one did reading the other math).

When I asked how it went, dd5 did give me a pretty detailed reply. She said she read a paragraph aloud (she told me all the details of the story) and then the teacher asked her some questions. DD5 then added, "It was really easy. Much easier than reading a fairy book!" (her favorite thing to read). She said the hardest thing she did in math was, "23+34" - which she also declared "easy."

So now, I'm past my worry of whether dd will throw the screening. And I've moved on to my worry that dd will be an outlier even in her gifted school. She said they never asked her to do any more advanced math (double digit subtraction, "carrying", multiplication, division, fractions -- all of which she can do). I'm calming myself with the idea that maybe they just need to screen her enough to put her in the "top" group ... and then they will continue to assess from there once the school year begins. And I hope no one thinks I mean "top" in any sort of competitive way. All I want is for her to be challenged. And double digit addition won't cut it.

Reading this back, I'm not sure if it's TMI (or maybe I'm being sensitive after reading too much of the bragging being discussed in another thread). I want to make sure I'm contributing information/stories/concerns that are of interest of the group. Someone please (gently) lead me back on task if I'm not. blush