Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Too good to be true? Plans for next year....

Yippee!
This is sometimes a difference between what a child will do at home, and what they will do at school, on a test. Be sure to do some review before the test. ((Hothousing helps schools understand children.)) 3rd graders don't usually do "Finals" and that's what this is like.
Is third grade level what you've been doing at home, or going further?
Love and More Love,
Trin

Hey Debbie,

Good luck tomorrow! It seems as if your school (the principle anyway) is certainly coming around! I can�t wait to learn how it goes and what they offer.

I am anxious about tomorrow also. We have scheduled a parent/teacher conference with my son�s 6th grade teacher. He will be the first male teacher that DS has ever had. We will find out if they have arranged continued math acceleration for him. My husband and son are completely confident that they will accommodate him. I�m not as sure. If not, we may bump him up a grade or remove him from the school. Ania, maybe we will be exchanging home-schooling ideas soon!

This is nerve-racking. I prefer the easy conferences for my daughter where we all agree that she is a strong student and nice kid, and then we ask a few polite questions about the curriculum and schedule and move on!

MrWiggly got through a third of the assessment today. He said some things were easy, some were hard. The principal said he worked hard and was very cooperative and not frustrated. Yea!!!

The assessment is 3rd grade level but we only worked in 2nd grade curriculum. I was a little nervous that the 3rd grade stuff would be too hard. But son seems pretty okay so far.

We are already thinking along the lines of what some of you have said. Dottie: I agree and already have read (and re-read!) "Developing Math Talent". In fact, I copied the first chapter and gave it to the principal LAST year - the part with the myths about mathematically gifted students. I'm hoping he read it and maybe is using some of the info!

We have one, maybe two, more sessions for MrWiggly to complete the assessment. Then we'll meet, get the results and discuss options. If they DO decide to put him in 3rd grade, that will be a two grade level acceleration in math. Anyone have experience with that? MrWiggly is pretty good with social stuff and seems to get along with pretty much everyone. I'm hoping that that much of an acceleration won't make him stand out or be subject to teasing, bullying or whatever. But he won't be 7 until March - much younger than the average 3rd grader. Advice or cautions would be appreciated!

Hello,

We learned today at parent-teacher conference that the administrators and teachers worked out the math issue out for DS! It is a fabulous plan, actually, and better than I had hoped for. He won�t miss anything, although he will still have some make-up due to band pull-out. When the sixth grade teachers trade classes for math and science, DS will stay with his teacher for sixth grade science. Later, when his homeroom has science, he will attend pre-algebra with the eight grade students. His new teacher told us that he understood DS was also very strong in science and would give him extra projects if desired. He would have loved to gone on to junior high science also, but this should be fine. I don�t know that he would have ever bothered to learn about animal behavior and psychology on his own.

Debbie and Dottie,

I understand your age/grade concerns. DS will turn 11 this fall while many 8th grad students turn 14 sometime during the school year. It is only for one class though, so I�m not too worried. I�m also not expecting any B-day invites.

Best wishes all around!

Diana

Thanks for sharing stories and the words of encouragement. I was pretty surprised today when, after another hour of testing, the principal told me that he hadn't yet reached a stopping point! I was pretty sure that the content of the assessment would be getting too challenging by now - but he said son was still able to do questions, although some were definitely more challenging. I'm now just getting anxious for the testing to be completed and then hear what recommendations they come up with. And I'm so glad the principal is doing this himself - he is really getting to know MrWiggly which can only help in the future!

I'm glad to hear that the social thing is not an issue for your kids. MrWiggly has done great with the whole grade skip. No one really even suspects that he is skipped. He fits right in with the other kids, even physically. But we are in a small rural school with only one second grade (two 3rd grade classes though) so people are more likely to "find out" about him going up a grade level. The bottom line is that he will be standing out sooner or later if he continues at this pace much longer! I guess we just need to deal with it.

Dottie: That was reassuring to hear about how your son got cocky when the work was still too easy. My son has acted that way - pretty sure that he is the "smartest kid in the class" or even the school! He needs to be challenged so badly! Big fish in a little pond is NOT always a great place to be.

