Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Don't know what to do about my gifted daughter!

Hi, My daughter is 6 and in first grade. She was tested and had a WISC-IV score of 147. We live in Wyoming and there is no access to private schools or gifted programs. My daughter is really bored and is light years ahead of what they are doing in school. Home schooling is not an option, but we do a ton of supplementary math (she can do algebra) and anthropology and astronomy stuff at home. The problem is that she is very social and she constantly gets in trouble at school for bothering other kids bc she's done with her work. I can't seem to get the school to give her harder work, even though they were the ones that administered the WISC IV so they know she's in the genius range. Any help or suggestions? Thanks!

Apply to DYS right away, and, after your child is accepted, have the family consultant discuss potential options with you, and advocate with the school for you.

Agreed! With what you've outlined your daughter should qualify. Print out the application fill it out and get it in. I think DYS has a monthly deadline so don't procrastinate. It will take some time to fill out the application. The details are on the main Davidson institute website. The name of the program is Davidson Young Scholars. You can search this forum for "DYS" and a lot of information will come up; you can also just ask if you have any questions.

I'm applying to DYS so thanks for the suggestion. She also is screened every few months for MAPS which is done on computers and gets harder the better you do, so it attempts to actually identify how much you know and she scores at minimum 50-70 points higher than the average or benchmark score. I just don't understand the big deal of teaching a kid algebra who wants to learn algebra! Its not like there's an age requirement for an algebra license or something!!

LOL - but, the thing is that algebra requires abstract thought. And teachers are trained at school to believe that abstract thought just isn't possible below a certian age. ((Thanks Piaget! - JK, it really isn't his actual fault!)) Your daughter is very unusual.

Now to get the school to 'get it.'

Here's an idea that I haven't seen put into action before, but who knows. How about the school allow your daughter to be in her base grade 'on the books' but allow her to 'audit' classes aimed at older kids. That way they don't have to worry about too much pressure, and she can at least be entertained at school? Then you can transition that into an actual skip, maybe?

Is homeschooling really not an option? How about moving? How about the public school 'over the hill' in the next district over? Things don't sound desperate yet, but you might be closer to desperate measures than you think....

Grinity

Actually that was what I was hoping for, but I'm not sure how well it will be recieved. I was thinking about maybe having her go half days and getting a tutor for the afternoons. Homeschooling would be doing her a disservice because I am just not as bright as she is. I was a gifted child, but nothing like her, and I attended a private school where a kid like Tia would be on the cover of a brochure instead of stuck in time out for annoying the other kids. She really does have the ability to conceptualize broad theory and reason abstractly which is disconcerting when you are talking to a 6 year old She asked me the other day if infinity was a number and I said well yes, its a concrete number but also a concept. She said, "I told my teacher it wasn't just a number, it was a concept, and she said I was wrong". You have to laugh, because thats her in a nutshell.
At this point we are not considering moving, and I have already put out feelers for the next towns schools. They want her for the test scores so hopefully someone will give me my way. I mean on her WISC-IV her tester noted how much she was enjoying the challenge of the test, which speaks to her absolute desire to feel like she's learning something. She just got home from school and told me they are learning about ones and tens columns. Last night at dinner at a resturaunt she was doing addition in the hundreds of thousands that you had to carry every columnm. The disparity is just ridiculous!

((faulty logic siren sound - unk-unk-unk-unk))
You don't have to be 'brighter' than your DD to homeschool her well - you just have to be willing not to say wrong things about infinity. When she gets up beyond what you can easily do, she'll be auditing classes at the local community college or university. Homeschooling doesn't mean that you have to teach a single class, just that you have to organize and drive and chaperone when needed.

Believe me, you might be just 'ordinary' but you are way less 'not gifted' than the teachers she is going to find in elementary school.
Plus you don't have any 'axe to grind' about kids who are 'too big for their breeches.'

Even if you ended up doing very little for about 30 minutes a day, your DD would likely learn more than she would even in 3rd grade, by having you undivided attention, permission to go at her own pace, and having free time for reading and persuing her own ideas.

Don't make me use that siren insert again! ((Humor Alert))
Love and More Love,
Grinity

You are probably the smartest person she knows!!

You can learn together. She will need help to do adult stuff while the rest of her catches up and as she moves ahead of you in some ways, she will still need that guidance.

A tutor is a great idea. If she likes math, she might also like computer programming and robotics.

Is there a university or college near you with grad students looking for work?

But I think you can at least take her through algebra, geometry, analytical geometry, etc.

Take a look at this site.

http://www.aleks.com/

And this site.

http://www.khanacademy.org/

Don't forget AOPS!

http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/

They have several courses on number theory, probability, and counting (I know, but it is a lot harder than it sounds) that your daughter might enjoy before getting into algebra. They also have a database of questions (Alcumus) that will keep your child's brain challenged.

I look forward to using the AoPS books with my kids soon, so I'm all for it in general, but I suspect that age 6 is very young to be really ready for their courses.

There is a new pre-algebra course coming in the fall which might be closer.