Question about gifted kids

[Jesusgirl]

Would a child be 'classified' as gifted only if they were self taught? For eg, a 2 year old that has been intentionally (not necessarily hot housed) taught the alphabets and phonics etc and knows them, are they gifted or just normal.

My friend's little girl in my opinion is so smart. She knows all her letters, letter sounds, beginning sounds. She can identify lots of words- they do flashcards.She does a lot to stimulate her but she seems really happy and enjoys it.

I was going to advise her to join the NAGC but then again not sure if she's gifted or just bright.

[cory]

Does it matter at this stage? It seems your friend is well on the ball, the little girl is happy and stimulated, and there is plenty of time to work out what her longterm needs will be. And presumably there isn't a cut-off time for joining NAGC?

Imho whether the parent of a gifted child needs extra support at this age or not- or indeed at any age - will depend to a great extent on the parent. Judging from MN some find it very difficult to deal with the constant presence of a miniature postgraduate seminar in the home, others enjoy it and find it a natural way of life.

[Jesusgirl]

She was thinking of starting Kumon and whatever else there is out there as she feels her dd won't be well catered for in main stream school/nursery and unsure what else to do with her.

We were discussing about gifted/bright kids and I told her I didn't really like the idea of anything too formal, but maybe NAGC would help her understand her dd better and put things in better perspective. But you're right, she probably should just go with the flow for now and see how things pan out.

[iggly2]

Not sure what the difference between gifted and bright is anyway (isn't gifted just very bright). If she thinks her daughter will benefit from the NAGC why not join! Main thing is the child being happy!
I haven't joined as I feel confident I can handle Ds perfectly fine but if others benefit why not.

Ps I think the NAGC mention that some of the differences in levels of giftedness can be self motivation though.

[iggly2]

Isn't kumon meant to be very boring though (I would have thought flash cards were as well though).

[iggly2]

Meant to say I can handle Ds academically perfectly (luckily his strengths are just reading and maths!). Not to imply that I am perfect mum!

[neverknowinglyunderdressed]

I agree with the above, its too early A) to tell and B) to need to do much about it.

If they are doing flashcards at home then frankly, to my mind at least, that is a form of hot-housing.

At my DTS school they are always raving on about how many 'highly able' kids they have. And I am always . Mainly due to the fact that we live in a genteel, boho, middle class type village, where many families purposefully do not have TV, and everyone is practising the flute night and day or doing art projects. With no TV there must be so much time for hot housing!

[iggly2]

No TV, ARGHHHHHHHHH...............

[rabbitstew]

I thought Kumon was for children who weren't naturally good at maths... what's the point in it, otherwise? It sounds boring and repetitive, two things gifted children hate. No point pretending you are doing it because your child is clever, because it's a phenomenally stupid way of encouraging a clever child.

[newtermnewname]

Re: the Kumon; DD2 asked - in all seriousness - if she could do Kumon maths as it sounded "fun". I replied that we would have much more fun at home with her workbooks/baking etc as it sounds like death by worksheet, AND it's bloody expensive.

[chillikate]

As the parent of a nutty 4 year old boy I can only suggest the following:

1. A bright child WILL find games like flashcards fun. My DS finds anything that stimulates him fun so doesn't listen to some people around here.
   

1. A young child (any child) will not willingly do anything they don't want to. You can't "force" a child to learn, nor can you teach a child that doesn't have the capacity to learn.
   

1. Bright children are demanding, and challenging and fun. A child can be bright at any age. DS was born into the operating theatre looking around (so I'm told). He got the nickname "Lert" at 2 months old because he was so alert. He was holding full conversations at 18 months. Hes just always been so interested in the world.
   

1. Read as much as you can with your child. Stories, magazines, non-fiction books. DS loves his encyclopedias.
   

1. Expand their knowledge outwards - visits to museums, castles, parks, farms all provide opertunities to stimulate a bright young child.
   

Above all do what feels right to you.

[Jesusgirl]

I thought the kumon idea was a bit .... I looked it up online and the kumon worksheets for that age are mainly mazes, tracing, counting, basically stuff you can print out online.

I agree with chillikate. She seems really excited when learning or showing what she knows. She loves her flashcard and loves showing it to people asking 'what does it say' ?

I showed my friend this thread and she's going to join mumsnet!