Support for Parents of Gifted Children, #2 - Page 22

[NoHiddenFees]

Originally Posted by Britishmum

I looked at Singapore too today online - now I'm really undecided.

We're really big fans of Right Start Math, otherwise I would have gone with Singapore. I'm slowly working through level B (Grade 1) with 3 yo DD1. We initially started Level A, but it was too slow for her. Right Start is very parent/educator intensive, with scripted lessons and simple manipulatives, but doesn't have nice, colourful pictures like Singapore. It's a mastery program (like Singapore) -- rather than spiral (like Saxon) -- but it does sneak in plenty of groundwork for concepts to be tackled down the road. Math facts are learned by playing games; I highly recommend the game cards and book to everyone, no matter which curriculum they've chosen.

I haven't needed to use any supplementary materials yet, but have picked up Challenge Math and similar books for use as needed. Some of my faves are Anno's Math Books I, II and II; Theoni Pappas and The Number Devil. I'll probably pick up the Singpore books as well, because they are relatively inexpensive. Never hurts to have another way of looking at a concept. DD loved the Singapore Pre-K/K four book series... flew through it in about two weeks a few months back.

[eilonwy]

Originally Posted by Britishmum

Hmm, I need to think about both dds learning styles before I decide. Dd#1 is very visual, but I do want her to do plenty of hands on stuff. Dd#2 is far more kinesthetic, but I'd like to have both of them on the same programme I think.......

That may be unreasonable. Rather, it may be unreasonable to expect them both to thrive in the same program if they have markedly different learning styles. I always said that I wanted to keep each child in their own "year" of school, in other words keep BeanBean ahead of BooBah, but I'm not sure if that's going to happen. I know that she's only six months old and it's difficult to tell anything at this point, but I think she may be "faster" than he is. :sigh

The manipulatives--My mom bought a manipulative kit from Rainbow Resource. Their catalog is a teensy bit disturbing if you're Jewish, but other than that all is well. We figured it'd be a sound investment, considering that at least three kids will use it for a few years each.

[Heavenly]

Hey just found this thread - would it be possible to start a new one, 26 pages is a bit long?

Well my kids are both gifted.

First Elijah - he will be 4 in 12 days. He is very intelligent and speaks so eloquently. Most kids would say, "I want one too," if they wanted something somebody else had. Elijah will say, "Would it be possible for me to have one as well?" :LOL He is fascinated with construction trucks and knows every one by name and function. And he has no qualms about correcting me when I'm wrong! LOL One day when we were driving my mom said "Look Elijah a bulldozer" and he said "Actually Grandma that is a front end loader." She was like, "Oh." He has an amazing memory. He can remember stuff in vivid detail from when he was 2 years old. He can recount an entire story that he's heard only once. Definately a smart litte boy. He is also incredibly active and his mind is always going. People keep telling me to put him on ritalin because he is so active and never sits still. Why would I do that? The qualities that he has will serve him very well as an adult, people just aren't used to a child like him. Oh! He is an amazing artist. He does abstract art but the colours he uses are wonderful. He will paint a picture with many different colours and you can tell he is really concentrating, not just throwing colours on. He blends the colours beautifully. I will have to take a digital pic of some of his artwork and post it.

Olivia - she is so intelligent that I am shocked by her on a daily basis. She speaks at about a 4 year old level and she is 26 months. For example one day when she was 22 months I was so frustrated that she would not stay in her bed I left her and closed the door. She cried for a couple of minutes (I do NOT do CIO, this was a one time thing) and went to sleep. The next day she said to me, "Mommy please do not leave me again, I don't like it when you leave me. It really isn't fair anyway because I am your baby and you love me a lot. Now lets get back to nursing (and dove on my lap to nurse!)" :LOL There are so many other things too but I can't remember them all right now. Oh she can sing tons of songs, all the words right, and has amazing pitch. My son does as well (Daddy and I are both singers so it was a pretty safe bet they would be able to sing). Oh I remember one that shocked a bunch of people. On December 23 my we had a breakfast for everyone that works for us. Olivia was eating a piece of toast (cut in a triangular shape) and held it up and said, "Hey this is a triangle!" Everyone was kind of dumbfounded. But you should have seen the look on their faces when she chewed it a bit more and then held it up and said, "And now its a diamond!" (and it was!). I think people don't know what to make of her. I actually had a guy in a store ask me if she was starting school soon (she was talking away to him) and I said ,"she just turned 2!" He said, "oh, I thought she must be small for her age." My husband always says that someone forgot to tell her that she's a baby. She insisted on not using a high chair anymore at 11 months, she again insisted on being out of a crib and into a twin bed at 21 months (and she's done wonderfully in it from day one) and she wants to do everything the bigger kids do and gets very offended when someone tries to stop her.

Wow, it feels good being able to actually talk about my children's accomplishments! What is it with people? If I talk about my children's talents they act all offended as if I am insulting their child. Why should we have to hide how intelligent our children are?

[eilonwy]

Originally Posted by Heavenly

The next day she said to me, "Mommy please do not leave me again, I don't like it when you leave me. It really isn't fair anyway because I am your baby and you love me a lot. Now lets get back to nursing (and dove on my lap to nurse!)" :LOL

I can totally hear this coming out of my son's mouth. Especially the nursing part! :LOL He frequently walks up to me, wraps his arms around my neck and says "I need my mother." What a sweetie!

[darlindeliasmom]

Thanks, lunamom, for posting the reminder about the cheetah essay, truly inspirational...I have not been posting because I guess I have been in kind of a quandary. Doubting the evidnece of my senses, doubting everything said and done all during Delia's before school years. She has always been verbally gifted, analytical, perfectionistic, persistent...all kinds of things I associate with giftedness. But "they" tested her, based on her first grade teacher having the same gut feelings as I.

Well, "they" say she's not gifted. I have to admit, not proudly, that this set me off for a good while. I'm still not comfortable talking about it. The only person I did try to discuss my feelings with was dh, and it didn't go well.
OK, so I say, is it that I allowed my ego to get too tied up in seeing her as gifted? or is it that I STILL feel like everyone's staring at an elephant and seeing...a wall, a rope, etc...

OK...she's a second grader. She is currently reading and comprehending on a 4th grade level. But she spells on a 2nd grade level (truly horrible speller), and so that's the right placement for her, I've been told (???) . When I say, well, doesn't the difference in her decoding skills versus her actual ability to comprehend difficult material indicate something --like some sort of LD--blank stares.

My hope is that I can inspire her teacher to see and challenge her in the classroom. From what I hear, the district does NOTHING for gifted kids before 3rd grade, even after identifying them...well, there's some window dressing, but that's all.

And I'm back where we all end up--it's my kid, my job, her job really, to get the enriching experiences she needs and craves.

Thanks for listening to my rant...I've been lurking for months (don't even know if I've posted before on #2); I love hearing about your wonderful kids. Hope my slamming up against the bureacracy that is America's public schools isn't too depressing.

oh, and I think we could maybe do a gifted #3 thread. What do you think, rynna? Britishmum?

[oldcrunchymom]

New thread

I started a new one here:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=233945