Escaping Heat

Z (4 1/2) just asked us, "What keeps the heat from escaping from the Earth?"
"The air of our atmosphere," I answered.
J (almost 7) chimed in, "Yeah, especially methane. It's causing global warming." Of course, he remembers that because it's associated with rude bodily functions.

This is while they're watching Nature on PBS, the second time they've watched the episode about desert lions.

Kindergarten Teacher

We got a chance to say hi to J's kindergarten teacher today, and tell her that he's skipped to second grade. She's so sweet! Her face was very animated as she congratulated J and said that she had thought he might skip. She also expressed her frustration as a kindergarten teacher, when she recognized J's needs and talents, but the school really couldn't/wouldn't do anything for kids that young. I told her how we had to "work the system" to get him tested by claiming that we wanted him to skip first grade. Of course, we did have him skip first grade, but we hadn't even thought of skipping a grade until we had to do it to get J tested!

I understand her predicament better now, and we all love her even more. Z is looking forward to being in her class next year. That's highly likely if J stays at his current school, because siblings get priority and don't have to be drawn in the lottery. And Z is reading better than lots of kids can before kindergarten, so I'm sure he'll be placed in the top class, which is taught by our wonderful Mrs. G.

Second Week of Second Grade

J's first week of 2nd grade was just 3 days long because of Parent-Teacher Conferences. I thought it a good sign that, when I went in to wake him up, all I had to do was whisper, "It's time to get up and go to second grade!" and he'd pop out of bed with a smile on his face.  His second week was all grins, too.

At his Parent-Teacher Conference, the teacher mostly caught me up to speed on how her classroom works. It was like a Back-To-School Night just for me. She mentioned that J really seems to fit in just great with the rest of the class. He is even right in the middle height-wise, too. He's made friends, and is a bit of a celebrity for now. We tried to tell him not to say anything about skipping a grade, because we don't want to make anyone feel bad, but the kids already knew. And they didn't have a problem with it at all. J said that when his special class teachers (such as gym and computers) asked why he was with a different class, the other kids would explain for him. His teacher said that there have been arguments about who gets to be J's "special buddy" to show him things in the classroom.

I was also very pleased when I spoke with his engineering teacher one evening at a church event. He said that he thought skipping was a good move, and while J seemed much more relaxed in his 1st grade class than he had been in kindergarten, he is even more social and relaxed in 2nd grade.

Because it was such a monumental decision for us to make, and because it's a life-changing decision, I fully expected bumps during J's transition. I was braced for him to come home from his first day exhausted and emotional. I mean, who wouldn't be exhausted from trying to learn a new class routine, meeting 20 new kids, and going to your first pull-out gifted class? But no, he was almost giddy with excitement when I picked him up. We still haven't hit any bumps. This transition has been super-smooth, better than I would have ever hoped for!

Test Results

After a mix-up with scheduling, Dad and I went to talk to the Gifted coordinator about J's testing scores. Wowza! Of course, we knew he was smart, but we had no idea about just how strong some of his strengths are.

For many of the academic subjects, he maxed out the test about 5th grade. His lowest scores were in math and general knowledge. The math sort of surprised me, until I realized that I haven't really taught him how to do much math. I'm not sure how to teach math, in fact. It was never my strength, although I held my own in classes. But Dad the engineer should probably get involved with J's math education. And for general knowledge, well, he just hasn't had that much exposure to all that stuff.  Even so, he tested above the 90th percentile in both. As the Gifted coordinator said, while they were his weakest scores, they're not exactly weaknesses!

The rest of his scores were 99th percentile or above. I wish I could have memorized all the statistics, or that I could have a copy of the test. There were reading comprehension, vocabulary, and spelling in there somewhere, but I was too shocked to remember which was his highest. That's because he maxed out the test at 11th grade. Hello, an average high school junior could do as well on that part of the test as my 6 year old??? Crazy!

