[chinaKat]

You tell me -- I don't know any children DD's age to compare her to. Like all parents, I am convinced MY kid is bright, but I generally feel like an intruder lurking in this forum.

She will be 2 at the end of the month, and has known her alphabet (can identify letters, knows ABCs in order) for a while now. She knows what sounds most of the letters make, and if I point out a (VERY SIMPLE) word in a book and slowly sound the letters out H-A-T she will say "hat". She can pretty reliably count to 10 or 12 in English and to three in German. When we make three hard boiled eggs together and she eats one, if I ask her how many are left she will say two. She knows all her colors and shapes.

I didn't drill her on any of this stuff, but she has toys that are "educational" and I always talk to her about things ("how many grapes do you want? Are these grapes green or purple?"). She's loved books since she was really really small.

What do you think? Feel free to kick me to the curb if I don't belong here. I feel really WEIRD even asking -- like I'm assuming too much or something. I suppose she's too young to really determine "gifted" at this point anyway -- I ought to be happy with "bright", right?

 

[alegna]

Sounds like it!

Welcome.

-Angela

 

[teachma]

Welcome, chinaKat. My feeling is that if you read through these threads (an activity which should not make you feel like an interloper!) and you find yourself relating to may of the experiences shared here, so much so that you feel that comfortable feeling, "At last, people can hear my stories without accusing me of bragging. Oh my gosh, some of these children sound just like dd! At last, I found other parents who deal with many of the same struggles we face. Finally, a group of people who can understand..." then you belong. But then again, after so long, I haven't truly figured out if I belong!

 

[chinaKat]

Well, weirdly, I have returned to this thread more than half a dozen times since posting it, with the intention of deleting it.

Why? Why do I feel so... I don't know, maybe ashamed for even daring to ask if my kid might be gifted?

I feel sort of the way I imagine I might feel if everybody I knew found out that I'd applied to get into Mensa. (Nothing against Mensa. More like I feel like people would think that I was some sort of poseur or something for thinking I belonged in Mensa.)

What's wrong with me?

Maybe I let all those "it's not cool to be smart" kids back in middle school get to me more than I thought.

 

[chinaKat]

OK, 75 people have looked at this thread and not one person has chimed in... so, clearly, I'm the only one with misgivings about whether I belong here!

I hope I haven't insulted anybody with my musings here. I just feel like half of me is saying "Who the heck do you think you are, lady -- your kid is just a regular kid, stop trying to LABEL her." The other half of me just sorta feels like an @ss for admitting that I'm unsure about the whole thing.

Back to lurking... maybe my kid is gifted, maybe not. But I guess I'm not so comfortable with the whole concept yet, now that I've thrown it out there.

I'll stop talking to myself now.

:

 

[oldcrunchymom]

I didn't reply because teachma did such a good job of summing up what I would have said anyway (I'm lazy). I think anyone who can be supportive belongs here.

 

[darien]

Hey chinaKat, stay!

I think everyone who looked and didn't reply probably was just leery of being asked to "judge" your little girl-- KWIM? She sounds like a smart little dumpling to me.

Whether she's ever stamped "officially gifted" or not, I'm sure you have a lot to contribute, and there's a lot be be learned "hanging out" in this forum.

So stay, please.

:

 

[Alenushka]

majority of kids, like 90% of them do not read anythign ata ge 2.
There is nothing worng with indentifying your chil correctely be it gifted, dyslexic or both.....becuase when you know what your child is, you can provide proper educational opportunity for her/him
We do not rag on people who discovere that their kid has LD and needs soemthing diffrent in a way of schooling. Gifted children are no different in the way that they are diffferent and need different apporach
Good linkk for you http://www.sengifted.org/

 

[blessed]

I don't think that the majority of 2 yo's are unable to grasp knowing the alphabet and early small words. Rather, it's more dependent on the environment the child is being reared in, which sadly enough, for many kids is pretty unenriched. Probably 'the majority' of 2 yos spend much of the day parked in corners with the same old toys or in front of the television.

