Good Morning you who seldom post or only lurk.

I was wondering if you felt like typing about what's on your mind to day?

If so, please do....

If not, please accept my personal thanks for being just who you are and doing just exactly what you do. There isn't any 'one right way' to 'participate' with this board.

Love and More Love,
Grinity

Hi Grinity!

I'm one of those who seldom posts. Well, there are a few things on my mind right now (Brownie meeting tonight that I still have to plan for, upcoming visit with the in-laws) but the one that falls in the gifted topic would be "What to do with my daughter next year?" The school wants to skip her right to 4th grade from 2nd, but I don't know how I feel about it. We have time to decide; which means I have time to vacillate and worry about it.

Ruby

I post infrequently, but i must say you guys/gals are brilliant.

On my mind today (you asked for it )..

First and foremost is; I was impressed at the speed in which DS got better reading books after speaking to the Head. I'm not really happy that any math acceleration has to come from him...But then he seems pretty ok at the moment so i'm not too worried...and we are still afterschooling.

Second; Just how many letters does DDjust2 know? I think i can count 10-15...

Third; after helping out in DS's class, i can see there is not one child with his math/reading ability there and that makes me realise we are going to have to keep stimulating him ourselves.... which means i should try to get a better estimate of his ability somehow...

hmmm, I'm wondering if there's something in the air, or if the fall/winter doldrums hit some of our kids hard. I'm in the same boat with Crisc and JBDad regarding my GS9. I've been wondering if he's been pushed too hard this last nine weeks, he had an AR goal of 100 pts, and various other things going on. He read 'The Hobbit' last week to complete his AR goal and has been fighting a bug this week. I knew they were taking a practice run on the state achievement test this week. He came home yesterday and said he felt like his brain was growing again after shrinking the last couple months. Evidently he likes the challenge of the achievement tests and has been stagnating the last couple months in class. He loves reading, and he asked for the increased AR goals, but his comments about his brain tells me he's not been challenged appropriately for the last quarter.
More on my dilemma later.

I know I don't post much - not shy, just busy!

DS9 is working on his science fair project this week... I finally said I wanted the experiments done by Saturday so I can have my kitchen back!! Also he's using all of my nice mini-loaf pans as molds... so my plan is Sunday will be pumpkin bread day. LOL

It's also "Shakespeare season" for our book group, so he's juggling both of those big projects. And we have two exams coming up that he needs to study for... (not including his annual standardized test -- doing the Explore for the third time!) and we all have colds/sniffles right now! /*thud*/

I would say I'll be more active when all that is done, but really it's never done... Fortunately we don't have any particular dilemmas at the moment... just sleep deprivation

Im not sure if I count as a lurker but I have plenty on my mind.

Ds is pushing boundaries at school.

During an r.e lesson they had to draw a picture of Jesus. Ds drew the sign for infinity and wrote "infinity rhymes with trinity."

Upon questioning he argued strongly that he was right. There were no cameras then so how do we know what Jesus looked like.


I wonder about him sometimes....

Hey, I teach r.e. and I would have found that to be a perfectly acceptable answer, plus bonus points for connecting infinity to trinity.....those words relate more than just in the rhyming sense.

I hope they were questioning him just to get a beat on his thought process and not criticizing his response.

I appreciate this thread. I'm more of a newbie than a lurker, and have felt a bit intimidated sometimes to post. So many of you have kids who seem more gifted than mine, and you're all so up on the various tests and educational options. I've been wondering whether I "fit" here.

I do have a question. Before you had your kids tested, did you question whether they were really gifted, or whether you were just an "overly proud" parent. Almost since birth, DS7 (who is our oldest) was obviously different to me, very different by 2, and now TO ME seems very different from the other kids, but his teachers and (to a point) DH don't seem to see it. They say he's bright, but not THAT bright. His reading, vocabulary, ability to understand concepts, and to a somewhat lesser extent math abilities seem to be much more advanced than his classmates. Sometimes I think a lot of the perception of other people is skewed because he's a very anxious child, has difficulty sitting still/waiting his turn to talk, and has difficulty with organization/ensuring that all his work is done. He's also eager to try to fit the way he thinks others want him to be. I've submitted an application for testing to JHU/CTY and am waiting to hear back for an appointment date (probably 3 months out). In the meantime, I find myself questioning our educational choices for DS7 every day, and then questioning whether I'm just delusional and he's not gifted at all.

