Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion The ultimate brag thread

We just found out that DS14 qualified for the NUMATS ceremony, and he is surprisingly pleased (in his own quiet way). His brother qualified a few years ago with his EXPLORE scores (and just missed qualifying this time with the ACT). We live in a pretty high-achieving school district and many of his friends already took ACT/SAT prep classes in 8th grade. DS did no prep beyond a practice test and hasn't accelerated beyond our normal gifted curriculum (he's taking an AoPS course, but it's programming, so not too applicable). He had taken the SAT in 6th grade through his gifted program and wanted to see if he had progressed (and of course, his brother decided to tag along; he hadn't done anything except the EXPLORE that his school requested as a precursor to math acceleration). After younger DS took the EXPLORE, I hadn't thought of doing NUMATS again, feeling like it would be difficult for a non-prepped/non-enriched kid to qualify(this year, 8th graders needed a 35 in reading, 34 in math, or 33 composite to qualify for the awards ceremony), but I signed them up at his request. So, it was really satisfying to see that DS could get close to those scores (he got 34 reading, 34 math, 30 English and Science-qualifying via his math score) without special prep or advancement, but just by reading a lot and having some natural aptitude for math.
I have been nervous about some of his freshman courses (like AP World), and seeing that reading score is reassuring. I know it's just one test, but it's a bit of confirmation, and I'm happy to see him get rewarded for academics. In our district, maybe because administrators are sick of pushy parents, kids get recognized for sports and music, but not usually for academics.
Thanks for letting me share-obviously not something I feel like I can talk about IRL (I'm guessing you all understand why!).

That's terrific!! I'm glad that your DS is also happy about his performance and the recognition, Momtofour. It's so nice when they shine like that.

Such a great thread!!

Last month DS(23 months), who usually doodles in chalk in the driveway, drew the letter 'H'. He stepped back, took a look at it, and said "Perfect H!" with a big smile.

He was so proud of himself...

DD15 drew quite a crowd and considerable applause today for playing (really, just riffing) a public piano (part of a public art installation) on the local Uni campus-- the approval came from a piano professor and his class.

He assumed that she was a majoring in performance and welcomed her to the campus. Upon learning that she wasn't a music student, he was very surprised, and encouraged her to take some performance credits.

She played around with some Ellington standards, swung a Clementi sonatina, and realized that the recovery time wasn't good enough to try the Bartok, so she fiddled around with some stride instead.

Apparently he was particularly smitten with her thoughtful and fluid rendering of a Joplin concert waltz. She does play that loose, jazzy/gypsy stuff well-- she just FEELS it. It's amazing-- she can make the timing very elastic or something-- it's hard to explain, and she only does it when she's relaxed, so I'm pretty proud of her composure in front of a crowd! She just went to play and make performance art, and to impress the boyfriend (who had never heard her play). Little did she know, right?

They listened to her play for about forty minutes all told, evidently.

Congratulations to your DD! That is some praise coming from the piano professor.
Hope the boyfriend was suitably impressed

Hope you took a picture!

If you ask me, it's a sign that your DD should continue with her piano study.

I think so, too, Mana-- but she isn't asking me either. She wasn't even playing anything HARD-- in other words, because it was in public, she was nervously trying to impress her significant other, etc., she was playing years below her actual ability.

And yes, I think that the boyfriend was impressed by her selection of jazzed-up John Williams themes, so it served its larger intended purpose. {sigh} I'm not sure if the boyfriend passed the music appreciation test; she seems to have given him a conditional pass. She tries them out like guide dog puppies at the outset, figuring out which things they'll tolerate or appreciate amongst her polymath's pantheon of interests. Those that have no appreciation for the arts are going nowhere with DD. LOL.

If she doesn't want to hear from her mother, she probably wouldn't want to hear it from me but if she quits now, chances are, she'll regret it soon enough.

And when she regrets it enough to want to take lessons again, she'd be old enough to pay for her own lessons.

Piano tuition with a good teacher is never cheap, especially if it has to come out of your own pocket.

My DD5 was assessed for a skip to 1st grade this morning. She did wonderfully on her test and maintained a great, positive attitude the whole time. She did mention to me that they didn't ask her any difficult math questions, though. I guess the focus of kindergarten is more on reading. I'm very proud of her, and there's not too many people I can tell, so here I am.