Nathan Caroland
08-30-2005, 08:18 PM
Some of you already know, but I am the father of three children, Anasalea (going on 11), Sabryna (going on 7) and Spencer (will be lucky to see 6). Very loving children and above all for me, well behaved. Sometimes I wonder why some parents have children that are real hellions and of course secretly wish beatings upon them.
:goodbad:
Now, with all that being said, my oldest has a near perfect photographic memory we learned when she was in kindergarten in a Montesori school (worth it, but expensive). Has absolutely no problems with school and homework is pretty much a breeze for her. Study it once and she has it, no need to waste time doing it again in her opinion.
Now for the second one, Sabryna, who has always been our 'special' child, and by that I mean we sometimes wondered just what the hell was going on in her head and whether she was either extremely intelligent or in need of a protective helmet. 'Thinking Outside of the Box' is something you can apply to her quiet easily. Hates playing video games, draws and reads all day, and is pretty much a 'leave me alone I'll entertain myself' type of girl.
So we get a phone call on Friday from her 1st grade teacher who says she wants to meet with us Monday. Great - what did she do now was what went through my mind.
We show up, and we find a teacher that is practically vibrating in place as she informs us that we have a very bright child. I smile, nod and say, 'We're in Georgia, that's not too hard to do in the state school system'. Heh, that went over well. Despite that though, once she laid out what she had been doing I was suitably impressed. My six year old, 1st grade child is doing 4th grade math and is reading at a high 5th/6th grade level and has complete comprehension. Needless to say, I was rather stunned. 'Our child?' I asked. Yup - that one reading a book over in the corner.
Now this may make me seem like an inattentive parent, but it really isn't so. Sabryna has always gone her own way, doesn't want praise, and more often than not you have to FIND her in the house. She's not exactly introverted ... she just likes to do things her way and her way only. That of course explained all the trouble we've had over the summer with her. She was bored. Very bored.
Now they are setting her up to go through some special test or whatnot in the next few weeks and if she does half as well as the teacher seems to think she will, we're going to have to do somethng about it as she's basically at a level four grades higher than what she actually is. What the hell do I do now? I want her to be interested and pushed to progress (in a good way) mentally and intellectually, but what the heck do you do with a six (seven) year old who is in a class full of ten to twelve year olds? Doesn't seem like a good idea when you think of it that way. We're going to have to figure something out but I'm not sure what.
Then to top it all off, on my way out the door to work today, my youngest one, Spencer, comes home and hands mom a note from school and goes off to play. The look on her face stopped me and I asked 'what?' and she was just shaking her head as she handed me a piece of paper that was from my sons kindergarten teacher.
Heh .. guess what.
Apparently Spencer far outstrips the kids in his grade and they have found him functioning at a 2nd grade level for reading, comprehension and math (yes, he does math very well, that much I knew) and now we've got another meeting setup at the end of the week to discuss him.
Sounds like a bit of bragging and tall telling, but it honestly isn't. I'm still sitting here wondering what the heck is going on and how I got the lucky jackpot of having three gifted children.
Hopefully now I won't have to worry about college money.
:dancing2:
:goodbad:
Now, with all that being said, my oldest has a near perfect photographic memory we learned when she was in kindergarten in a Montesori school (worth it, but expensive). Has absolutely no problems with school and homework is pretty much a breeze for her. Study it once and she has it, no need to waste time doing it again in her opinion.
Now for the second one, Sabryna, who has always been our 'special' child, and by that I mean we sometimes wondered just what the hell was going on in her head and whether she was either extremely intelligent or in need of a protective helmet. 'Thinking Outside of the Box' is something you can apply to her quiet easily. Hates playing video games, draws and reads all day, and is pretty much a 'leave me alone I'll entertain myself' type of girl.
So we get a phone call on Friday from her 1st grade teacher who says she wants to meet with us Monday. Great - what did she do now was what went through my mind.
We show up, and we find a teacher that is practically vibrating in place as she informs us that we have a very bright child. I smile, nod and say, 'We're in Georgia, that's not too hard to do in the state school system'. Heh, that went over well. Despite that though, once she laid out what she had been doing I was suitably impressed. My six year old, 1st grade child is doing 4th grade math and is reading at a high 5th/6th grade level and has complete comprehension. Needless to say, I was rather stunned. 'Our child?' I asked. Yup - that one reading a book over in the corner.
Now this may make me seem like an inattentive parent, but it really isn't so. Sabryna has always gone her own way, doesn't want praise, and more often than not you have to FIND her in the house. She's not exactly introverted ... she just likes to do things her way and her way only. That of course explained all the trouble we've had over the summer with her. She was bored. Very bored.
Now they are setting her up to go through some special test or whatnot in the next few weeks and if she does half as well as the teacher seems to think she will, we're going to have to do somethng about it as she's basically at a level four grades higher than what she actually is. What the hell do I do now? I want her to be interested and pushed to progress (in a good way) mentally and intellectually, but what the heck do you do with a six (seven) year old who is in a class full of ten to twelve year olds? Doesn't seem like a good idea when you think of it that way. We're going to have to figure something out but I'm not sure what.
Then to top it all off, on my way out the door to work today, my youngest one, Spencer, comes home and hands mom a note from school and goes off to play. The look on her face stopped me and I asked 'what?' and she was just shaking her head as she handed me a piece of paper that was from my sons kindergarten teacher.
Heh .. guess what.
Apparently Spencer far outstrips the kids in his grade and they have found him functioning at a 2nd grade level for reading, comprehension and math (yes, he does math very well, that much I knew) and now we've got another meeting setup at the end of the week to discuss him.
Sounds like a bit of bragging and tall telling, but it honestly isn't. I'm still sitting here wondering what the heck is going on and how I got the lucky jackpot of having three gifted children.
Hopefully now I won't have to worry about college money.
:dancing2: