We missed having a July update thread and it's almost August. There seems to be a few newcomers here (Welcome!!) and that means there are probably some lurkers too, waiting for something to pique their interest before they post. So rather than waiting for the official start of a new month, it might be a good idea for a little socializing now.
So....what has everyone been doing lately?
Hi! I'm new, well I joined a while ago but only participated in this section recently, as I didn't know it was here.
I live in Perth, Australia.
Looking forward to participating more in the threads, I have been reading for a while and find it very interesting.
DS 18 y.o., has been away at music camp where he is a counsellor. The campers are aged 11 to 15 y.o. He's having fun again. There is a new double bass instructor, which is his instrument, and he has enjoyed working with him and helping teach the campers.
He's been telling me about a few pranks they've pulled on the adult faculty, and I guess he's the ring-leader. I told him that it's what every mom wants to hear - that her beloved son is the Lex Luthor of summer camp. I was informed that he was waaay cooler than that - maybe the Magneto of summer camp. And thus, another chapter in our long-running dispute about which is better - DC or Marvel - commenced. I think it's almost as much fun as our other long-running dialogue about democracy/capitalism (me) vs. anarchy/socialism (him - he likes to quote Marx at me: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need".)
He plans on making a bass later this summer with an old washtub and other scavenged materials. I reminded him that we have old plans to build an electric guitar (Make magazine, I think, or possibly Instructables) and so he's going to modify for an electric bass.
DD 15 y.o. spent most of July getting a high school Civics credit. For part of the course, they travelled to Manhattan, toured the U.N. saw Ellis Island etc., participated in debates about international and domestic policy, and.....huge bonus....managed to squeeze in a side-trip to see the red carpet festivities for the Harry Potter premiere.
DD makes me laugh - it was her 3rd trip to Manhattan in 14 months, so she's becoming familiar with the city. She's lived in big cities most of her life and is pretty confident with public transit, negotiating city streets etc. She is also a drama major and can be a huge ham. During one of their "free times", she and a group of other students headed to FAO Schwartz. DD played "tour guide" along 5th Avenue and she re-enacted her tour for me. "And on your left, you will observe the famous Tiffany's which you may know from the film, Breakfast at Tiffany's (DD mimics a bunch of cameras clicking away and her friends posing making peace signs)" and "Now keep together, everyone! Follow me!"
Last night, at dinner, we were talking about the film, The King's Speech, and the British classical actors. DH mentioned "thespians" and she spilled out "From the Greek, Thespis, who was the first to step out of the chorus and portray a character in a dramatic role. Fun Fact of the Day!!" It's been a while since I heard "Fun Fact of the Day" from one of the kids, so I was howling by the time she was finished.
She's spent a lot of time in her room, catching up on her sleep, since she came home. I think I will set up the sewing machine today, in an attempt to ward off the inevitable after-trip letdown.
Edited, to add the bit about ds and his politics, which I must have cut when editing earlier.
Hi! I'm new, well I joined a while ago but only participated in this section recently, as I didn't know it was here.
I live in Perth, Australia.
Looking forward to participating more in the threads, I have been reading for a while and find it very interesting.
Welcome! And I almost titled the thread, "Summer 2011", but I couldn't recall if there were any antipodean members, so I thought I better play it safe. If you'd like to share, let us know about your children and what they are doing this winter.
Welcome! And I almost titled the thread, "Summer 2011", but I couldn't recall if there were any antipodean members, so I thought I better play it safe. If you'd like to share, let us know about your children and what they are doing this winter.
Okay I will share! I have 3 young children, aged 3 years, 2 years and 10 months. I have no clue as to whether my two youngest children are gifted or not, I am inclined to think my youngest is but my 2 year old is just a normal happy little boy :)
My daughter is 3 and she is the gifted one. I only just found out about giftedness really. I was a gifted child but noone ever explained it to me; I wish I had known why I was so different.
At the moment, I am debating over whether to send her to 4 year old kindergarten (non compulsory but generally recommended schooling) to start in February, and have had a lot of trouble attempting to gauge whether schools near me are gifted friendly or not. In Perth I can send my daughter to any primary school regardless of where I live (unless it is very exclusive but this is not related to academic status of the school in general), and public schooling can be better than private schooling (depends where you go). I am not particularly concerned over whether she will be academically challenged at kindy or not (I would only send her 1 day a week), however i am concerned that she will not have her needs met, as many teachers in my area are anti-giftedness -- they have no knowledge of it and think it does not exist. I am also debating over whether to have her tested for giftedness. I know that she is gifted so feel that in some ways it is unnecessary, but it would be useful proof if I cannot find an agreeable school.
I will be on the forum in an attempt to find new info really -- I would love to read about other people's experiences too!