I'm so please to hear that the testing is going and going! 3 cheers for Mr. Principal - others have just given up when they get to that point!
Yes, the more Mr. Principal knows your son, the better the long term outlook.
AND yes - big fish in little ponds suffer - perhaps it's the increased Nitrogen?

Smiles ((foot stomping and hat waving))
Trinity

LOL! Trin, you are too funny!

I got some feedback later today about the testing. Mr. Principal said that he has noticed that MrWiggly either does the problem and gets it right, or doesn't attempt it. Yeah, that would be his perfectionism, I suppose. We definitely need to work on that effort and "give it a try" thing!

He also commented that MrWiggly pretty much aced the first 1/3 of the assessment which represented material covered in the first 1/3 of 3rd grade. Yikes. We will need to be differentiating pretty quickly even in 3rd grade. And I thought MrWiggly took the summer off from learning math! Hopefully by next Monday we'll know just how far into 3rd grade he seems to be.

Wow Debbie!
I'm so pleased to be hearing that he is being tested is so much depth! This way you can be confident that if they end up sending him to 4th grade, or offering "Art of Problem Solving" independent study during math for the first few months, that he won't be developing bad "Gaps."

((roll clip from Wizard of Oz:
Munchkin to Dorthy: "Are you a good Gap or a Bad Gap?"
"But Sir, I'm not a Gap at all!"
end clip))

What curriculum were you using at home? How far did you get with it? What about that famous "skill" stumbling block - the times tables? How old is your DS now?

BTW - I wouldn't actual worry about perfectionism yet. Perhaps he's just good at remembering what he's learned and what he hasn't and is trying to do his best. It will be key for him to get a brief "tutoring session" on the stuff he doesn't know to "see how fast he learns" and for the distinction to be made clearly and verbally and check to be sure he understands the difference. I think you would have gotten some hints if he was having issues with perfectionism. Do you see this at home? And of course, the hints of perfectionism, or it's full blown version is one of the key reasons for grade or subject acceleration. ((shrug)) It's the Nitrogen buildup thing.


Yippee!
Trin

Well.....MrWiggly completed his third one hour session with the principal today. And without even having to have a meeting the principal informed us that MrWiggly will start the school year in 3rd grade math! Mr. Principal also stated that they intend to meet MrWiggly's educational needs ALL school year and that they are already prepared for making changes as the year progresses. Apparently Mr. Principal did a little instruction as well and had the opportunity to see how MrWiggly catches on rather quickly!

I feel so elated!!! Like I have scored a major conquest in advocacy! This is the principal who, last year, insisted that we had to enroll son in K and they would do their own assessment as the year progressed. He was previously adamant about NOT accelerating!!! Oh, I so hope that this effort pays off not only for MrWiggly but for others at the school, even in the district.

Now for being sure that the social/peer aspect goes well. The big thing is that MrWiggly is excited too. He is thrilled to NOT have to do 2nd grade math! There is no hesitation on his part in going to 3rd grade for the math class. So that should help us a lot. Wish us all luck!

Debbie,

This is wonderful news. I�m so pleased for you all! Kudos to Mr. Principle too! He sounds like he has been keeping up with his continuing education also.

Your son and mine have a lot in common. Both are the youngest in the grade with additional subject acceleration in math. Mr. Wiggly is lucky to have been offered this in 2nd grade rather than having to wait until 5th like my son. As you may remember, we just turned down a (second?) skip. If it had been offered earlier during his 2nd -4th grade years, we would have snatched it. Perhaps that might be an option you could consider sooner (rather than later). Just my BTDT perspective.

My son was a little apprehensive about entering another class while the other students were already settled in. He also knew that his situation would not help him gain popularity with his base line grade. The desire for further challenge was stronger than his fears and he enjoyed �school math� for the first time. It sounds like Mr. Wiggly will also appreciate this opportunity.

You have done well advocating for your son!