Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Drawings a sign of giftedness?

I love the peacock tail analogy. I just love those gems.

I guess it remains to be seen. But judging from the responses from people more experienced than I, maybe I'll be careful what sort of hats I buy in the next little while. I'll be looking at labels closely to see the fiber content.

Thanks!

Curiosity and desire to learn are certainly qualities that DS6 and I possess. And speaking of curiosity, I'm very curious to see what his results will be.

Hi RRD,

Just chiming in to +1 LAF's point about highly gifted kids not necessarily matching the popular image of "genius."

My DS (now 8) sounds very much like yours, verbally. Many an adult has been backed into a corner by his nimble thinking and quick arguments. Beware the loophole with this kid!

Like you - I thought he might be gifted but not highly or profoundly gifted. He asks/says those interesting things ("Time is the most powerful thing of all because if time didn't exist, nothing would exist."). He loves to learn new things, and he does learn them quickly. E.g., once he DID learn to read, he went from K level to reading just about anything in a matter of weeks.

But he didn't read early, didn't/doesn't do accelerated math, etc. He doesn't demand extra academic work, isn't a musical prodigy, hasn't built anything breathtaking or written intricate stories or any of the amazing things you see kids on these boards doing. Nothing. At. All. Just those flashes of something I can't quite describe.

Nevertheless ... suffice to say, I needed a new hat.

Enjoy your little guy. He sounds like a treat!

Sue
P.S. Another follow-up to LAF's point, we had him assessed because of towering behavioral and emotional challenges the poor guy was struggling with.

I'll just say that I'd be shopping for my 4th or 5th hat by now. Heck I would have gone through 2 hats just for DS alone. The first time we tested was eyeopening, the second time was even more shocking and you'd think we would have known better by then. Then I'd probably deserve a giant sombrero sized hat for DD's scores. You'd think after DS's two rounds I would have learned something but apparently not.

I'm not even limited to underestimating scores since I know another kid who I really thought would be MG that turned out to be lower than that.

So yeah. Apparently I have no clue either way

He truly is a treat, when he isn't driving us crazy. And because I can't share these anywhere else, here are some of my favourite quotes (I started noting them down after a while because there were so many of them) (and I know there are many of them, but I just love sharing these):

4y10m (in response to a joke about pants have legs but can't walk): "But they don't have feet and they don't have blood, so of course they can't walk."

4y10m (after I told him my gelato flavour was salty caramel and Skor, and without missing a beat): "Skor can be used for a name (character in a show he used to watch), a goal and an ice cream flavour."

4y11m: "DS3, you're being Loud Loser". Mommy: DS4, where did you hear that? DS4: "I made it up. Like Rude Randy and Polite Pete. And I'm Quiet Quack." Mommy: Oh, it's really great that you made it up, but maybe we should say Loud Larry instead." (Polite Pete and Rude Randy were characters a child behavioural specialist had introduced to deal with some behavioural issues)

4y11m: "When I grow up, I'm going to have two jobs - superhero and author. Wait. And illustrator, too!"

5y: "Look DS4, the colour tablet is dissolving!"

5y: "I will just pretend I'm a lighter version of myself and I'll float to the surface."

5y2m: "Daddy, your hair looks like a forest" (snow sticking to his hair looked like snow-ladden trees)

5y3m (building Sam (his first robot)): "I just need to make another small adjustment. There, now that's good engineering."

5y4m: “Mommy, did you know that a long, long time ago, meteorites hit the earth, giving us a rich supply of water?"

5y4m: "It looks like a little mouse scurried across the page."

5y5m: "Behold the XT Flyer!"

5y5m: "Mommy, I am looking at the constellations. This is the Big Dipper, cause look..." (Pointing at a picture with a starry sky)

5y5m: "Mommy, how were plants made? No, I don't mean from the seeds and stuff, I mean how was the first plant made?"

5y5m: "Mommy, how does evolution work?"

5y5m: "Mommy, you know if you lost all of your blood and bones, you would just be a big sack of goo and skin?"

5y5m: "After you die, your body goes into the ground and you decompose."

5y5m: “Pretend you don't know where my secret laboratory is.”

5y5m after DS4 said his favourite animal is a turtle but that it’s so slow: "But if a predator comes, it can hide in its shell and it will think it's a rock. It has great protection."

5y6m: "The butterfly is mimicking! Don't let nature trick you!"

5y6m: “Sunday is always “son” day, which is why me and DS4 always party.”

5y6m (as I was helping him with sit-dives): “You made me dive seamlessly!”

5y7m: “Mommy, what causes the tide? Oh yeah, I forgot! It’s the moon’s gravity that pulls the water toward it!”

5y7m: “Do you know why the clouds move? It’s because the wind pushes them. And they don’t move any faster because they are too heavy for the wind to push them any faster.”

5y7m: After daddy said it was like there was a war going on in his tummy: “Actually, there IS a war going on in there between the germs and your white blood cells!”

Again... you could have written this about my DS7.

I know those flashes well. He gets on these streaks of inspiration and you're just along for the ride. He recently explained to me that, when you draw a triangle, you're actually drawing an infinite number of triangles at once because the line that you draw the triangle with has a thickness which can be divided infinitely. One of my other favorites was when he was on a philosophical tear. It ended with, "Dad! We [our existence] are nature's art!"

I love reading the cool things these kids say. Thanks George and RRD.

I'll just add one more that was my all-time heart-melter. We were talking about bloodhounds and how they can find a person based on their unique smell. DS was really fascinated by the idea that every person has a smell that is all their own. He grabbed my hand, pressed it to his nose and sniffed. Then he said, "That is a sort of ...'Mommy' smell. It's warm and feels like love."

Love it. And funny, DS6 once said something quite similar about my scent. What is it about these kids?

My DD13 who is PG, also starting drawing as soon as she could hold a crayon. It actually became her centering activity. Whenever life was frustrating for her or she wasn't fitting in or just having a bad day as soon as we gave her time to draw something she was able to re-center and deal with life again. I would keep encouraging his artistic side by having the supplies on the ready for whenever the mood strikes.

George C, I just found another precious one like this - I was watching old videos of the boys and I found one when our oldest DS was exactly 2y6m: He was hanging off a door handle with one hand and said “I’m a orangutan." Thought I'd share.