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

GRRR! I wonder as an adult how many people would continue to be happy about doing things if they were bored to the level that our children are.

This is a great idea! I'm going to talk to DS about doing this! He'll love the idea of post-it notes

So no real change for your granddaughter so far?

Last year DS was in the principal's office almost more than he was in class so I know how frustrating that is. Doesn't your GD think that she's "bad" because she gets in trouble at school?

No, Jamie, no real change at least for the better so far. A lot of mornings she will be doing great but then something happens and the whole day will go downhill. She was getting good behavior reports at least half of the time but hardly any the last couple of weeks. The only concession I've heard about re schoolwork is the teacher told her she could "go ahead on her math test" if she would put her head down on her desk when finished while the others did their test. That didn't work out too well. Teacher said she might set something up on the computer for her while she was waiting (which might help) but I don't think that has happened.

It is difficult to get GD to even talk about school anymore or her feelings about it. I'm not sure if she feels she is bad although it's possible underneath. She has a lot of anxiety. GD broke down crying last week & asked DD if there was another school she go to where she wouldn't have to be afraid. (We're not sure what she means by being afraid - getting sent to office/detention room or the skeletons in the gym or what.

DD is taking her to the Play Therapist this afternoon. From DD's report of 1st meeting without GD, I'm not very hopeful but hoping I'll be pleasantly surprised if she has suggestions to help the situation.

Does your DS think he is "bad" and tell you so? That is so sad. But at least if he talks to you about how he feels, you can try to deal with it. GD just keeps so much inside it's hard to know what she's thinking. Outwardly she will seem to play happily but any mention of school is met with "I don't want to tell you/talk about it." And at the beginning of the school year she was so enthusiastic about school and learning (not much of that going on). Frustrating!

Hi all -I've been following this topic for a few months now. I am "homeschooling" my nearly 5 year old this year because we didn't make the state age cut-off for K. He's doing great and (shockingly) we are both enjoying the homeschool process. I am hoping to enroll him into a public school next year because I think he needs the peer stimulation.

Long story short . . . because of his age, he may only be eligible for K in 2010 (not 1st as we'd hoped). In our area, gifted programming/accommodations don't occur until 1st grade at the earliest. My gut feeling is that DS will suffer greatly in a regular K classroom (almost all schools are full-day).

At a playgroup this weekend, all of the (ND-MG) parents kept telling me how he'd be fine in a classroom and that I'm silly for even being concerned about his placement. They thought I was crazy for considering 1st next year. I felt really ganged-up on and misunderstood. Basically, this is a vent, a need for understanding (from all of you who "get it") and a simple question- is a regular K class working for anyone?

It's not working for us and I feel your pain. Nobody gets why I'm pushing to try and get him into 1st this year or even get different work for him.

Do you think you'll homeschool next year?

Next year, we have two potential opportunities for a self-contained 1st grade gifted classroom. If they won't take him because of age (which is fully within their rights), then I think we'll continue to homeschool. I just can't imagine that even the best teacher in the world can handle a class full of K's on a limited budget with even stricter standards, testing, etc. and still deal with my DS who is working on a 3rd grade level+ in most subjects (this month).

FWIW- I don't think the parents in the playgroup have any idea about DS's true ability, nor do I think they understand how ostracized I feel. I think they were just trying to be supportive-

Welcome! This is a great group and when you need to vent, feel free to join us.

I've got some friends who definitely think I'm too intense and that I should just let everything be and all will be fine. In terms of whether K can work for some, I think it can depending on the circumstances, the school and, most importantly, the teacher. Here's why:

While you guys have heard me struggle here with the school and DS5, he's been happy with school. He has liked his teachers (both the old one and the new one) and he has friends. He's not a complainer and will simply do what he's told, even if the work is too easy. What was interesting to me at his P-T conference was to hear the teacher say that he would finish his work quickly and then gave her a look that says "Alright, what's next?" She knew and I knew the work was way too easy for him. To her credit and b/c I got the reading specialist involved, the school took a harder look at him and realized that he needed a different learning environment. So, he went off to kindergarten class number 2 this week. And though it's been just a couple of days, I can see how this is a much better fit, and it's still a kindergarten classroom.

Here's the difference:

1. The school paired 2-3 high-level readers under this one teacher so he's not alone and it's then worth their effort to teach the higher learners b/c it's not just one child. While there are children in the classroom who don't yet know how to read, the teacher is able to gear some portion of the day to helping DS better comprehend the books he is reading and to learn to write about the books.

2. In math, the teacher has told me that moving DS into her class has given her an excuse to be able to teach up to some of the other kids while giving him the work he needs. Clearly, this is a teacher who understands that a higher learner can elevate a bunch of kids rather than teaching down and waiting for everyone else to catch up.

3. Our school has 5 K classes. It's clear to me that different teachers instruct at different levels. There's the teacher who's all play. There's the teacher who believes that we push these kids too far too fast for what they are developmentally ready for. And there's the teacher we have now who has a lot of experience and background with gifted kids.

So, some of the question when you look at the K programs is the background of the teacher and how she approaches different levels of kids. Also, how will your DS react if/when some of the work is too easy? As we all know, some kids can't handle the boredom and act out. And finally, it's really hard to get school administrators to really listen and believe you about your child's abilities. When I think back to spring of last year through until now, I wonder if there were a way that all of my advocating and the room-switch could have been avoided. Maybe if the principal hadn't shooed me off when I asked about how they handle kids who are already reading? Maybe if the 15-minute meet-and-greet with incoming kindergartners actually had a small reading component to see if the child could, say, read the instructions on a piece of paper?

This is my 2nd child who needed some kind of acceleration in grade K and it was a mess with both of them at the beginning. By the time my older one hit 1st grade, everything really smoothed out, though, with acceleration available for the kids. I do also live in a county that tends toward over-acceleration rather than under.

Hey Sittin!
Those momenents are so hard. So many people told me not to be so intense. I wish I had know that this was a great opportunity to understand what my son would have to face on a daily basis in a ND environment. K, especially half day, can be 'ok' for some kids, depending on their personality. If they are flexible, calm, able to intuit what adults want, and motivated to provide it. Although I'm not sure that just because a child is behaving, (which is good) that they aren't giving up 'too much' and in for trouble later. That wasn't my son's personality, and being in 'enemy territory' just seemed to intensify those aspects of his personality.

Having said all that, the preschool teachers and Kindy teachers seem more comfortable with meeting children where they are in general, as children's development is so 'all over the place' at these ages. A great teacher, in good conditions can give a child a wonderful year.

Seems to me that if you are enjoying homeschooling, and can afford to continue for another year, what harm can there be to keep going? I'm also wondering what they provide for gifted 1st graders, if it's a self contained classroom, and they try to get similar LOG kids together, then that is something to look forward to. If it's pretesting and subject acceleration, that can be great too. If it's sodoku or making YouTube videos during an hour a week pull out, and your child is beyond MG, then I wouldn't waste my emotional energy looking forward to it.

Tangent Ahead:
A gifted teacher told me once, about her pull out program, that 'all these kids really need is a chance to be together, and it practically doesn't matter what curriculum I draw up for them - they just thrive in each other's company!'

I interpreted that to mean that if the child is MG, and 'almost fine' in the classroom in the first place, that they would really enjoy her program. I interpreted that to mean that she had never really experienced a HG or PG kid who 'burned to learn.' Our district did away with gifted pull out programs about 10 years ago as a cost saving measure. After that conversation, I gave up resenting that there was no pull out in our district.

Anyway - I'm glad you can come here and vent! Yippee!
Grinity

It sounds like things are going well mom! So in his new class there are more kids that are closer to his level?