Go sit in the classrooms. Observe the kids, the learning materials the teachers. Finding a teacher who is a good match for your child makes all the difference.
So sorry you were always 'second best' - apparently some of your sister's genes are 'in you' because you are seeing them in your daughter. I'm sorry you didn't get social time or fun time - but I'm sure that part of you was happy to have the distraction of struggling to met your family expectations, because I know many kids who just plain rebel and do nothing academic in a circumstance like that.
It is a handicap to try to give your child something you never had, but I have tremendous faith in you that you will keep posting and thinking and trying stuff and you will be there for your DD. It won't be perfect, but it will be nothing like your childhood was. Do keep in mind that while having an older sister who seemed 'more gifted' than you had it's downside, you never had to feel 'weird' or 'alone' or 'like a freak' because the family path was already beaten down. Your DD won't have that. I'm the first born, and I was always jealous that my younger brothers seemed so much more 'self-accepting' than I was. Your older sister provided a 'gifted cluster' for you at home - even though the cost was so high.
Do you have more than one child, Mag? Or did your growing up experience scare you off of the whole sibling thing? I hear tell that there are families that appreciate each child's unique strengths and think of themselves as 'smart families.'
Hug and Happy Dances,
Grinity
