Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Not-really-brag-so-much-as-quirky- anecdote thread

DD12 on deciding to knock out the last 100 pages of her book at bedtime: "I ended up reading past midnight again. I regret nothing."

I asked my ds6 what 27*13 equals. His logic used to solve the question was to square 13, double it, then add 13. Probably not the most straightforward way,

DS3 is bored to death with many typical preschooler games. He can't make it through a game of candy land or chutes and ladders, but will happily focus for 20-30 minutes on learning to play chess. He started asking to play at 2.5 when he saw his older cousins playing, and I got him a set for his 3rd birthday. Grandpa used to do tournaments, so maybe DS is following in his footsteps.

DD7 is no longer a cute little child who says amusingly precocious things. In fact, she acts more like a sulky tween most of the time so while I don't have much to share, she told me a few days ago that she plans on adopting an orphan rather than having a biological child since she believes no child should grow up without a family.

She asked me if I would be disappointed if she adopts a toddler or an older child as opposed to a baby. I told her I would be the most proud grandmother around but this is something she should be thinking about in 20+ years when she is done with school and has established a career.

No idea where this came from since we haven't even been discussing adopting a pet.

DD4 figured out humour this morning. She's been watching Doodie Man (don't judge me). She says to me, 'It's funny because he thinks he's brave and strong, but really he's just gross'. Well done kiddo. Juxtaposition of two incongruent elements = basic formula for humour.

Parent teacher evening at DS10's school. The school offers a choice between Latin and French for FL from 6th grade. For some reason, the majority of the gifted track (one of five) always chooses Latin, but since there is only one class offered, just under half of the class are kids from the other (regular college prep) tracks.
The teacher explained that he was happy with the class so far but that sadly, he couldn't teach to the level of the brightest kids in the classroom and to let him know if a kid needed more challenge for him to provide on the side. "There is one kid already learning Ancient Greek in Greek club, too, I just can't teach at the level that kid would need".

Later that evening, I needed him to unlock a bathroom for me and we got to chatting. I said it was a pity that the school offered a gifted level class for most subjects with the one exception of French and Latin, and that I was hoping he'd be able to engage the gifted kids in his classroom regardless. He then explained to me that he knew he couldn't meet that one kids needs in a sixth grade class when after the first session of Greek club, that kid had quoted parts of the Iliad and the odyssey in the original Greek at him because he'd had a vocabulary question. "No way could I teach the class at the level that kid needs!"
Oh well. After we'd established that "that kid" was mine and he'd gushed a bit about his capabilities and interest, telling me that he could go far in the classics and asking whether that was a possible career interest (sadly, I had to tell him it was astrophysics all the way) I told him that I was glad that at least his abilities and interest were appreciated, even if they might not necessarily be fed. He said: "well why wouldn't I love a student who is so very bright and motivated and well behaved to boot?"

Yeah, why wouldn't any teacher, LOL? No matter the level he thinks he must teach at, with teachers like this one, who even takes a sixth graders career aspirations as seriously as he should, I'm not worried!

Dear me, I do hope it won't have a practical application in your new place of residence!

Tigerle, that is a truly lovely thing to hear. So happy there is at least one teacher at your DC's school who appreciates him, and isn't threatened by his abilities!

Fun with 2E, aka why my daughter is the joy of my life:

Doing spelling remediation, dyslexic DD’s most hated activity. She’s desperate to be done, begging to be finished, and yet…. and yet…. she just can’t help herself.

I dictate: The tiger cleaned her paws.

She writes: The fluffy and adorable babby tiger liked clean her delekit paws and needly claws.

I dictate: The brave man pointed at the sky.

She writes: The brave young man pointed at the sky and lifted a golden apple to the pegasis flying down tords him.


I dictate: We were camping for three days.

She writes: We were camping enjoyably for three delectable days in the time of the hight of the aichent Egyptian empire!


DD earnestly explains to me: “A plain sentence is like a cupcake without flavour, icing, sprinkles or a colourful wrapper.” I add this to her whiteboard because, well, I love it so. DD contemplates for a moment, then announces, “I think that’s my new motto.”

Gotta give her credit...her sentences include almost every single word you dictated (except for "clean" instead of "cleaned")! Spelled correctly, too.