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What age is your son and in what way is he gifted?
All of this makes a difference as to what he would best benefit from. A truly gifted child, by definition, learns in a completely different way than most children and IQ only plays a small part in the big picture.
A truly gifted child thinks in totally different ways than typical children do and they process things differently as well. The truly gifted child often doesn't fit in with their peers emotionally, physically or socially. These children need a differentiated learning approach. These children don't think outside the box, they ARE outside the box. A GT program of pretty much any public school won't do much for them. These children are really rare.
A child who learns easily, quickly and retains everything they learn is an advanced child, yet may still be gifted, but in lessor ways than the truly gifted. Sometimes the academics just come easy for this child, but they don't have a profound different way of learning or thinking than other children.
This child can still fit in with their peers for the most part, yet they may need to be challenged academically. Some may benefit in 'telescoping' in a subject they are advanced in, meaning a 2nd grader may go to 5th grade for math curriculum but remain in 2nd grade for other subjects. Many might benefit from being allowed to read books on par with their skills instead of being limited to grade level appropriate.
An advanced child may also do better with some differentiated lessons such as giving a power point presentation instead of a giving an oral book report or participating in the 5th grade science fair while they are still in 3rd grade.
So, knowing where he is in regards to being gifted versus being advanced, in what area and in what ways will be the guide to where you need to be looking.
Precisely why jumping ahead a grade is not an option for my kiddo. BG has a place, just teasing out the possibilities. So many people have preconceived notions of Montessori, and I know it's a great fit for some, and not for others. And I am fearful of making a change, then making ANOTHER change if it's not a good fit.
My sisters were homeschooled, but my mother was a SAHM. I am not. And I'm not my mother.
I know several people who bus to TVS in FW. But because of our central location, we are looking at FW/Irving/Dallas. It's a lot of information, and you so badly want to do right by your kid.
hypocore - I used to think he was just advanced, however since this all started I've been researching and he does seem to follow the GT patterns. He has some of the sensitivity and oh what do they call it...overexcitabilities. He's an intense little kid, but is still prone to fits of emotions that might look like a 4 year old, instead of the almost 6 year old that he is.
He is nowhere near profoundly gifted. His "gift" is verbal - vocabulary, reading, verbal reasoning, languages. Voracious reader, especially nonfiction. Remembers almost everything he reads. Very articulate. Always talking, asking questions, reasoning, thinking things out. Hates writing, drawing, manipulatives. No interest in team sports of any kind. Likes quiet. Prefers the company of girls to boys.
His math is good - he'd be telescoping to the next grade up - but not especially talented.
He loved his pre-k years, which focused on reading.
I really thought he'd breeze into the school system and be A-ok. His preschool teachers never initmated he might not fit in the public setting. He was a model student before Kinder, now keeps getting into trouble, testing the teacher and the rules.
Puts new perspective on what is truly gifted/talented...and the one example toward the end of the article shows the contrast between a helpful parent who allows a gifted child to thrive and a parent who is pressing an accomplished child to live up to the parent's dreams...
hypocore - I used to think he was just advanced, however since this all started I've been researching and he does seem to follow the GT patterns. He has some of the sensitivity and oh what do they call it...overexcitabilities. He's an intense little kid, but is still prone to fits of emotions that might look like a 4 year old, instead of the almost 6 year old that he is.
He is nowhere near profoundly gifted. His "gift" is verbal - vocabulary, reading, verbal reasoning, languages. Voracious reader, especially nonfiction. Remembers almost everything he reads. Very articulate. Always talking, asking questions, reasoning, thinking things out. Hates writing, drawing, manipulatives. No interest in team sports of any kind. Likes quiet. Prefers the company of girls to boys.
His math is good - he'd be telescoping to the next grade up - but not especially talented.
He loved his pre-k years, which focused on reading.
I really thought he'd breeze into the school system and be A-ok. His preschool teachers never initmated he might not fit in the public setting. He was a model student before Kinder, now keeps getting into trouble, testing the teacher and the rules.
