Gifted Child - Help!

[user1483721421]

Hi everyone,
I have a daughter who will be 9 in April, she was placed on the Gifted and Talented Register in Reception because of her reading, writing and Maths.
Unfortunately as a result of my son's death in 2014 we had to change her schools because of where we lived, the school she is at now do not have a Gifted and Talented Register and are one of the laziest schools I have met.
At all parents evenings previously we were told what an amazing student she is, how she is so far ahead of the rest of the class and she is getting bored. It is resulting in her trying to help other children because she has completed all of her own work and is not getting any further work.

This is far from a post for me to brag or comment on my daughter's achievements, it is more of a plea!

We recently took her to Kip McGrath to have her assessed and see if any extra tuition will keep her motivated and bring her education up to the level she is already working at. She was assessed to be working at Year 9 level (she is in Year 4) for Reading, Writing and Comprehension and end of Year 5 for her Maths (we knew her Maths had suffered more than her English since changing schools). She is extremely eager to get started at Kip McGrath, however, I am looking for some help with reading books. She is very mature (following her brothers hospital stay and death she has grown up a lot) but is still very innocent with regards boys etc. I am looking for some suggestions of reading books suitable for a 9 Year old (topic wise) but difficult enough for a 14 year old.

Please help!! (She reads an average 150-200 page book in 2 days so I would be extremely grateful for plenty of suggestions!)

Thank you in advance.

How about you see if she could get a scholarship to an independent school? Many private schools are really geared up to provide for highly talented pupils.

And before I get shouted down by the MN mob... of course, state schools aim to do this as well, and many do an outstanding job. But OP said the current school is not really stimulating.

The Northern Lights series might suit her?

MollyHuaCha,
I had considered that but scholarships to independent schools but there is only one in the area and unfortunately the scholarship contribution isn't particularly high and with a 4 month old we wouldn't be able to afford the high costs at the moment. I feel terrible saying that as it makes me feel as if I am failing her. :(

GeorgeTheThird,
Thank you for the suggestion, I will look into that!

My DD is also in yr4 and a very good reader but in a lot of ways a very young kid for yr4, not into fashion, music etc.

She really likes the classics: Black Beauty, The Secret Garden, Pollyanna, Anne of Green Gables, Lassie, Little Women...

She is currently reading the Mary Poppins books (on the 2nd one I think).

I take her to the library a lot and let her choose.

Librarians are great for this your local library should help. I used to read a lot of historic biographies at that age.
I would change schools though

Early good readers do present a problem with reading material - my 7 year old GS is streets ahead with his reading and it is difficult to find books that are suitable for his age emotionally. For him, the answer is non-fiction - he reads complex science books - fiction is more of a problem.

I do not think that helping others with their work is totally negative - sometimes you can know something yourself, but the act of explaining it to someone else can be a good brain exercise. It is also a good piece of social learning - if she can do this without feeling superior then she is learning to value people for things other than their intelligence. That can only be good.

I am sorry to hear about your son; and I guess that your DD will have found this very hard. It may be that she has other things to be getting to grips with just now rather than the academic.

It is important that she does not hear you run her current school down, as she will then not value it for the things that it does do well. How does she do socially there? - has she made friends?

Being gifted does qualify as a special educaitonal need so it might be wrth talking to the SEND co-ordinator at school to see if your DD is on their register as needing additional input to take account of her speed of learning.

My suggestion would be to go for old books, the kids ones use much more sophisticated language than more recent ones, and books aimed at older readers are more 'innocent '.
Kipling, agatha christie and Conan Doyle,
Have a look at project Gutenberg website if she has a kindle tens of thousands of out of copyright books available for free

Simpson,
Thank you. My daughter is massively into fashion, scarily so and has expensive taste!
She has a classics collection with all except Lassie and Pollyanna so i'll look at them, thank you!

It's getting extremely difficult, she knows what she wants. She is already adamant she wants to be a Lawyer and finding out which A Levels she needs to take! I was never that sure of anything at her age!

Lion witch and wardrobe? Hobbit and Lord of the Rings? Some of Jacqueline Wilson for emotional sspects?

Grey Friars Bobby is the next book on her list!

