Bother! Ds has noticed.

[GeorgianMumto5]

Ds is 7 and very bright. I wouldn't say, 'gifted,' just exceptionally bright. He knows this (it'd be hard not to) and pretty much takes it in his stride. This evening he announced, 'I'm bored at school. I need to have more knowledge. It's out there, but I'm not getting it. At school they give me stuff that's too easy. Of course I know what a heptagon is! I overheard [dd] talking about it! And I saw nonagons on a display in Year 6.'

We asked him if they set him challenges. He said, 'Yes, but they're too hard.'

Right, so the moment I was hoping we'd avoid has arrived. Ds thinks school is boring and too easy. Clearly they're on the case, as there are challenges for him to complete, when he finishes his work. If they're too hard, I think he needs to learn the skills necessary to problem solving and independent learning. Clearly I need to back this up, but...how? I do not want to risk him either coasting or effectively switching off from learning.

Dd is also very clever, but she's in year 6 and being challenged to do well in SATs, so she's as happy as Larry.

That sounds like my sole evidence for ds' brains is his ability to name two slightly off-piste shapes. That's not what I meant.

Ds1 is also 7 and very bright (on g&t for reading and spelling)'the other day when telling me about dinosaurs he told me he was "basically a human version of the Internet coz he's so clever"!
He got some science kits for Xmas which he likes to do. He loves learning though and reads lots of fact books and has been known to read the dictionary! I think try and find what he likes and encourage learning in that subject. We do have issues with his writing and he is currently having physio so we tend to concentrate on that.

"but...how?"

Talk to teacher? I'd want some clues about what is or isn't "too hard".

I don't think reading the dictionary is particularly indicative of being gifted. My son LOVES reading the dictionary and he's a bit of a dumbass!! He just likes learning what words mean.

I would just contact the teacher, either by email or making an appointment. That way you both know if you're working to a similar goal.

Could he bring one home to explain what he means by too hard and what happens if he tells teacher he is stuck, do they give a pointer. As you said there are different skills, picking teaching up easily and having a good memory vs problem solving

I'd talk to the teacher, and see if you can get some of the challenges home to work with him on a one-to-one basis. My Yr5 DD brought home a SATs paper they'd done at school the other day, and we went through the ones she got wrong together so that she could understand. I was surprised that she hadn't yet learned to reality-check her answers! (So, she'd measured something, got the units wrong and said it was 8mm when it was 8cm - when I asked her if the shape looked like it was 8mm across, she said 'No, of course not - Oh!')

I am a bit concerned that you say he gets challenges for when he's finished his work. If the 'work' is too easy he should get other work. Differentiation isn't giving all the kids the same task and then giving the ones that can do it quickly more work. What sort of incentive is that? Do this boring stuff that's too easy and you can have more work? That isn't how it should work.