I have replied several times in the last 24hrs but I haven't introduced myself.
I was tested as gifted when I was 6. I spent most of my 1st grade year in the hallway finger painting. The teacher worked me up to a 3rd grade level but was afraid to let me go any farther. I spent all of elementary being "the smart kid." Nobody wanted to invite me to the birthday parties:) But I was mostly happy. I did suffer some childhood trauma....which added fuel to the fire. Until a couple years ago it wouldn't have been a normal day if I didn't break down at some point. But I have found that having a child has really settled my emotions and frustration with the world around me. My brothers think they are "more gifted" than me:) What they don't know is that I never actually went all the way through with an IQ test....I was shy and a little confused about why some stranger wanted to watch me do things I didn't think were very interesting:) But I am also the person who likes to play like I don't know what I am talking about. It gets me invited to a lot more birthday parties now:) I like to grow things, paint, draw, read, and write. I like repetitive task because I can make money while I think. I like to watch people read and watch children play. Something about how people discover the world is very interesting to me. I love poker. I like to cook but I am not very good at it because I get distracted while I am cooking and tend to burn things:) I like math but only use it when I have to. I love physics and psychology. For some reason I tend to make connections between the two and I think that is why I am good at poker. I am tired of chess....once you mess up it seems pointless. I hate monopoly for the same reason:) I love Disney World....it makes me feel like what I think being a kid feels like. My ultimate goal in life is to open a school for the gifted and for children who have autism. I think these two groups of people would benefit from one another. But my gifted test will be different. I will have a summer daycamp for 2-3 weeks at a time where children can be observed for traits of giftedness. I think sometimes gifted children wake up on the wrong side of the bed the day of a test and go years without being noticed as gifted. My daughter I believe is gifted. I don't want her tested right now. I don't know how I feel about her being tested. I am excited for her...but I am also a little scared. I don't want her to go through the things I went through. I never want a teacher to make fun of her. I want her to have friends and fantasy. I want her to believe in magic and possibility. So, when she tells me dinosaurs got on a spaceship and went really fast to another planet.....I don't correct her. I let her smear paint on her pants. I let her color her wall. I let her redecorate the kitchen as many times as she wants. I figure when she starts school next year they will make her sit in her desk and learn facts and figures instead of letting her explore and find......so I will let her roam. She still has to hold my hand while crossing the street though....and her daddy says she can't have a boyfriend until she is 23:)
