Hi all,
I have known my girl was different when she was born and after reading the gifted traits list online I believed that she was gifted. She could count to 20 by 2yo, has an excellent memory, 80 piece puzzles at 3.5yo, long concentration span. We started small poppies for a couple of terms when she was 3.5 yo and she thrived.
She is now is now at school 5 1/2 and her first report card came through as her being average at everything reading/writing/mathematics. She has been at school for 2 terms, and it has been pretty horrible as the first term she feined sickness so didn't want to go and now she tells me she is bored. I have watched her in class and found her to be in a daydream state, not interested ....eek.
We are not testing her until the end of the year as we would like to go onto ODS. My husband fears she is not gifted but just bright - I have yet to show him the school report. I am stressed because I think she is gifted but the report says she is average. I guess I won't know until the end of the year when I get her tested. I have been on such a roller coaster of emotions since she was 3 mainly of doubt (gifted or not?) and despair (trying to keep her stimulated) - how do any of you cope if you don't have the certainty of a test?
Any thoughts muchly appreciated.
Jeanna
I have a son who is, like your daughter, 5 1/2. I too suspect he is gifted and shows similar behaviour in school. Like you I will have him tested by the end of this year for the same reasons. Will be following your posts and responses with interest.
Author: mums are usually right!!
Date: 14-07-11 18:07
Hi Jeanna,
I am not an expert at all, just a mum and I went through the same thoughts as you. I am sure you have nothing to worry about as not many 2 year olds can count to 20!
Those preschool achievements that you mentioned are just a couple of many I am sure, and I know if your situation is anything like ours was there will be many more that you haven't been aware of...because you just thought it was normal.
Our school reports vary from year to year and teacher to teacher and child to child. And if you have a report card that is "rating" your child to the national standards, they can still be doing VERY well but only 'at' the standard. (well true in our case)
And they can still be highly gifted and not performing highly academically.
Hold on to your gut instinct as Mum's are usually right.
Best of luck!!
It's pretty unlikely she'd be accepted and thrive at Small Poppies if she wasn't up there intellectually with the other children.
I think you need to have a talk with her about trying hard in class so the teacher can see her do the 'boring stuff' easily (and neatly) and can get her more challenging and interesting work. I had to have this discussion with DS, mainly over the neatness of work needed to get marked correct.
DD is only settling down to writing and reading now (2 terms in, like your's).
Testing for giftedness and testing for National Standards are completely different so I wouldn't worry a minute more about that. You know she's likely gifted as you went through Small Poppies. It is a spectrum so testing will tell you how far from average she's sitting (i.e. how much parental input will be needed to get needs met) and what her strengths and weaknesses are.
Hi Jeanna,
It is very common for gifted children to dumb themselves down when they start school. Both my children have done this. When my son was in year 1 the teacher said that she was aware we thought he was special but she didn't see him in the same way. She said he was about average. When we had him tested he came out in the 99th percentile. What she saw was that he wouldn't join in at mat time, just did what he had to do and didn't show any more. He wanted to be like the other kids, and wouldn't contribute on the mat as his ideas/answers weren't like the other kids. I've got to say that it's difficult to stay focussed at mat time when you have to hear the teacher say the same things over and over til the other kids 'get it'.
He started at ODS the following year. It was his savour throughout primary and intermediate. He started at High School this year and is absolutely thriving. He is in the top stream, and finally it seems being acknowledged for what he is capable of. I strongly believe that the success he is experiencing now is a result of him attending ODS and being kept interested in learning.
I guess what I'm trying to say is don't doubt her abilities based on the school report. Not all teachers recognise gifted students, and she will be doing just what she needs to do to get by. Girls in particular try and hide their giftedness as they just want to be like everyone else.
