Should I have her tested???

[kathymuggle]

I have 3 children - the middle one (7.5) is very bright. Is she gifted? Probably.

She became very bored in school - and lonely. In March of last year, she quit I have been homeschooling her (of a sort) since then. The problem is she wants to go back to school (she is claiming lonliness and is still bored), and if she returns...well, what's to prevent from being unchallenged and dropping out again????

If she returns to school, I think I will need to have her tested and assessed, so that she can have an IEP in place that allows for more challenging work. I think I will need this as the school, indeed the school board, is anti-gifted children. They believe they have their hand full with children who have difficulty with the curriculum -why should they focus on a child who is academically doing fine????

Sadly, there are no gifted programs in this school board. While if I get lucky, she may get some accomodations through an IEP, she probably willl not get what she needs. As I said, they are fairly anti-gifted programming. ( a little rant - 30% of the children in this school have an IEP, 0% are for gifted children!).

I am rambling. I am a little: by the whole thing.

As for homeschooling, does anyone know of any good resources/curriculum for homeschooling gifted children - she does seems to crave more stimulation that I have provided her thus far.

Kathy

[oldcrunchymom]

Honestly, I'm not so sure that putting her back in that school is a great idea, if they are so anti-gifted there. The uphill battle for an IEP would probably not be worth it.

If she is craving the company of other children, could you put her in outside activities such as sports, dance, art classes, etc?

For curriculum, my kids seem to do best with things designed for older students. My son right now is working mostly out of high school and college-level texts. I also tailor everything to my kids' interests, so their curricula are heavy on the stuff they like and lighter on the stuff they're not so into. Somehow they still manage to learn even their weakest subjects above grade level, so this seems to work for us. Maybe you could ask your daughter what her favorite subjects or interests are and go from there? Also take into consideration her style of learning. When my daughter says something is "boring" it's usually because the material doesn't suit her learning style, because it's too easy, or because she's not interested in the subject. All fairly good reasons to be bored, I think.

[Alenushka]

You do not get IEP for being gifted. Some gifted kids have diabilty of some sort as well, then you get an IEP. If a chil ahs emotnial problmes, you can get 504 i PLan in CLifornia
YOu can mobilize other parents and force your school board to opne GATE program, Look up what you state lwas are as fasr as accomdation of gifted kids
chek out SENG adn Hoagies

[Roar]

I think even if you get her tested the school may still not listen. The testing though may give you a better idea what she needs so it may still be worthwhile. For some folks it really helps to have the validation of test scores so when they are reading literature they know that it is really about kids who are intellectually similar.

Have you read this book by Lisa Rivero? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/091...lance&n=283155
The earlier edition had "gifted" in the title so it is really intended for this audience.

If the school doesn't tend to do well with gifted kids and you can homeschool, I'd put the focus of my energies on finding ways to make homeschooling work. You said she was bored and lonely - are those the major problems right now? It was very late in the year when you started and that can be hard to find kids at that point. I wonder if you start in the fall if you can tap into more of the homschooling community and she will find more kids and opportunities that really engage her.

As far as curriculum - it would help to tell us more. What are her interests? What have you tried in the past and about where is she academically? I don't believe there is an all in one curriculum that will work for most kids and especially not for gifted kids. We have though found great resources for individual topics. One that every kid I've suggested to it loves - www.challengemath.com These books are fantastic. They are targeted specifically to gifted kids.

Also, if you aren't already reading it the TAGMAX list for the parents of gifted homeschoolers is really helpful. http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/on-line_support.htm

[teachma]

Originally Posted by Alenushka

You do not get IEP for being gifted.

Yes, you certainly can. But I imagine it may be dependent on state policy. In CT, where I teach fourth graders in a public school, it is very uncommon yet possible to be IEP'd for giftedness. This enables the child to participate in school according to individualized goals and requires the district to meet the special needs of the student. I imagine the OP is familiar with policy in her part of Canada to know whether gifted students can be eligible for IEPs based on their special needs. I know of only two gifted students in my school who eventually received IEPs. The school has 730 students and definitely more are gifted. This does not respond to the original question...sorry.

[kathymuggle]

No apologies necessary!

We live in Ontario - technically, you can and should receive an IEP for being gifted, but the reality is very few kids do. Some school boards are more gifted friendly than others. I could insist she be tested/pay for private testing then fight the school/school board- but I am not sure that is in her best interest. fighting can take a long time - and you do not always end up with the outcome you want. As a previous poster mentionned, she has not been homeschooling for long, and I think I need to give it more of a shot.

Part of me thinks I should follow through with some private testing anyways, in case I ever need it to make a case (a case I will have to make if she decides to return to school )

As for curriculum/needs - she likes science. Hands on , messy science. She likes music and art. She claims not to like math, but I think her experience of it so far has been repetative worksheets (covering stuff she already grasped in the firswt few questions....)

So - curriculum needs, hands on, fun, challenging. We are not especially religous.

[ecoteat]

That must be frustrating. I used to teach in a large middle school where we clearly had gifted students, but no programs in place to meet their needs. Now I teach in a tiny pK-8 school and while we don't have a formal gifted program our classes are so small that we can differentiate very easily and even move kids up a grade level in certain subjects if appropriate. What does this have to do with you? Even if your school or school board isn't particularly gifted-friendly, the classroom teacher might be. If you do decide to put her back in school, you might be lucky enough to have a teacher that is willing to do a little extra for your daughter if you are clear about what her needs are. Class size, I believe, plays a big role in how personal each student's education can be. I wish it was safe to assume that all elementary teachers taught fun, hands-on lessons!

[teachma]

Originally Posted by ecoteat

Even if your school or school board isn't particularly gifted-friendly, the classroom teacher might be. If you do decide to put her back in school, you might be lucky enough to have a teacher that is willing to do a little extra for your daughter if you are clear about what her needs are.

Yes, I totally agree with this. As an elementary level teacher myself, I have seen my colleagues respond best to the more casual, unassuming parents who come in for a friendly conversation about how best to meet their children's needs as opposed to the strong advocate type who comes in on the offensive automatically, fwiw. The problem is, you may have a "gifted-friendly" teacher one year but not the next. It's an unreliable way of proceeding with your daughter's academic career unless the entire administration is supportive of meeting her needs.

[mama_kass]

[QUOTE=kathymuggle

As for curriculum/needs - she likes science. Hands on , messy science. She likes music and art. She claims not to like math, but I think her experience of it so far has been repetative worksheets (covering stuff she already grasped in the firswt few questions....)

So - curriculum needs, hands on, fun, challenging. We are not especially religous.[/QUOTE]

Find out what programs are offered close to you for homeschoolers. We have participated in some hands on, secular science classes. Are you a member of any hs groups? If not do some searches and get involved. We have bought a chemistry set, microscope, and also some Science kits. My son is heavy into Science and Technology.

[cdahlgrd]

As for having her tested. .. If she is tested by school or hospital staff, they will be looking for DEFICIENCIES. . . not GIFTEDNESS. Therefor the tests will probably not be very useful. At least this has been our experience.

[Alenushka]

well, it was your experience

mine was different. If you gow ith private psychologist, they will do a whole panel of test whcih can show if your child is gifted or has learnign disabilities etc etc (oftne things go hand in hand)
Also, manys chool do test for giftendess, esically if they ahve gifted program

[Katana]

:

Reading along here. I just posted a similar question, before I saw this thread.