Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Effort or lack of it

Ah, Grinity, I am feeling that bad feeling in my gut. And I was looking for that little push from you and others.
And you are right about friendships, they can be made on different grounds. I think up to this point, sports was the way he could connect with other classmates, so he sees that as only way to make friends. I really should sit down and talk to him about friendship.

HowlerKarma
He is doing club sports. He has done soccer in the past, but this month he decided that he will give that up for fencing as fencing requires more of his time now. So, I hope that he will make friends in fencing as he starts participating in camps and competitions. He also does speedskating in winter.

I'm really appreciating Grinity's comments about the specific nature of what works so well for her child in the school placement that they have currently.

That kind of curriculum would probably be superior for my DD, too. Right now her school curriculum has an unfortunate focus on assessment and output, virtually ignoring shared inquiry as a learning mode. That's a terrible thing for my DD, since it is by far her preferred method of active learning, particularly in the humanities.

Finding out where the mismatches lie is probably important, in other words.

I don't know what options exist for club sports where you are, MagnaSky, but around here, for a young man your son's age, there are a number of options:

soccer, PopWarner football, Little League, ultimate frisbee, martial arts (Karate, Aikido, etc), golf, swimming, and much more.

ETA: I see from your post above that your DS is already doing some of those things. Can you talk to him about his enjoyment of those activities with his peers? Maybe help him to see that those people can be friends as much as the people that he is sitting in math class with every day?

DD is finally going to be old enough for fencing this summer. She was once very chapped that she wasn't old enough-- she really wanted to learn when she was about 8-- but now she isn't quite as interested, which is too bad. I think it would appeal to her.

I am sorry to hear that your DD could not start fencing earlier.We were lucky to find a coach who lets kids practice fencing at early age, but he moves them up only when he sees that they are mentaly ready. Fencing is a mental sport, I do think your DD would enjoy it.

Me too; DS was still 5 when he did fencing for the first time (with a very serious coach, but only at a summer activity camp). He's been doing it weekly since shortly before turning 7, and loves it. We have yet to see him doing it, though. Hope your DD's enthusiasm is still there, even if a little less obvious than it was, HowlerKarma!

This seems entirely logical to me.
My son happens to be super-tall, and even after his skip was one of the taller kids in 6th grade - but he was quite chagrined to see that even though he was taller and heavier, the older boys could beat him at playing 'king of the hill.' I do think it's natural for some boys to enjoy contact sports where size matters, but that is a far cry from saying that school based decisions should be made on that basis. I don't know if you are willing for him to play a sport like football that has an age and size component, but I can imagine your DS really enjoying the chance to rough and tumble with kids his own age/size.

It's great that your son likes fencing and speed skating - good for him! I wish that kid's sports didn't get so exclusive at such a young age as I wish your son could have it all. Including agemates who are at his readiness to learn level while we are at it.

I'm hoping that you school is quite familiar with Explore scores and will really be ready to 'think outside the box' once they see them. Perhaps you can met one more time with his classroom teacher and get her to push the administration from her end to allow the subject accels.

Best Wishes,
Grinity

Love and More Love,
Grinity

I wish that was true for all our children. And as sad as it seems, I do realize how fortunate and privileged I am to be able to consider different choices for my dc.