Anyone have experience with gifted children?

[lemondog]

I teach 2-3 year olds at a preschool and Parent/Teacher Conferences are this week. These are not formal, merely rather to let the parent know where the child stands as far as maturity/emotional growth/intellectual growth, etc., and also to help them decide which class to place them in next year. At any rate, I have a child in my class who just turned 3 last week. He already reads chapter books and is a whiz at math -- he's already up to doing fractions. Now obviously intellectually he is off the charts, but socially/emotionally he is right in line with his age group, maybe a bit more advanced than others his age but nothing out of the ordinary. I have NO experience with truly gifted children so am looking for some advice on what to recommend to the parents. I am thinking that staying with his age group will be the best for him all around, even though the curriculum in the 3-4 yo. PreK class will bore him to tears (learning letters, numbers, writing your name, etc.) Anyone with experience in this field? I want to do the right thing by the child here.

 

[dizagain]

Every child is different...as a pre-K /K teacher and a mom of a "gifted"(really hate that word) child, I would let the parents know how the child is doing socially and encourage them to base their decision on that. DD was by no means reading chapter books at 3, but she was by the time she entered Kindergarten...was she bored? NO...she was right where she needed to be socially and happy as a clam. Did we do some extra math/reading at home WHEN SHE WANTED TO? Yes, and that was it. She's now in 6th grade and is "bored" for the first time...we moved and her old school was a little ahead of this school as a whole. Is it killing her? No way...she's reading a lot more and getting stronger in her math skills which I think is great.

I've only taught three really advanced kids in pre-k...none were bored and none needed to be advanced. Their parents read with them at home and didn't push me to do more at all. At this age, social development comes first imho! Good luck with the conference!

 

[kristen821]

IMHO-I think at that age social skills are more important than intellect. A kid can always be worked with at home on intellectual things but can't ever be worked with socially. It is amazing how smart this child is!

 

[emily1982]

i work in a pre-school attached to a school in the UK, we have policies for gifted and talented children, the way the curriculum is in the uk for children aged 3-5 is that it's very child initiated so the children can take things on which are developmentally challenging for each of them, whether that be putting their coat on or counting to a 100. Personally though, i tell the parents that the children has very good awareness of numbers words etc but i always tell them their social skills r the most important because if they don't get those now they will never gain them and at the end of the day it's those which take u forward in life. You could set activities for the child which will challenge he/she, but i would keep them at that level.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

School is just about academics, the social aspects are important also. And you're probably not in a position to judge where this child should/might be placed a few years down the road. I would recommend that the parents do as much as possible on their own, whther it's visits to the library and museum or searching on-line for more academic "meat" to suit this child's needs. Being that advanced, he's likely to have problems finding a peer group. There are good websites (hoagiesgifted.com and gifteddevelopment.com are two I like) where the parents can obtain more information.

Keeping such a child challenged is a big issue, and will continue to be. Encourage the parents to treat the "whole child" and not just the intellectual part of him. I wish I had more advice, but I have 3 (almost 4!) kids, 3 gifted, in different ways, and I fly by the seat of my pants most of the time, in terms of what's best for this one, what does that one need, and so forth. Mostly, I love them for who they are.

 

[rt2dz]

Well, I have a gifted child--possibly two (the baby is already starting to show the early signs), my neice is gifted, my little brother is gifted, and my father is. Does that count as experience?

Gifted children are way ahead of the game intellectually. My son is bored to tears with the academics in pre-k (he too has been reading chapter books since right before he turned 3). However, gifted kids tend to fall behind socially. So it is extra important to keep them with kids there own age. My brother wasn't and it has been a regret of my mothers ever since. It's easy to see why when your dealing with it daily. I would recommend when the child does start private school when going on to kindergarten.

Also, note that some children are simply way ahead of the game at early ages for various reasons, but aren't truly gifted--just incredibly smart/advanced. Make sure the child is evaluated by professionals if gifted. Like I said, gifted children tend to fall behind socially and it is extra important for the parents to make sure that doesn't happen, and they are also way more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety issues that parents need to keep an eye out for.

 

[Sparx]

I am "gifted". I wasn't (or at least didn't appear to be) when I was very young but in 5th grade I took an IQ test, and they found out that I am in fact "gifted" They wanted me to skip a grade, but I didn't. Because I was emotionally a 5th grader. I was socially a 5th grader. Sure, I get bored in class sometimes and my teachers know it too, but I am where I am at socially and emotionally.

I would tell his parents. And also, advise them that he is socially and emotionally where he needs to be. They should base their choice on that.

JMO.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

IMHO-I think at that age social skills are more important than intellect. A kid can always be worked with at home on intellectual things but can't ever be worked with socially. It is amazing how smart this child is!

Agree..I had younger dd in preschool for social skills, not academics.

A "gifted" kid is going to be what they are intellectually, no matter what you teach or not teach.

Social skills are very important at that age.

