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Gifted and talented

Talk to other parents about parenting a gifted child on this forum.

Need Advice

14 replies

vidhya · 30/01/2012 12:26

Hi All,

I am a new member joined today.I have a son who will be 5 on Feb 27th.He is in Reception.I feel he is really intelligent or should I say talented/gifted?????.He is way above his peers in his knowledge.He can do addtion upto 2 digit numbers,subtract.He reads and writes sentences without mistakes.He is very curious on knowing how things work.He is very creative makes up his own song words.Wants to do more on that.

At the start of school he was moaning like school is boring.Recently he was asking me why my teacher is teaching only alphabets.

To tell a little about him he started to speak sentences clearly at 18 months ofcourse with no grammer.He self learnt all the alphabet and their sounds with the learning bus around 18months.I was really surprised, then ,I started to teach him different things.From the talks I have with other mums I feel he is advanced from his peers.

I wanted to have his IQ tested but my husband feels he is shy and will not show his real talent.(He is shy....will not talk loudly in front of others).I am not really sure what to do.

Any advice will be appreciated.

OP posts:
cornflakegirl · 30/01/2012 13:26

Have you talked to his teacher? If his literacy and numeracy is significantly ahead of his peers they need to have a plan for how to differentiate for him in class so that he is still being challenged.

bumbleymummy · 31/01/2012 11:22

Hi Vidhya, I would second talking to his teachers - it's awful for them to feel bored at school - they can become 'switched off' and then start being disruptive. There should be something that they can do to stretch him a bit.

If you do decide to go with the ed psych they do have experience working with children with all different personalities so they will know how to assess him fairly. My little boy can be very fidgety when he's getting bored and the tests can be quite long and methodical but the ed psych worked very well with him so it was fine.

vidhya · 01/02/2012 10:01

Hi,

Thanks for the advice.He had a parent teacher meeting in october immediately after starting reception.She said he is happy to do maths and brilliant.But she was focusing on his skills like using scissors,joining with his classmate in play and team work,which he was good.
Apart from this she didnot really say anything,maybe that is a early period to access.He is one this month end,I looking forward to meet her and discuss.

OP posts:
vidhya · 01/02/2012 10:04

Hi,

I my message I should have said he is not good in team work and other things that i have posted.

OP posts:
Joyn · 01/02/2012 11:32

Foundation year at school is very much focused on play, socialisation & acquiring the basic skills they will need to be able to do the more formal ks1 curiculum in the following year. Obviously no child she be left bored & unchallenged but the school does usually tend to focus on any area that needs work rather than push them on in strong areas in foundation. My ds was encouraged to draw & cut with scissors & paint in foundation as they were his weaker areas. Once in yr1 the pace of the academic areas he was strongest in was increased. So I would say it sounds like the teacher is focusing on the areas where your Dc is weaker, which will help him cope with all areas of ks1. The real problem would be is if he feels bored & under challenged or looses interest in school/education, if this isn't happening I'd recommend leaving things as they are for this school year, but if things don't change in yr1, that's a different story...

Good luck!

letthembe · 02/02/2012 22:42

It's funny you mention scissors. I had to teach one of my class (Y3) how to use scissors in September. He's a very bright boy, on the G and T reg. but he won't become a surgeon if can't handle a pair of scissors.
Basically, children have to develop in a whole host of areas whilst at school, not just in reception. The teacher will be aware of his areas of strength and weakness and will plan accordingly.

outofbodyexperience · 02/02/2012 23:17

he doesn't sound as though he needs too much in the way of extension - they will have assessed his reading anyway and given him the right level reading book, and there is very little formal math in yr r. he does sound as though he needs a wider grounding in some of the less academic things, so i think his teacher is right to focus on those before it becomes problematic.

the alphabet thing is fine - again, quite a lot of children do the same thing, but it is regarded as a bit out of the ordinary, but not particularly indicative. maybe if you feel the teacher hasn't understood what level of reader he is you could mention what he is reading at home at the parent's evening? (chapter books like flat stanley? cressida cowell's dragon series? - it's easy enough for kids to access free reading shelves in a primary school, but if they haven't assessed him properly and he is a bit shy then she might not realise).

school is sometimes difficult for kids who have had a lot of parental input - and it takes a while to realise that a lot of it is about the class, rather than individuals. there's not a lot of formal teaching in yr anyway, it's v play based, so it's easy enough for bright kids to demonstrate what they can do - he can write up the menu in the 'restaurant' role play area, be the shopkeeper in the shop and work out how much things are and give change, or build or draw or create to his heart's content. it sounds as though he might like to be directed a little? and so is finding the 'directed' bits a struggle because they are pitched at what he already knows? remind him that some of the other children don't know that stuff, but that there areas that he isn't good at yet either (like cutting and sticking or whatever). social skills are a really important aspect of yr r. helping him to understand that we all have areas of strength and areas of weakness is important.

discuss with his teacher if she feels extension work is appropriate. if math is a praticular strenght this might be where to start.

vidhya · 03/02/2012 10:12

Hi,

Thanks for all the advice.He is been allowed to choose a book home from library (exclusive for reception - I think) and they do a book as a helping to start reading.Maths wise I am told by my son that they are doing basic maths.
If I have to say about him drawing or role play,he is not.He is kind of like to do more of adult stuff for example-His dad has train set which needs to be connected to the electricity and has a controller to run.You can connect many ways with the track

OP posts:
vidhya · 03/02/2012 10:25

sorry about with my last message,Laptop is touch pad and it just posted it with a little touch before I could finish it.

