Hi, all! I thought I'd post an update since I started this thread in a panic about what to do. We have come a long way in the past month!
We decided to pull our 4 yr old DS out of the Montessori school due to what we thought might be withdrawal/disinterest associated with some of the typical things that happen to giften children. I just did not feel they could address his lack of interest and the loss of his little spark.
Then, we found a local but very large and reputable university psych. department that offers a whole battery of testing for only $300.00. We are working with a doctoral student who was the only student chosen by a very reputable child psychologist in our area for her to mentor. And, I feel so incredibly lucky/blessed by this part of the picture: she is a mother with three gifted children. Her 9 year-old son is PG. AND she lives in our school district, so she has a wealth of experience and wisdom to share regarding testing/gifted programs/early entrance. What are the odds?!! My point is that I feel really good about having her do our testing. I can't ignore the fact that we are saving several thousand dollars, also, by taking this route initially.
We completed the SB-V today and received a range of 140-150. Our "hard" score is 140. She pointed out that he hit the ceiling on a number of the tests, particularly the ones that are a more accurate indicator of his real score, according to her, but continued to answer questions correctly, even though he could not continue to receive points for it. There were also a number of exercises that DS could clearly do, but he was not understanding the directions fully. And, of course, she could not re-state the directions as the test is standardized. For example, one of the patterns was a row of squares with dots inside. He began, "two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve!" He got the pattern right away, but he said, "I guess two comes next." As though the pattern starts over again. He didn't understand that it should continue. The fact that 14 comes next is a fairly simple concept for him. So, it was just really interesting to see how the test cannot measure everything accurately. Totally fascinating, though, in general! I was so glad she asked me to stay in the room. I was allowed to sit and observe just a few feet behind him. What a fun experience!
We are also planning to do the Woodcock-Johnson, I believe, as well as one or two others to help identify his best learning style. As of this point, we are going to home school for the spring semester and summer, and try to decide in the meantime how to handle kindergarten/first grade. The achievement tests will help quite a bit, also, I'm sure, in that decision.
So...I have to say to all parents: follow your intuition!! We knew that there was something amiss with our little boy. He just seemed so unhappy at school, but we couldn't figure it out. Now it all makes sense.
I have a few questions if you feel like responding. I'd love any and all input.
1. Our tester stated that it would be almost punishing to make him sit through a year of kindergarten. What do you think? I'm feeling pretty certain we should pursue first grade, but I'm not sure.
2. Do you think a Montessori environment is appropriate for this type of child? I am concerned that three years in the same class could be a bit draining, but I don't know.
3. What would you do next?!
I'm so appreciative to all of you for your candid responses in the past. You all have really helped me through this process. It has truly opened a new door in our lives. It's kind of exciting to see how it's unfolding. After being introduced to Ruf's levels, based on DS's development, I placed him between a 4 and a 5, and I feel like the testing reflects it.
So thank you all!!
Sincerely,
Allison