 

[nwdisgal]

IMHO-I think at that age social skills are more important than intellect. A kid can always be worked with at home on intellectual things but can't ever be worked with socially. It is amazing how smart this child is!

Yes learning socialization with peers is very critical at that age. You don't want the kid to acquire a god complex at any early age. We have a friend who has a very high IQ - multiple PHDs from Ivy League schools, etc., etc. He has a hard time relating to people - high IQ, but low EQ. It will help the child in the long run to teach him how to relate to normal people. That said, you can work with the parents to help structure extracurricular activities and assignments that will help the kid prosper academically, as well.

 

[DebºoºS]

My DS was labeled gifted/talented when he was in pre-school (19 now). Sounds like your student in his abilities. DS was a very happy, social little guy also. I kept him with his age group throughout school and made the extra effort to keep him challenged and stimulated at home. He kept us challenged too Teachers always tried to push him ahead or give him extra work to do. He'll keep learning at his own record setting pace. At that age social interaction is more important. That's why they shouldn't have TVs, computers or movies in pre-school. IMHO

 

[mafibisha]

My DS was labeled gifted/talented when he was in pre-school (19 now). Sounds like your student in his abilities. DS was a very happy, social little guy also. I kept him with his age group throughout school and made the extra effort to keep him challenged and stimulated at home. He kept us challenged too Teachers always tried to push him ahead or give him extra work to do. He'll keep learning at his own record setting pace. At that age social interaction is more important. That's why they shouldn't have TVs, computers or movies in pre-school. IMHO

Wow, I could have written that myself.
In fact, he was supposed to be pulled out of class for the gifted program and he totally resisted. Didn't want to be "different".
After lots of conversations with the administration ect, we agreed, with his teachers (and us) inspiring, challenging, and stimulating him with ideas, projects ect.
It was a good decision!
He totally thrived in school, usually got straight As, was #10 in his class of over 400, and ALSO excelled in sports, music, girls!! and is now a successful and happy college kid, still involved with all the above! (including way too many girls! )

(ITA too that kids shouldn't have tvs in their rooms. When they're home and want to watch tv, we gladly watch what they want. We may TIVO something for us and watch later. But we'll have plenty of time when they're all grown and out on their own. They grow up much too quickly!!!!!)

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

I have to "ditto" the above--my DS8 wants more than anything to be "normal". Well, newsflash, it's the one thing I can't give him. The school looked at accelerating him--he rejected THAT idea strongly. So, instead of worrying about academic advancement, we work on stretching him in other ways. He does several sports, scouts, drama. This is what I mean by looking at the whole child--you don't want this little person to grow up being able to relate only to books or computers or his lab or whatever. Hopefully they can develop the skills to function in all of society. I find it good to have my kids in at least one activity where they're unremarkable--for example DD10 does gymnastics, she's gotten much better, but she's had to work. More importantly, it doesn't bother her that she's not going to set the Olympic team on fire.

 

[Nicolepa]

I have a child like this. I would highly recommend a montessori type enviornment. The child ren are all 3-5 (in the same classs) but they can work at their own pace. So socially they with their peers but academically they can go as far as they want. My dd (in K now) was reading chapterbooks, doing multipication & division in preschool. Now in K she is bored to death. She keeps asking me when she is going to learn something! LOL! She will be tested next month for the gifted program (starts in 1st grade). If she makes it into the program she will still be with kids her own age but at an advanced cirriculum.

I was a gifted child that was not challenged, when I entered 4th grade I was failing so they tested me for remedial classes. I tested off the charts, in the opposite direction. Once I was in a gifted program I went from failing to A's.


I think a child needs to stay with their own age group, but they definitly need to be challenged. My daughter is so used to getting everything right that when we challenge her a bit she resisits.

 

[taramarie]

I teach preschool in the public school system. It is very rare to have a four year old with such advanced skills. I would suggest that the parents find a magnet or montessori school for the child.

I do think the social skills are the most important part of the early childhood schooling. If they do not have that strong base it does get in the way with the academics further down the road.

Even if the child is bored in Pre-K they must learn those social skills.

To tell you the truth....most children who skip grades and are ahead of their classmates all level out by 4th or 5th grade. My experience is that children who skip the early elementary grades (1-3) have all but caught up by the time they reach middle school. Don't get me wrong there are very gifted middle school children....but those numbers are much less than elementary school. You just don't hear too many kids skipping 7th grade like you do 1st grade.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

I have to wholeheartedly agree with the poster that suggested Montessori schools. My oldest daughter is gifted and thrived in this type of preschool. My daughter is now 12 and has been in the gifted programs at school since 3rd grade (when they start at our public schools). She has a definite musical ability - played 5 instruments by ear by age 11 - and writes her own music. We are hoping to get her into the local Performing Arts School next year. She has had several social issues though - she just doesn't understand the typical girly cattiness of her peers so she is usually the one that is picked on by the bullies.

Continue to encourage the child but don't separate them socially from their peers. They will hopefully find other children in their social groups that they can be friends with - DD does much better with 1 child alone then with 2 or more.