Dd13 is finishing up 8th grade and had a wonderful year. The skip from 5th to 7th was the right choice and she has chosen a great group of friends. She won a Scholastic Writing Award Gold Key which did so much for her confidence with writing and she has a plan to write every day over the summer. After some disappointments with orchestra auditions she buckled down and was placed in the level she audtioned for at the (large, affluent, super-competitive) high school she will attend. And she was accepted to a foreign language academy at the high school which seems like it will be a really great fit for her. Academically I think she would have done fine with another skip, but she had great teachers during middle school and enjoyed herself and was challenged. I think she is set to have a very positive experience high school experience.
Dd7 first grade is a puzzle. She bombed the CogAt. I really do think she is some level of gifted but just does not show it. Considered doing private testing this spring, but she is still a little silly and I think the results will be more accurate next year so we are waiting. She seemed happy at school, and loves her teacher, but has frequent melt-downs at home--who knows if poor academic fit is a factor in that. Getting her to do homework is a nightmare.I need to make much more of an effort to seek out some fun math/science stuff for her, and that is not me so I need to try harder. Chess has been positive, she won a big trophy for winning the most points out all the rookie players, k-5. Hoping for a good teacher next year, and very curious to see what testing eventually shows when we do it.
