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Bright/gifted kids also like socializing with peers, playing, making art and craft projects, learning cooperative games and activities, engaging in dramatic play, etc.
Children who evidence an interest in, say, science and physics concepts years ahead of grade level are not the sole category of "bright/gifted." This is the same sort of mentality that telegraphs to youth that "smart" and "STEM-inclined" are interchangeable.
Of course, and I never suggested the contrary. My point is that you can't stop a kid from wanting to learn outside of school. They can go to school and socialize, but then want to come home and learn more about a subject that interests them. Even if they're being home schooled, you can still get them involved in activities for social skills. The two are not mutually exclusive.
Don't know if anyone can offer any advice but thought I'd ask.
My son just started kindergarten. He's an very, very bright kid - I won't say 'gifted' because I know it's a controversial term. But he's extremely advanced in several subjects, a few years ahead of curriculum. He's been reading since before he was 3 (he pretty much taught himself, wouldn't have occurred to me to start teaching him that early!). Right now he can read pretty much anything, although in terms of comprehension he's closer to his own age - or to be precise, he's very technical-minded just like my husband, so he can read and understand complex scientific information, technical manuals, figure out how something works way beyond his years, but will struggle with understanding simple underlying morals or themes in easy fiction stories, still doesn't really get the concept of romantic love in Disney movies, etc. In math, he's doing third-grade level work, multiplying and dividing double digits (often in his head!), simple fractions, fairly complicated word problems. His biggest strengths are effortless grasp of new concepts and understanding the underlying principles - so once he knows a rule, he has no problem figuring out how to apply it. He also has excellent memory and is interested in learning words in new languages, and can write full paragraphs without a single spelling or grammar mistake.
So, with all that in mind, we give him plenty of opportunity to challenge himself at home - he loves workbooks so he has stacks of those to work on, lots of non-fiction books on subjects he loves, educational games and apps, etc. That's not a problem. However, starting school is proving to be disappointing. I mean I obviously knew that the work would be way under his level, but I didn't realize just how much. It's an excellent school btw in an excellent neighbourhood, with highly educated families and a very competitive academically-driven environment. So I'm pretty sure he's not the only kid ahead of the program, and I was expecting the schools to cater to that. However so far they've been doing work that he could literally do at two years old - reading and writing are not too bad, at least they're not learning the alphabet, but math is a joke, right now they're doing 'numbers 1 through 5' So far, he seems to have been doing much more interesting work in preschool. I'm lucky that he's the kind of kid who doesn't usually mind doing stuff he already knows - but this is so far back for him that I'm literally seeing him lose motivation. Again, it's not so much that I care about the school helping him advance - I can do that at home. But at this point I'm just afraid he'll lose interest in school, stop taking it seriously once he sees how easy it is for him, and not develop any study habits. And then possibly goof off and get in trouble because he's bored.
I emailed the teacher asking if we can meet and discuss his needs, and she pretty much brushed me off saying there'll be conferences in October, and that she's got kids of all different levels and they'll have all sorts of levelled work later on etc. She keeps mentioning all this levelled work in weekly emails, how the work they're doing now is easy on purpose so they get into a routine and how it's a review for most kids - but i feel that for us, work he could do as a toddler is a hell of a 'review'. On the other hand I don't want to get on the teacher's bad side and come off as the annoying parent who thinks her kid is a genius, which I got the impression she's already thinking based on my email. Then there's the fact that aside from reading, writing, and math, DS is not particularly mature socially or emotionally, so he's in no way ready for a higher grade, nor is he particularly artistic, and needs lots of practice with things like drawing, coloring, and even neat writing.
Since this is what a lot of their current work involves, I feel that the teacher just isn't seeing how advanced he is in those other areas.
Ugh, anyways, I'm rambling, but this is just frustrating. I know it's only kinder and i can't expect too much out of public school, even a good one...but like I said, my biggest concern with all this is that he's just not gaining the right habits and not sustaining his interest in school. He was really looking forward and excited to go to kindergarten...thinking he'll learn and do all kinds of neat new stuff...and he's tracing letters and counting objects up to 5...this is a kid who can build an electric circuit and explain in detail how it works (the Snap Circuits for kids, not a real one ). Is there anything I can do at this point, without pissing off the teacher too much?? Anyone been in that situation?
