Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Where do I even begin?! Except. gifted preschooler

I have considered this over the past few days and I think it's something we should try. I may enroll him in the Mother's Day Out program at our church, which would be similar. Lots of fun time, playing indoors and out, without much focus on academia. Thank you. I do think this is something that may work for us for the remainder of the school year, while we focus on home schooling the other 3 days a week.

Allison

Just thought I'd mention this is EXACTLY what our doctor said the other day. Not that I think he is always right with everything. It's just nice to have that professional support of my own gut feeling.

Allison

Thank you! This is a great point. I'm not even really sure where his abilities are at this point. I would guess he's at least reading at a 2nd grade level, but I really do not know for sure because he has been "unplugged" (or "completely unproductive" according to his teacher) for several months now. This will give us a good opportunity to figure things out a bit before testing, and to rebuild his confidence. Our little "lessons" at home have been going beautifully over the past few days. He seems interested and seems to be having a great time. Lots of smiling again.

And, yes, he will be five soon. I will have to look into the Young Scholars Program. I'm not exactly sure what that is, but sounds very interesting. Thanks for mentioning it.

Warm regards,
Allison

VERY cute! I love these stories!

This topic has simmered down a bit, but will come up again soon as DS has a wiggly tooth. We might have to address whether or not the tooth fairy "lives on this earth" before he turns five.

Allison

Hey!

Well, I spoke to another private school in the area (a parochial school). I was very briefly discussing DS's current situation with the administrator, and asked how her school deals with grade skipping(specifically kindergarten) or early entrance to first grade.

She then proceeded to give me a lecture on socialization, and all of the typical things that are said by many..."What will happen when he's 15 and everyone else is 16 and he's the only one not driving? You know, you have to consider this aspect, too." blahblahblahblah. I wanted to say, "you're right. This has not been any kind of agonizing decision on our end. Gosh. Socialization? Please tell me more!!We're just his parents. What do we know?" Instead, I very respectfully, and briefly, explained, with a forced smile, that DS is quite developed socially, and actually seems to prefer children a few years older with which to interact. I explained how he has been withdrawn and uninterested, and that I certainly do not have all the answers, but that I am trying to gather some information to see what our options might be. I explained that my primary concern is getting him plugged in again - interested in a lifetime of learning, and that if he was reading and writing at two, I'm not sure he would be interested in a traditional kindergarten curriculum.

So I guess we won't be pursuing that particular school. Even for regular enrollment.

Just venting a bit! But, WOW. There seemed to be an immediate brick wall that just magically built itself between me and this administrator when I asked that question. My favorite comment was, "You know, I've been doing this a LONG time."

Allison

Oh Allison,
How Sad!
Trinity

Haha! Cute, Dottie!

You know, since I am a wee bit OCD on a bad day, and I love making lists, and crossing off items...this lets me cross off this particular school! You see, they just did me a favor and made my life a bit simpler. One less to consider, heehee.

It just confirms our decision to home school next semester. I still think I may take him to Mothers Day OUt, though, at least one day a week, just to get in some fun time with a group of other 4 yr. olds. If he can handle such a a homogeneous group, hehee.

Allison

That doesn't sound fun (your experience with the private school) . I am planning on going to the school a couple blocks away soon, to talk to them about starting kindergarden next year, and about grade skipping, etc. I"M so nervous! Trinity has been cheering me on though, so I'm going to be brave (or as DS3 would say courageous)! We're out in the country and so is this school..so it would be so great if they just happen to be willing to work with DS3. I"ll have to just vent here if they don't so i don't get discouraged! My plan is to just go from there to each school in town, until i find one who will. I'm hoping to find a recommendation from someone though (like his preschool teachers)to narrow the search sooner.

That's the spirit Jenafur! It takes a while, but it's worth it.
Smiles,
Trinity

Hi, all! I thought I'd post an update since I started this thread in a panic about what to do. We have come a long way in the past month!

We decided to pull our 4 yr old DS out of the Montessori school due to what we thought might be withdrawal/disinterest associated with some of the typical things that happen to giften children. I just did not feel they could address his lack of interest and the loss of his little spark.

Then, we found a local but very large and reputable university psych. department that offers a whole battery of testing for only $300.00. We are working with a doctoral student who was the only student chosen by a very reputable child psychologist in our area for her to mentor. And, I feel so incredibly lucky/blessed by this part of the picture: she is a mother with three gifted children. Her 9 year-old son is PG. AND she lives in our school district, so she has a wealth of experience and wisdom to share regarding testing/gifted programs/early entrance. What are the odds?!! My point is that I feel really good about having her do our testing. I can't ignore the fact that we are saving several thousand dollars, also, by taking this route initially.

We completed the SB-V today and received a range of 140-150. Our "hard" score is 140. She pointed out that he hit the ceiling on a number of the tests, particularly the ones that are a more accurate indicator of his real score, according to her, but continued to answer questions correctly, even though he could not continue to receive points for it. There were also a number of exercises that DS could clearly do, but he was not understanding the directions fully. And, of course, she could not re-state the directions as the test is standardized. For example, one of the patterns was a row of squares with dots inside. He began, "two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve!" He got the pattern right away, but he said, "I guess two comes next." As though the pattern starts over again. He didn't understand that it should continue. The fact that 14 comes next is a fairly simple concept for him. So, it was just really interesting to see how the test cannot measure everything accurately. Totally fascinating, though, in general! I was so glad she asked me to stay in the room. I was allowed to sit and observe just a few feet behind him. What a fun experience!

We are also planning to do the Woodcock-Johnson, I believe, as well as one or two others to help identify his best learning style. As of this point, we are going to home school for the spring semester and summer, and try to decide in the meantime how to handle kindergarten/first grade. The achievement tests will help quite a bit, also, I'm sure, in that decision.

So...I have to say to all parents: follow your intuition!! We knew that there was something amiss with our little boy. He just seemed so unhappy at school, but we couldn't figure it out. Now it all makes sense.

I have a few questions if you feel like responding. I'd love any and all input.

1. Our tester stated that it would be almost punishing to make him sit through a year of kindergarten. What do you think? I'm feeling pretty certain we should pursue first grade, but I'm not sure.

2. Do you think a Montessori environment is appropriate for this type of child? I am concerned that three years in the same class could be a bit draining, but I don't know.

3. What would you do next?!

I'm so appreciative to all of you for your candid responses in the past. You all have really helped me through this process. It has truly opened a new door in our lives. It's kind of exciting to see how it's unfolding. After being introduced to Ruf's levels, based on DS's development, I placed him between a 4 and a 5, and I feel like the testing reflects it.

So thank you all!!

Sincerely,
Allison