This is a great thread, thanks for the input Jeremy!
To Josie:
Lyle, my 6 yo son (also in first grade), was tested by his teacher in Kindergarten last year as having way above Grade 6 reading comprehension, and throughout most of Kinder was working with the school's GATE teacher and Literacy Specialist. The GATE teacher referred him to the County's Highly Gifted Program for pre-screening, and the result of that was they would go ahead with the full screening when he entered 1st grade.
Last week, I got a follow up call from the county's Highly Gifted program, and said to just keep an eye out for their consent form sometime December for the full testing. The lady I spoke with said because Lyle was so young at the time of the prescreen, they wanted to wait till at least 6 months from his birthday (he's a July baby) per the psychologist's recommendation. Lyle scored only a 93% on the Toni-3, and she said if he scored 99+, they would've gone ahead with the full testing for the highly gifted program. It seems usually the kids they worked with got some coaching on answers, but in Lyle's case, as he went through the prescreening, he lost a few points here and there which they knew he would've gotten if he had more exposure to those things, so they wanted to wait till he entered 1st grade.
I felt kind of bad at this point because I really never had any formal teaching with Lyle, he just sort of picked things up and was reading my magazines by the time he was 36 months old.
Now at 1st grade, I'd like to think he's on the right track. I already got confirmation from the county they will test him for the Highly Gifted program sometime Dec-Jan. His 1st grade teacher is very receptive about his needs. She tells me he gets in trouble in class mostly from his shouting out loud, "I already know that!", he's a very talkative boy, likes to express his opinions and thoughts (albeit at the wrong moments, like when the teacher is trying to actually try and teach the other kids in his class).
Lyle's teacher arranged for him to go to a 2nd grade class for reading, and this week they have Charlotte's Web. She said they'll move him up gradually, which I think is a good plan so as not to "shock" him. She's also working with the school's GATE teacher to try and get him in the program even though they generally don't start till 3rd grade.
I've enrolled him in chess club after school on Fridays (an 8 week program), and the interaction with other kids outside his class with a common interest is great. He wants to learn to play a guitar, so I bought him one on eBay. I'm searching for affordable music lessons for him, but if it's really out of my budget for formal music lessons, I might just download e-books or lesson cds and go off that. I take him out to the park and set him up with playdates -- he loves the time with other kids since it's just him and me at home (I'm a divorced mom).
Definitely have good communication with your child's teacher because she is the primary person outside the home that your child looks up to for guidance. Keep in touch with the school's GATE teacher, literacy specialist, principal, whoever can help you get what your son needs. Be proactive in behalf of what you want for your gifted child.
Good luck!
