2.10yrs old and showing signs!

[littledetails]

I think my little girls is quite bright for her age. She can say her alphebetic count to 20 and knows all the colours shapes etc. Her speech in unbelievable for her age and her memory is something else. Shes very small for her age so she shocks most people when she speak quite fluentley. Shes very independant and doesnt like me to get her dressed or put her shoes on or brush her teeth.

I have a problem that the area I live in just doesnt have good schools (social problems etc) and Im worried she will not be able to excel. My question is when it comes to finding her a school can I request a better school out of my area and state that I think she is gifted, will that have any clout?

[Wisteria]

At 2.10 I wouldn't be doing anything tbh - some dcs start off fantastically then level out with other children anyway by the end of the first yr or two at school.

Contact your LEA for further information on the G&T scheme. I don't think it really kicks in (certainly here) until secondary school.

Gentle word of warning - I would concentrate more on her playing skills at this age than educational skills IMHO

[Reallytired]

"I live in just doesnt have good schools (social problems etc) and Im worried she will not be able to excel."

Have a look at the OFSTED report of the schools you are interested in. There are good schools in bad areas. There is more to a school than its position in the league tables.

"I request a better school out of my area and state that I think she is gifted, will that have any clout? "

I don't think that would work. Most mums are convinced that their spog is gifted. Most LEAs have very strict admissions criteria. Prehaps if you are relgious you might stand a chance.

Do you drive? You might be able to get your child into a village school with a better catchment area.

[fedupwasherwoman]

I would hold your horses as ds was doing all that stuff at about that age but then by 3 and a half his peers had pretty much caught up with him.

Children have growth spurts and "learning spurts" too.

It would be worth starting to look at all the schools in your area, Ofsted reports etc. rather than looking at the social problems aspect. Some schools in very deprived areas can actually be doing well as far as nurturing and teaching the children in their care is concerned.

[Blandmum]

she sounds fun! enjoy her but don't do anything. kids at that age range in their abilities and most even out later in life.

Just have fun with her and don't worry about getting her to 'excel' If she will, she will.

[jabberwocky]

Ds1 was the same and is still very, very ahead of all of his peers. I have spoken at length with an advisor for G&T and she doesn't really buy the they-might-even-out theory. Her advice to us was not to approach the school with a "Hi, there my child is really gifted". She says it is a real turn-off and can serve to put up the defense mode. What she did suggest is to have him tested and see what level he is on. You may want to wait until he is a bit older for this. Ds1 just turned 4 and we plan to start assessments on him in a few months. that way, you can go in and tell them concrete things like:

Her is reading two levels above his age group.
Her math skills are one, two, three, whatever levels above.

etc., etc,

Since we had not done testing as yet, we started him at pre-school the first of this month and I put on his application and informed his teacher that he was reading quite well already. As it turns out, she pretty much blew me off. Not until yesterday did she look at me in utter amazement as she told me how he read a book to her and not vice versa. He has had a really difficult time adjusting to pre-school and she said yesterday was the first day he seemed really happy. Coincidentally, it was the first day they gave him kindergarten books and activities.

Ds1 is in a private school and the director has been terrific at working with us on this. However, we are actually planning to move by the time he gets ready to start first grade as we are not happy with our overall choices here (I'm in the US, btw).

for the time being, continue to offer her things that she will find fun and challenging and don't be put off trying something b/c it seems too difficult. Ds1 could assemble a floor-puzzle map of the United States and tell you what at least 42 of them were if you held up a single state by the time he was 2.4. He just thought it was a really fun game. We have never pushed him at all - more like trying to keep up with him actually

HTH

[littledetails]

Thanks for all your comments. I have no intentions of pushing her but I talk from personal experience with the schools in my area. When I was married my son (now 13) went to a small village school, he was one of the brightest in the school. When I divorced and downsized to Birmingham I sent him to a local school and he had nothing but trouble trying to fit in with the other children and as I say the social problems. It honestly seemed that half their day was taught to behave. I took him out of this school and sent him to a catholic school, where he thrieved. He only spent one year there and they said that they have had him for one more year he would one of their star pupils. He is now struggling again in seconardy school. As far as Im concerned he has lost 2yrs of education and struggles socially, to fit in to what appear to be normal behaviour in this area, its something I dont want to put my daughter through.

I am trying to sell up and move in order for my daughter to receive a good education as I dont want to make the mistake again...but the house just wont sell!

[Lolcats]

If you're in Birmingham, message me with which area yr in- I work for the LEA, and have a good working knowledge of most of our schools. For primary, many are excellent. There are schools which are not at the top of the performance tables, but do push and stretch the brighter pupils (including the one where I am a governor, which is never near the top, as it has 40% turnover rate!)
If she is bright, then surely you'll be considering the grammar schools for secondary? There are 5 KE Foundation grammars (3 accept girls)plus Sutton Girls.
In addition, many of the local independent schools accept pupils who are bright, with scholarships, and bursaries, and KEHS have a sliding fee scale for parents on lower incomes (starting at just £35 PER YEAR cf to 8200 full rate!)
A warning on the moving house thing- catchment are for a good secondary school in Birmingham will add at least 40k to the cost.

[Lolcats]

I meant catchment area!

[onebadmother]

My ds started talking at 9 months, pretty much fluent by 18 months,knew all colours numbers etc, hugely imaginative etc

And yes, he's still a pretty smart nearly 6yo, fluent reading, extended vocab etc. But I wouldn't say gifted, and in some areas he finds things as hard as the next kid.

I'm quite glad I managed to calm myself down as far as his brilliance goes, since a lot of things have evened out over time...!