Today I dragged Mite to a gifted and talented meeting. I couldn't convince DS15 to go, and tonight I think he regrets it. Mite literally stomped (yes he is a stomper in spite of his mellow, easy going nature) his foot in the parking lot and said he wasn't going in to be with those "DORKS!!!"

Well, 3 hours later Momma saw a happy, laughing little fellow running through the hall (he who never breaks such rules!!) with other happy, laughing little kiddos. "Oh! Momma! This is so much fun. These kids are so COOOL!" He had, in those 3 hours, made a volcano, an ocean diorama and a pop bottle tornado (gee I wonder why he picked THAT project??!!! and I'm soooooo glad the parent coordinators were so discretely helpful in helping him accomplish those tasks). He, having OEs, insisted we stop by the USBORNE tables and buy the Volcano and Weather books! Tonight he's on the internet looking up the very topics.

Then the 3 hours in the afternoon found him a friend and chess mate! Now he wants a 4-player chess board and a chess club in the neighborhood!

I can't emphasize enough how wonderful it was to see him HAPPY in a LEARNING environment!!! He is always so stoic and serious at school. It was wonderful seeing him RUN THROUGH THE HALL with glee!!!

Being 2e isn't easy in the real world. It's nice to give them a chance to be themselves and have peers.

Saturday enrichment programs fill such an important roll! Then did for us anyway! Thank you CAG - virtual bouquets to you.

I didn't dare ask any local teachers for reccomendations to apply to Davidson - so one Saturday, after getting an agreement for my then 3rd grader to sign up for a mythology course being offered to the 4th and 5th graders, I stopped by, met the leaders - who were G and T coordinators in a different local school system, asked if he had behaved well and revealed he actual age. They about fell on the floor, as DS had fit right in behaviorally and really shined. I asked them to write a reccomendation, followed up and they did! Thank you ladies!

This was so important for me, because at that time my denial was telling me, ok, so he's gifted - so what? He isn't THAT gifted. He can get what he needs with me PushinG. He'll just show himself, folks will see it, and they'll give him what he needs.

To see that real professional educators, who spend day in and day out with MG Gifted kid, saw that my kid was a "few years" ahead of their target group, really put a personal face on the idea that there is as much "rarity distance" between PG and Gifted as there is between Gifted and the mean.

How do we measure differences between children anyway - double IQ doesn't equal double smart - LOL. The age equavalents seem to have some validity during playdates anyway. I try to stick to they as meaning "rarity" measures. I also relate them to "not what the child knows or has for skills, but what the child is ready to learn, AND what learning level will best allow the skills to develop.

Sorry for the ramble -
Trinity