Anyway, maybe this is all more a need for catharsis than advice. This fight is very lonely -- people seem to think I should just be happy that I have a smart kid, and stop worrying. Others think I push him too hard to be the "smart kid". Others think that he should be more disciplined, and therefore able to "grow out of" the wiggling/talking out of turn thing. I wish I had test scores today so that I could feel more sure of our choices for him.

Thanks for having a place I could vent. I know everyone's been on the waiting list for scores before. I just have to practice my patience!

OK... Here I go. Life has been very stressful the past week. The school is currently testing my DS6, They called last Friday to ask if they could extend the testing another 2 weeks. I have been waiting since October.

The company my DH works for wants promote him. My husband works from home and travels ocasionly. The company is trying to reduce employees slightly, to save money in today's economy. If he doesn't take the position, we're afraid he will be let go. If he does take the position, it will mean he will have to be at the company 3 weeks in row and home 3 weeks in a row. We live in New England the company is in Nevada. The company he works for is, his dream come true job.

I am concerned with how the kids will handle Dad being gone 50% of the time. Heck, how I'm going to handle it.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Wow, you gals have a lot going on!

Mamma22, I was pretty close to your spot about a year ago. Stick around and you'll pick up the lingo pretty fast!

Tall boys, when it rains it pours. The stress from the kids' issues can be incredible, but with economic instability added to the mix.......jeesh...it probably feels like crushing pressure.

Hopefully one day at a time will bring your family to a better place. My DH was recently laid off and was SO fortunate to find something relatively quickly. It's so stressful.

I'm trying to find a balance between advocating for my DDs, providing them with opportunities to help them grow into happy and fulfilled adults, while at the same time not becoming a helicopter parent that micromanages their childhood too much. I'm also trying to figure out how to best navigate gifted advocacy in a school district that isn't gifted friendly from the top-down.

Today I'm excited, hopeful, anxious and right this second procrastinating. I'm also thankful to Grinity for starting this thread, and thankful to all those on this forum that offer their experiences and opinions.

Thanks folks!

This is like ice cream for me...I love to know what's on people's minds! If anyone wants comments on their topic, please start a new topic with a paste of your post ok? This thread is just so beautiful as it is, I'd love to leave it as a 'quiet' place. Welcome to all newbies, occasionals, and lurkers.

((great big Grinity-Grins))
Grinity

Mmmm... how do u know I am lurking these few days? :P

I am been MIA from his site for awhile. Have not been loggin in after the winter break. and now almost everyone in the house is down with the flu bug.

I checked back in again last few days and were catching with some of the older post.

Just received DS8 's WISC-IV results yesterday. Couldn't explain the "numb" feeling that I have when I saw the results. Maybe because I knew I couldn't expect anything more from the school? I need to think if there is something else I need to do for DS.

ITA with Neato, Momma22 -- stick around and pretty soon you'll be regaling n00bs with the lingo. Also know that parents are the best identifiers of giftedness -- not teachers or schools; there was study done (I'm sorry I can't give a specific citation) which put out an ad in a paper for parents of young kids, saying if they thought their child may be gifted, they should bring them in for free testing. Turns out something like 90% of them were gifted in at least one area. So parents are good identifiers, and in fact usually *underestimate* their gifted children.

Which leads to your dh ... well, my ex-h/ds's dad says there's no such thing as gifted and that ds6 is just "well-parented." Well, congrats, ex-h, on parenting the child to 99.9th percentile all around -- what an amazing parent! (Ex-h is just a *little,* umm, self-confident ... ) ...

S-T ... gonna leave us hanging, huh?

I'm definitely a lurker, trying to decide when to really join in! I think I'm still trying to break out of the denial shell. My DS6 was tested on Dec. 31st with the WPPSI. He tested 99.7 percentile on the verbal category and 99.5 percentile in the non-verbal category. We are supposed to get the full results this week. But I guess that makes him gifted? Maybe his reading the first three Harry Potter books on his own before entering Kindergarten should be a clue for me?! Ha ha!

We have our first meeting set up with the school tomorrow (with the principal and DS's Kindergarten teacher). I'm a bit nervous about how it will all turn out. But I'm so thankful that I've been able to glean so much from you all about how to approach the school, different options, pitfalls to avoid, etc. You all have been an incredible resource! And I so appreciate how cordial everyone is! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Yeah.....I admit....I'm a lurker. I love reading all of the great information that you guys provide! I have found and utilized so many wonderful resources that you have posted about!

