Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Second thoughts - Application for a gifted program

Sorry, this is a long, rambling attack of nerves!

I finally 'bit the bullet' and made contact with the local gifted children's group. I saw they had some activities my LO would really enjoy coming up! They usually require a parent form and a teacher/childcare worker etc nomination. But because my LO is home educated, and has never been in care, that's kind of a problem! I asked about what I could do, and they have been great, suggesting I complete the parent form and a more detailed submission with specific information about why I think he is gifted and some examples of his drawing and/or work he has produced.

So now I'm starting to second-guess myself. Is he really gifted? There is no doubt in my mind he is bright, but... He is only just four, but he isn't writing yet, his reading is just recognizing a few words (although he knows most of his letter sounds and names.) and his drawings are yet to resemble anything. But that seems to be at least partly because he doesn't attempt it! He can see straight away that his 'o' isn't a perfect circle and he gets upset. We have tended towards unschooling styles too, which makes that a little more difficult. Elsewhere I have written about his perfectionism, and lack of tolerance for frustration. (he got up on all fours and screamed for weeks when he was a baby because he wanted to crawl and he couldn't do it the first time he tried.)

I think it makes it worse that it isn't entirely clear what LOG they are after. Not that I know exactly where he is, but that might help my confidence!

Do you think things like photos of the very simple electronics circuits he is building by himself would be considered work? What about the little things that show personality, the things other people notice, like when we visited a projection light show, and I was pointing at all the pretty lights and he was searching for the projection boxes and quizzing me about how they work? Or examples of times when he has made little jumps of logic? One day he was watching the magic school bus episode about friction, and later, cleaning up a spill commented "water makes things slippery. Does that mean there is no friction?" His obsessive questioning in the car? (Mum, what is gravity made of?)

I know it is difficult for anyone else to answer this, but am I on the right track? Am I deluding myself? Do you have any suggestions for other ways I could offer 'proof'?

And why do I suddenly feel like I'm in an exam? LOL

I'll jump in here, I'm sure some others will be along ... Yes, photos of the different things he has done is good. Also jot down some of the things that have happened as notes. Things he has said, asked about, etc

I agree that pictures are great! Even better would be taking some video with him explaining what he's made.

It sounds like his math/engineering gifts are really standing out right now. Many gifted children are stronger in some areas than others. The fact that he isn't focused on language arts shouldn't have you second-guess yourself!

Good luck!

Are these circuits of the "snap circuits" variety, or something else? If he likes to put things together, maybe you could give him a complicated puzzle to work and videorecord/photograph him working it.

You could similarly try giving him different types of building sets, and see what he comes up with. Some ideas might include wooden or other basic blocks, wooden train sets, Legos, Capsela, Zome, ZOOB, Erector sets, etc.

One thing I've done with my older son in the past is give him fun challenges. For instance, one day a while ago I told him that I wanted him to use all of his train set pieces (which is a lot) to put together a single track in a small L-shaped part of our living room, without leaving anything out, and where every part of the track had to be reachable from the station house. It was a fun challenge for him, and he went right to work putting together a multilayered track, which took him a little while. I set this task for him just because I thought he would find it fun.

I mention this only to get you thinking about ways you might be able to encourage your kid to produce something recordable as evidence of his gifts, while still keeping it fun and non-threatening for him. Set a goal that will require some level of complexity to achieve, and see what he produces.

I wouldn't sweat this. He's four, why wouldn't he be "home educated"? Not trying to put down your efforts, just attempting to give a little outsider perspective. If their criteria is preschool teacher/childcare worker/babysitter recommendation then they are really not all that serious about identification.

I guessing that either they take every child whose parents bother to go through the process (which is is probably a reasonably effective screen) or they are a clique and they are going to be more concerned about YOU than your child.

Their suggestions are just that: suggestions. You know your son's strengths so document those. Provide a journal to them which includes his baby years of when he mastered milestones and also descriptions of his perfectionism. I add perfectionism because if they truly are a gifted program then they should understand this.

If you have any videos of what you described in reference to his questioning; definitely add them. And take pictures of whatever projects he has done that are uniquely him.

Now my question: What type of activities are they offering that you want to get your son in? I ask this because their suggestions suggest they lean more towards rigid academics at the early age and you might find this to frustrate your son, especially if he isn't into writing and drawing. My DD goes to a school where it is more rigid in the writing component and would have been a concern if she wasn't already writing at an early age. This said she has classmates, specifically boys, who still have problems with it but her school is one of encouragement and doesn't penalize them if they can't. I would do a little more research on the school and find out what they require of their students versus what they offer. Offering the opportunity to write and building from there versus requiring them to do so is a big difference.

We have a gifted school here but for some reason I have stayed away from it because I don't like the idea of testing DD at age 3 and they require that information to even consider the child. DD is a perfectionist, too, and one that doesn't open up to strangers very easily so I doubt her scores would really reflect her ability. The school she goes to is not considered gifted but is academic and challenging since it is a Language Immersion program and everything is taught in Spanish. Have you considered other schools?

I don't have any suggestions other than ones people have already made, but he sounds just like my son at 4. I didn't even know he was gifted at the time. But at age 9, it is abundantly clear he is very gifted. I would have had the same difficulties at that age! My son is gifted in LA areas, but that isn't necessarily his area of interest.

I do agree with others thought on not sweating it. The circuit business alone should more than cover it. My child went to pre-school and I would have been hard pressed to find a pre-school teacher to vouch for him. They probably would have said he had ADHD or something.

Thank you for the reassurance. it was just what I need to hear. In case you haven't guessed this is my first attempt at any sort of 'formal' identification. Even though I was identified as probably being gifted myself, I was not permitted to undertake any testing or even any pull out programs, so this seems very intimidating, even though its such an inexact process!

I hadn't thought of videos, but he usually clams up when he's being watched. We could try it. Creating with building materials could work really well, too. I also hadn't thought of milestones.

Science is definitely his strength. Maths is second, less obvious though. I don't think it has to be a huge portfolio, so maybe just a write up with some photos about one of his projects. We've also been offered provisional membership, so i think it will be fairly obvious fairly quickly if he isn't 'keeping up'.

Iucounu - It's not snap circuits, just alligator clips with battery and fans or lights. He can do parallel and series circuits with two components, a 'skill tester' with a light, and simple, homemade switches by himself now, and built a dog/cat whistle with his dad from a kit. They worked on that for hours!

JaneSmith - where I am, it is normal for children to start 2 days a week in preschool when they turn 4, or even earlier. I like the idea of challenges, if it is phrased well (and doesn't sound 'test-like' it could really work for him. I do think the process is more token than a real attempt to tease out IQ scores or anything.

Katelyn'sM om - It isn't a school, its just a weekend program. Every few weeks they have an activity for an afternoon. The activities look like things DS would really enjoy, that's why I want to get him into the program. For example, the one coming up is going to be something to do with investigating light, with torches and mirrors. My boy would love that. They also have access to resources and things that I think could be useful - especially with home education. I also would really like if I could find some peers for him. At the moment he is copying other children who don't have his spoken language skills or his interests. I don't really want to test him yet either.

kimck - I only really caught on that he was probably gifted because a child he has grown up with was identified and the two of them have played leapfrog with milestones etc, so I looked into it. I thought all kids were like that!

Thank you all again. I'm sure I will freak out a few times between now and when it is all done, so I will probably be back!