Essentially all of my dd's 16 classmates also functioned at this level. They have all known their colors, shapes, days of the week, months of the year, seasons, the alphabet, numbers and so forth starting around 18 months. At 2.5 dd can also point out and name many of the US states and several countries when shown a map. She can count to ten in Chinese, Spanish and French. Since age 2 she's made letters of the alphabet out of sticks on the ground and poined them out ("look mama! A! T!") She does complex structures with block play - bridges, buildings with roofs and doorways and so forth which typically are not seen at this age. However, so much of this is just part of the rich environment she's immersed in throughout her day.

My kid amazes me, but to be fair, I have to step back and realize that her classmates are all similarly talented. And to be even more fair, my neighbors' two stay at home boys have been similarly 'accelerated' under her excellent tutelage.

Honestly, I don't think of her or her classmates as 'gifted', so much as just lucky to have loving, attentive parents and the financial resources to support a dedicated educational environment.

Sadly, 'the majority' of kids in this country are just not getting a fair shake.

 

[chinaKat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessed Honestly, I don't think of her or her classmates as 'gifted', so much as just lucky to have loving, attentive parents and the financial resources to support a dedicated educational environment.

Which is a "gift" in and of itself, no?

Thanks for all the thoughtful responses. This is an interesting forum.

 

[chinaKat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessed Essentially all of my dd's 16 classmates also functioned at this level. They have all known their colors, shapes, days of the week, months of the year, seasons, the alphabet, numbers and so forth starting around 18 months. At 2.5 dd can also point out and name many of the US states and several countries when shown a map. She can count to ten in Chinese, Spanish and French. Since age 2 she's made letters of the alphabet out of sticks on the ground and poined them out ("look mama! A! T!") She does complex structures with block play - bridges, buildings with roofs and doorways and so forth which typically are not seen at this age.

BTW, it is helpful to know that my child is a LOT more average than I thought she was. Thanks for the heads up.

I suspect one of the interesting aspects of this forum is that no matter what level one poster's child is at, there will always be another parent whose child is more advanced.

 

[teachma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinaKat I suspect one of the interesting aspects of this forum is that no matter what level one poster's child is at, there will always be another parent whose child is more advanced.

As will be the case elsewhere throughout her life. Fortunately, we are in the business of supporting, rather than competing, here...which won't necessarily be the case elsewhere.

 

[teachma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lckrause I didn't reply because teachma did such a good job of summing up what I would have said anyway

Hey, thanks.

 

[oldcrunchymom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by teachma Hey, thanks.

It's true!

 

[momtokay]

I'm not convinced my girls are gifted, though I'm also not convinced that they aren't. They must be bright (because I get told that by strangers, teachers, gym coaches, etc. quite frequently), but are they gifted, I'm not sure. I do know that much of what I read here seems appropriate for my kids and our situation, so I hang around, whether I "belong" or not, yk? At any rate, just wanted to say "welcome".

 

[loraxc]

Quote:

They have all known their colors, shapes, days of the week, months of the year, seasons, the alphabet, numbers and so forth starting around 18 months.

FWIW, I don't feel this is the norm, even when children are exposed to these things or consciously taught them. I have many friends who introduced colors, shapes, the alphabet and numbers very early whose children did not know them at 18 months, which is really quite young. If you had said they all knew all that by 2.5, that would sound more normal to me, but hey--many normal, happy, well-stimulated 18-month-olds can only speak 20-50 words, if that.

 

[wonderactivist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by momtokay I'm not convinced my girls are gifted, though I'm also not convinced that they aren't. They must be bright...I do know that much of what I read here seems appropriate for my kids and our situation, so I hang around, whether I "belong" or not, yk?

Dear Momtokay and ChinaKat,

One thing that it took years of homeschooling for me to learn is that you just do what works - you have to teach to your child, respond to their needs, and not worry about labels.

Yes, the information and the terminology is so incredibly useful, there is much to be learned here from the parents of other intellectual kids, but when it comes down to it, comparisons and labels themselves do more harm than good. (Maybe read the thread about "Were you gifted?")

