Things I should do for my gifted 1st grader? (college, school, astronomy)

[flik_becky]

Originally Posted by Lincolnian

Be careful not to read too much into test results at such a young age. It is normal for 1st graders to have differences +/- 24 months as emerging readers. A high verbal score could indicate a child who had high reading readiness skills as a result of extra home involvement and/or a good pre-school/kindergarten program.

Non verbal is a good indicator of natural problem solving/intuitive learning and may be an early sign of higher-ability thinking.

You also should take caution and not have open conversations about your child's ability in front of your child. They will often carry your feelings into school. If they feel they are above the lesson, activity or program taking place in the classroom it could actually backfire on the teacher's ability to provide your child with more enrichment.

While I agree with the second half, I must point out what has been stated before in threads like these for the first half.

This is described as the cookie theory by a child psychologist who specializes in gifted kids. If you have three 1st graders, one below average, one average, and one above average and you gave each of them two cookies, which would be equivalent to the amount of information that is given to all first graders, the below average would eat one cookie and be full, the average would eat eat two cookies and be content, and the gifted child would eat those two cookies and look for more but the teacher and school would not give that gifted kid another cookie. "Enrichment" for most schools is simply more of the same material they are already doing and being bored to death with. You must be vigilant as a parent with a gifted child so that if they are a great reader now, they ALWAYS have the material at their disposal to continue to grow in that area, or whatever areas.

Another example was when I was in the second grade. We had a reading challenge and goal was to be the student in the class that read the most books. I went to the library and went to the 5-6 grade sections and my teacher pulled me away and took me to the second grade sections. Finally though, that book that had grabbed my eye made it into my pile at the desk and the librarian scanned it with the others with a little smile. When conferences came up in the middle of this, the teacher told my mother that I was not even trying in the contest, that I was reading just a book or two a week compared to my peers reading that each day. My my mother pointed out that I was reading every night at home, though I was having problems with an occasional word. My teacher took me to the first grade readers after that, convinced that it was the second grade readers I was struggling with. I tried to prove to her I could read them with ease but then she scolded me for rushing through them. I hated it. I felt like such a failure. When she wasn't looking, I would rush over and grab the bigger books, coming in before classes started so that I could figure out which one I wanted and memorize the number on it so I could get right to it quickly without the protest of the teacher.

Take the testing seriously. It is better to offer a wide range of material for a child and let them choose how far they want to go than to sit back with the public school attitude that all the kids just even out.

[stepka]

Originally Posted by flik_becky

Another example was when I was in the second grade. We had a reading challenge and goal was to be the student in the class that read the most books. I went to the library and went to the 5-6 grade sections and my teacher pulled me away and took me to the second grade sections. Finally though, that book that had grabbed my eye made it into my pile at the desk and the librarian scanned it with the others with a little smile. When conferences came up in the middle of this, the teacher told my mother that I was not even trying in the contest, that I was reading just a book or two a week compared to my peers reading that each day. My my mother pointed out that I was reading every night at home, though I was having problems with an occasional word. My teacher took me to the first grade readers after that, convinced that it was the second grade readers I was struggling with. I tried to prove to her I could read them with ease but then she scolded me for rushing through them. I hated it. I felt like such a failure. When she wasn't looking, I would rush over and grab the bigger books, coming in before classes started so that I could figure out which one I wanted and memorize the number on it so I could get right to it quickly without the protest of the teacher.

You sound just like me, lol. I never won those contests either, though I read more than anyone else, b/c I followed my own bliss. I remember that I fell in love with The Boxcar Children--just the first one, and read it over and over again, but of course we only got credit for reading it the first time. Which brings us to the real trouble--teachers and parents say they want kids to read and do everything they can to sell kids on the joys of reading, but when they have a true reader on their hands, they don't know what to do with them! They want kids to read, but only on their own terms, b/c they're afraid that they'll lose control of the child's mind. In other words, reading can be a subversive activity.

[buffy888]

Hmm... as a public school teacher, I have spent inordinate amounts of my own money to build a classroom library with a wide variety of books to spark the interest of my students. I also borrow from other teachers or buy books for my "true readers" when they have exhausted the books in my classroom library, when their parents can't (or don't care enough to) buy them books of their own, when our school library doesn't have books that interest them, and/or when their parents can't or won't take them to the public library. If I have a student who truly loves reading, I do just about anything to help them maintain that love.

[StilltheSame]

I agree on the difference in scoring - in fact I reread your post to make sure I got the numbers right. I also think something is askew. That being said you are on the right track. In the early years its reading; music and art; and i would have him work with legos and other manipulatives such as bionicles, etc.

[Smooth23]

Originally Posted by NY Annie

My sons are also gifted and both of them did poorly on written tests; yet not at home. I had the first one checked for color-blindness in first grade, and he had the a moderate level of color-blindness - I think it was both blue/green and green/red - it's been a long time for this old memory. My second son was tested before starting school and he showed a full-spectrum color blindness - he sees only shades of gray. The tests were repeated as they aged and were consistent for each throughout their childhood. It required special considerations on the teacher's part to accommodate their problems - this was long before there was such a thing as an IEP.

Certain tasks are nearly impossible for a colorblind child to get correct: The old color = a number. This time of year it would be a Santa with numbered sections 1+1 = ? If 2, color red; if 3, color brown, etc. My son who knew his multiplication tables before first grade failed this every time. That was our first clue. He also couldn't read the mimeos (do they even use them anymore?)

