Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Need Advice on Grade/Subject Acceleration

Yes, she is prone to "breaking down" and it usually doesn't bother me, because it is common, but she usually winds up with some whining and moaning first. This time though it was with out warning and so sudden it caught me off guard.

I think part of her "fitting in" problem is in her mind because she has lots of friends in both kinder and 1st grade, but I'm not sure she has a "best friend".

I will ask her if she wants to post here and see what she says. That's a great idea. Thanks again.

Any ideas on moving her completely into first grade for the remaining part of the year versus waiting until next school year to skip her directly to 2nd? (I don't think the school would go for a 2 grade skip, and I'm not sure she'd handle it too well emotionally.)

Not too bad. I sat up front and once the teacher started reading a book aloud, I was hooked. I had my choice of reading at recess or lunch as well. I could read ahead in class. We worked on multiplication and geometry. It was fun.

Thank god for that Montessori school and the wonderful teachers there. Those three years there gave me the foundation to make it through the next 8 years.

The most traumatic event of my childhood was leaving that 4-7 grade group and going to public school where they put me in with my age peers. The teacher took away my Jack London books I brought to class and forced me to read "See Spot Run." I became immensely unhappy and felt terribly betrayed by the school and the teacher.

As that week progressed, I grew increasingly despondent, until I lost all respect for the teacher and just walked out of class and walked home. I can still clearly recall where I sat in that class, what I was reading, and what the teacher said to me when I decided that I was just going to walk out of there.

My mom was livid that they lost track of me and that I was being forced to dumb down. From then on, I stayed in the back of the class and read my books and was allowed to spend first and last period of the day in the school library. In the year and a half I was there, I read everything in the library and made a dent in the reference books.

It was a big waste of my time. I should have been moved up to 7th grade. But you did not put 7 year olds in 7th grade back then.

Parent's fears are not the same as the kid's fears, are they?

GT kids are unique and HAVE to come to grips with it sooner or later. Pretending they are not is a gross disservice to them. Its ok to be blazingly smart, and its ok to be a kid, too. There is no script to adhere to - and its a walk on part - a free-flow ad lib.

I wish my mother was still around to discuss those times with her now that Mr W is here. My dad has told me that no one knew what to do with me - those years I lived with him. He was a great father, but knew little about education, even though he had 100% in all his A&P classes.

Funny how parents will not let their kids help them to see themselves!!!

In the case that she usually shows what's on her mind, I wouldn't put too much weight on 'only one outburst' - it may have been different than usual for any number of reasons that don't mean too much in the long run.

I guess if you love the teacher she has, or hate the recieving teacher, and she's having a great time at school and you see a slow steady decrease in 'Perfectionistic Behaviors' then I'd wait until next year for the skip. I will say that for us, the second half of the year is usually more difficult, as it seems to be that by February Vacation, everyone has pretty much started 'Spring Fever' and that would tip me towards the mid-year skip, because adjusting to a new classroom is 'new and exciting' and my DS12 thrives on those qualities. Also, if there are any small social wrinkles, I think that having her start now, and have the summer to 'grow into' the situation may help. If you were changing schools, then waiting for the natural break would be appealing, but since you've already been doing subject accelerations you may as well not have the 'impending skip' hanging over your head.

If things really aren't right, it's better to try now, and decelerate over the summer - although I doubt that will happen.

Love and More Love,
Grinity

Yep this is the problem, the Long Island School For The Gifted Is Too Far. And of course Manhattan has plenty of private school that I am sure would bend over backwards for you if you can afford 30k+ a year. So, now we are thinking of finding a 4 grade teacher to tutor him after school assuming Public in Sept is a wash. Maybe public will be better than I expect. I will bring his boxload of completed workbooks and composition books and book reports etc to show them the work he has done and take it from there I guess.

Well, other unhappy parents have removed their kids midyear.
He tells me the teacher is nice but the assistant teacher is mean.
She is VERY young. When I went to the bday party I had help control the kids. The ass teacher was in over her head, she looks like a teenager. So this is probably part of the problem.

Hi Traceyqns
I love the idea of you and your red wagon of workbooks! What a visual! I think that will help for next year's placement.

as for the rest of this year...

What about putting him back with his agemates so he can have some fun, and asking the teachers to bring the work to him? If he's really miserable, perhaps that will get him in a better place to end the year? Or if you suggest it, and he gets a chance to say 'No Please No' then perhaps he'll be happier where he is?

Is there an 'older class' in his current school?

I think, that even if a teacher is 'nice' that they just aren't doing thei job if a kid can be 'discluded' over a nose-pick.

Hi Grinity,
There is 1st and 2nd grade in his class, so he is supposed to be in kindergartedn but is w/the 2nd graders.
So the kids and himself is all confused.
They say he is both in 1st and 2nd and so does he.
This could be another issue.
They don't know where he belongs.
Technically he was promoted to 1st grade (skipped kinder).
But he does the work of the 2nd graders, gets their math book, does book reports w/them and gets their spelling words.
This could be why is sort of a misfit, they don't even know what grade he is in. I am afraid putting him back down a class would cause more problems. I am def keeping him home for the summer to have some fun.

Dottie,
She has not had an IQ test and we are waiting for the school to give her the Nnat test. Otherwise, on the NWEA she took in January she scored in the 99% and had points that put her at 3rd grade proficiency for the state of Colorado. She is our oldest so we don't really know what testing or assessment they should be doing for her and what the information means once they give it to us. (We're on a steep learning curve:))

We have a PTC on Friday for the end of term and we're hoping to hear that they gave her the Nnat. Her school has not had a student like her before and they are a bit flustered and confused about how to handle her. They will be getting help from the area coordinator for GT, but we're pretty isolated here so it is a big thing to have this woman come down to the school.

She just turned 6 in February and as such is actually one of the younger ones in kinder (they have to turn 5 by July 1st of the year they enter kinder, so she was 5 1/2 but many of her classmates turned 5 last summer or in the fall.) She is also almost the tallest one in kinder, but one of the smallest in terms of weight and stature.

I think your right with her perception of how different she is being more pronounced now since reading versus not reading is a big difference.

I'll let you know what we find out on Friday about assessment of her.

The NWEA is designed to continue as long as the child performs. It will continue to move up through subject matter until the child misses 3/5.

My DS13 complains that the "dumb kids" get short tests. He's fairly advanced in math and therefore his testing is long. The NWEA qualifies as the aptitude portion on the IAS. It is not considered above level even though the student has the opportunity to go above level.