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by Curious mom

Aug 12, 2009

OK, before I ask my question, I'll go ahead and say I know every parent thinks their child is "so smart" and "advanced for their age". I'm a teacher myself and I'm starting to be surprised by some of the things my oldest son is saying/doing (he will be 5 in November).

For example, he asked me to read to him James and the Giant Peach. I thought he'd lose interest in a matter of minutes but so far he's actually comprehending what I've read to him and can remember what we read the night before. Granted, I have to explain a lot of the big words (like boiling for example) but he's making connections to that with a time I doctored his foot with peroxide and it bubbled. He's very curious and when I explain something to him it often leads to a very lengthy discussion and more questions - which again I know curiosity is normal for a 4/5 year old but it's never ending.

I guess what I need to know is what we should be looking for to determine his giftedness, how do we keep him f...See More

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Jamie in MO Hoagies Gifted is a great resource for parents, especially with regard to thinking about whether he would be identified as gifted or not, so you can check that out. Otherwise, I wouldn't spend too much energy in that direction.

To answer your other question, you can keep reading to him and having conversations about the books you read, as ...See MoreHoagies Gifted is a great resource for parents, especially with regard to thinking about whether he would be identified as gifted or not, so you can check that out. Otherwise, I wouldn't spend too much energy in that direction.

To answer your other question, you can keep reading to him and having conversations about the books you read, as well as having discussions about things you see outside, in stores, in museums, and so forth. You can provide puzzles and building/construction sets, and teach him to play strategy games, like Battleship, and Connect Four. You can involve him with cooking and try at home science experiments and craft projects (resources abound in bookstores and online). He can write letters to friends and relatives, both in handwriting (post card length) and in email. You can sign him up to take classes in everything from Youth Soccer to Magic Tricks. All of those things (just a tip of the iceberg) will offer some enrichment, and give him a great start with learning.

On 8/12/09, Curious mom wrote: > OK, before I ask my question, I'll go ahead and say I know > every parent thinks their child is "so smart" and "advanced > for their age". I'm a teacher myself and I'm starting to > be surprised by some of the things my oldest son is > saying/doing (he will be 5 in November). > > For example, he asked me to read to him James and the Giant > Peach. I thought he'd lose interest in a matter of minutes > but so far he's actually comprehending what I've read to > him and can remember what we read the night before. > Granted, I have to explain a lot of the big words (like > boiling for example) but he's making connections to that > with a time I doctored his foot with peroxide and it > bubbled. He's very curious and when I explain something to > him it often leads to a very lengthy discussion and more > questions - which again I know curiosity is normal for a > 4/5 year old but it's never ending. > > I guess what I need to know is what we should be looking > for to determine his giftedness, how do we keep him from > losing this love of learning? He will not be able to start > kindergarten this fall due to his age so how do we enrich > his preK experience since he already knows how to count, > match, sort, etc? > > Thank you in advance for any advice (even if he is just a > normal 4 year old). :)

Aug 12, 2009

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GT Teacher Some will go sadly wild at a parent - even one who is also a teacher - on the board and asking questions yet but I say and warmly 'welcome'. And yes, children including yours are surprising us on many days these days. Your son is likely quite bright and perhaps even gifted- only 2% of the population tests as gifted (though some are debating that an...See MoreSome will go sadly wild at a parent - even one who is also a teacher - on the board and asking questions yet but I say and warmly 'welcome'. And yes, children including yours are surprising us on many days these days. Your son is likely quite bright and perhaps even gifted- only 2% of the population tests as gifted (though some are debating that and think that figure is happily rising) and any child particularly gifted children raised in these wonderfully enriched times learns quickly.

If we assume he's gifted, then you can relax. Gifted children do not become 'ungifted'. Giftedness is a gift that's given to them to keep for their whole lives. If your school has a respectable program for gifted children (few do) then you'd want to look at it to see if you want him in it. If you do, then you would ask his district psychologist what the process is (you teach nearby, no? What's the process in your district?) Some schools test in K - others only test when a parent requests it.

His love of learning goes hand in hand with giftedness - it's like being thirsty. It doesn't go away - you'll be hungry and thirsty the rest of your life but for the times when you've just had something to eat and even then you'll be thinking a bit about your next meal. That he will always like to learn though does not mean he will always like school and as for assuring that any gifted child will always like school - that's hard to do. Indeed, gifted children often don't like school because their learning style is very different from the traditional teaching style of most schools.

Einstein is thought to be one of the most gifted people that has ever lived though he was not subjected to an IQ test. Those who love to entertain such questions as 'what might Einstein's IQ have been' estimate it at 210... but with his learning differences, the great man had a lot of scatter in his pattern...

In any case, he Hated school. And yet though Einstein was subjected to the rigid structure of pre-war German schools where he did poorly and fared even less well, he always loved learning.

So will your son - especially if he is gifted - but he may not always like school. You can enrich him and any other child by grabbing life by the horns as they say - make it an adventure. He will learn at every turn. He will learn taking a walk around the block, looking at the stars, watching a fly, reading a book, watching television ( in reasonable amounts) playing games, singing songs, and an infinitely long list of all that we do in a day or our lives. If he is gifted, he will learn in every moment and if he's not, he'll still take away a great deal of joy as well as learning from the many moments of his childhood particularly those you enjoy together.

His PreK experience - if it is pure academics, then he will likely be restless. But any good PreK has lots of social interaction and lots of play and gifted children and most others learn while they play. You might read a book called The Hurried Child that will help you to relax or another called Whatever Happened to Recess? Or anything by Kathy Hirsch Pasek - a wonderful child psychologist who raised three gifted children of her own. > > > > I guess what I need to know is what we should be looking > for to determine his giftedness, how do we keep him from > losing this love of learning? He will not be able to start > kindergarten this fall due to his age so how do we enrich > his preK experience since he already knows how to count, > match, sort, etc? > > Thank you in advance for any advice (even if he is just a > normal 4 year old). :)

Aug 12, 2009

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Cyna I often give this article and chart by Bertie Kingore to help parents determine if their child is a high achiever, gifted learner, or creative learner. I hope this helps

Aug 14, 2009

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Curious mom On 8/14/09, Cyna wrote: > I often give this article and chart by Bertie Kingore to help > parents determine if their child is a high achiever, gifted > learner, or creative learner. I hope this helps

Thank you for all the responses! It seems that daily I'm surprised by some of the higher level things he says/does. A couple of day...See More

Aug 14, 2009

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