If your child is immature socially and emotionally and also needs lots of practice in drawing, coloring and writing, then YIPPEE!! he is in the right place, in a kindergarten class.
How is he at sharing toys with his peers, taking turns in conversations and games with peers, and in other school activities such as using playground equipment safely and appropriately? Does he show empathy for a classmate who is hurt or unhappy? Does he interact with peers during free choice time or just sit in his little world of "advanced skills"?
Learning social skills, emotional skills, play skills and fine motor skills are a very important part of kindergarten. IMHO, they are more important than trying to have the most advanced academic skills in the class.
It is still early in the school year. I would suggest that a week or two before conferences make arrangements to observe your child one day in activities such as on the playground during recess, during free choice time, during a fine motor activity, during circle time as well as during an academic lesson. After observing how your child does in those activities you will be better able to express your feelings about what is going well and not quite as well in the classroom with your child.
How can your child be "bored to death" in kindergarten with all of the new friends and new interactions?
Also, look into parent groups and forums for gifted kids and remember that many kids that are highly advanced in one area are right at grade level (or even behind) in other areas.
It's also really important to watch your language around your child. They may well be advanced in certain areas, but reminding them that there are all kinds of intelligence (scientific, linguistic, emotional and social) and their skill in one doesn't make them superior to other children, just better in a certain area. Further, at a very young age they need to be reminded that capacity is not the same as accomplishment. Being gifted is the equivalent of being tall, it's a genetic quirk. How they use it is what they can take credit for.
My point is that you can't stop a kid from wanting to learn outside of school. They can go to school and socialize, but then want to come home and learn more about a subject that interests them.
Totally agree. I was ahead a lot of time in school. It never turned me off to learning, or made me dislike school.
I have no children, but was an extremely gifted child who read the newspaper fully before Kindergarten, similar to your son. I was bored silly with the emphasis on extremely basic reading skills that were taught in Kindergarten. However, I was also very social and enjoyed getting to play and learn games and crafts with the other children, indoors and outdoors. I don't think you need to worry too much as long as your son is kind and tolerant with the children who don't yet have his skills and/or high IQ.
Baseline screening generally occurs during this time period, yes. Teachers are getting to know the students, especially at the Kindergarten level, where they don't come with previous elementary ed experience/records from which to draw data. Usually just rudimentary pre-k screening info, if that. And development occurs more rapidly at this age than at any other stretch of time in life, so past screening info isn't even necessarily that useful or applicable; it may already be obsolete.
Since the child hasn't actually evidenced any behavior that indicates he's resistant to school, I probably wouldn't worry about putting the "School is your job, so suck it up" hard line on it. I don't know that that approach is ultra-helpful with a Kindergartener, anyway. It also sounds like the family is already providing plenty of enrichment, which is ideal.
Yep...which is really something that should be practiced by every parent, no matter the schooling...it sets the tone that learning is valued EVERYwhere, not just at school.
She's been pretty clear that the private route isn't financially feasible, or it would be worth looking into. Charters and independent schools with less traditional approaches may be worth considering, however. Perhaps one that focuses on an approach like the expeditionary learning model would be worth considering, and would avoid the tuition issues of private settings (which do not always differ enormously from public settings, in terms of embracing less orthodox models of instruction, anyway).
Not suggesting the "suck it up" approach at all. But my parents made it clear to me that I would be rewarded for putting in my best effort at school, just like my father got rewarded for the insurance policies he sold. School was my "job" and it took precedence over everything else. The first thing I did when I came home was my homework (after a short break).
But having some kind of reward is a motivator, especially when the kid is high-achieving and maybe chafing at the pace. When you're being demotivated by low benchmarks, an external goal can help you refocus. Heck, that's how I deal with my job now, lol.
I'm with the teacher - back off, already. It's only been one week.