Same here! I grew up in a VERY small town. I am not even sure the teachers there knew about giftedness back then. My husband was also gifted, but his parents encouraged him to experience as much as he could so that helped him develop it more. My parents didn't really care about school and would have been happy if I had C's, but I set my own schedules and forced myself to be organized and pulled straight A's and sometimes B's in my classes through high school and now even in getting my MBA I have A's and B's.
With our son, we like to push the envelope as much as he will allow. We are working on multiplication since he has always had an interest in letters and numbers. I am also teaching him basic communications in French, Japanese, Spanish and ASL. He's 4 and in order to entertain him during the day (or this is how I see it, but he loves learning so it's fun for him), we do lessons. Last week's theme was Our Solar System, this week is Dinosaurs. This works out great because the zoo in Seattle is having a dino exhibit with animatronic dinosaurs. I think he will love that this weekend as a way to cap our lesson.
My son can spell great for his age, I believe. Although getting him to work on penmanship is a trial. He likes drawing, he likes doing mazes, which both work on his fine motor skills. He knows all of his letters, but he just prefers to type instead of write.I also think he might dislike writing because it's not fun like drawing or mazes. He also enjoys writing on a whiteboard with markers instead of on paper.
Other than all of that and practicing reading, which is also hit or miss with him, that's pretty much what he's up to now. He asks a lot of questions daily about everything (which is sometimes exhausting until his dad gets home and can help answer questions.) :)
Like most, summer has been busy for us. Let's see in I can manage a condensed version.
DS 10 is taking 6th grade math online so he can skip to pre-algebra in the fall. Let's see, he was in a show that closed last week, is currently crewing a show and then goes into rehearsal for a new show in a couple weeks. All his best buddies are at the theatre and so it's been heaven for him. Tae kwon Do continues. He's just 2 degrees away from black belt and he's super excited about it. Piano continues, they do a lot of pop music in the summer which he digs. Lots of READING which is amazing for him. I think he's read like 15 books so far (he's always been an excellent reader but it's way low on his list of preffered activities.) We've been going to a lot of the dollar movies at the local movie theatre. It's been fun to get out with just him or him and his buddies.
DD 14 got her first job as a teacher's aide at her youth theatre which she's adored. They've already asked her to continue in the fall (though part-time.) She's crewed a show, about to open a show and in rehearsals for another. Basically, it's theatre from 9 to 9 and she's glowing with happiness. She won a big award for a part she played earlier this year and the ceremony was a couple weeks ago. She was truely honored and her speech was just so humble and quirky and HER. We were very proud. She did take a theatre break (during the days) the last 2 weeks to take a playwriting intensive offered by her high school. They bring in specialty teachers and it's free which we love lol. Her teacher was a professor from the university and a prominent screen writer. There were only 6 kids in the class and so she got lots of personal feed back. She just LOVED it and really felt like she learned more about writing in those two weeks than she has in years. Then she's also part of the student board at a major regional and they've been putting on several summer teen events surrounding their productions. On top of that, friends, friends, friends. Lots of sleep-overs and almost no texting or computers. I don't know how she doesn't drop from exhaustion but honestly, she's been the happiest and most fulfilled as I've ever seen her.
No big family trip this summer because of schedules but we'll be camping a few days in August which will be nice. DH and I have found ourselves with a lot of free couple time and so taking advantage to get out and walk, see movies, eat interesting foods our kids won't touch lol. All-in-all, a really great summer.
Welcome, MomofSev!
Windmill, You may find discussions about siblings who appear "not gifted" or neurotypical. There are a few of us who were a little surprised by our second-born children, simply because they didn't present like the first, but who nonetheless were identified gifted.
Whatsnextmom, congratulations to your DD!! What awesome theatre opportunities your kids have been getting. DD hasn't signed up for anything this summer, and I think she's starting to feel at loose ends about it.
She won a big award for a part she played earlier this year and the ceremony was a couple weeks ago. She was truely honored and her speech was just so humble and quirky and HER.
Windmill, You may find discussions about siblings who appear "not gifted" or neurotypical. There are a few of us who were a little surprised by our second-born children, simply because they didn't present like the first, but who nonetheless were identified gifted.
Thanks for that, I will have a look! I do wonder about him as he seems just as quirky as my eldest, but in a different way and in a way I do not understand (my daughter is very similar to myself), and do not know how to tap into.
It is really great reading about people's older children as teenagers.
Whatsnextmom that's great your daughter is loving her new job. I got my first job at 14 as a swimming pool party leader (running kids birthday parties), and from there I became a swimming teacher, a baby swimming teacher, a kids to elite athlete swimming coach, and am now in the know about everything to do with swimming really. I think that getting a job so young allowed me the freedom i craved and i was always so proud of my own achievements and professional development, simply for the satisfaction of knowing how much I was gaining in terms of skills. I hope that it proves just as valuable an experience for your own daughter.
