My dd is in 6th grade. I guess we have made some different choices than others in this forum that have resulted in some sacrifices. Although we have not had a full scale IQ test on her, she has always scored the max on all subjects in achievement testing. Last year she was given the TOMAG and OLSAT. TOMAG score was 147 and OLSAT was 142. I think the OLSAT test was lower than what a full-scale IQ test would show because it caps out at 150. My dd said that the other kids in her "gifted" class struggled with the test. She said it was super easy and that she finished it quickly. If a more difficult test had been given, I think it would have showed a mastery of more complex subject matter.
However, my dd has been a chatter box from a young age and enjoys socializing. She is on the small side- her growth rate has been in the 10-25 percentile. Therefore, we did not try to accelerate her to the next grade. She joined the gifted program, which starts in 2nd grade in our school district. She easliy gets straight As and her teachers love having her in their class. Of note is that she said that she does not learn anything in school. In our school district, they lowered the standards to be in the gifted program, to be more inclusive of others in the population. Therefore, it seems to be more of placing kids in ability grouping rather than in a gifted class. I think the classes are geared towards kids who have IQs of approx. 115-125. Therefore, all the material is very easy for my dd.
My dd had a growth spurt this past year and continues to complain of how easy her classes are. We discussed advancing her into 8th grade instead of 7th grade. She said she has a lot of school friends and wants to try out for cheerleading, so she does not want to do this.
Soooo... our sacrifice has involved extracurricular activities. She does competitive dancing, for a cost of 8-10k/ year. Now she plays a musical instrument in the marching band and the band teacher has told me he is very impressed with her progress- he said she sounds quite "adult-like" with how she plays her instrument. We have added tumbling too so she can do cheerleading. Interestingly, she is quite the artist as well.
Anyway... I work so I am gone from 6:30 AM until 9:00 pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday nights and until 8:30 PM on Monday nights, because she has activities these nights. She has rehearsals on Saturdays from 9:00 - 2:00 and tumbling from 2:30 - 4:00 PM. I am exhausted from all these activities. However, dd has no problem keeping up because school is so easy for her. I have not attempted to cut back; most parents cut back when their kid's grades suffer- this is not likely to happen. Oh, and sometimes there are conventions or competitions that start Friday afternoon and continue from 8 AM -9PM on Saturday and from 9 AM - 4 PM on Sunday. This is a lot of commitment for a Mom who would like to be a homebody.
