Hi,
I'm new here. I'm really tired of dealing with schools right now and I could pull my hair out. My older child, age 7, has tested Gifted. Last year he was in a one day a week pull out. It really wasn't enough for him. Also, my younger, age 6 now, was getting into trouble in Kindergarten for being too hyperactive. I spent a lot of time dealing with a Gifted Advocate, getting him tested, and working with him last year.

I heard about this new Environmental Charter School opening up. I thought this would be perfect. They do Terra Novas twice a year to make sure kids are proceeding at appropriate levels, they have a lot of animal-centered projects (older son loves animals), and they have a lot of hands-on learning and park trips(perfect for the younger one).

Unfortunately, this has not been as ideal as I hoped. The transition was difficult on the older son, who has suddenly developed behavior problems, and his GIEP has fallen by the wayside. The behavior problems definitely make me think of 2e (tantrums and inability to speak about his frustration when upset). I finally got together all the right people in the room for this coming Wednesday, (Behavior therapist, Gifted Advocate, teacher, special ed teacher, curriculum director) and I was beginning to feel semi-good that this will all work out, when I find out the younger is having issues.

Younger child was tested last year for Gifted, but did not qualify. However, his subtest scores on the WPPSI ranged from a 7 on the block design, to a 16 in the general IQ. I am convinced he needs to be tested again soon to determine if it was inattention or an LD that caused the issues. Now, he scored a 39 out of 40 on the verbal Terra Nova, but he is put with the average students in the reading groups. His teacher tells me there are several factors why he is in the reading group he is in, but has not specifically told me the factors except for difficulty staying on task. Suddenly, my child is wandering away from his class to the nurses office, being defiant during certain classes, and in general having issues focusing in school.

I'm really utterly exhausted and overwhelmed. I've been working hard at the older one, because he seemed to need it the most. Now I feel like I have to go back to the drawing board with the younger. Does anyone have any advice? Ideas? I could use it right now.

Lya

Welcome Lya.

I'm running out the door but wanted to say a quick hi. It does feel like you plug the one hole in the dam and another pops out and squirts water. Not enough hands!

Will check back later, I'm sure others will have some good thoughts for you.........

we can share mylanita!

lol

Yes, I got a full report.

He has a 120 FSIQ, 121 VIQ, and 105 PIQ. I am concerned. It seems a wonder that even with a 7 he managed to get a 120 FSIQ.

His subtest scores were:

Verbal Tests
Information 12
Vocabulary 15
Word Reasoning 14

Performance Tests
Block Design 7
Matrix Reasoning 14
Picture Concepts 12

Performance Speed
Coding 16

Welcome!!!

When I was at that age, I argued with the teacher, then walked out of school!! If things were going way to slow, then I just zoned out.

There are lots of practicing parents on here who have BTDT, so the only thing I can add is that you should check out Ruf's and Gross's books on gifted kids.

The sections on actual kids' case histories are powerful. The part on the rate at which kids learn and how x% of their time is wasted is something to keep in mind. For MG+ kids, over 90% of their time is wasted in age-peer class groups.

Thank you for the replies.:) I appreciate the support. I will continue to work with the school to deal with this.:/

As Austin suggests, having your ds in a reading group that is below his level is going to do nothing other than make him that much more in-attentive!!

Staying on task means pretty much zero to a 6 year old. They have to be engaged with the material to give a darn. Hang in there, good luck with both of your kiddos! (I think you should continue to press the point of getting more specifics on 'trouble' areas for the youngest. Barring major reasons to not move him up, he should at least be given a try to see if this addresses the boredom issue.)

So...first positive news about DS7. He came home yesterday and said his teacher let anyone who wanted to do division. He looked so happy and immediately in these number discription blocks started writing things like 400 <division symbol> 4 = 100. I have never seen a kid so excited to do division.

I left a message for DS6's teacher with a lot more questions about him supposedly saying a bad word on Monday. He honestly doesn't think he did, and he was in the bathroom at the time, so she got second-hand information. Unfortunately, because he remembers things in odd ways, I think one of the three following actually happened:

A) He didn't say it, the boy misheard, and when the teacher asked DS6 about it he gave her one of his "I'm not really paying attention but I'm nodding my head" things that he does.

B) He said it, possibly repeating something he'd heard, and then he admitted to it, but barely remembers the incident so swears he didn't. (Once again, very like DS6, if something happened at the beginning of the day).