Thanks for starting this thread. It is always so fun to read about everything all of our kids are doing. Congrats on the achievements!
DS (12) spent 4 weeks at IU at the Strings Summer Academy. He really loved it and made a lot of progress. He practiced consistently over 4 hours a day, and listened ti all these great chamber players and even met Joshua Bell. He came home very inspired for a week and then off to another summer camp. In the week home he made huge progress with the first two movements of the Haydn D cello concerto, considered very hard to get in tune.
DD (9) has been really focused on learning how to swim this summer. She is reading and writing some poetry, and picking up a few math concepts here and there from mom and dad. I showed her the long division algorithm for 5 minutes and she ran with it, extended it to decimals and started thinking of rational numbers as representable as both fractions and decimals.
DS (5) is finally making strides with reading. He really enjoys his piano lessons and is doing quite well with karate and swimming. He seems to have discovered Wii games.... oh well.
It's been a while since I've been around, and it does look like we've had some changes in who our regular posters are. I hope the old crowd is doing well. And welcome, of course, to our new members. :)
DD1 (5 yo) has been super busy all summer with dance, swimming, and soccer. Yikes! But the big news is DD2, who showed up last week and has been running our lives ever since. We are also very excited to start homeschooling officially this fall. DD1 is enamored of the idea of having class schedules and being taught things, so it'll be a change from unschooling (what we've done so far). We'll see how long that lasts. ;)
But the big news is DD2, who showed up last week and has been running our lives ever since.
Congratulations!! Hope all are doing well.
i am loving summer.
i just love the person dd (soon to be 9) becomes in summer. she is so relaxed. no tantrums. no extreme behaviour. no deep sadness (the stress of school i feel amplifies her emotions so she cant handle - things, ideas - that she actually can handle much better in summer). she is so much more cooperative, no arguing over everything.
did i mention i love summer.
so far life has been about kids, comedians and cooking. we constantly have kids in our house. either neighbour kids or sleepover kids. dd's been checking out some comedians to see which ones she likes online. ugh. its a nightmare for me. while some of the comedians i like, some of them i find irritating. dd is getting to be more and more of an alton brown fan. with all the blackberries and raspberries - we've been trying out different kinds of pie crust and smoothie mixes.
dd has tanned deeply this summer. if there is one activity she has done the most - its swimming. our neighbor generously allows us to use their pool and dd spends hours lap swimming apart from playing. the part i dont like about this is that i have to sit there and supervise when there is so much i could get done at home. the second one is reading. i have to entice her with video games or the computer to get a balance of activities - over the week, rather than daily. dd has mostly chosen to be with me with just a couple of days with her dad. this summer we have completely changed our custody.
dd has also been in some camps that she has enjoyed. the farm camp has led to many hours of research and a deeper awareness of the connectiong between man, creatures and the earth. throw in michael pollan in there and world food issues and that's what we've been upto.
lot of hiking this summer too. dd is really getting into climbing and we are seriously looking at how she might pursue this as a sport.
DS 4 (the "gifted" one) is at chess club with my DH for the first time tonight. He was SO excited this week- talked about it all the time. He loves studying chess stategies from books like Bobby Fisher Teaches Chess and How to Beat Your Dad at Chess. I've been really trying to get him to do other things (once he gets into something that is ALL he'll want to do) so we did spend some time washing the car and in the wadding pool this week even though it's 108 out right now! He is also in private swim lessons (after the group ones failed miserably) and he is not only past his fear of putting any part of his face in the water (he would not do that a month ago)- he even will go under and grab toys from the bottom of the pool now! I'm so happy.
DD 20 months is starting to enjoy me reading to her, which I love. She is very musical and we all enjoy listening to her walk around the house singing clearly recognizable songs (even if none of the words are correct!). She is also extremely vocal, loud and getting to be whiny, which we are doing our bet to nip in the bud.
Dd17 is touring through Eastern Canada and New England with Canada's National Youth Orchestra. We haven't seen her all summer but she's having a fabulous time, rehearsing her fingers off and practicing her brains out, making some very close friends. She had a very successful meeting with her prospective landlord who had previously been rather skeptical about a 17-year-old living on her own in central Montreal in a large old house. But they got along famously and the woman is very comfortable with the arrangement now.
