5 yr. old dau.: above avg., highly intelligent or gifted?
Yvette Modayur
intelligence.
Someone spoke to her in a store today for a few minutes. That person
insisted I see that our daughter is in an advanced program of some kind when
she starts kindergarten or we'll have problems.
She began reading at age two and reads most everything. At age 3.5 recorded
a CD of Somewhere Over the Rainbow acapello (sp?). She is teaching herself
addition _and_ simple multiplication. Computer savy is almost an
understatement. Very early on she had a great sense of humour. This year
she has developed an interest in chess and is doing quite well with it.
At this age or earlier how can you tell if she is just above avg., highly
intelligent or gifted? What have you people experienced in your own family?
What specific problems might I expect during her kindergarten year?
Yvette
Kaylene Irwin
"Yvette Modayur" <ymod...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:P9rV8.136813$Ca2.7...@bin2.nnrp.aus1.giganews.com...
> At this age or earlier how can you tell if she is just above avg., highly
> intelligent or gifted? What have you people experienced in your own
family?
> What specific problems might I expect during her kindergarten year?
>
> Yvette
Some ideas...
First, don't label your daughter. For many reasons. Two reasons,
off-hand--it puts her in a box. It also is bad to label children because
they take it so much to heart. Believe it or not, it is limiting to label a
child, even if it is a label such as "gifted."
Support her in her interests. Provide whatever means you can to give her
lots of experiences, and a broad range of exposure to many things. I like
the Core Knowledge approach to learning because it promotes broad-based
learning, and "cultural literacy."
Help her to learn balance. While she may have areas she excels in and
loves, she also needs to work in areas that are more difficult for her. I
could go into a litany of reasons as to why this is important.
I am one who very much favors homeschool. Especially for gifted children.
If you are interested in exploring that option, contact me off-list and I
will be happy to share links, and lots of other info.
Kaylene :D
RM
Of course she is above average! Foster her curiosity to learn more.
Help her find self expression in various ways (writing stories, pen pal,
art).
Help her find opportunities to interact well with other children - find
a best friend to do things together (make forts, visit museums, ...
play). BECAUSE in kindergarten the problems will be social ones - she
will be smarter than the rest and they will resent it unless she has
some redeaming social skills, like Helping Others, finding friends.
Rick
Merrill
Yvette Modayur
me some hope. I see her eagerly approaching others and wanting to join in.
She is not shy at all and is very verbal. Surely this will help her out
socially.
Yvette
"RM" <RickM...@attbi.com> wrote in message
news:3D3D3E91...@attbi.com...
RM
So some stranger said "blah blah, or she'll have problems" and that
made you look for "some hope", did it? Dont' worry about it, just
keep doing what you're doing. Let her develop an interest in music -
there is an area where a kid can excel, even become professional,
and other kids are not jealous.
You must realize that most public school systems are attuned to
"the average student" and sometimes a bright kid can become
bored so badly that their life feels like they are in prison.
Best wishes,
Rick
Merrill
Jimmie Brodersen
I think every child needs a social life, friends at a young age helps in
natural development. Home schooling may help with some education, but holds
the children back in other areas. Children need to have as normal a life as
possible, within reason, and safety. I understand wanting to be the main
source of helping your baby, your little innocent child. And of course your
child trusts you. But eventually, the child will want out, and to be like
the other kids. And, these children, can help other children learn things. I
saw it when I was in school, and did it myself. Please do not be afraid to
let your child explore the world you tried to shelter him or her from.
Social skills are so very important. A home schooled child will be shocked
when he or she is out in the world when he is released. I was a sheltered
child, and I am glad I was, to some extent. When I was a freshman, wow! I
was stunned and amazed at what I saw and heard. It was the real world, and I
had not known of it. It is a lot to think about, and it is by far a hard
situation. Just do not rule out freedom and sociality.
"Karl M. Bunday" <"kmbunday"@yahoo.de.com.de (remove \".de\" twice to
E-mail)> wrote in message
news:UpI49.8122$2k.6...@newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
> Yvette Modayur wroteĄG
>
> > Since our daughter was a toddler she showed signs of above average
> > intelligence.
> > Someone spoke to her in a store today for a few minutes. That person
> > insisted I see that our daughter is in an advanced program of some kind
when
> > she starts kindergarten or we'll have problems.
>
> People making similar kinds of observations about my oldest son
> strengthened my intention (formed before he was born, based on my
> school experiences) to homeschool him. Of course homeschooling a
> child is an even bigger initial step than finding an advanced
> classroom kindergarten program, although in the long run
> homeschooling may save wear and tear on both parent and child.
>
> I attended the recent national Supporting the Emotional Needs of
> the Gifted (SENG) conference
>
> http://www.sengifted.org/
>
> in July 2002, which was held in my home city. At the conference I
> met experts on gifted education from all over the United States
> and from Britain. Among the parents I frequently heard "war
> stories" of how UNsatisfactory school arrangements have been for
> many of their children, while also hearing from many grown-up
> gifted kids that they plan to homeschool their children--which is
> what I have been doing for the last decade. I have been pleased by
> how many school-related problems I have been able to omit from my
> son's busy schedule of learning, and how much intrinsic motivation
> and delight in learning he has been able to retain by being able
> to be himself as he grows and learns.
>
> Through on-line acquaintance only, I know a mother of three (or is
> it four?) gifted children who observes that most parents she meets
> on-line in discussions of giftedness (possibly not including this
> one, to which I subscribed only very recently) are dissatisfied if
> their children are in school, but are satisfied if there children
> are homeschooling. That's something to think about, and squares
> with my observation of other on-line fora about giftedness (this
> one possibly excepted).
>
> You may find it helpful to do some research about homeschooling
> while your daughter is still young. I have been doing so since
> before my children were born. I have a Web site
>
> http://learninfreedom.org/
>
> intended to provide parents with information about homeschooling.
> My site is badly in need of updating (which I hope to get to in
> the next few months), but informative enough to be one of the most
> popular sites on Yahoo's Home Schooling directory. An on-line
> resource I have been using for a few years to find out about
> "profoundly gifted" issues is the TAGFAM group of E-mail mailing
> lists
>
> http://www.tagfam.org/
>
> particularly the TAGPDQ mailing list, where I intend to initiate a
> discussion of IQ testing. I suppose anyone willing to join that
> list, maintain its list culture of civility, and interested in the
> list's usual topic (educating "profoundly gifted" children) is
> welcome to join. Instructions for joining the list are on the
> TAGFAM Web site and you will find that the TAGPDQ list is
> sometimes so quiet that you forget you have subscribed--which is
> always a good characteristic for an E-mail list to have.
>
> I agree with the person who answered you who said the label is not
> the key issue. The key issue is to continue encouraging your
> daughter to learn, which is the basis for my friendly
> recommendation to consider the possibility of learning out in the
> real world outside of school.
>
> Hope this helps!
> --
> Karl M. Bunday "pray for us" 2 Thessalonians 3:1
> Learn in Freedom (TM) Web site http://learninfreedom.org
> kmbunday AT earthlink DOT net (preferred E-mail)
>
>