Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Gifted preschooler in single age classroom

Hi:

DS 3:6 has been tentatively IDd as gifted based on a recent WPPSI-IV (I realize it is early in the game and kids can regress a bit as they get older, stay the same, or even accelerate).

[scores deleted]

He is in a school with age based classes (3-4, 4-5, kindergarten).

He says school is boring. Sometimes he says it is driving him crazy. But there are OK days too.

Wondering if anyone has had a child with a similar profile have a decent experience in a single age class environment. Montessori has been recommended and our guy does like to hang with older kids when given the chance.

Flip the verbal/visual scores, trim their spread a bit, and you've got a profile similar to my DD's, who LOVED her age-based pre-K. The key was she had a teacher who recognized DD's abilities and respected them. This teacher managed to give DD opportunities to show off her abilities in ways that helped her socially as well, a neat balancing act that I'd have loved to have seen in action.

Kindergarten... whole different story. [shudder]

Ultimately, what matters here is how your kid is doing, not how someone else's did with a different personality, in a different school, with a different teacher.

Thanks. It's helpful to hear that it is at least possible to make it work for some situations

Montessori worked very well for our ODS (PG based on testing). Montessori programs, like people, are highly variable, so your results may vary. Our YDS (likely gifted, only 3 so we are watching and waiting...) didn't thrive as much in a (different than older son's) Montessori but is doing very well in a mixed age (3-6) preschool. I do wonder how he will do next year when many of the older kids (his normal playmates) leave.

The fact he says it is boring would be something I would watch. That is more concerning to me than the single age range. For the record, our ODS gets along pretty well with age mates (if you leave out more than usual indignation when they are illogical), but when he was stuck with age-range content in first grade, that was a problem. A big problem.

When you have your child tested, that tells you a lot about your child. This is useful data for you and your child. However there's the risk that a parent might try to apply the information to situations where it really doesn't apply.

I speak from personal experience here. When we had DD tested, we thought that the information would a) give us predictive data about school and b) mean something of use to the school. Neither was true.

I believe that the success of a young HG+ child during a particular year of school is based primarily on the specific teacher. If the teacher "gets" your DS, it will be OK. If the teacher doesn't, its a lot less likely to work. Now the type of teachers you get at a school depends on the school culture and administration, but there's tons of variation. Which is why, as ConnectingDots indicated, Montessori works great for some and not for others.

Right now, your DS is giving you more valuable data than the test. He's telling you that he's bored and going crazy and that's what you need to listen to.

* I say young here, because once you get into the world of different classes / different teachers (usually in middle school) the issue is less acute. A child might have one teacher a year who gets him or her and that can be enough to get them through the classes with the teachers who don't. But for a little kid, that teacher is a huge part of their world and had a huge effect on their self concept as a student.

Totally agree with this. In theory Montessori is great for gifted kids (i.e., follow the child and move at their individual pace). However, not all Montessori schools/teachers operate in the same manner. If a Montessori teacher (that is true to the philosophy) "gets" your child, then it can be great! Especially since students stay with the same teacher for 3 years. But imagine being with the same mismatched teacher for 3 years! Oh my!

There are, however, some philosophies that just don't mesh with certain kids. For example, I'm pretty sure my child would implode if placed in a Waldorf school. But if the method seems to be a reasonable fit, then I agree that the teacher's understanding and flexibility are the primary contributors to success.

He is getting another teacher in his preschool room and some more kids. We will see how that goes. In addition we are planning on:

1. Occasional Ferris Bueller style "days off" where we can play, do field trips etc. I realize we are playing with fire with this - he may want to do it every day. Hopefully school will not seem as much of a grind with the occasional break. We have limited vacation time but this seems a worthwhile way to spend some of it.

2. Other enrichment. There are some part time gifted preschool programs that we are actively investigating that could be used to supplement preschool. Also during the summer it's easier to get babysitters for weekday mornings. We can work from home and just let him play at home 1-2 days a week.

3. We are (gently) teaching him to read. I really don't care whether he reads at 3 or 6 or whatever. But if he can read a bit on his own it is another tool to fight boredom.

His current school works in some ways (naptime, playground time etc. gifted and non gifted can all have fun together). It is one of the best programs we could find - and I don't want to discard it without really trying to make it work. The grass is always greener and another program might be better but could very well be much worse.

The other schools that were recommended to us do not have openings for several months so it seems not much harm in trying this for now as my little guy is getting to the open revolt stage about going to school.

Is it an academic or play based preschool? Many people on ere have had more success with play based preschools.

Hi - I am embarrassed to admit I am not sure. They do some circle time and structured activities, but they also have some free time. It may be a bit of both. I am concerned about the lack of peers which is why we are interested in either a gifted play group or possibly Montessori.

Ok - so it is play based AND academic - some teacher directed stuff and lots of play. It's just very difficult to tease out what school issues are normal socialization ("so and so does not want to be friends anymore") and what school issues are due to a more fundamental lack of fit.