Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Elementary School Kindergarten 2009-2010

No, LMom, he has a former 2nd grade teacher. She's young--this is her 3rd year teaching but her first with the K-ers.

I'm hopeful that these facts mean she'll be flexible and more likely to recognize accelerated learning that looks like 2nd grade work.

Unfortunately, the first thing she said to him after hello at the meet the teacher hour was "Don't run," when he was not running (or even walking...), so I'm a bit nervous. I'm hoping she's not so worried about controlling the kids that she overdoes it. DS5 holds grudges, I'm afraid. It could make things hard on both of them!

great news wyldkat!

and ds5.5 has officially impressed enough big wigs at his school to warrant the full acceleration testing (last week, i signed the request to be tested, and it had to be approved to go further). i'm really excited for him!!! the paper i signed today said that they will use one or more of all the tests that you guys have listed in the testing forum... now i get to go study up to know what to expect!!!

JJsMom and Wyldkat -

Congrats!

Wyldcat and JJsMom - great news for you both!

Our update: I went to Back-to-School night For Parents this evening at my son's school. I met his teacher. She seems nice enough. I'm very pleased that she was a 3rd grade teacher for most of her career, so hopefully that will help when dealing with my son.

Tomorrow is "open house", where my son and I get to go in and meet the teacher, see his classroom, etc. I am a bit nervous because the classroom is a typical kindergarten classroom, and I hope that he won't be too disappointed by it. The meeting I am most looking forward to is Friday AM where I get to meet with his teacher and several other teachers/administrators and go over my son's plan........

JJsMom: That's great news! I'm excited for you.

Here's a question for everyone that I've been really struggling with: I meet DS5's teacher on Friday morning to talk about his health issues. My husband thinks that as I'm leaving, I should casually mention that DS's reading seems rather advanced based on what I know from my second-grader, but that's something we can discuss after she has a chance to assess him.

So, how have you addressed your kids' abilities with your teachers without sounding like yet another bragging parent who thinks their kid is the greatest? I'm envious of those of you with acceleration testing. That's not something that I've heard of in our county.

DS5 had a good first day...except for the fact that he didn't get off the bus in the afternoon!

The bus stopped, and I was standing there, but the driver didn't even open the door. That bugged me. One open door and I could have helped him.

I was worried when he pulled away, of course, but the driver did realize his mistake with the help of a 6th grade neighbor. DS5 got off with her at the next stop and the driver waved to me to be sure I saw where DS5 was.

They'd better get it right next time! That was a pretty nerve-wracking mistake...

Otherwise, he said he had a good day, and the bus was a much bigger deal to me than it was to him. So that's very good.

Oh no Kriston! I'm glad that the missed bus stop wasn't as big a deal for your DS. (I'd be a bit miffed at the driver too!)

Mom2twoboys - I have approached the discussions about DS's giftedness by asking advice; I described DS's abilities, and asked what did they think we should do? (Caveat - we were armed with test results and a psychologist's report, and we contacted the school last spring.) In your situation, I would probably do exactly what your DH suggested, and give examples of the types of things he is reading.

Great news Wyldcat and JJsmom!

Yikes Kriston! That scares the heck out of me with DS too! Thankfully it hasn't happened - yet!

And mom2twoboys - at meet and greet, with the teacher, when we were leaving, I did mention DS5.5's abilities. I worded it similar to this:


She was excited and thanked me for letting her know. I picked him up the first day and she said she could tell already he's smart.

Then after the first week, I sent her an email letting her know that I know the first week is all about procedures and rules, and that now the focus will be determining how far along each child in her class is. And that I wanted to make sure she knew we were available for any questions or concerns and recommendations to keep him challenged throughout the year, as he has mastered the basics several years ago (i.e., recognizing letters, writing them, etc). I didn't go into too much detail until she responded with wanting to talk to me. She called me and asked me if I was interested in having him tested for whole grade acceleration, and she explained the process, and it was then that I explained his abilities, stuff he will work on me with, stuff he won't... his learning style and his need for a very structured challenging environment, etc...

So I would definitely give the basic information, and let the teacher know that you only offer it as assistance to her rather than telling her what she needs to do with your DS - if that makes sense... more of an fyi, he's here, and we want you to let us know what we can do to help you with him.

m2gts - let us know how it goes!

not sure if I should start a new thread for this question but since it is still related to K, here it is.

backround
From Ruf's levels and reading over the years I am guessing my ds5 is MG. Also possible he is bright ND. In the big picture, either one is fine with me.

In the context of his new school. I am wondering a lot about how it will go.
bright ND: could go fine. might be some boredom but balanced with a short day/extracurr/afterschooling he'll be fine.
MG+: frustration, acting out, hiding abilities...

I am thinking out loud here but I guess what I am saying is. It could be fine, or it could be terrible, whether he is GT or not. I just don't see the K classroom environment he is in supporting any 5 year old's growth and development. Maybe I am biased from Montessori, or maybe I am just biased period, but my belief that learning should be tailored to the child is just counter to the PS set up.

We are in the middle of planning a move so this is the option we are stuck with for now.

OK. now that I have processed a bit, here is the
question.
Can the parents with ND or MG kids who went to K and did fine please tell me that I am making too much of this? I should just relax and see how it goes right?

thanks,

EW