Hello,
I'm new to this but I think I may finally be in the right place. As introduction, when DS7 started 2nd grade this year, DH and I immediately noticed that his worksheets and assignments, esp math, were much too basic for him. He started asking me to create "harder equations" when he completed his math worksheets. Last Sunday he started writing "too easy" across the page. It broke my heart. It took him less than 2 minutes to read an assigned story. I didn't believe him when he finished it, so I made him read it again out loud and timed him!
Up until now, we would tell the teachers "He knows adding and subtracting (and multiplication!); he knows how to read. He just doesn't know how to keep his hands to himself!" Now I think we may have been focusing on the wrong issue all along! I believed the other kids would catch up, and he would become more mature.
He was tested a few weeks ago by the school as part of school-wide MAP testing. Our district's usual system (from what I understand at this point) is that MAP scores and a referral start the process for the talented and gifted program, but that usually starts at 3rd grade. I have an idea of where he scored, although his self-reporting can be unreliable. I *think* he had a 193 on reading, and a 207 on Math. From what I understand, reading is grade level, but math is at least a year ahead????
After the MAP test, he suddenly has multiplication sheets to work on, and a referral form in his folder with a post-it to "fill out and return". That's all we've been told! We've requested a meeting with the teachers to go over the referral, find out any other options, and just for an explanation of what happens next besides a form! And, while I'm thrilled he has something different to work on, in a class of 30(!) I'm sure he is left to do this pretty much on his own.
I've been trolling the boards and want to thank you for such a great and welcoming community. I've gotten some good ideas of how to approach this meeting. I'm starting with, "What do these scores show he needs next in school, and how do make sure he is going to have that? How do I get him coursework he is excited to learn (he loves math) and not simply practicing something that he has been doing for 3 years?"
It's funny, and sad, that at age 3 in preschool, the teachers brought in the school district to evaluate him for ADHD or special needs! At 4, the pre-K teacher took pictures of how he would scrawl numbers and colors on the dry erase board during free time, like some kind of "beautiful mind" for pre-K. I am so relieved because I finally think we are on the right track.
