Haha...I am sure I do come across as a rambler by my posts. I actually am very good at getting to the point when I talk to people one on one, but I tend to write everything that comes to mind. It is actually one way I prepare myself for meetings at work. I have not communicated much with her teacher since the second semester started. At the end of last semester I stepped in a couple times to let her teacher know what was going on with her and once to let her know that I would be out of town for a week to prepare her for any craziness that came from her daddy dropping her off. He can be a bit consumed in his own thoughts and tends to forget time or how to match clothing. Both of those last times I talked with her I caught her making faces at the teacher across the hall. I could tell she was annoyed. I have never wanted to be that person and I always keep our conversations down to 2-3 minutes because I know morning time is busy. If something requires more than a couple sentence explanation I will write her a note. I definitely don't feel like I will get far with this whole ordeal by annoying her teacher. So, I have tried to back off long enough to give them a chance to start the assessment/testing process. I have only talked with her about the subject...or any subject maybe 4-5 times and somehow I have still annoyed her.
Yes, I agree that the test she took isn't enough. But our school system will not test a Kindergarten child for giftedness without them first passing a Kindergarten achievement test. Which I find ridiculous. A gifted Kindergarten student is just as likely, if not more likely, to blow off an achievement test than any other gifted student.
I listened to her concerns when we initially started talking about the subject. Her only concerns were my daughter's age and she was afraid that if my daughter did not do well with the assessment then she would never be put into a gifted program. Which I told her I understood where she was coming from on both points. But I also know that if I wait until 2nd grade, when they normally test every child for giftedness in our system, then she may not get help until 3rd grade...which seems a little late in the ball game.
I am not too concerned with the teacher's concerns...not in a rude way. But for one she admitted that she knows very little about gifted students. Secondly, my daughter's learning pace has not slowed but instead it seems to be increasing very rapidly. So, even if she does not do well on this early assessment I feel that by this time next year her abilities will be very hard to miss. Even if she has to wait another year to be tested again it will be obvious that she is well above her grade level and it will be easier to help her skip a grade or at least get more appropriate assignments. So far she is not getting any work in class above Kindergarten level even though this was something her teacher and I agreed we would try when we talked at the parent-teacher conference.
I rambled again. Sorry:)
What I meant to say was...
Yes, I agree that she needs to be given a higher level achievement test...if one at all. It will be easy to figure out what she does and does not know once we allow her to work on a more independent level. But I am not getting help with that because she has not been "identified" as gifted.
I have been looking at some math curriculum to use at home. Do you recommend any in particular? Something on a 2nd-3rd grade level?
