Teaching a gifted child

[vcfromhk]

Hi my daughter is turning 7. We moved from HK where she was in year 2. Unfortunately the state school here admitted her in year 1 as she is Sep born and beyond the cut off age.

Further, she is exceptionally smart and disciplined. She is very focussed and reads physics books suitable for a 11 year old and talks about physics concepts all day. She has an excellent memory too and can reproduce anything read once easily.

We don't know what we can do to challenge her and over and above that the school has put her 1 year behind instead of moving her up by 2 grades :( . Any suggestions?

there are a series of uncle Albert books by russell stannard about physics concepts. I guess she might like that.

Lego masters tv program (look on iplayer, itv or channel 4 on demand). Some of the builds they do are quite technical and might involve physics concepts.

ukmt (U.K. maths trust does a maths challenge every year with interesting puzzle-type questions). Mathematical Challenge amzn.eu/d/fNCmBMD

Science museums. Science festivals. The IET do an open house every year events.theiet.org/events/engineering-open-house-day-2022/

keep up with the news on nasa and future missions to moon etc.

you might need to go with her (to supervise and help), but amateur radio (look on internet for your local club) is a technical hobby and involves practical application of physics concepts. It’s not like a club for kids, but some kids get interested because their parents do it (and often members of the club are friendly - but needs parent to go along). Otherwise there are also maker clubs - who make gadgets and machines etc.

Scholarship to a private school? She can move up a year.

Have you spoken to the school/teacher about your concerns? Once they've assessed her & recognise her level they should provide her with stretching material. She may need to start at a lower level initially to settle in.

Private schools are v unlikely to move her up a year. They might challenge her a bit more but not to a y6 physics standard.

My mum was a teacher and her advice would be to make her schedule busy with other interests and growth/learning opportunities. Music, sports, art,.... wtv.

As long as she is with peers of her age (is she? Or is she with younger kids?), at school she'll grow socially and that is SO important, don't underestimate that.

But if you see she's really losing interest in school (due to it being way to easy for her) then you can rethink it.

Best of luck to her ☺️

When is she turning 7?

If you’re in England, she should start year 2 this September, if she is 7 between 1st September 2022 and August 31st 2023.

Sorry, just noticed she’s September born.

If it’s an English school, she’ll start Year 2 this September. We don’t stream by ability in England (I don’t know about the Scottish/NI/Welsh systems)- so she’ll be
placed in a year group based on her age.

Moving children into the year group above is very unusual in England, it generally only happens in very small schools, where year groups are already mixed.

Yes she is Sep 30th born and hence the school is not moving her up. The school believes she needs to make social connections age appropriate. She has a elder sister and her friends are basically her elder sister friends. She has no friends in her class and hence I agree that being age appropriate is important to make social connections. She says she doesn't like making friends as that distracts her. She wants to be a Nobel laureate and doesn't want distractions in life . We need to get her to make friends and challenge her outside the class with the activities described above.

My youngest had a scholarship at a private prep school and was put into 7 Yr old class when he was 6 so more things are possible in a private school. We didn't feel we had a choice as he was getting bored out of his brain and depressed in the state school. However, it wasn't without its problems, he was top of the class adademically but struggled with some aspects of the social and sports side. Some of them were 8 whilst he was still 6, there was a big difference in size/strength and he could get upset about things an older child could cope better with. He had to go into secondary at 10 years old when some were nearly 12, exams sat early and finishing 6th form when too young for uni. No advice really as I would probably do the same again but you need to look at all areas of their development and whether it would suit your child and its very difficult to imagine what they will be like in 10 years time.

With the best will in the world moving her up a year won't solve anything anyway. The work won't be suddenly appropriate and the class won't be full of studious children all wanting to work hard on top level stuff. There is only a year in it - don't get het up on that solving much.

If she's a bright as you say - which I am not doubting - then school will do very little for her other than help her socially and mentally. In which case you want her learning to interact with people her age. This is a very important skill. She won't do well in life if she always believe she's better than her peers.

Presumably she’s getting a new teacher imminently so I would give them some time to get to know her and then if there’s not a parents’ evening very early on in the term I would ask to meet with the teacher to discuss. Email over your concerns in advance so the teacher has time to prepare for the meeting (ie make it clear it’s a conversation about curriculum not friendships etc). As a teacher we try to make the curriculum relevant and exciting for every learner. It might take time to get that adaptation right if she’s exceptionally above age-expected standard but with a good teacher-parent relationship it’s possible to make it work.

it is the norm in the U.K. to educate by age and not ability. Most teachers have a skill to do something called ‘differentiate’ - teach to ability within a class.

