clever girl yr2

[mitz]

I don't want to sound all big headed but one of my children happens to be seriously clever. I don't take any credit for it, same as I don't take any blame for the others. But I know that at school she is doing work way below what she can do, she can't be bothered with the homework and says at school she helps the other children out or goes and reads a book when she's finished her work.

I've got parents evening in two weeks. What can I say to get the teacher to give her more/different work or should I just shut up and be glad of her 'problem'?

Sorry Lucie but I disagree with your first statement. The school should not be "giving her extension work if she finishes", they should be making sure that the work she is given in the first place is appropriately challenging.

Exactly.

Good thanks, Littlefish - he's done 4 weeks now and apart from a couple of little wobbles when I think he was very tired and realised "hang on, is this forever?!" he has enjoyed it, I think! Looking forward to parents' evening next week.

How's your dd doing in Y1?

Yes - but even higher level work - I meant if she finishes that.

Yes, but the work should be more carefully matched to her abilities - if she finishes too quickly all the time, then it isn't.

That's great, glad to hear it!

Sorry for the hijack OP.

Mitz spelling words forwards and backwards and knowing times tables are a sign of a good memeory not intelligence.same with reading, it is not a higher order skill.usually even people with very low intelligence can read.
If you want to know whether she is intelligent why not get some 11+ papers and test her verbal and non verbal reasoning abolities.

FWIW teachers mostly are ridiculously defensive and you have to wrap up any suggestion in lots of compliments.

LeQueen, sounds like your DD is doing fine without hothousing - it's great (and IME quite rare these days) to have such a self-motivated child. I'd guess she will do well without being pushed at this age.

However you can expose her to lots of different learning opportunities, like a new language or different maths problems (ie not just sum after sum)

OP I've been racking my brains to think of what my parents did for me as a precocious child - but they didn't need to do anything, my teachers differentiated well (eg I remember having to write a newspaper because I'd exhausted the school spelling book) - and at home I was like LeQueen's DD, making up my own challenges. A shame all schools don't differentiate so well!

Brassband

I think you're right that these skills are mechanical and that's why it's so important that they're put to good use. A photographic memory is going to get her a long way, if she's kept interested.

(she's really good on the NV and verbal reasoning abilities too mind :)

I have to say I think a lot of kids in Y2 would be at a similar level.

My son is very similar as are several of his friends. I think it's pretty normal for the top 1 1/2 groups or it was when I was teaching.

The teacher will be differentiating.