I got a chuckle out of your video game reference. That was certainly the kind of GT kid I was! I identify!
And they're all different. But I know what you means about feeling a fraud even as you know you're not. It's a very conflicted issue for me, that's for sure!
YSP asks for only 3 pieces of "evidence" in the portfolio, which seems crazy-small to me as a sample when you're dealing with a 6yo. I mean, for older kids, they could be researching the cure for cancer and writing novels, so three pieces could be enough because they'd be BIG PIECES. But at 6? Even your "average" PG kid isn't doing that sort of big stuff. So do I include a book he's written and illustrated showing Transformers blowing one another up? (No, he hasn't seen any movies or TV containing Transformers! It's all coming from him!) Do I include the video of his learning to do 3-digit addition in his head so they can see how fast he picks it up? Does that distinguish him from an MG kid? Because that's what the portfolio has to do, right? Show the difference between MG and PG. Well that's really hard to show! Does a list of things he's said cut it? And how many comments can I include before I'm abusing their willingness to read it?
*sigh*
England...England...England...
Actually, if your DS's handwriting stinks, it would probably boost his chances. I have yet to hear of anyone bragging about the lovely handwriting of her HG+ kid! It's all lousy! And you could always include a typed "translation" or a recording of your DS reading it for the sake of their eyes. I've been considering sending a video of my DS explaining to me what's going on in his Transformer book-creation, since he points out all the details that my/the committee's adult eyes would just see as scribbles. He's not an art prodigy, certainly! But his yarn-spinning talents are a wonder to behold, at least to me, and they're all there in his drawings...if you can figure out what the drawings are supposed to be.
Really, I suspect video is the way to go because when you see a level 4 or above doing his/her thing, you know it! But, then again, portfolios seem to just get rejected. I just hate to spend all that money on another test. It seems so obsessive. If he got the scores and got in, it would be worth it. But if he didn't, it would seem weird and foolish and a little creepy.
Ugh! Dither, dither, dither...Honestly, all this nonsense is not like me at all!
I'm starting to get on my own nerves in these posts, so I'm going to cut it out now! But I really appreciate your support. You have made me feel much less nutty. Thanks!