DD (also been on G&T since reception - although for literacy & reading, not sure about maths as she isn't as strong) also sometimes "helps" other kids in the class as it can be a good thing to actually have to explain it to someone else rather than to just know it if that makes sense.

Luckily DD is in a very bright year group which helps

Geek girl, they are fashion based and thick books. Might suit?

Hmmm. My second DS is yr 4 and turning 9 in April. I don't think he is as as ahead as your daughter but he is a reader and top of his class in reading, comprehension and maths. He has recently read
The Narnia Series
Goodnight Mister Tom
Swallows and Amazonz series
He is currently reading Little Lord Fauntleroy
I don't know if these suggestions are too trivial though!

Little House on the Prairie books would be wonderful for her I'd imagine. I had a big anthology with all the works. Also lots of discussion of dress material in there iirc

Forgot to say, it might be worth trying to find out what books are studied at school in higher years and avoiding them ie (for my DD) The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (yr6), Treasure Island (yr5).

Blossomdeary,

Thank you. My son was in Hospital for 4 months and then further 2 months on and off before he passed away, they believe he had Mitochondrial Disease.

My daughter has had counselling and talks about her brother all of the time, she also has a diary that she writes to him in regularly. She is dealing with it surprisingly well considering how young she was and everything that she saw (we were unable to keep her away from some aspects and as Doctors and Nurses spoke she understood more than we anticipated).

She hasn't heard me comment on her school, other than to say that we have placed her on a waiting list elsewhere to accommodate my partner's route to work. Her teacher this year is horrendous and has no contact with parents at all, when i attempt to she is very dismissive and slack. There is very little homework set at all and very rarely gets checked when it is set.

I have the same problem its a pain in the neck to keep up with. The book people is good. A Mighty Girl website is also good for suggestions
Dd has read all the Roald Dahl, Michael Morpurgo , David Walliams, Enid Blyton Cathy Cassidy Eva Ibbotson holly webb god the list goes on and on! Once you find an author she likes you can relax a bit while she works her way through them!
www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=10940

If her reading age really is mid teens, then I think most of the recommendations for books will be a little too easy - though she should perhaps have a canter through so she has covered the childhood cannon.

You might like to try her on Jane Austen, and on the Brontes (and as a spin off The Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys). Also Cold Comfort Farm. Maybe some HE Bates. Or Ursula Le Guin.

I'm really sorry about your son

Maybe suggest:
Breadth not depth- could she learn a language using online/book resources
An instrument- will bring focus, self-discipline, group engagement/socialisation
Older, classic type books- books written over 30 years ago have far greater expectations of children's language skills, so Anne of Green Gables , Arthur Ransome, Alan Garner, Penelope Lively, Joan Aiken, Tove Jansson, Just William, Box of Delights, The Indian in the Cupboard- will all have appropriate level content, but be more challenging language.

More modern- Cressida Cowell's How To Train Your Dragon series has 12 thickish books, and the language is excellent.
Alan Snow's Here Be Monsters is fantastic too.

I think my DS is/was similar for his reading. He is now at a grammar. I can't keep up as he reads a book and now a series of books in no time at all. We go to the library a lot, we swap books with a friend of mine with an older son and I make sure he also receives a few books or book vouchers for birthday and Christmas. He has just turned 13 but he has been reading classics and modern day teen books for quite sometime he also re reads some of his books two or three times.

Have a look at Potential Plus UK

I was similar in terms of reading age at 9, and was tearing through all the children's classic mentioned by previous posters, and childen's books by Rosemary Sutcliff, Cynthia Harnett and Esther Forbes (especially worth checking out if she has any interest in history). Also Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising books.

How about Terry Pratchett's Tiffany Aching series?

I'd be wary about some of the adult classics yet - she's still young and might not be ready for some of the issues and emotions yet. It's really difficult for preteens when reading age is so far ahead of their years.

Loved Alan Garner, I'd forgotten those books.

Helen Keller - Story of my Life
George Orwell - Animal Farm
Anne Frank's diary
Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre
Charles Dickens - various
James Herriot - vet series of books
Thomas Hardy - The Mayor of Casterbridge