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Hi Grinity,

Just scanned over Dr. Ruf's five levels of gifted. Embarrassed to say, DH and I are having a hard time remembering DD and DS's younger days. LOL. Hopefully this will give you a basic idea:

1. For reading, puzzles, games, math, watching TV, playing computers: DD and DS are mostly in level 4, with some in level 3 and maybe 1-2 items in level 5 (such as knowing the alphabet, numbers, colors, and shapes early).

2. For DD (almost 6): with the exception of pretty good fine motor skills, her gross motor has always been more age-appropriate (such as writing or using scissors). As for speech, she actually did not say a word until after 2 years of age. But although she did not speak, she was able to pick out the right card, point to the right object, and follow instructions well.

As far as music goes.... When she was taking piano (around age 4), her teacher was impressed with her rapid progression and her ability to learn to read the music notes (the first few songs in Suzuki Book 1 for piano). Until the practice got too overwhelmed for both of us.

3. For DS4: His fine motor was considered advanced. His general motor and speech are more age appropriate. He enjoys playing checkers and chess. He does not have any strategies, but simply following the rules to have fun. As for computer games, he loves to talk about what's needed to solve a particular level during dinner time.

Thank you again!

PS: Tried to PM you, but your mailbox is full! Once the test results are back, I will try to PM you again. Happy Holidays!

Edited: after reading some of level four's parents' comments, I am not so sure if DD and DS are "gifted" at that level or they are exposed to the info and reached the listed milestones at an earlier age. For one, DC rarely "immediately" or "automatically" shout out answers. Often, a situation presented itself, we talked about it, and they asked some questions and listen to some examples, then they get the idea.

It's often the case with gifted children that they..well they don't struggle emotionally - they're just emotionally different. Often they feel ostracised at school because they're simply not thinking in the same way as the other kids. This is perfectly normal (we come across it all the time!), but it can mean that they're not all that keen to put up their hand in class.

I think school is really important for developing their social schools, but it should not hold them back. As Mark Twain said: 'I never let my schooling get in the way of my education'.

There are many options open to you, from home schooling, distance learning, to specialised gifted groups and programs.

All the best.

In the best of all possible worlds, a child would 'learn how to learn' by spending their whole day in classrooms that are within their 'readiness to learn' level. Some classes might be a little easier and some might be really hard, but all would be 'in the ballpark.'

If that just isn't going to happen, can you afterschool, summer enrich, use one of the summer camps, get a tutor/mentor? Yes! Will it work? Maybe!

Everyone does what they can, but in my ideal world, every child would get this during their school day.
Love and More Love,
Grinity

Hey Mag - sorry! I did some housekeeping.
The reason I asked for a levels estimation is to see if you can expect 'reasonable' information from a 'local' tester. IMHO, Any level 3 or above really needs to get testing from one of the 'top 20' IQ testers in the U.S. (if you are in the U.S.) even if travel is a bit of a hardship. Maybe you will get lucky and happen to live near one of these folks, but Level 3 and above are rare enough that it is unrealistic to expect 'regular testers' to make much sense when they interpret the scores - if they can even get accurate scores.

Smiles,
Grinity