An unexpected dilemma

[ar2974]

I have never been on this forum before.

This has me a bit floored because my daughter often seems more like a walking "blonde joke" than a talented student - she's quick and bright but very silly and ditzy.

Last winter when I was looking at schools, I was unhappy with our local zoned school so I was trying to think of ways to have her go to another school. In NYC they start G&T education at Kindergarten and they test kids at age 4 (I don't agree with this at all but in trying to get dd into a good school, I decided to go with all options).

She took the test but I really didn't think much of it because she does NOT show much interest in reading or anything academic etc. (I think of how I was and at 4/5, I was obsessed with books and learning and I was reading chapter books). Anyway, we ended up being rezoned for a school I like so I thought no more of it. This morning I got an email letting me know that dd had met the cutoff (she scored really, really well - far above the cutoff - it's honestly a bit mystifying).

This is very new to me because while my daughter is (of course ) gifted in many ways, I didn't think of academics as a particular strong point. So now, I have to decide if I should enroll her in a G&T program. If a child meets the requirement you get sent a list of schools. I'm leaning towards not bothering and just leaving her in the local school but it is definitely an unexpected dilemma. I don't want her to be bored and she is definitely a child who tends to "rise to the occasion".  She is incredibly social and very dramatic.  She is the sort of kid who has a new friend within 5 minutes of arriving at the playground.  She enjoys herself everywhere and I am sure that she will have a good time in Kindergarten no matter what type of class it is but I want to do what's best for her.

Any advice?

[RiverTam]

I would put her in a G&T school if it was close enough to my  home to be workable.

It is my understanding that the New York G&T programs offer up many more opportunities in the future than she will have at her regular school. If she is going to be fine in G&T or regular, and G&T opens up more opportunities later, it would be a shame to cut her off from those now.

[mom2ponygirl]

I would put her in the GT program if feasible.  It will provide more options later.  You can always choose to return to the other program but choosing to enter GT later may be more difficult.  

I have a profoundly gifted child (age 12) who recently put the ice cream away in the microwave. :-)  Gifted and ditzy can go hand in hand. LOL  Her elaborate imagination and fantasy life were her most striking differences when little. 

[ar2974]

Originally Posted by mom2ponygirl Her elaborate imagination and fantasy life were her most striking differences when little. 

That is my daughter right now.  She doesn't just have an imagination.  She has whole worlds in there.

[RiverTam]

Originally Posted by mom2ponygirl 

I would put her in the GT program if feasible.  It will provide more options later.  You can always choose to return to the other program but choosing to enter GT later may be more difficult.  

I have a profoundly gifted child (age 12) who recently put the ice cream away in the microwave. :-)  Gifted and ditzy can go hand in hand. LOL  Her elaborate imagination and fantasy life were her most striking differences when little. 

Gifted and ditzy or eccentric and creative OFTEN go hand in hand.

http://eideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/cognition-without-control-adhd-gifted.html

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-unleashed-mind

[whatsnextmom]

Your DD is still very young. Not all gifted kids take interest in traditional academics in the early years. My eldest didn't read until after her 5th birthday but was downing 5th grade level chapter books within a month of sounding out her first word. Upon entering kindergarten her only math skill was the ability to count high. She completed the entire K and 1st grade math curriculum the first month of school. By December, the school wanted her moved to 1st grade and then given extra subject acceleration on top of that. She wasn't tested until 8th grade and she ended up in the 99.9th percentile. Now she's in a highly gifted high school program and still top of her class. When she was a toddler/preschooler, she lived in a Superman cape, had countless imaginary friends, always talked in odd voices and creating different characters and was passionate about ancient egypt. In fact, she was the least advanced academically in her playgroup and the other moms felt sorry for us lol. Now DD's way ahead of those same kids even though they also have the gifted label. Oh, and she's also a paid actress lol. Like your DD, my DD can be totally ditzy. She often has to have jokes explained to her. She often takes things literally even when it should seem obvious what the real intentions are. In our family, we often reference that great Farside cartoon where there is a boy pushing against the door to "The Midvale School for the Gifted" and totally ignoring the fact that the door says "pull." Yep... that's our daughter lol.

I'd go with the gifted school. She may not seem to need it now but I suspect once in an academic situation, she's going to really take off. Plus, it'll give her a chance to be with kids like her. If it doesn't work, your zoned school has to take you don't they? You can always get OUT of the program. You won't always get to put her in it.