Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion How does a high VCI present day to day?

Thanks for everyone's replies, it is very interesting to think about the various ways our kids can present. Things are looking up now, but for the two years prior to the last 6 months our whole family has had a pretty rough trot. During that time this DD, being the middle child AND the easy child, has really had very little attention or assistance. She's pretty much never had support to read or write when she asked for it at home (I was too busy vomiting or tending to a screaming baby) and preschool just don't do that sort of thing. Even us reading to her at night has been reading to her with her older sister at her (4 yrs) older sister's level. Sitting in the same room listening to a novel being read out is not really as conducive to learning to read as sitting and reading picture books and point to words as go. I feel bad about how she's been neglected academically, but life is what it is.

She has also spent the last two years at a preschool that is deeply, DEEPLY entrenched in it's play based learning pedagogy. The preschool is part of the private k-12 school she will go to, they do have lots of bright and gifted kids, a lot of high achievers and lots of good outcomes. But they certainly have a very gently gently approach to starting kids out. The children do come to their first year of formal school extremely ready to function in a classroom and with very well developed pre-literacy skills etc. But the preschool teachers would faint at the idea of taking early literacy to the point of say, actually reading. And DD knows this. The psychologist she saw yesterday said that it was extremely clear that DD believes that preschool is strictly for play and of course she won't engage in the extension work the preschool teachers now want to do with her - because preschool is about play not work! A buck short and a day late to change the rules. This is her last week though and next term she starts formal school.

She's gotten the message loud and clear at home and at preschool that she should just play and keep herself busy. And having been adaptable and sunny natured since birth she has made the most of her lot. Now we just need to gently reverse some of that.

We started working on reading and playing the piano about 10 weeks ago, when we had her tested, and in that time she has made a year or more progress with reading. Her drawing and colouring in (which have paid no attention to what so ever) has leaped dramatically ahead, though not at preschool of course. And she's happier.

The plan is to push school hard to NOT go quite so gently, gently with her at the start and not to give her the idea that school is just more play time. We'll give it six months and see how it goes. If she hits her stride then good, and school have already agreed to put her into year one after two terms of K. If school doesn't work out i guess we will be homeschooling.