Welcome Onesie!
So glad you found us before you had much chance to go quiet and get lonely. One was enough for me too. I didn't get 'the urge' again until DS12 was 5 years old. He kept me worn out! Anyone looking for a Darwinian answer to why highly gifted kids are so rare, when one would think that giftedness would help one survive better and make more offspring, doesn't have to look any farther than that dampening effect some little gifties have on their parents.
I'm sure you know from teaching that even when working one to one with a child, they all catch on at differently. It's ok that you have incorporated fun learning into your lives.
What age group do you teach. I'm guessing you teach much older kids, because if you were a Kindy teacher, you would know that most children's readiness is just developing in K.
Is she gifted? Well I'll tell you that there isn't any set definition of 'what is gifted' - so you don't have to worry if she passes the test - there isn't any test!
I think of gifted as having special educational needs that aren't likely to be met in a regular classroom. It's the kid who walks into your class on the first day already knowing 75% of what you were planning to teach that whole year. Or the kid who makes jokes that you enjoy, but go right over the heads of their classmates.
Many gifted children come from families that include lots of other gifted people, so one thing you can do to prepare yourself (besides saving your cash, and developing a flexable way to earn a living so that if homeschooling is a must, you will be ready) is to start journaling on your own growing up experiences and talking to family members on both sides about their experiences. Was anyone in the family grade skiped? subject accelerated? A giant underachiever? A recovered underachiever? You may as well start dusting off the elephants.
I also echo the 'she IS just a toddler' advice. I found it very difficult and confusing to be 'sharing logic' with a toddler. Some discribe gifted as 'Asynchrouous Development' so that they litterally ARE many different ages at once. Anyway - do what you can to preserve your status as 'Pack Leader.'
Big Smiles,
Grinity