Now to continue from where I was-he connects by himself had controls it.The way he thinks, I feel is different.He is not fascianted by normal stuff.He would rather want to learn about motion picture and was telling he is going to make movie and show to his teacher and will also make sure that there is no scary bit so that his class children will be happy to see as they are only 5.

He was learning about how to fly plane.He said to his dad that he is going to invent a plane that can fly or run reverse.I am not sure if I will be able to support his thinking or is that I am panicking.

I enquired on Kumon,which again I am not sure about as I couldnot get any opinion from others.

Am I panicking???????.My fear is I should not shutdown his ability.

OP posts:
outofbodyexperience · 03/02/2012 16:10

Why are you shutting down his ability?

Yr r is just an extension of nursery. It's for playing and learning to get along with your peers. If he's struggling with that, then school will help.

Take him to air shows -he'd love the harrier demos if they still do them.

Lots of kids are v bright, but they still enjoy kids stuff too. Jumping in puddles, going on the swings. Walking in the woods and poking dirt with sticks.

All of those things don't preclude an early interest in electronics or being above average academically, and experience of those and learning to role play will help him bond more easily with his peer group.

Personally I kind of leave it until yr 1 before I get too concerned about schooling, but you can discuss differentiation at any parents evening.

(for perspective - dd2 was assessed at between 5 and 7 years ahead in yr r. It was all fine. Generally kids move through school with their correct peer group, although v occasionally kids move up a year - it can lead to further social exclusion. There are loads of threads about it on here)

Loads of people do kumon, but it is very rote learning and doesn't really encourage thinking and problem solving. It depends what you want. It won't harm him. Some areas also have explore learning as well.

As he gets older, it's generally assumed to be better to go sideways rather than getting too far ahead of the peer groups curriculum (it's also reasonably common for kids with high ability in particular subjects to be moved up a grade or two for those, so I would look at those as 'peer group' as well, even though they aren't iykwim) does he play any instruments? Music and learning to read music is a good extension at any age, and mathsy kids find that learning an instrument alongside is beneficial for their maths too!

He does sound like a typical little nerd though, lol. Grin there are loads of kits that would enable him to explore the electronics and building side more. Lego technics (or whatever it's called) loads of electronics sets where you get to build radios, burglar alarms, flashing lights etc etc. all things he can be playing with and learning about how electricity works as well. The train thing sounds fine, but it's just really putting a track together and using a controller, right? He doesn't have to actually build the circuit boards?

Honestly, as long as they have assessed his reading, I wouldn't stress about school academics until he is into KS1. You can help him have fun at home with all the stuff he is interested in. He'll keep learning anyway. No-one learns because a teacher tells them something. Grin let school carry on with helping him get on with his peers. That will stand him in much better stead at this point than algebra. Plenty of time for that in y1.

Is he an only child btw? Sometimes they do appear v adult as a consequence of not being around other children/siblings v much. If not, he obv just has that little professor thing going on. And if he does, the teachers will notice and react accordingly. Grin

When is your parents' evening? Just ask how he is doing in relation to his peers. Ask about differentiation, and ask what his weaknesses are and how you can work on them at home. (always good to suck up a bit)

vidhya · 06/02/2012 12:05

Thanks for the advice.He is the only child.He would rather go to museum and library than palyground and park.I am doing my best to keep him occupied.

OP posts:
outofbodyexperience · 06/02/2012 14:48

Ask his teacher if there are any children he shows an interest in so that you can invite them around for play dates. He can show them the trains and stuff.

Playgrounds and parks can be well boring on your own. Friends make the world of difference. Onlys can just get used to not having small people around, and being in the company of adults all the time means that the things kids do can sometimes be a bit strange for them at this age.

I wouldn't be encouraging his isolation anyway. Get him on the waiting list for Beavers. Grin

cornflakegirl · 07/02/2012 23:06

My DS1 sounds quite similar to your DS. He was advanced in reading and maths in Reception, but wasn't great at the social stuff, or using scissors or writing or drawing or role play. The school is in a moderately deprived area with a fair number of EAL children, so the gap between him and the other children was enhanced. After a while they started sending him into an older class for literacy and numeracy so that he wouldn't get bored. He's in Y2 now, and they're talking about finding ways to try to stretch him within his own class because they think he might be getting a bit isolated. I think it's a tricky balance to find.

I feel that it's fairly easy to stretch them academically at home, but it's quite hard to teach them the social stuff if they're not getting it at school.

stupidgirlNo1 · 24/02/2012 11:57

Hello,

I will be posting in the new chat name as above.Had P&T meeting for my son yesterday.Was pleased with the report.Seems he has improved socially and also in technical skills like using scissors.Teacher has noticed his potential and guiding him accordingly.
I am doing KS1 works at home with him in computer.Started with model building with wood,which I hope will bring out his creative thinking.I wanted to start with multiplication ,but his teacher has told me to hold on.
I am pleased the way things are going.:)

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