C) He is, possibly, lying. I put this last because of how sure he is he didn't say it. But, his memories tend to get all jumbled about these things...so it's more likely B.


Should I explore 2e cause of the memory issues?

Wow, so glad to hear about DS7 good day!

As for DS6, what is he like when you try to teach him at home? Of course that means you will have to come up with a scheme that includes DS7, but before you start chasing 2e, you need really detailed 'noticings' about DS6's learning process. The best way to do that is daily 10 minutes afterschool learning sessions.

A pain, but not compared to the rest of the pain your family is in.

So glad you found us,
Grinity

Here are the things that our meeting came up with. I am sharing them because I think a couple of the ideas are very cool. DS7 did really well on his first day with this:

1. Utilize pre-testing to determine DS7's present levels of performance at the onset of a new unit. Use test data to differentiate instruction in an attempt to keep DS7 academically engaged, focused, and on task.

2. Implement a "trip stick" program in class. DS7 will be able to use 3 "trip sticks" daily for a 5 minute period of reading in Mrs. K's book nook. "Trip sticks" will be utilized by DS7 when he is feeling overwhelmed and needs to calm himself down.

3. Introduce a new behavior plan. DS7 will participate in a check in/check out behavior plan. He will be held accountable for all behaviors and will be responsible for getting his chart filled out throughout the school day across all environments. DS7 will take home a copy of each daily sheet to be signed by mom.

4. Maintain high expectations for DS7's academic performance. DS7 will complete a self-assessment rubric when completing classwork to make sure that he is always giving 100%. This will also help with DS7's self-monitoring skills.

5. Give DS7 responsibilty. DS7 will act as a class timekeeper. He will follow the posted daily schedule and provide a 5 minute warning before transitions. This job will provide DS7 with added responsibility and help to decrease anxiety over transition. Mrs. K may also allow DS7 to share a special fact at each 5 minute warning.

That sounds great. What a wonderful teacher!

I like all the other plans, and I would urge you to stay on top of them to make sure that they stick to them. I am suspisious of #3 though, my DS was on a behavior chart during 1st and 2nd grade, also 6th - so I have a lot of experience with them! He was also in charge of bringing the thing with him to all his specials.

I would suggest that you look carefully at the chart,
a) Make sure that it is a list of positive behavior and not a list of negative ones. The teachers wanted my son to 'Didn't come to class unprepared' as a positive. I lobbyed to change that to 'brought pencil, paper and needed books.'

b) be sure that there are no more than 4 areas that your son will be monitoring at any time. I think 2 or 3 is better. But being responsible for 'all behaviors' all at once isn't likely to work as well as consentrating on one or two areas.

c) try to make them specific and concrete wherever possible - 'I kept my hands to myself' is better than 'I wasn't a distraction'

Remember that for the most part, your child probably isn't doing anything that all the other kids aren't doing except that your child probably does it all more intensly, and there is some generalized discomfort coming from the teacher that is being channelled into blame for certian behaviors, so some of what you are up to is to create a tool that allows the teacher to 'catch you kid doing something right.' This helps your child focus on what the desired behavior is AND it helps the teacher pay attention to your child's good behavior.

Remember that once an adult is irritated by a kid, anything the child does, such a breathing, may reactivate that irritation. Remind the teacher how much your child likes them whenever you can.

I'm actually in favor of asking the school to water down #3 as much as possible, make it a group project (so the whole class is earning buttons in a jar for good behavior towards a party) or delay launching until the other steps are in place. My son payed to high price for his experience with behavior charts. Every month the school sent home a newsletter listing a child from each class who was the 'best behaved for the month' - one day I asked my son if he thought that someday he'd be listed there.

"MA, I'm NEVER going to be on that list! I'm ON A BEHAVIOR CHART! Don't you get IT?"

For a system that puts so much emphasis on 'self-esteem' (wrongly in my book) they sure set up systems so that my son knew 'who was good and who wasn't.'

Be Well,
Grinity

Thank you again for the support.

Grinity, I understand the concern about #3. It's this point system that he has to take to all his classes. I am a bit concerned, but at the same time...he came home with 59 points today and said "Mommy, I bet tomorrow I can get 60!" So I think it's going ok. Plus, it makes sure that teachers I never get communications from show me how he's doing in the class.