I have always found it interesting that parents of normally developing kids are encouraged to provide a literacy-rich and number-rich environment and to make sure that their kids have the basic skills needed to enter schooling, but parents of gifted kids are accused of providing an enriching environment that has overprepared their childrend for schooling. Eventhough our school has seen my kids scores and has subject and grade accelerated them, it is often mentioned, as a way of negating the extreme scores, that we provide an enriching home life to them. All I do is read to my kids and take them fun places, just like everyone is encouraged to do, but it's used against me. So, unfortunately, even when people see what your child can do, people tend to try to explain it away to make the unusual things they are seeing in your child more usual and more in line with their expectations. I think that the only way that you're going to get others to see your daughter more for who she truly is is to share stories and have lots of casual conversations with the teachers so that they get to know both your DD and you (so that they can see that you are not a pushy-parent).
And I agree with what Mich said. Teaching all kids to begin the process of reading in K because they are supposedly at precisely the right age and the right development stage is much more random than watching for the signs in a child to see if they are ready to read. Who says 5 is the perfect age? Clearly your DD is saying that 5 isn't the age for her. So I see nothing wrong with working a little bit of reading guidance into your day. You're clearly introspective enough that you won't push her beyond what she's interested in and ready for. And, how is teaching reading any different then teaching shoe-tying or zippering or toileting or any of those other things that you're expected to teach? You're just trying to give her what she needs.
Last edited by mnmom23; 02/17/11 09:55 AM. Reason: spelling
