Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school Preschool 2010-2011

Katelyn'sM om

I can see why you are uneasy with all the changes and the growing pains, but it does seem like they are very conscious of trying to meet your DD's needs. The disparity is pretty wide now but at least they are making the attempt. So going with the something is better than nothing approach?

I picked DS up earlier last week and when I peaked in, all the other kids were in groups of 3 or 4 with a teacher or without working happily. DS was at a different table reading, alone. My sense is he does this a lot - I am glad that the let him choose to do what he likes which is read - and I know that they do have him socializing/playing a lot of the day. But on some level it was fairly heartbreaking to see he was the only one choosing this, and the stuff for him to read on his own is an odd mix. I wish they were even attempting to meet him where he is, but they see their role for him as socialization.

We still don't know about kindy, praying for the gifted school option, which will likely not be enough but at least it will be in the vicinity of enough - or we will rethink then. If he doesn't get in, then we have problems!

DeHe

DeHe,

I have stopped looking for that perfect school. I really don't think it exists. We, too, have a gifted school in the area but I really see it as my last resort. We feel strongly about DD and foreign language and the gifted school would not provide that. At least with the school she is at right now, they are academically a head of public school. Kindergarten is when public school starts on letter recognition. At least her school started letters at age 3. Still shocks me that kids in the 4 yr old class are still having problems recognizing the letters, but my perception of what they should be able to do isn't very accurate for a 'normal' child of intelligence. I do know that there are some highly intelligent kids in the school and the school is willing to work with the parents to help their child succeed. All positive.

Crossing my fingers for your son and getting into the gifted school. When options are limited it really makes it that much harder.

Katelyn'smom
I know exactly what you mean about not getting what the other kids are doing. I often wonder what the other kids and parents talk about while we talk about everything from superheros and their powers to the role of the amygdala and other brain parts!!! Here at least there is expectation of reading by the end of kindy. There is some sort of letter based scale, like being "G" or some such by the end of the year. But I think he is already past their whole scale. At this point I just want him to find more like minded individuals, we went to a science thing this weekend and there were 9 boys there (annoyingly no girls) and I think he was pleased to see there were kids who were interested in this stuff and 1 even knew more than he did - but he also noticed the were older and more capable. Where pre-k is good and kindy better is making him do the stuff he is only ok at, even sshhh, average!! LOL

DeHe

So today was the first day where DD got to see the school. She was thrilled (although a bit anxious at first). We actually almost had a huge tantrum upon leaving (we were just going to fill out some forms).

I will say that our hope that she would be able to stay in the 0-3 room instead of the 3-6 room may have been pretty naive. She went to the room today and was already doing most of everything in there within seconds. They also had some puzzles there and she went through most of them taken apart some little pieces and putting them back together. The director said, though, that once she gets more used to the place that she could be moved up to the 3-6 room.

We have a meeting with her teacher tomorrow first thing in the morning and then she can start after that.

I'm still concerned about the language barrier but we'll just have to wait and see how that goes.

ETA: One really cool thing there. We were walking DD around on the tour and some of the older kids were going by and they said hi to here, would gently rub her head, stuff liked that. DD was, of course, dazzled by having older kids talking to her! I just loved seeing the kids of all age interacting with each other.

newmom - sounds like she will enjoy it and be happy there! awesome that the older kids were happily interacting with her too - it does make such a difference to them hey - I see it with Aiden at his school too.

Thanks and I think the more we visit the more we're convinced it's a good fit. I think a big part of it is that here there are a million private schools and there's a lot of competition to get good students so they really do have to adapt to your child and provide a quality education.

We met with DD's teachers today and it went really well. DH sort of led the discussion since DD was freaking out a bit while we were there (she was really scared the teachers were going to take her away at first but she eventually started playing with them towards the end and she was also scared T-Rex was hiding underneath some things there so I had help her most of the time). They asked about some of her early milestones and were very surprised but also didn't show any disbelief either (the also even remarked how curious she was during the interview because she spent the whole time exploring every inch of the room and asking about everything). They seems very open and flexible so I take it as a good sign too. She officially starts on Monday but there will be an adapting period where she only goes for a short while (while I'm there) to help her adjust, I think it lasts about a week? Here's hoping everything goes well!

Oh, and I love seeing the multi-age interaction. That's one of my favorite thing about Montessori schools.

LOL. I love the T-Rex comment. I can envision her having you look under everything for the T-Rex! Our kids and their imaginations, sometimes even today, DD still blows my mind.

It really does sound like a positive experience and I hope the school works out for your DD. I'm sure it will be an adjustment for all of you since (if my memory is correct) you recently moved to the country.

Thanks and yep we just moved (about 2 months ago). The language issue is still definitely there and it's been a pretty slow going process getting her to actually speak with people in the local language (most of the time she does speaks with everyone in English still). So far she seems to really be enjoying it here but we'll see how that goes after she has to stay at school by herself...

Oh, and T-rex is an on-going issue for her. We also have to check to make sure he's not going to pop out anywhere but she's still strangely fascinated by him too.

which country are you in now if I may ask?

This seems like a good place to introduce my two-year-old.

Hi! My DD will be three in July. Although, she is not in any kind of formal preschool, she is verbally advanced, and as of late this has extended into early literacy. So, I am finding myself feeling more and more like a...homeschooler? In reality I am just a SAHM chasing after a bright and curious toddler all. day. long.

We do have her registered for preschool for two afternoons a week next year. It is 100% academics free. And, my mom is the teacher. It could not be a more gentle transition into school!

As for right now, we (together) participate in weekly organized classes at kindermusik and our local children's museum. We will be starting a great class at the botanical gardens as well in two weeks. We also spend our days visiting the zoo, a local farm, the butterfly house, a conservation center, the YMCA, many playgrounds, malls, bookstores, and we eat out a ton. We are always looking for something else to do!

At home, we just maintain a calm soothing environment for her. We are 99% TV free. I have not exposed her to worksheets or workbooks yet. We don't follow any curriculum. Starfall is probably the closest thing to that. We read a lot, and like I said, recently she has picked up on reading herself, so we will focus on that every once in awhile. Also, we delve into her interests. She loves geography, geology (rocks and crystals), presidents, and botany (leaves). This is what makes me feel like an homeschooler!

I am excited to join the discussions here.