MD, I was on he Ipswich/Brisbane border - couple of hours from Cass's g-dad.
Trill, I don't know what will happen at school. Aren't a couple of your kids working a couple of years above their level? How are they doing? Personally I don't think W is gifted, just very bright. I think some kids are just ready to start before others and he will probably level out as he gets older. He was well and truly ready to start reading - he was walking around looking at things and telling his teachers what letter things started with and was sounding out words. I was worried about what would happen at school but a very respected ex kindy teacher at playgroup told me that it wasn't for me to hold him back to make it easier for the teachers, it was up to them to cater to his needs. So I went with it. He has gone from around 20 sight words to reading sentences like "This is the king. He likes to play games" in 6 weeks. He learns so quickly that if I didn't teach him now then it would only be a matter of months before he was ahead of the class anyway.
The maths concept the teacher commented on was knowing that a number like 152 was comprised of 100, then another 50, then 2. He can also add and subtract small numbers and is good at sequences - like he told me that when he is 5, A will be 3 and E will be 1. When I asked what would happen when he was 6 he knew that the girls would be 4 and 2.
I really don't know what to do. We don't even have any other school options if the one he is going to is no good - the one in this town is too rough and there are no others. It is something that does concern me and is always at the back of my mind, but what do I do? I can't help it if he wants to learn now instead of waiting until next year.
ATM the reading is keeping him challenged and occupied, anything problems that comes from it are for future Arte to deal with lol
Anyhow, sorry for crapping on about it. Wish they came with an instruction manual!
They are only showing the U.S X-factor here (but I am still addicted!)
Arte, I'm not saying that you shouldn't be doing it, what I'm saying is that by doing it, you will more than likely run into problems once he does start school. It's a crappy catch-22 situation for everyone. There are no guarantees that by leaving it up to the teachers to teach him that he will get taught kwim? Trust me when I say that a lot of mainstream schools just cannot handle gifted/exceptionally bright kids. I don't think you should hold him back either, but that doesn't mean accelerating him up a year level or two. The issues I've had with my kids are different to what you have - they were no where near the level W is at when they were that age, but once they got to school they thrived and moved ahead quickly. Last year when L was having problems with boredom in class it was mostly to do with him being in year 4 in a composite year 3/4 class where there was a massive range of abilities and he was at the top end of that range. One of the biggest issues was having to do group work and wait for the other kids to say the answer when he already knew it. I worked so hard with his teacher and the executive teachers to come up with strategies to get him through the year and it paid off, but you just cannot leave it up to the teachers alone to do it themselves. But now he is in year 5 in a compostite 5/6 class, there are a few year 6 kids in the class who are at or above his level as well as one of his mates who is equally as smart as he is and he's had a much better year and a lot of the problems from last year haven't happened again. Plus he has the same teacher he had last year and she's been absolutely brilliant in extending him and the other kids who need it. And in middle school at the high school he's been streamlined into the top classes as well. E on the other hand has levelled out the past few months because she is the type of kid who only does well if it comes easy to her, once it gets hard she gets lazy so it's brought her back in line with the others.
Maybe you're right and he will level out, but that first year or two of school is going to be really, really tough. Especially if the only school is as rough as you say it is. My guess is that there will be kids in his year group who will be really needy and more than likely leap years behind where W is, so the teacher will have their work cut out just teaching those kids the ABC's and counting to 10 let alone being able to extend W as much as he needs. I think he is an absolutely remarkable little boy, and I really hope he gets the education he is entitled to, but it's not always going to be easy to get it for him
I don't watch X factor or anything - can't stand all the palaver that the judges go on with LOL. So I have absolutely no clue who is even on it.
MD, I forgot to say before, isn't it cute how into animals girls are! I remember loving them so much as a kid - they were just sooooo cute I couldn't resist. If A sees a dog on the back of a ute driving past she calls "Hi dog" over and over lol. I hope your cat (and mine) last to a very ripe old age.
Trill, the school W is going to is quite good, but they are getting a new principal and DP next year so we will see how it goes. The other school is rough but is apparently on the improve. I guess I will just have to stay involved and make sure he is working at the right level. Should be alright, I don't think he will be that far ahead.
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