At this young age, I'd suggest looking at the issues surrounding him getting in trouble and testing the teachers before concentrating on the academics. Once you get those figured out, the academic status will become clearer, especially if he lacks in emotional readiness for Kindergarten.
For instance, transitioning from preschool into Kindergarten is quite a large change. Most Kindergarten classes require more structure during the day than what's expected at preschool. That means far less roaming the room in between activities and a limited amount of time spent on each activity.
The free play time is now a very small part of their day, if at all. Expectations are higher in regards to following directions and completing tasks. Part of the preschool teachers job is keeping each individual child engaged and interested while supervising closely. The Kindergarten teacher needs to be more focused on the group as a whole and will be expecting the students to be responsible for themselves without such close supervision.
So, if he is having trouble staying on task as an example, it could be due to the different expectations and atmosphere of the K classroom compared to the preschool classroom and not due to his academic abilities being unchallenged. He may not be ready emotionally or socially to handle taking responsibility for completing tasks or he may be used to relying on preschool teacher supervising close enough to keep him on task and hasn't adjusted yet.
Add to that where he is also now likely being required to write, draw and use manipulatives in order to complete said tasks, he is probably getting into trouble because he doesn't want to do these things. All of those activities are fine motor skills and perhaps he struggles with those and needs to focus on mastering them. Does he struggle with every day fine motor skills? Snapping, buttoning, zipping, pulling on socks, brushing teeth, using spoons/forks successfully, etc.? Does he do other type of fine motor skills easily like building with Legos, putting together puzzles, using scissors correctly or using things like tongs, tweezers, chopsticks or clothespins? If so, then he may need help in mastering fine motor skills.
Then consider the aspect of him always asking questions and reasoning/thinking out loud. Those types of verbalizing are not usually a major issue in preschool where groups are smaller and the teachers have time to stop to answer and discuss. However, in K, taking the discussion on a different tangent than intended or having to stop frequently to address questions will become a problem for the whole class. So, if his testing or getting into trouble there is an issue, then that is a social expectation issue far more than it is an academic one.
Also look at recess, PE and lunch time to see if those are troublesome times. If he likes quiet, doesn't like sports and prefers to play with girls over boys then those times will be challenging for him, especially if there are more boys in the class than girls.
If his problems are found in any of those areas, then working towards resolving the issues there will most likely remove any behavior problems and allow you to focus on his academic needs. Then you can have the conversation as to what you can work with the teacher on in regards to keep him progressing academically. Perhaps they can allow him to participate in the Math or Reading curriculum in 1st grade instead of K. There are many things a good quality teacher can do to help an advanced child continue to grow academically.
If their GT program is a good one, even though it is very limited, it will not focus on things such as Math or Reading. Instead it will guide the students in critical thinking, analysis, reasoning skills etc. It will expose them to learning skills they won't otherwise be exposed to within the general curriculum.
On the contrary - he is used to sitting at his individual desk, as they did in PreK. His teacher told me you can tell he would rather sit at the shared table than sit on the floor. His fine motor skills are great - he writes fine, he just would rather be reading. He loves Legos, playing with them almost every day and building intricate planes, automobiles, etc.
His teacher told me last week, when she engaged the class in the math lesson, and it was obviously going to be too easy for him, she sent him to the computer to play video games ("as a privilege"). Instead of giving him a worksheet of more difficult problems - I have no idea why. When she asked him to quit the fun game, and come do writing now, he balked. Of course he did - the kid is 5! How many 5 year olds do you know that do not balk when asked to turn off the tv, or the video or game or xyz that is fun to go do work?!? So he had an attitude and went to do the writing assignment as quickly as possible to get it done.
This was her example of his "bad behavior". I was too stunned to react and it was in a place where we couldn't have a discussion. I just don't understand. And according to my son, this happens a lot. He gets video game time instead of getting a more difficult lesson. Don't get me started on watching Magic School Bus instead of a science lesson.