Ds14 is trying to grow up a bit I think: it's been a looong time coming. He's looking forward and thinking about how he can fit into the larger world. He's considering doing some actual in-school course work this next year. (He's been hitherto unschooled, is dysgraphic, perfectionistic to the point of underachievement and anxious: definitely not a natural school achiever.) He'll need to decide about that (one course? two? five? eight?) over the next month. It's great that he's interested in pushing himself a little into new things, for the first time ever! He played a viola piece on a recital yesterday and wowed even the real pros with his incredibly musical performance. He hardly practices -- maybe an average of 15 minutes a day, gets a lesson every 6 to 8 weeks, had only played the piece four or five times in the three years since he learned it (once being at the rehearsal the day before). We had a talk today about his incredible musical gift ... and what he wants to do with it. In other words, does he want to quit studying, or work harder, or what? We'll see. If he actually practiced he could easily match his older sister in achievement. He'll be spending a week with an adult friend of his rebuilding computers and installing software for the community kids' gaming club in the middle of August. I'm thrilled that he's getting opportunities to be recognized and valued for his computer tech skills.
Dd12 is making big changes. She's going to be attending school full-time in the fall. She's been unschooled all her life. She'll be doing a combination of 8th and 9th grade courses, with the possibility of moving on to 10th grade in math later in the fall. She's also planning an audition for the youth choir that her older siblings have been part of four the last few years. She's a year too young by rights but has been encouraged to audition. She's mowing lawns for cash, and having a very successful summer making and selling traditional-style hard candies and lollipops at the weekly community market. She did a week of theatre camp last month and had a blast. She's having a fabulous time this week playing the Mozart g minor two-viola quintet 1st movement with her older brother and three other teens, doing the advanced chamber music component of the local Suzuki music camp, playing in orchestras and percussion ensemble, performing in concerts and recitals.
Dd8 has been wildcrafting, blending and selling teas all summer at the community market and as a result now owns her first iPod Touch. She too enjoyed theatre camp and is in the thick of Suzuki music camp this week. She's in the advanced orchestra and the advanced repertoire group class, and is certainly being challenged ... trying to learn richochet, sautillé and spiccato bowing techniques on a lousy-quaility quarter-sized bow, while all her classmates are on at least three-quarter-sized instruments. She's managing, to a point -- but it's clear she needs a bow capable of responding. A tall order in a size that small. (She's small for her age; she was on an eighth-sized violin until three weeks ago, having only just grown enough to be able to move up.) She will be my only full-time homeschooler in the fall and is looking forward to getting more of my time and focus.
Miranda
My 5 yr. old starts 1st grade this month. He has been reading a lot this summer, tearing through the Secrets of Droon, Beast Quest, and the Spiderwick Chronicles. My oldest is out of town for 4 weeks with his dad, so he only has books and my 1 year old for company. He plays chess against the computer a lot, too, and has been practicing math on time4learning.com.
I've been focused on the delayed areas of my asynchronous kids recently, so it's probably a great thing for me to spend a little time focusing on their achievements.
DS1 just turned 8 and is thrilled with the LEGO Mindstorms kit that he was given for his birthday. I love that the building is good for developing his delayed fine motor skills and the programming is great for his advanced logical and creative skills. He continues to challenge my ability to find enough books for him to read; however, I am pleased that despite his excellent reading ability, he has no desire for the content of teen books yet.
I am planning an art curriculum for the kids to start when we start school in the fall and gave the kids an assessment today. DS1 and DD (4) both completed material at a level typical of 6-8 year old kids. There is going to be an interesting dynamic in the house when she surpasses him. DS3 (4) has typical fine motor skills for his age, but demonstrated incredible perception of the materials he was copying. DS2 (4) has better fine motor skills than DS3, but extreme perfectionism, so he gave up before I got a real sense of what his skill level is - which is typical for him.
The four-year olds are all learning to read an analog clock. It has been a real joy being able to tell them to stay in their room until their watches pass 7:00 am.
DS3 continues to play with numbers to entertain himself - his latest thing is counting by 100s and multiplication and division of small numbers. DD has been choosing the multiplication activities on Morestarfall.com, but I am not sure that she has the underlying number sense to work similar problems on her own.
Mostly, we are playfully exploring this summer and it isn't until we hang out with more average kids that I realize how abnormal the complexity of thinking my kids use is.
DD (29 months) has been making up her own words and claiming that they are Spanish for various English words. So I found a Spanish class for her that she will start in two weeks. We have been traveling quite a bit this summer and she has been enjoying it. She is also still very excited to meet her little sister (only 3 months left now!). She will be done with daycare at the end of this month and it can't come soon enough as far as I am concerned. We've talked about it and she seems happy enough because she is excited about staying home to help me take care of the baby. Not sure how to communicate to her that the baby still won't be here for another 2 months after she is done. We've started using a calendar to talk about when things happen but I don't know how much of a difference this will make really. Hopefully she will make the adjustment ok.
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