Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Elementary School 1st/2nd Grade 2010-2011

If you're weird, then at least you have company. I have the same dreams. They are accompanied by visions of a huge smile on DS's face for his sense of accomplishment, and because he knows where his homework is in the morning.

DS got all S's (Satisfactory) on his behavior for the week (title 1 school, so they have to report weekly progress). Anyway, he's had so many issues with P's (progressing) over the past 9 weeks. I was in tears I was so happy to see the S's!!! So, you are definitely NOT alone.

I was shocked at the 2 (progressing) in Art based on what the standards were for the first quarter... The standards change each quarter. DS got all 3s, which is the meets and less 3+s (exceeds) this year than last. But I'm not sure if that's because of the teacher or because of him... ya know? Letter grades at least give you a score based on individual test scores, etc... I think the meets & exceeds can be subjective depending on the teacher. If someone gets all the answers right on a math test, it's a 3. But the teacher can give a 3+ too.

I am rambling now... carry on.

DS got in to the circus school and has his first class today He is very very excited (and I am looking forward to having coffee alone for an hour while he does it lol). His fearlessness has remained, as has his determination to keep trying physical stuff until he gets it. I'm really happy for him as his hesitance has held him back for so long. I remember being quite similar as young child, not very physical, but once I reached 8 or so I developed a drive that seemed unstoppable. I'm happy to see it happening for him now.
I am really enjoying homeschooling at the moment. I like the little discussions we have while driving or shopping or walking. He seems to constantly think about numbers. He often says things like "Mum, half of 300 is 150!", which blows me away because we really have only touched on most of the things he comes out with and he hasn't really done any formal maths other than the occasional workbook page/online maths program. I'm pretty grateful to Khan Academy right now! This unschooling gig really seems a good fit for him.

Last year our cat went into renal failure and died. She was with us for 15 years and I was devastated. On the way home from the vet with her body, my 5 y/o ds told me that he would like to see her. I prepared him for what she might look like (she was very bloated) and told him that he could see her. Once we were home I unwrapped her for him to see.

He touched her fur and petted her and I stood there and wept. Then he looked at me and asked, "Can I dissect her?" I was horrified! I said, "No! You can't DISSECT her!" I was horrified! He looked shocked by my reaction to his request. (I would normally already be running for the dissection kit at such a request.) He then stated, "Well, didn't you say that her body is just a shell and that *she* isn't really in there anymore?" Errr... yes, I DID say that, but...

After telling myself that I was pretty sure that he showed no signs of turning criminal, I did for a moment consider allowing him to dissect her, but I knew that *I* wouldn't be able to handle dissecting her. I had known her too long. Anyway, that's when I began to suspect that there might be something just a little bit different about my son's brand of 5 y/o curiosity.
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My DS desperately wanted to dig up the dead guinea pigs a few days after their burial under the apple tree to see how their decomposition was going.

Morning!
I first thought about sending this in a pm, but then I thought that others might benefit from reading it as well.

For some reason this morning, I was thinking about shellymos's son in a 4th grade math class (which I think you mentioned was still too easy). I was wondering, what sort of math is he doing?

In fact, I'd be interested in knowing about any of your children who are doing math acceleration -- specifically the grade level and the topics they're studying.

My dd6 is in a private gifted school where supposedly all the kids work one year ahead ... and then she is in the most accelerated math group. All the kids are true 1st graders, though, and I'm just curious how the work they are doing stacks up to a more traditional school environment.

Thanks!

Irisheyes

From what I can drag out of ds7, in 3rd grade math they have been working on multiplication and place values recently Though it's hard to get him to tell me what's going on - all their math is hands on, so I rarely get to see worksheets, and they don't have homework. Thankfully, it's conferences next week, so I'll find out exactly what they're doing, as the 3rd grade teacher will be at his conference. It all seems very simple to me so far !

DS6 is in 2nd and math accelerated to 3rd.

In math so far this year he has gone over fact extensions, parts-and-total number stories, the partial-sums addition method, three or more addends, measurement, and maximums, minimums, medians, and range, and will soon go over perimeter and area, circumference and diameter, multiplication number stories, divison with counters and in number stories, arrays and area, and multiplication triangles. They use (grrr) Everyday Math.

Since I'm here posting (and enjoying reading everyone else's posts !) I thought I'd update how my DS6 is doing.

As background, DS skipped K last year. This year he is in 2nd with math acceleration to 3rd.

Because of scheduling issues, DS starts the morning in his 2nd grade class, goes to 3rd grade for an hour, comes back to his regular class, and then has to go to another 2nd grade class for an hour at the end of the day. All the teachers were so concerned about him having three different teachers and his ability to transition well between the classes. We (my DH and I) weren't so nervous about it because we figured that, since school was basically fairly new to him, it wouldn't seem all that out of the ordinary to him. Still everyone at school was nervous about it.

Well, I'm happy to say that everything is going great! His math teacher has told us several times that he is so mature and comes right in and sits down and gets started with his math. She also says that he is among the middle of the class math-wise, which we think is wonderful right now (given that he is being taught math formally for the first time and that he's still getting all A's). He's also transitioning well when he gets back from math and when he goes to the other class in the afternoon. He's remembering completely on his own and gets right to work.

Unfortunately, while math is at the right level for him, almost everything else is still quite easy for him (save writing, which is grade appropriate; his teacher says he has great handwriting, though!). Luckily, I feel like he gets enough reading and discussion at home, and also we do enough fun things during his time at home that he's exposed to more in-depth science and social studies topics than he gets at school. Also, we tend to turn his easy spelling words into opportunities to alphabetize and look things up in the dictionaries he bought with his own money last year. And, eventhough he has some good friends he's making in 3rd grade, we still feel like 2nd grade is a great social fit for him.

So, all in all, a great start to the year!

Irish,

DS7 is accelerated 6 years in math to pre-algebra. He adores all things numbers and it has worked well for him. One interesting note is that he gets scored 90% on all of his homework because he doesn't show his work. He is all about mental math and doesn't see the point. His teacher knows that he is doing the work as he tested him a couple of times the first week. He told my son that he would lose 10% on his homework for not showing his work and DS seems OK with that.