Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Reality check!

Since Hanni is not an early reader, I'm relying on my own impressions for where she's at. Maybe I'm over-inflating it? Maybe I'm That Mom?

But yesterday at the library I saw the Cricket family of magazines (Babybug, Ladybug, Spider, Cricket), and found that Spider was the right level for her. Then I saw that Ladybug, which I deemed too simple for my 3 year old, is for 3-6, and Spider for 6-9.

Really? REALLY? I mean, I kind of knew it, but I guess I didn't really know it, if you see what I mean.

What have been your reality check moments?

IMHO, a 3 year old who is reading is an "early reader" by any definition, much the way a 9 month old is an early walker despite the fact that someone else's kid walked at 6 months.

(For comparison, my DD, whom I'd consider to be neither early nor late, started reading at 5y5m.)

My kid plays her cards close to the vest. Every once in a while I see or hear something odd, but mostly not.

You mean those moments of epiphany that on the one hand hit you like a lightning bolt and fill you with terror and a sense of alienation from everyone else you know.... and on the other hand, simultaneously grant me a sense of triumphant validation ("SEE?? I'm not 'that mom' am I?? SEE??")...

those moments, you mean?


My biggest early ones, in retrospect, were:

daycare when my then-2-yo decided that she "needed" to learn some Spanish phrases since the daycare workers didn't seem to know enough to comfort a frightened younger toddler (~13mo?) from a Spanish-only home... this was also about the time that it became apparent that she not only already knew phonemes past kindergarten-1st, but also that she was able to do simple algebra in her head and had a wicked sense of humor...

DD desperately wanted a copy of Gray's Anatomy. For her 3rd birthday.

Colleagues remarked to me that they "forgot" that DD wasn't another adult when they'd be working in the lab and talking with her, seated at my desk nearby. These were technicians, grad students, and PhD scientists in pharmacology, chemistry, and molecular biology. DD was ~3-6yo.

kindergarten orientation day in our SD-- while I tried to talk to an experienced classroom teacher about differentiation and their ability to manage a chronic medical condition in the classroom, my DD (then just 4) sat quietly in the midst of UTTER chaos (seriously-- several dozen boys and girls 4-7yo screaming and running around the room playing tag/chase/whatever it was) reading what was obviously at least 3rd-7th grade level material. I can still see her sitting there on that chair, her legs high above the floor, swinging gently, in the middle of a Harry Potter book without a care in the world. Now, that wasn't an epiphany to me-- but it clearly was to the teacher, who instantaneously went from telling me in reassuring tones about "in-class differentiation" for gifted kids (with a tone of "Oh, we have MANY very advanced students, after all, living as we do in a university town, etc. etc.) to wide eyes and hushed, horrified whispers about absolutely NOT putting her into a district kindergarten classroom if I had any possible alternative because there was NOTHING that they would be able to do with/for her.

A few more recent:

a) DD, being dumbfounded/appalled at how 'obtuse' some freshman college students were being at a lecture on some ecology topic. This was when she was 10.

b) Friends who have remarked on how "overwhelming and fast" the pace of particular honors courses have been for their kids... these are GT kids (no, they really are) and they are also +4-6 years DD's senior... and I'm biting my tongue and not saying anything, but thinking "Wow. DD is really frustrated with the slow pace and the lack of detail."

Maybe not exactly a reality check, since by the time kids are 12 we parents usually have it figured out that there's something "different" ... but fwiw one of those "reminder" moments...

It's science fair time of the year.. and this is the first year ds will have been in a school that actually holds a science fair. He's got a great idea for a project. He doesn't want to do it. He told me he was really really scared and worried about it. When I asked him why he was worried, I was anticipating hearing about how he's never been in a science fair before, he doesn't know what to expect, he might not have time to do it, other kids might make fun of his idea.. those kind of things.

Nope.

He doesn't want to put his project in the science fair because he's afraid someone else will see it and patent his idea.

LOL!

polarbear

She's not reading yet. I meant her comprehension of the stuff I read to her.

You mean like when I took my 10 mo 'baby' to a Baby Yoga class at the library and after 4 mins he ran to the closed doors, banged on them and said, "no more, all done, go home"...
I slunk out of there frustrated that my LO just WASN'T a baby...he HATED the baby stuff in the class and let me know.

The librarian had a gifted child and thought it was funny, smiled a knowing smile...

My youngest started talking pretty late compared to my two older kids. When he was about a year and a half, he was misbehaving. As I usually did, I started counting to three to give him a warning to stop what he was doing. When I hit two, he still was misbehaving. When he saw that punishment was inevitable, he quickly said, "twee,foh,fibe,sits,seben,eight,nine,ten,eleben,twelb." I had no idea he knew how to count. And, yes, he got himself out of trouble with his little performance.

OH my-- that reminds me of the time when DD was about two, and I did the counting thing...

she stamped one foot when I started to say "three" and angrily informed me that she REFUSED to be punished. Because I "dint say two-and-half afore three."

Yes, that one worked, too.

Hah! You should have him apply for a patent then.

Since DS2 is still so young, I tend to tell myself, “It’s not that unusual…” But I was recently looking for some materials to entertain him and I had to go up to 1-3 grade to find ideas for activities he might like. One of the things I bought was a book of simple riddles. I read him a couple and he had no trouble solving them, without even really paying attention.