Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school What is the area you DC shines the most?

DD2.5 is amazing with computers. It is clearly the area where everybody can see how advanced she is as it combines some reading, fine motor skills, memory, logistics and there is no pressure for her. She does not like to show her reading skills but she has no trouble finding the right links... She uses computers better than her 6 & 8-year old cousins and helps the adults who visit us with mac (as they are pc ppl), she has even shown me few shortcuts I had no idea existed. Her newest thing is to play daddy's flight simulator.

I thought it would be nice to hear what is the talent which shows your little child's advancement the best.

The reading thing is over the top, and definitely the thing that most clearly demonstrates how far ahead she is. But what impresses me the most is the long, deep thinking she does. She'll hear a fact and weeks later she says something out of the blue that makes it clear that she's been thinking about it all that time. Of course, that's not measurable in the way that reading is.

With my DD the reading is over the top as well and that's what I think stands out for people who don't know her. But it's her memory that will leave me with my mouth open. If there's such a thing as a photographic memory she has it.

This is a side issue- has anyone experienced this? Ds has a terrific memory. At +2yo, 3 mths after a holiday, he started reciting the safety message that was announced on the flight, stopping to ask what certain words meant. Yet he can forget what he had for breakfast or whether he's brushed his teeth a half hour earlier. Bizarre!

He's 7 now and talks about how certain things made him feel a few years earlier. I know what u guys mean by the reading - it stands out because it's visible, but maybe I'm too used to it by now. What he does extra well to me - I used to think it was the way math is absolutely intuitive to him. But last yr, after cruising easily on logic for algebra for awhile, he lost the thread. I was surprised- he spent the whole of December staring at the problems and then managing to work them through. So I'd say it's his doggedness at solving questions that are meaningful to him. He says he loves the challenge.

lol, yep, it's what's important to them, although when dd looks like she didn't hear a word, I'll ask her if she heard me and she'll repeat my words verbatim, so go figure.

I just wanted to chime in with a brain factoid. The cerebral cortex (if my memory serves me) allows experiences/memories to bump around the brain for seven years before they are filed away as gospel. That is, they are malleable for seven years. My personal take on that is that we humans get seven years to place our experiences/memories in context before we move on.

P.S. I think there's not enough use of the word doggedness in this world!

I don't think I could pick just one.
Both of my kids are switch hitters. They excel in one area get bored and seem to move to another.

Right now my DS3 is really in onto numbers and math, he counts everything and reads the numbers off of every sign or address. 6 months ago it was reading and words

My DD7 is really getting into math for the first time. She is cruising through Algebra with many side trips

The thing most people would notice about DD right away is her physical prowess. I know it's not directly related to giftedness but it's what's she's the most ahead in and what most people notice. She's also VERY, VERY, VERY energetic, doesn't sleep etc. It's pretty noticeable compared to other kids her age.

But there are two things that I notice most of all that probably isn't as obvious to the general public: pretend play and pre-reading skills. Her pretend play is just amazing. At 14 months she can play for an hour + with her doll house, hold long "conversations" on my cell phone, feed us invisible food, pretend to be many different animals, etc. I love it!

We've also noticed some pre-reading skills (I guess that's what you call them?). As in she can recognize numbers and letters (both names and sounds) and I'm pretty sure she has a few sight words because she gets really excited when she sees her name, will clap her hands when she sees "clap hands" written, and can recognize and point to "little tykes" whenever she sees the brand symbol on toys. It just seems like I'm insane thinking about that with DD but I really get the impression she can pick out some of these words. She also has some books "memorized" in that she'll do all the actions to them without me reading them to her.

DD5: Social skills and tremendous memory.
DD7: Reading, Science, History

DS is really little, and right now he's not doing anything that a stranger is likely to notice, except that he plays with rather than alongside other kids.

What I love, that I find shiny, is that he makes little jokes, and is thrilled by numbers (I had to read him a measuring tape several times today, flipping from metric to imperial )

He's pretty fun!