At some point he might undertake "tutoring" slower kids, although 5 is a bit early to expect that. They did that with me in elementary and junior high school. It helped my "social" development, and I'd have to say, probably reinforced what I already knew. It's important to note, that basic elementary knowledge, in order to be used efficiently for more complex operations later on, are best reviewed and re-reviewed so they're just "second nature." He has years to go to get pushed ahead gradewise, and in his case, I'd start looking into a private academy thing (he apparently isn't intellectually "normal"); but right now, socializing him so he can learn how to deal with other kids is most important - probably the whole reason for kindergarten. I don't recall kindergarten being any sort of an intellectual experience of any degree; smart as I was, I did have to actually learn how to be a classmate in a classroom, and my teacher did a great job teaching me that. As a result, in first grade I wasn't just smart, but also became "Mr Popularity" which made school a little more tolerable (I'm another one who hated school).
Last edited by TwinbrookNine; 09-15-2015 at 10:20 AM..
But at this point I'm just afraid he'll lose interest in school, stop taking it seriously once he sees how easy it is for him, and not develop any study habits. And then possibly goof off and get in trouble because he's bored.
I emailed the teacher asking if we can meet and discuss his needs, and she pretty much brushed me off saying there'll be conferences in October, and that she's got kids of all different levels and they'll have all sorts of levelled work later on etc. She keeps mentioning all this levelled work in weekly emails, how the work they're doing now is easy on purpose so they get into a routine and how it's a review for most kids - but i feel that for us, work he could do as a toddler is a hell of a 'review'. On the other hand I don't want to get on the teacher's bad side and come off as the annoying parent who thinks her kid is a genius, which I got the impression she's already thinking based on my email. Then there's the fact that aside from reading, writing, and math, DS is not particularly mature socially or emotionally, so he's in no way ready for a higher grade, nor is he particularly artistic, and needs lots of practice with things like drawing, coloring, and even neat writing. Since this is what a lot of their current work involves, I feel that the teacher just isn't seeing how advanced he is in those other areas.
Ugh, anyways, I'm rambling, but this is just frustrating. I know it's only kinder and i can't expect too much out of public school, even a good one...but like I said, my biggest concern with all this is that he's just not gaining the right habits and not sustaining his interest in school. He was really looking forward and excited to go to kindergarten...thinking he'll learn and do all kinds of neat new stuff...and he's tracing letters and counting objects up to 5...this is a kid who can build an electric circuit and explain in detail how it works (the Snap Circuits for kids, not a real one ). Is there anything I can do at this point, without pissing off the teacher too much?? Anyone been in that situation?
Good heavens. RELAX. It's the early weeks of kindergarten and way too soon to be worried that your son is going to stop taking school seriously and not develop study habits. Do everyone, including your son, a favor and take a deep breath. He's going to be just fine.
My daughter could read before she started kindergarten and she went to a very economically diverse school where some of her fellow students were very poor and had zero parental involvement. Some of the kids did not yet know the alphabet. The teacher had my daughter test the other kids on their sight words and also allowed her to take the computerized reading tests (can't remember what they're called) although other kids weren't ready for that. On Monday they would get homework for the week and she'd do it all the first day so she wouldn't have to worry about it the rest of the week. She also was socially immature and had a hard time finding a comfortable spot in a group because she preferred hanging out with adults rather than children.
She did just fine in kindergarten and has gone on to be a very successful student and your son will too. Let him learn to color and cut and paste and plant bean seeds and all the other things kindergarten kids do. He'll learn to figure out social situations and how to deal with not being the center of attention all the time. And if he's bored, it won't kill him. He'll daydream and use his imagination and also learn to be patient with other people. He'll only be 5 once and it's a great age. Enjoy it and let him enjoy it.
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So far, he seems to have been doing much more interesting work in preschool. I'm lucky that he's the kind of kid who doesn't usually mind doing stuff he already knows - but this is so far back for him that I'm literally seeing him lose motivation. Again, it's not so much that I care about the school helping him advance - I can do that at home. But at this point I'm just afraid he'll lose interest in school, stop taking it seriously once he sees how easy it is for him, and not develop any study habits. And then possibly goof off and get in trouble because he's bored. 
). Is there anything I can do at this point, without pissing off the teacher too much?? Anyone been in that situation?
