We have identical twin 5 yr old boys. Both are highly gifted with strong visual spatial abilities. Tested at 4 yrs on WPPSI, both in 140's FSIQ, each hit 3 ceilings. We are in a big city with multiple gifted schools and an independent gifted assessment organization (who did all of our testing). We enrolled DS5X2 in a local gifted school, but since their 5th B-day was in Oct, we were placed in pre-K instead of K. We advocated strongly for K, but were denied.
Pre-K at the private gifted school has been little more than a high priced half day arts and crafts class. DS5X2 reads chapter books at home and does phonics at school that were mastered years ago. DS5X2 does 2nd grade math brainquest workbooks at home, and does sorting and patterns for math at school.
We did Woodcock Johnson Achievement test to demonstrate kids abilities in our advocacy. 3rd grade across the board results. We approached "gifted" school about advancement in grade or differentiation. They refuse to advance grade (even though DS5X2 are oldest in pre-K), and attempts at differentiation were failed attempts to make DS5X2 do work that was too hard with little teacher assistance. Kids wanted to do what the class did, not challenge work.
Advocacy has turned into a battle of whose approach to gifted learning is correct. School is steadfast that they are correct and refuses to budge, and wants kids to follow the set curriculum they have for "foundational gifted learning". Gifted testers "get" our kids, offer advice, give great books and articles etc. Gifted school seems incapable or unwilling to educate DS5X2 at an appropriate level.
We are trying to get DS5X2 into what we now know is the gifted school that does a much better job at individualized education, but we are struggling with what to do for the rest of the first year of 1/2 day pre K?
We feel that gifted 5 yr olds who are ready for academic work should learn new academic concepts in school. Are we missing something here? DS5X2 learns enthusiastically and rapidly at home, but learns little at school. We are very disappointed.
Current school insists on phonics work. They say kids don't know phonics. We know that they do, as they have demonstrated strong capability at reading aloud novel words that are phonetically correct. We think kids are refusing to do work that is too easy, as we have seen this at home. School insists that phonics are needed to be able to do science and technical reading later. DS5X2 already can read latin medical terms in wife's med school anatomy books, so we think school is way off base. Books on visual spatial learners say DS5X2 type kids don't need remedial phonics if they can read well, but school disagrees. Any comments or thoughts on phonics for kids already reading everything we put in front of them?
Do we continue to fight an increasingly antagonistic battle with current school to advocate for kids, or should we just accept that kids will do another 1/2 year in pre-K with little learned at school and switch out for next year? The kids have fun at recess and doing creative arts, but we sense some growing dissatisfaction from kids at having to do work that is too easy. We are very disappointed that a nationally reknowned gifted school seems to be forcing our kids to endure material they have already mastered long ago. Are we expecting too much?
Is there any information out there on gifted twins? We see some unique things with gifted twins but have not found much material on the subject. Lots of material on twins and lots on gifted, but so far nothing on gifted twins. Issues like keeping them in the same classroom or not are of particular interest. The gifted twin dynamic is amazing as they always have an age and intellect equivalent to play, learn, and explore with in a world where they are so different from most others.
Thanks for any thoughts, advice, or comments.