Having a gifted DD whose private school suggested she move (age 7) up two years (due to reading age of 12 etc) I moved her out of that environment as she was academically able but not emotionally.

As I have found out with time, it levels out. DD is now in last year of school and on the Oxbridge programme at a state school but so are others. She has thrived staying in her peer group.

Yes in Uk they tend to put a lot of emphasis on people skills. Ie mixing with peers, being able to communicate effectively and generally getting on with others.

I have a gifted daughter. We stretch her at home by hiring tutors and buying her books that she asks for. Lots of sports and music too.

You should explore modern Nobel physics prize winners and notice how they all work in teams. Still, you shouldn't blame her for not wanting to socialize with children who are most definitely not her peers, but encourage her to.

I'd recommend this book for every young physics enthusiast, but it might be a bit beyond hey, particularly the later stuff. Some suggestions for some more accessible material: the gifted science curriculum from the college of William and Mary, Fatal Forces (part of the Horrible Science series), Basher Science: Physics, and the Max Axiom comic series. You can also watch physics documentaries from Nova, and using a bit of google you can find supplementary webpages like this.

Thanks a lot

Oh, and if she’s going to learn physics she’s going to need a lot or math. I would recommend starting her with the Art of Problem Solving prealgebra textbook

If it is feasible economically you may want to consider selective private schooling as that can enable working at a higher level while remaining in the correct peer group. My son was very bored at his first school and never really managed to make many friends. He then moved at age 8 to a very academically able school and has flourished there as has much more in common with the other children. They probably work about 2 years ahead of state school curriculum in things like maths and science.

I have 4 DC all very able.
Can you afford a Physics tutor? So someone with a phd in physics who does a session with her every week to nurture and encourage that specific interest. Ideally someone who can teach practicals too.

Secondly, I recommend violin, oboe, bassoon, double bass etc - get her playing an instrument to a high level in orchestras too, also get her into chess and then a sport (can try martial arts or fencing etc).
If she is really bright you need to challenge her yourself until at least year 9.
Also get her just reading widely and maybe learning a language. Maths/music and language are all linked. Also, sport is important for resilience.
If you are rich, take her to things like the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, the Swiss place too. The inspirational practical sides of physics. Far cheaper than a private school and the whole family can go

All very good suggestions. She is a quick learner and recently she picked up dictionary of German to English and is learning from that by herself. She is now writing a few pages everyday of German based on her learning. Music and sports are great ideas too as she needs to be challenged which school is not providing

Is it just a memory or does she understands what do numbers mean?
Does she understand that 3 is 2 and 1 or that 5 is 2 and 3?

It's mainly memory but not she understands concepts. She has completed year 3 maths in year 2 once the teacher opened the maths online program which gives her access to further classes. She understands what are covalent bonds, cathode, anode, talks about quantum mechanics, she knows entire periodic table by heart in sequence, she is a walking talking google

You can enter her into 7+ exams ay private schools (often taken in January of Year 2 so around this time next year for the test). Just look up 7+ exams at your nearest private schools and see the admissions procedure.

Are you able to homeschool? English people like to bang on about socialisation blah blah but never in life will she be surrounded by 30 people her own age not selected by interest, work, or personal choice, so it's bullshit. Also she may not be able to properly socialise with children her own age. If she has an Iq of say 150 she is not normal. No one would say a child with an IQ of 50 is suited to mainstream provision. Why is this any different? If she was in other countries she would be in special classes and streams they create for gifted children that are separate from mainstream education.

It is extremely important her educational needs are met, and there are often other issues that come along with being highly gifted that school will not address. I would homeschool if possible, find like-minded friends for her in the homeschooling community.

I don't think 6 hours a day spent waiting for other people to catch up is much of a life. She may also not learn how to work hard and be in a challenging environment that stretches her.

Have a child in yr2 working at yr 6+ maths (at home) we and school challenge by doing lots of other hobbies. Your DC may enjoy music lessons. You do find it sometimes goes hand in hand. As pp have said, it'll be a battle if DC cannot get on (superficially) with peers without similar interests.

She sounds amazing! But second what posters have mentioned above - see if she can find some social activities where she can bond with other kids her age and be a kid. I bet physics Nobel laureates still loved climbing trees and playing tig when they were six. Friends are so important, even if she doesn't quite realise this yet. I hope she has a squad of pals who inspire her, challenge her and make her belly laugh very soon.