Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Elementary School Gifted six year old boys

My DS is finishing up 1st grade - turned 7 last January. His WJ-III was 143 and his GAI was 129, BUT he has visual processing issues so I suspect that his actual IQ is much higher. He scored 99.9th percentile on many of the subtests but processing speed was low due to his vision. He got 98th percentile on both NNAT and OLSAT (99 v /93 nv)

He hasn't been tested to determine what grade level he is at (beyond the WJIII) but he is able to read at least at 6th grade level and beyond and his math skills are probably on par with maybe 4th or 5th (obviously he has some gaps but this is a kid who loves pi...)

We will retest privately once he completes OT and VT.

Great thread. I have second guessed things at times in the year since my DS4 was tested as EG. Asynchronous development has thrown plenty of curveballs our way but hearing these stories confirms what his psychologist was trying to tell us and what his score suggests.

To add to the data: DS4 is early entry Kindergarten this year. Reading is top of class though still at kindy level. Maths is at year 2 level. Writing is average for kindy. I guess 1-3 years above age level depending on area. Most of what we see that shows his giftedness is away from school - working memory, puzzles, chess etc. Looking for to gifted classes starting next year and see if they offer him a challenge.

My DS6 is just finishing up kindergarten and has made huge strides in writing this year. HUGE. His handwriting is very readable now, his sentences and syntax are way beyond his years (looks comparable to the 2nd graders in his class), and his ideas and arguments are just as loopy as any 6-year-old boy's. It's amazing how he rose to expectations, though. At his previous school, he was writing 1- and 2-sentence pieces along with every other kindergartner -- following instructions. The very first day at his new school, they let him write something as long as he wanted, and he filled a page!

Math: working on Singapore 4A/4B at school, and going deep into Khan Academy for higher math (fractions, statistics, geometry). Definitely his "superpower."

Reading: Boxcar Children, Little House, Jigsaw Jones, assorted science and math books. And Magic Treehouse is always around -- we have them all. Also, he's learning Spanish rapidly at school, so he's starting to have some basic Spanish books around as well.

We tested him a year and a half ago with the WPPSI, but the results were off because of his antipathy to the examiner (long story). No idea what he'd score if we tested him now, but we're not planning on it.

I am grateful for all of your replies! It has been wonderful to read about your clever kids, and it has been helpful to see the differences in giftedness.

Good thread, squishys... realizing they are all getting older as we go as I saw your algebra mention on the brag thread. We are getting similar drive from DS7.5. He is constantly looking for new math sites or apps. Last night he was doing work on a site called mathspace, and asked for some help with a question. When he wrapped up that segment, I noticed it was for 8th grade math; eghads.

They're all growing up so fast. I started this thread nearly five months ago, and now my DS6 will be a DS7 in September! My son has been doing some easy algebra for a year now (being taught by me), but lately he's been going to a maths/English tutor and he has learnt sooooo much more than I could ever teach him lol.

I have been wondering if any of you would be interested in setting up pen pals for your sons . My DS7 has been wanting to get to know more boys like him.

It could be postal mail or email.

I belong to a figure skating message board where we trade holiday cards every December. It's fun!

scateycat- my ds would love a pen pal who is more like him. He is a very social child, but had a very challenging time in school last year making friends. I think he knows he is different, but wants to fit in. With summer in full swing, he has his confidence restored and is acting more himself. Either email or snail mail is fine for us.
Let me know your preference, and we can get the boys started.

Skateycat- we are going on vacation next week, so if your ds likes to get actual mail, we could send some post cards too:)

Cool! I just sent you a private message.