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GT K writing issues? Suggestions?

by Donna music/TN

Sep 4, 2009

Does anyone have any suggestions for helping a GT kinder, who is performing at an advanced level on writing and drawing tasks, but is getting extremely frustrated due to her work not being up to her personal standards? The class is doing Kidwriting, and she shuts down the second a letter isn't written correctly (IE, the second it doesn't look exactly like the one on the wall), a word isn't spelled correctly (she will not accept phonetic spelling or a magic line-if it doesn't "look right" after she's written it, she gets very upset), or when her drawings don't match the picture in her mind. She also doesn't want to dictate to an adult because "I can do this". Her handwriting is actually very good for her age, and her pictures have a lot of detail. Her vocabulary and sentence structure are amazing. We have tried encouraging her to tell her story into a recorder or typing it, but she's very concerned about it not being fair.

The K class has 24 students, with 2 adults for most of ...See More

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michelb366 You mentioned that she will not use a recorder because it was not fair. Is it possible for the other kids to use one as well? If you have a voice to text program on the computer, all of the kids would benefit from seeing their stories in print. Michelle

Sep 4, 2009

GT Teacher br> > She's on an IEP for GT, rather than one for Special ed. She was > tested for possible aspergers syndrome a few years ago, and was > given a gIEP and consult services in preschool, which followed her > to Kindergarten.

There won't be an easy answer to this - her perfectionism stems rather from what's causing the small ...See Morebr> > She's on an IEP for GT, rather than one for Special ed. She was > tested for possible aspergers syndrome a few years ago, and was > given a gIEP and consult services in preschool, which followed her > to Kindergarten.

There won't be an easy answer to this - her perfectionism stems rather from what's causing the small cluster of issues she has- it's not her parents but if I were her parent, I'd rather believe it comes from them too. There's a package here - difficulty with transitions and the like, something made someone think she might even have Aspergers' and even if she doesn't, this is not a run of the mill profile but a child with some emotional differences most likely hard-wired.

Her issues aren't writing issues but emotional issues - you say her writing is actually advanced. I'd contact her preschool teachers and find out if anything they did was found to work - how did they handle her perfectionism? Perhaps they found something that worked even if it clearly didn't 'cure' her.

Calm reassurance in the face of her distress up to a point but too much of that and it can reinforce the fear rather than alleviate it. Showing other work to her that also is less than perfect but this child however bright is not a logical thinker. Good luck.

She does have some definite sensory issues, > difficulty with transitions, and the like, but her social skills > and communications skills seem pretty good. She doesn't struggle > socially in a K classroom, and her gross motor seems age > appropriate. At the time, the psychologist mentioned her > perfectionism in the report and recommended more contact with > young children, and her parents put her in preschool based on that > report. > > Her parents both seem concerned and don't seem unduly concerned > about their child being the best or being perfect. However, the > mother has expressed concerns that since both she and her husband > are in detail oriented professions (engineering/computer science), > and both work from home at times, that their daughter might well > be picking up on the work attitude, and applying it to school. > > > > >

Sep 6, 2009

cavey This is soooooo common with these little ones. Has anyone tried explaining to the child exactly what is happening with her? Perhaps someone could tell her that what she is experiencing is normal, explain to her that her body and her brain are developing at different rates, etc, etc. It's worth a shot. I have done this and have had mixed results. So...See More

Sep 11, 2009

Sp. Would it help if she looked at some images of pictures by Picasso, Monet, Manet, etc.. If you look carefully you can see where they didn't even erase their earlier attempts and the second pair of hands, outline of a head, are still there, on the canvas, for all to behold, and these are masterpieces, hung up in museums. Beautiful albeit "imperfect"....See MoreWould it help if she looked at some images of pictures by Picasso, Monet, Manet, etc.. If you look carefully you can see where they didn't even erase their earlier attempts and the second pair of hands, outline of a head, are still there, on the canvas, for all to behold, and these are masterpieces, hung up in museums. Beautiful albeit "imperfect".

I think that the gap between what we want to create and what we actually create is always going to be there at some level but that with mediums like ink you don't get to hide the process as well, and that it is especially frustrating when developmentally your motor skills aren't quite there yet.

So maybe you can talk about the end product not being that day's finished product but what she'll be able to do six months from now? Maybe you can ask her to suspend judgement, at least partially until a few weeks go by? That or get her a medium where earlier attempts are completely hidden, like those magnetic screens.

And maybe you can talk about learning patience, that patience is something we have to learn about just like we have to learn how to write.

It is a lot harder for me to learn to be patient than it was to learn to write. I'm still learning to be patient.

> On 9/04/09, Donna music/TN wrote: >> Does anyone have any suggestions for helping a GT kinder, >> who is performing at an advanced level on writing and >> drawing tasks, but is getting extremely frustrated due to >> her work not being up to her personal standards? The class >> is doing Kidwriting, and she shuts down the second a letter >> isn't written correctly (IE, the second it doesn't look >> exactly like the one on the wall), a word isn't spelled >> correctly (she will not accept phonetic spelling or a magic >> line-if it doesn't "look right" after she's written it, she >> gets very upset), or when her drawings don't match the >> picture in her mind. She also doesn't want to dictate to an >> adult because "I can do this". Her handwriting is actually >> very good for her age, and her pictures have a lot of >> detail. Her vocabulary and sentence structure are amazing. >> We have tried encouraging her to tell her story into a >> recorder or typing it, but she's very concerned about it not >> being fair. >> >> The K class has 24 students, with 2 adults for most of the >> day. There are no direct GT services for kindergarten. The >> child does have an IEP with a teacher on consult, but since >> the teacher doesn't teach young children, she's not >> providing many suggestions, either. >> >> >>

Sep 13, 2009

Leah for a related article, click below

Sep 28, 2009

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