School starts tomorrow... Wish us luck...
It's interesting to look back on the last year and think about where we were this time last year. At that point I was just getting over the GT denial (and had relapses during the year). At that time he was completely into numbers, reading, space, math, mazes, and of all things human anatomy.
We started school--entering first grade early essentially skipping K--and had a series of challenges. I think that is the biggest advice I'd give anyone that considers skipping K: if your child requires a lot of sleep/gets worn down during then day, then I would suggest not doing it. At the beginning of the year we had to deal with a lot of sleep-induced meltdowns. The days had a cumulative effect and by Thursday/Friday we'd have our hands full at home (although school was fine). By mid-year as DS adjusted though, he did start to act out more at school to the point where we had to meet with the principal and teacher and set up a in school behavior chart. Funny how this behavior *always* happened right after break.
We would have probably had a better experience just letting him go to half day K and then unschooling at home.
We got through our IEP process, got the important PA "GT" label, yet saw a lot of DS's thirst for learning evaporate. Homework was a constant struggle even though it was material DS knew very well. By mid-year, DW just gave DS 3rd grade math sheets and some math challenge sheets sent home. While the district did seem to make some accommodations near the end of the year, the summer didn't come soon enough for us.
Summer came, new baby, and new interests. DS (now 6) started to turn back into his old self. He jumped into the Murderous Maths series of books (got through a few, and loves them). He began reading Horrible Histories and seems to like those as well. Ray gave us a substitute book for something out of stock and I'm glad he did. DS appears to dig it. Right now he's also very into playing chess... no Bobby Fischer (yet?) but we go to a chess club at the Y. Each week he counts down the days to "chess night". He's solved Timez Attack so many times that I'm glad we discovered Evolver (pre-algebra computer game). So glad we have this forum.
I personally have learned a lot during this last year. I'm pretty sure that this year is going to be as much of a struggle as last year, but I'm a little more comfortable with where we are
because I'm more aware of the issues. While DS tested gifted last year when we had him privately tested, based on what we're seeing I do think that IQ score was an underestimate (please understand how much of a leap this is for me as this is what I'd define as being one of "those parents"). I finally feel comfortable saying that (even though the psych said that and the achievement scores suggested that). If nothing else, if we're having these sorts of issues with a child that would be classified as moderately gifted, I can only imagine the issues higher up on the spectrum!
I've seen this boy interact with peers proudly solving "quiz" problems. I've also seen him clam up on chess night when the chess club leaders comes in to mentor him. It's definitely clear that you can miss out on understanding our DS if you're not patient enough with him. He'll go into great technical depth with me on his position on the chess board but as soon as a few people show up (distractions) and he starts interacting with his mentor, he's a different boy. I'm positive that this is a lot of what happened last year at school.
We're hoping that this year is better... and I'm hoping I can advocate more effectively!
JB
