We began first grade with DS6 convincing everyone in his class, including his teacher, he was 7. No one even questioned it until we saw it on some artwork and made him admit that he just turned 6, not 7!
This was the year we finally did testing to see just how gifted DS6 was. It was eye opening in many ways. After the initial shock, we shared the 99.9% results with a completely unresponsive teacher. I had multiple frustrating conversations that were more about her trying to convince me that my son wasn't really that gifted. He didn't already know all the vocabulary words; he couldn't finish writing the 30 addition problems in a minute; he doesn't actually comprehend what he's reading beyond a 2nd grade level because he didn't understand the tester's questions; he has friends and really gifted kids don't do well socially; and reason after reason. I don't know why she was so combative about it. The principal was a complete flake and against skipping him up a grade, so we decided to change schools for next year.
We've dubbed this year the "Confidence Crushing" year since he was often called on in class to know things that hadn't been taught and ignored the rest of the time. She did support him skipping a grade and eventually let us determine his homework, but we decided to enroll him elsewhere. This year was a real let down academically at school. It is heart-wrenching to listen to a kid complain that school is "wasting his time" and that it "takes up too much of his life every day just being bored". We counted down the weeks to the end of the year because we couldn't really do anything else.
At home, we worked through 3rd grade curriculum for his homework. He read too many books - and all were above 2nd grade level. He became obsessed with the Titanic, Alcatraz, and Greek mythology. We supported his interests with movies, documentaries, books, and worked it into his homework too. He worked differently when he was engaged and supported. I hope his new school, with small class sizes and interest-based learning will help him blossom.