I'm having a meeting next week to discuss how they are lacking in giving him challenging work. I feel sure if he was kept engaged with ACTUAL SCHOOL WORK things would be much better. So far the principal and other administrators have had a real lackadaisical attitude about it all, and his teacher fully admits she has only the required 30 hours of GT type training and is in no way shape or form used to accommodating kids who need more.
On the contrary - he is used to sitting at his individual desk, as they did in PreK. His teacher told me you can tell he would rather sit at the shared table than sit on the floor. His fine motor skills are great - he writes fine, he just would rather be reading. He loves Legos, playing with them almost every day and building intricate planes, automobiles, etc.
His teacher told me last week, when she engaged the class in the math lesson, and it was obviously going to be too easy for him, she sent him to the computer to play video games ("as a privilege"). Instead of giving him a worksheet of more difficult problems - I have no idea why. When she asked him to quit the fun game, and come do writing now, he balked. Of course he did - the kid is 5! How many 5 year olds do you know that do not balk when asked to turn off the tv, or the video or game or xyz that is fun to go do work?!? So he had an attitude and went to do the writing assignment as quickly as possible to get it done.
This was her example of his "bad behavior". I was too stunned to react and it was in a place where we couldn't have a discussion. I just don't understand. And according to my son, this happens a lot. He gets video game time instead of getting a more difficult lesson. Don't get me started on watching Magic School Bus instead of a science lesson.
I'm having a meeting next week to discuss how they are lacking in giving him challenging work. I feel sure if he was kept engaged with ACTUAL SCHOOL WORK things would be much better. So far the principal and other administrators have had a real lackadaisical attitude about it all, and his teacher fully admits she has only the required 30 hours of GT type training and is in no way shape or form used to accommodating kids who need more.
The attitude issue here is can be avoided really easily by taking the computer out of the equation. A simple request to not offer the computer and problem solved.
Is the teacher a new-ish teacher? If so, then she should have a mentor teacher assigned to her that she can reach out to for guidance in learning how to stretch most lessons to accommodate all levels within the class, from the lowest of the low to the highest of the high instead of using something like a computer when she doesn't know how to expand the lesson to fit what is needed.
If she is not a new teacher, then you may have a more challenging prospect. There are great, top quality teachers out there who will work hard to keep all their students progressing and these will work closely with you as a parent to challenge your child. I've found more of these type than any other and have found they are very easy to work with and support the need of individual students.
However, there are also teachers out there who believe the students at the lowest level ability are the ones who need the most focus and that the higher level students are doing just fine. And then there are teachers who don't believe any student is gifted and fight any differentiated curriculum approach at all. These teachers are rare in my experience, however they are best avoided instead of expecting them to change.
Generally, the first 6 weeks of Kindergarten are all about the kids learning the rules, routines, schedules and teachers assessing each child individually. Have you had the first conference about his assessments yet? That conference should be a relatively short one with results discussed. This next meeting you are having would be where you request that the computer not be an option in place of a math lesson. I'd ask what else the teacher is doing or is planning to do in order to differentiate her lessons for your son. I'd ask also about things like a mentor to the teacher, taking math and/or reading in a 1st grade classroom if that doesn't come up. I would not ask about more difficult worksheets as that could translate into the teacher copying something and handing it to your son without teaching it and that's never a good idea.
One thing to also take into consideration is that Kindergarten is just the beginning of his school years and much of the year is spent learning the entire school experience. They learn how everything works at school from the layout of the school to how eating lunch works to leaving the classroom for specials like Music, PE, computer lab and Library. They learn about assemblies, announcements, special events and drills. At the same time they are experiencing new social, emotional and physical situations that they have to navigate. It is one full year of firsts and learning in so many more ways than academics.
So, just remember that academics is one part of the entire equation and goes hand in hand with all of it.
You should look at doing an inter-district transfer to another school district. Every school district sets their own policy in regards to whether or not they allow it and tuition(if any) they want to charge. For instance, the policy for the Northwest ISD can be found at: http://pol.tasb.org/Policy/Download/...FDA(LOCAL).pdf
You should also consider the Westlake academy, it is a state funded charter school, but it is competitive getting in, because residents of Westlake are given priority above everyone else.
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