Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy What do you think?

Ok, my daughter's in K, 5.5yo. She had a sub for the first six weeks as the regular K teacher had a baby in June. So we've really had to be patient.

DD has been reading for most of her life and loves language. But lately she's been obsessed with math. Yesterday she's munching cereal after school and tells me out of the blue that even times odd makes an even. She asks math questions randomly throughout the day. I went over a few patterns like that one and she later could totally figure -2 times -2 is 4 (she asked it and I told her to answer and she did). So she's able to figure adding, subbing, and now some multiplication. She can skip count to 100 by 5s, 10s, 50s, has been exploring the patterns of counting by twos and threes, and really seems excited by and interested in it all. She counts on her fingers for some adding and subtracting and multiplying but also has started tricks of going by a similar easier number or grouping... She's understood negatives for a good while. Last night she figured out 7 times 3 just for kicks at bedtime. We've been doing miquon for fun, red and orange book pages. She used to love dreambox but I think decided it was too hard (it was so repetitive and perfectionistic...).

She gets individualized math but nothing at this level. No adding even. I like that she's getting measuring, and scales and I'm hoping telling time later. But she's also getting things like counting numbers 1-20 (finally more than 10).

This is a charter that's based on gifted education goals and differentiation. It's open to all, though. The teacher has told me what's great is I can adapt the assignments and just do whatever on the homeschool days (every Friday and some others). But DD has asked for a bit more challenge at school. She overall loves it, the routines, the other girls, the fun teachers etc. I've got a demanding toddler and honestly DD is intense so this is a nice balance for us right now.

She definitely needs help with comprehension in reading and gets group interaction with a focus on that... I know she's got to sit through the class instruction on sight words etc so I'd like her individualized stuff to meet her at her level most of the time.

I guess I'm just talking myself into scheduling a conference. We met in late Oct and will again in Dec but I think we need more time. Just for me to really know what's going on in the classroom and what the plan is for the year so I can have stuff planned for homeschool days... And yes, to advocate for more for DD. Out of level assessments? They work a lot with first grade but that means she "buddy reads" with an ok older
reader... Also I was told her reading level was 26, which sounded about right, she's been reading easy chapter books from 3-6th grade for a good while but they have to be simpler for comprehension... But then I heard here a lot of K assessments go up just to 26, so...?!

DD loves literary terms like personification and irony and chiasmus, it was her previous obsession. She's scared of being alone lately, especially in the bathroom, so she never goes and limits drinking at school. She's reportedly very well behaved and helpful. She will follow the instructions even when we've told her she doesn't have to, they are for kids still learning to read and write, she can write more... It's slow going there.

Again, I'm mostly trying to psych myself up for politely asking for more. But any insight from you all would be appreciated. If you had a kid like this, or just what you think. We haven't done testing, so I'm flying a bit blind. Thanks!

Thanks! You helped me pinpoint a concern I've had about math methods. I'm just going to confirm with them that they do exploratory style math, and that it's similar to miquon... We do a lot of that mulling over too. DD puts her hands up and yells don't tell me how! And ponders it

I'm not looking for help with the homeschooling, beyond knowing more of what will be in the classroom, so I can plan.

Thanks again!

Since you get a regular conference in December anyway, I think you should just ask if they can schedule extra time for it since you have some extra things to discuss, and offer to have it at an earlier time if the teacher is worried about fitting a longer conference in amongst all the other students' conferences. That way you don't come off as overly concerned but you still get the extra time you need.

To me, it sounds like the school is doing quite a lot and that you may not be able to get them to commit to doing more for your DD. BUT, I think it's important for you to let them know where your DD truly is with academics. Since the school seems willing to attempt to meet your DD's needs, maybe they just need a more accurate picture of her than they are seeing in school. It certainly wouldn't be unheard of for a girl to hide her true abilities from her teachers and classmates.

As far as what to do on your Fridays, I would pick fun learning opportunities that could never be offered in a school setting - something entirely independent of what goes on in the classroom. For instance, lots of fieldtrips to places that even your 2-year-old would love, like zoos, aquariums, IMAX movies, science museums, parks, music classes, gymnastics classes, etc. Then you could focus on her reading the signs at these places and having her retell what they say, perhaps even interpreting what the signs say for your toddler. You can bring in learning about geography (e.g., where the animals are from)or mental math. Lots and lots of cooking and baking is also a good option. She could read the recipes to you, measure the ingredients, mix them together, bake them, and provide a snack for the whole family. That's a great way to work on fractions, adding and multiplying, telling time, etc. Another option would be private music lessons, which also brings in math concepts. Also, as always, lots of reading is great - by herself, to you, to her sibling, to the dog. The stories can serve as jumping off places for your other activities, or you could encourage her to retell the stories to you or your toddler. You could encourage her writing and/or typing skills by having her write or e-mail family members about what she's up to. Finally, shopping (which you're probably having to do on Fridays anyway) is great for all kinds of math and writing (e.g., making lists). Just anything experiential that would be fun for all three of you.

You might find some cool things here to use in your time at home:

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/philosophy.htm

Some of the universities have lesson plans you could follow.