If you find the forum useful, stay and share and learn together, if you don't, then try another forum. The very fact that it is useful to you means that you belong. (period)

It really is that simple. The moms here are just trying to help each other to parent children with similar gifts and problems...that's all.

Best wishes,

Lucie

 

[eilonwy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessed I don't think that the majority of 2 yo's are unable to grasp knowing the alphabet and early small words. Rather, it's more dependent on the environment the child is being reared in, which sadly enough, for many kids is pretty unenriched. Probably 'the majority' of 2 yos spend much of the day parked in corners with the same old toys or in front of the television. Essentially all of my dd's 16 classmates also functioned at this level. They have all known their colors, shapes, days of the week, months of the year, seasons, the alphabet, numbers and so forth starting around 18 months. ... Honestly, I don't think of her or her classmates as 'gifted', so much as just lucky to have loving, attentive parents and the financial resources to support a dedicated educational environment.

I kind of agree with this, but I think that it has more to do with misconceptions about giftedness than anything else. I think that most two year olds could, in a supportive environment, learn to recognize their letters and a few sight words; they could recite the days of the week and months of the year and such, no problem. I've met perfectly normal kids who could count to ten in half a dozen (or more!) languages when they were 2.5 years old; even kids who were "slow."

That said, I don't think that in and of themselves such skills are necessarily indicators of giftedness, particularly when the children are indeed being raised in enriched environments. A child who is raised in a house where the most interesting thing to read is a cereal box will definately have a harder time of it than a kid who is surrounded by books from birth; when the first child learns to read a few sight words by 3, it's probably safe to say that she's gifted. With the second, who knows? You've got to look at other factors.

Early alertness is a good one. The ability to entertain themselves, especially from a very young age, intensity and focus, long attention span, an awareness of their surroundings (may be percieved positively or negatively by the child); those are the sort of things that I look for, rather than early developmental milestones. In and of themselves, they don't necessarily mean all that much unless the child is being raised in an impoverished environment, or has noticeable learning differences.

 

[LeftField]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinaKat BTW, it is helpful to know that my child is a LOT more average than I thought she was. Thanks for the heads up. I suspect one of the interesting aspects of this forum is that no matter what level one poster's child is at, there will always be another parent whose child is more advanced.

I don't know. Your daughter doesn't sound very typical to me. Those things you listed seem pretty early to me. My jaw hit the floor on reading about the class of 18 month olds who knew seasons, days of the week, etc. I don't think my 5 year old knows the days of the week in order, tbh.

Here enters another facet...taught vs self-taught. There are children who figure out, largely on their own or totally on their own, that taking 1 egg away from the 3 leaves 2; they do this in their head. And then you have the child who has been drilled to recite "3-1=2!" or has been repeatedly and consistently taught to do it. It's not the same thing. You can have an 18 month old who has been drilled to identify letters. And you can have the 2 year old who just figures it out himself. While I'm shocked about the 18 month olds being able to identify and recite those things, I'm not overly impressed by it if it's been formally taught. Look at the Doman kids who are taught to recognize words insanely early; studies don't show them staying advanced. But the kid who sort of picks it up by osmosis, that catches my attention. I've heard Montessori folks say that most 3 year olds can be taught to read with their method. But it's not the same as the 3 year old or even the 4 year who figures it out on her own, YK.

So, yeah, in that sort of situation, you have to look at the other things like Eilonwy listed...attention span, focus, imagination, abstract thinking, etc.

At any rate, your daughter sounds remarkable to me and I, personally, think you fit in here.

 

[oldcrunchymom]

I think it depends what the kid does with the information as well. Recognizing a sight word after having it pointed out to you many times is not the same as figuring the word out by yourself out of natural interest, being able to figure out other words based on what you've learned about the first sight word, reading the sight word in a book in context, wanting to practice writing the sight word because you think words are so cool, etc. It's the independence and intensity with which a child learns these facts that makes him gifted, not the facts themselves.