It's just a thought.

Color blindness is not a disability at all. I've got a good amount of red/green and blue/purple blindness and it has not given me any problems, its just something you adapt to. Hell, over time you can even learn to distinguish between colors with pretty good accuracy, even though you may not generally be able to tell the difference.

[psr13]

Originally Posted by StilltheSame

I agree on the difference in scoring - in fact I reread your post to make sure I got the numbers right. I also think something is askew. That being said you are on the right track. In the early years its reading; music and art; and i would have him work with legos and other manipulatives such as bionicles, etc.

I honestly don't see the concern about the score disparity. Maybe it's because I'm the same way. The way the non-verbal section has been described here makes me think that I would score extremely low on it, too. Not being able to do things the way described by a previous poster never made learning any harder for me than for other kids. I learned things faster than other kids. My brain just doesn't work in that way.

[sailordave]

what to do with your gifted child? Wrap him in gift wrap and put a bow on him.

Bad joke. But seriously, this time of the year, you should include him in your gift wrapping. Kids love to wrap gifts and doing so is like a beginners' origami puzzle. Don't be critical. Give guidance and a little assistance. Learning to play an instrument is suppose to be fun but with a little hard work. He can easily get discouraged. If you get upset about his getting discouraged then he'll probably dig in his heels on the subject. Examples of professional musicians playing that instrument may help. When I took up playing the trumpet, there were still plenty of bands that had horns.

[Wingfoot]

Originally Posted by crazyme4878

I have a 7 y.o. son and recently moved to a very small, isolated school district (63 students in K-12; an hour to the next town). They recently did qualitative testing on every child. My son came out at 97% in the verbal, 77% in the quantitative, and 36% in the non-verbal.

The verbal score didn't surprise anyone at the school, since it is pretty apparent when you talk with him. He does okay at school--it has greatly improved this year. He is slow on the timed math sheets, but doesn't have trouble doing the actual problems and likes to play around with math at home. He loves science and art and has recently begun to like to read (he has always loved to be read to).

Obviously, this is a small school, and K-2 are combined with one teacher and one aide (there are 15 kids total), so there isn't a lot of resources to spend on him. Plus, I think the teacher does an excellent job and there are ways for him to advance himself within the classroom.

My question to you is what should I be doing at home, if anything? The school suggested having him learn a musical instrument. He is excited at the idea. I have started reading Harry Potter with him, which has increased his excitement about reading. (Before we had continually run into him not wanting to read because the books were boring--he really wants to read the higher-end young science books, but couldn't.) We try to give a lot of free playtime and he recently got a toolbox and tools for his birthday, so we hope to set up his own building area with scrap wood.

Any other ideas on what to do or not to do? Any websites I should check out? I really don't know what his scoring means overall--he isn't off the charts, so do we just take this in stride?

Thanks for any advice. I'm trying to read through the "Gifted Children" thread started by IvoryTickler, but I have a ways to go yet!

Silly to get excited about some 1st grade score on whats most likely a bogus test in any event.
All a truly gifted child needs is no TV or computer and a library card.

[Ashburnite]

Originally Posted by Wingfoot

Silly to get excited about some 1st grade score on whats most likely a bogus test in any event.
All a truly gifted child needs is no TV or computer and a library card.

A few years ago I would have agreed with this. To a certain extent I still do. However, there are many programs on TV and computer activities online that are very educational. I'm not talking about Barney and your basic Sesame Street (although they do have their value) but many of the shows for children teach scientific and literary concepts. Toot & Puddle even teaches geography (it's a National Geographic show). My child knows about Nunavut and I'd never heard of it. Fetch with Ruff Ruffman is pretty good for problem solving and learning new concepts. My 5 year old has learned all sorts of random things from watching TV and using the computer.

Naturally, that doesn't mean they should spend all day in front of a screen but times have definitely changed in terms of the educational value of children's television.

[Charles Wallace]

Originally Posted by stepka

You sound just like me, lol. I never won those contests either, though I read more than anyone else, b/c I followed my own bliss. I remember that I fell in love with The Boxcar Children--just the first one, and read it over and over again, but of course we only got credit for reading it the first time. Which brings us to the real trouble--teachers and parents say they want kids to read and do everything they can to sell kids on the joys of reading, but when they have a true reader on their hands, they don't know what to do with them! They want kids to read, but only on their own terms, b/c they're afraid that they'll lose control of the child's mind. In other words, reading can be a subversive activity.

Obviously, you're painting with quite a large brush, and of course it goes without saying that there are many teachers who don't fit that particular description, but I'm sure you know that.

Your story brings to mind an experience of mine. A friend of mine was doing volunteer work at a local family center whose aim was to promote healthy and nurturing interactions between parents and children, and naturally, they promoted the importance of reading to children.

My friend's daughter was a very early reader. One day, when my friend was cataloguing books for the center library and her 2-year-old daughter was sitting on the floor reading out loud to herself, the center director walked by. Curious, she peered over the daughter's shoulder and saw that she wasn't just making up words; she was reading them. My friend looked up and smiled, and the director gave her a stare that would've melted iron, arched her eyebrow, and said, "You must WORK with her a LOT." Clearly, the implication was that they hothoused or force-fed the child to read. It was somehow offensive to her that the child enjoyed reading and learned to do so easily.

Again, just to be clear, this is only one example. Not all educators, obviously, are like this.