Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Elementary School Is anyone 'not' advocating re Kindergarten?

I talked to the teacher before school started and told her where my DS was in his math and reading work. I just told her what grade level he was tested on the previous year. I tried to talk to her about it again during this school year but for some reason she still doesn't even know that he's reading much less grade levels ahead. Maybe you can schedule a meeting with the teacher and your child so that they can see what they are doing?

I always like to approach the school with questions and asking for their help and their opinions. Since we had no idea who our kids' K teachers would be, we called up the school office and said that we had some questions about what the K curriculum would be and we were wondering if we could maybe schedule some time with someone (the principal, a K teacher) at the school to talk. When they brought up learning letters, coins, time, adding and subtracting with objects, we said that our DC already knew these things, and in fact knew a lot of other things, and how would this be accomodated? Luckily for us, our school saw that accomodations would be needed in various forms. Basically, we know that it's really hard for a teacher to give special attention to a student who's way ahead in one subject, much less a student who's way ahead in most of the subjects, and so we asked for their ideas on the best way to approach things. In our case, DD was eventually (after lots of testing to verify ability and achievement) early entranced into K and then later subject and then whole grade accelerated, while DS skipped K altogether. For us, we were lucky, and it really became a partnership between us and the school to do what was right for our kids. I think schools really appreciate it if you seem to need their help and expertise (even if you know exactly what your DC needs without their help! ;))

I too spun the conversation with the K teacher to make her my hero! I brought a portfolio or DD3's latest work, and laid it on the table in front of her, and with very dramatic tears brimming on my eyelashes, I simply exhaled depply and said "Help me please"

It did help my case that we were in a Montessori School, and I had read all the literature on Montessori. At several key moments during our conversation, I would mention, that we had found the best place for our DD because we too believe that we need to "follow the child's lead" the way Maria Montessori had designed. ;-)

That K teacher and the current 1st-3rd level teacher have embraced DD and her abilities and view it as a blessing, an honor and a joy to have the challenge of meeting DD's educational needs.

She is now enrolled as a 1st grader in an International Academy (K12 iCademy) virtual school (homeschooling) and she is in the 1st-3rd grade class at her original private Montessori school 2 days a week as a supplement. Come January, she will be skipping second grade and starting third in the iCademy (homeschooling) and still stay in the 1st-3rd Montessori as a supplement.

It is working and we feel very fortunate.