Hi. I have a gifted DD10, and a rough-and-tumble DD4 who isn't showing "typical" signs of giftedness - except for her "interesting" questions.

She asks things like: "Where does light come from?" "Can the world die?" (she lost her grandpa last fall, so there are a lot of death questions still.) "Do cows dream?" etc.

But she's showing no other typical signs. (In fact, she is not interested in learning to write her name at all, and often mixes up descriptive words [says big for small, fast for slow, etc.])

I'm not really worried about her development (she's a pretty happy, on-track kid), but just curious if others have had similar preschoolers who've ended up being identified as gifted.

Gratified: What a fantastic mind your DD has - and lucky you remember that wonderful "god" exchange; I regret not writing down my DD's questions, and plan to start keeping a journal. There are many more involved conversations that have fallen out of my brain...

My son didn't read any earlier than the kids in his Kindy and 1st grade class, but the questions he would ask! I just assumed that all kids were having similar 'nature of the universe' discussions with their moms at home where I couldn't overhear.

Yeah, why do some animals have their eyes on the side of their heads instead of in front??

I think questions like these are surely indications of ability to think about things in great depth.

My dd4 has not been 'reading' either but she has tested in the gifted range (in effort to apply for kindergarten) and shows other signs of a drive to learn. I have to do a lot of reading out loud what she calls 'information books'. She doesn't always show off her learning, but I think there is a lot getting absorbed.
Reading early is a great sign of gt-ness, but not reading early doesn't preclude giftedness.

Yeah!
High IQ scores are a great sign of gt-ness, but lack of them don't preclude giftedness.

Giftedness is about special educational needs. If the child just blossoms when they are in a learning environment that is more challenging that what children of that age in your neighborhood usually need, then we can detect that a true learning need has been met. I call this the "Gifted is as gifted does" test.

Just in case you're looking for an actual answer . . . (!!)

It's a tradeoff between being able to see a wide area around you (sides of the head) vs. getting good depth perception (front of the head = overlapping visual fields for the two eyes = depth perception). Prey animals tend to have eyes on the sides to keep an eye out for predators (e.g. rabbits) and predators tend to have eyes in the front to allow them to zoom in on prey accurately (e.g. owls).

Meg the Nerd :P

DD (8 tomorrow!) is PG and we had no sweet clue until just this year. She had no interest in doing anything 'work' related (seat work, colouring, drawing, writing, etc.) and she still doesn't. Her verbal skills are out of this world, though. She was very late to talk at 3.5. Once she started, the questions just poured out of her. It got to the point that I would cringe when I heard "Mommy, can I ask you a question?"

I wish I had written down some of the questions, too. She made my head spin. And I could never make up answers or just give quick answers. I would actually have to do research because I could not answer fully enough for her. Our family joke is "Just ask Magic Google... he knows everything!" And she is like a dog with a bone. She will not leave a topic alone until she understands it and she can regurgitate facts from discussions that we had years ago.

I want to be like her when I grow up. Even just a little bit like her.

Absolutely. My son jump 5-6 grade levels in reading in kindergarten. And I had no idea he was gifted before he was IDed at school. He was quite intense and questioning as a toddler/preschooler. He was verbally precocious. People would comment on him and call him an "old soul". But didn't show academic interest particularly early. He was interested in math and showed understanding of conceptual math topics. He also loved to discuss and explore duct work, plumbing, gutters, drains, etc etc etc ... I remember getting trapped outside buildings with him while running errands because he wanted to discuss how water got off the roofs of buildings. Now, as a 9 year old, I suspect he would qualify for DYS if I had him tested (hard to justify given local cost of testing and the fact that we already pulled him to homeschool). He has achievement testing that shows him in the ball park. He about drove me bananas as a preschooler.

My daughter who just turned six is just starting to show her colors. She doesn't read much willingly, but I just assessed her at about a 4th grade reading level and I suspect that's going to leap even more once we start homeschooling this fall. She has similar intensity, but wildly different interests.

LOL - me too! Even when DS9 was 1 and 2, he would just blend when we were out with other kids. I assumed all kids went back to conversational mode on their home turf.

LOL ... love it!

I'm so glad you asked this.

My older sons have been identified as gt. I also have a tot, who aside from really great perception skills and ability to follow directions, does not show any of the signs her brothers did. I'm not worried *at all* about her development, but I do wonder. I'm slightly excited by the possibility that she might be *just bright* and fit in well at school. Time will tell... but I've never been very good with suspense. (I say this as I turn to go back to finish the mystery novel I have here. Not that there are going to be surprises - I scanned the last few chapters right after I read the first few - as usual.)

Cool questions. I bet our four year old DDs might like to hang out and discuss these things. My DD4 did read early and various other "unusual" things that made people raise eyebrows but we don't know how gifted she is right now (or even if she is gifted) so I have no real point of comparison but to tell you that she appears to be gifted and asks similar questions.

My DD10 asked deep questions early. Religion seemed to be a particularly dicey topic. I don't want to offend anyone with specifics but, at age 2, she cut through some of my religious mythology and made me reevaluate some things I took for granted.

I wouldn't get too hung up on the early reading. DD10 did show a lot of mathematical aptitude early. She did not read early -- she started when she was five. In fact just the other day she asked me when she started reading. I guess her gifted class conducted a survey and she was one of the latest kids. I asked her if she felt like she read at the same level as these kids now. She replied, "Oh no, Mom, most of them probably are behind me now."

What a difference a few days make! Thanks everyone for your stories; it does a soul good to identify with y'all.

DD4 will start her second year of a play-based preschool next week (a lab school at our local University). She calls it "Pretty School," so now, of course, the whole family calls preschool "Pretty School." She recently asked if all the kids will miss their moms and their dead grandparents while they are at pretty school, and if the dead grandparents visit the grandchildren in their dreams. She's very matter-of-fact in some of her word choices, gotta love it

So funny! My DD also called it Pretty School!! In fact, she still calls it that when she talks about it. And, of course, we all called it Pretty School, too.

This thread is fun to read because it makes me think of my younger dd (age 4) about whom I seldom post. I have no idea if she'll be gifted, or at what level. In terms of reading, she is just starting to sound out words. This is something my older dd could do at age two. She only does basic math, using her fingers. But her pre-school teacher described her as, "The most socially gifted child she's ever had." And, like many of your children, she, too, asks very interesting questions.

Sometimes it's very practical things like, "Where does the gasoline go after you put it in the car?" Sometimes it's more complicated, like asking me, "But *why* do you love Daddy?"

She also enjoys talking about the death of a great-grandmother she probably can't even remember.

She'll pop out with some comment like, "I know someone in heaven."

And I'll say, "Who?"

And she'll reply, "You know, that girl who loved Pa-Pa (her great-grandfather)." So sweet...

I want to meet all of these deeply, adorably questioning preschoolers!

I thought of this thread this morning when my younger dd (age 4), who is starting to get a cold, turned to me and said, "Mommy, when you lose your voice, where does it go?"

I'd love to hear other questions when they pop up in your homes!

DD4 came into the kitchen while DD10 was doing homework, and suddenly hit DD10's hand, stopping her from writing. She then apologized, saying "sorry sissy, my hand got off its leash."

So cute!!! and so apt. tears in eyecorners on this one - thanks for sharing!
Grinity