I guess what's on my mind this week is "How far will the budget cuts in California's educational system go?" They just keep taking and taking and taking. I wonder if there will be anything left for my dd as she goes through the system? Is it time to think about homeschooling? I just don't know!

Right now everything is great. Her needs are being met in the PS she goes to, so I'm happy about that. She loves her friends, teacher, and activities. I signed her up for time 4 learning (thanks to a poster here!) and she has been doing that after school about 3 days a week. She likes it so far.

I will try to post more, but I know it will be very inconsistent!

Thanks again to everyone here and I'm glad to know I'm not the only lurker!!

Laura

First, I have gotten so much out of this forum since I discovered it. I have learned a lot - thank you to everyone who contributes.

To answer your question, I have a LOT on my mind these days which is causing me to lose a lot of sleep.

I don't post much because I'm not sure how well DD8 fits in here and my job as an adjunct is consuming at times. We can't figure out what to do with her. The school considers her to be MG. Her CogAT scores are some of the higher ones they've seen, but they're not out of this world. But we seem to have a lot of issues that the other families I know at school don't have. She's very unhappy at school because she learns very little, and I think I've gone as far as I can with the school. We have decided to have her tested because we want to know more about her but will have to wait until late March. In the meantime, 2nd grade was clearly the wrong place for her this year and differentiation doesn't fix that. She doesn't think things will ever get better. I don't know if I want to fight the acceleration battle again next year as she is very, very small and doesn't have good social skills. I also just found out this week that she may have an underlying medical problem contributing to poor growth, so that is something else I get to worry about, too. My head is beginning to really hurt from banging it on the wall...

Then I have Miss Intensity, DD5. Right now, she is in the perfect place at PK5 with a teacher that gets her and challenges her - a complete 180 from last year's disaster. I decided on 1/2 day K for next year (and maybe skip 1st) but am now second guessing my decision as I am afraid of what the public school will do to her. Maybe I'll have a better idea after we make decisions about her sister.

Generally I lurk but have gained great insight from this board. Dottie has been an amazing resource.

We had a meeting with DS(now 8!)'s teacher 2 Fridays ago and then I met with the principal on Wednesday. I have to say I am super surprised at their reaction to DS's CTY scores and his newly documented ability. The principal is dedicated to seeing DS "soar". They are giving him the next grade level benchmarks. We are awaiting his November CogAt and ITBS scores. The principal is going to schedule a meeting with us, his teacher, a few 3rd grader teachers, the GT teacher, and the instructional coach to work as a team what is best for him. We discussed immediately placing him in 3rd grade or waiting and having him skip 3rd and enter 4th in the fall. If he gets the GT label, it opens a lot more doors for him, as far a resources go.

I am also mulling over what is best for him. He knows what's going on because he asked me why he is taking all of these 3rd grade tests. I told him the truth, that as a team, the school and we his parents, were trying to discover where he "fits" best. He was excited about the potential move. When he asked his CTY test results I was honest. He told his sister, "Don't mess with me I have a 4th grade mind!". Mind you, his sister is in 4th grade.

On my mind is the fear that we are burning daylight and I am anxious for some sort of resolution. I know these things take time but man! I am anxious.

Ok......it feels good to write this out. I have acknowledged what my worries are. Now we wait. Did I mention that patience is NOT one of my virtues? Hmmm.

Just a note: many of the kids here are HG+, but this is not specifically a forum for HG+ families. Anyone who finds help here and can offer help to the rest of us is MORE than welcome! Don't not post because your child is MG, 'kay? I think that would be a shame!

Thanks - I guess if the school was meeting her needs (or more than a very few?), I wouldn't be compelled to read this forum. I'm hoping that after we have her tested in March, we can start to figure out what to do. We should have done it last fall when the school offered little to help her. I've been slow to catch on to how big a disaster it has been for her for the last 2 years. I want my happy child back.

Huh. Given what you're saying, I'm wondering if the school might be wrong and she might not be more HG+ than MG. The testing will be interesting, I suspect...

The CogAt is a screener that tells you whether or not you should pursue further cognitive abilities testing.

The CogAt is the biopsy.
The IQ test is the gold standard report from the lab. KWIM?

Glad you are going for further and more accurate tesing, Lily.

Welcome

Interesting analogy. I don't think I would be testing her if I hadn't learned so much here. Thanks.