I have no idea what my IQ score was when I was tested in 3rd grade. I had to look up the ranges of scores to determine what J's score meant. Without publishing his actual score for everyone to know, I'll say that his composite score is in the moderately gifted range, with some of his individual scores reaching into the highly gifted range. What surprised me most about my research into scores is how high some people have tested, and how high the score has to be for a genius status. If my J tested above 99th in all his subjects (as we're sure he would test if he'd been exposed to everything) and he's only "moderately gifted," wow, how much smarter do you have to be to have a(n) (estimated) score of 160 like Einstein, or 220 like Leonardo DaVinci?  It's mind-boggling.

The school had, without hearing our decision about skipping 1st grade, set everything up for J to move up. I had the feeling that if we hadn't been on board with skipping, they would have tried to talk us into it. They were duly impressed by his scores and consider him an excellent candidate for grade acceleration and the Gifted pull-out program.

Since we're knew to the school scene, I was surprised to discover that the four classes per grade level are separately by general ability. Of course, J was placed in the top classes in kindergarten and 1st grade. When I met with his school the first time, they said that the top 2nd grade class was full, so J would have to go to another. That was disappointing, because all the other gifted kids who would be attending pull-out would be in the top class. And it's always easier to go along with some other kids than to be on your own. I believe that there was some divine intervention in the weeks since my first meeting, because several kids were shuffled around among 2nd grade classes, leaving a spot open in the top class. This had nothing to do with J moving up, it was all independent of us. I know the Lord clears the way for us when we are making the best choice.  I'm so glad that J will be in a classroom with (get this) eleven other gifted kids.

I thought it quite considerate of them to suggest that he not move immediately, but to let J finish out the week with his current class. They're having a harvest party this week, when they get to wear costumes they made in class. The pull-out class will be starting a new unit next week, and I'm sure both J's new and old classes will be finishing their units, too. So a new month means a new class for J. He starts 2nd grade in Mrs. K's class on Monday! 

We feel really good about this. We've encountered quite a bit of opposition from acquaintances, especially those who are teachers. I don't understand why they think the school would recommend this move without considering all their points of contention. We hear, "I worry about socialization" the most. And before I started my research, I worried about that too. Now that argument makes no sense to me at all. It's not like we're yanking him out of a good educational and social environment and putting him into solitary confinement. He's going to be with kids. He's going to learn to fit in with those kids. And it will maybe be easier for him to fit in, since they'll likely understand those 11th grade words he knows (well, maybe!) 

Testing is Finished

J came home yesterday with stories of being pulled from class and going to a room where a nice lady asked him questions. It was the second day in a row that he was tested by the Gifted Coordinator on academic subjects. He also brought home an envelope stuffed to bursting with "very important" papers.

I opened it up this morning to find a questionnaire touching on several important factors about J's likely success in skipping to 2nd grade. It asks about his home life, siblings, social maturity, emotional maturity, behavior, etc. And one question was about J's attitude toward the skip. I couldn't very well answer that, since I hadn't talked to him about it at all!

When I picked him up from school today, we stopped in at the PTA ice cream social. While we were waiting in line, I said I had a very serious question to ask him.  I told him that, while we don't yet know what his scores were on the tests he took, people at his school wanted to know if he would like to be in second grade now instead of first. I mentioned that he probably had a lot of questions, and so did I, so we'd talk about it as often as he wanted to.

I was surprised when he said he'd heard me talking to Dad about it one night. I guess we thought he was asleep. J said his first reaction was, "No way!" I asked him why, and he said that he felt like he was just getting settled. I can certainly understand that. On the way home, I tried to address some of his concerns. We talked about how he would still be able to play with his friends at recess, just like he still played with some of his kindergarten friends who didn't end up in the same class this year. I brought up the conversation we'd had the day before when he told me that his reading group was soooo slow! He's in the most advanced group, but he says they spend a whole week on one tiny paper book, and he's done with it on the first day. So he says he does nothing for 4 days. I told him that in second grade, he wouldn't be as bored because the work will be closer to what we know he can do (although I don't believe for a second that it will be hard enough for him). I also mentioned that, depending on his tests, he could also go to the Gifted Coordinator's room twice a week with all the other smart kids. He really liked the Gifted Coordinator, but said he'd rather just go to her room for some one-on-one testing. I thought that was cute. He really did enjoy the testing.


After talking through a few things, J exclaimed, "I keep finding more and more reasons to skip to second grade!" 

Tonight, we talked some more. I told him that we have days and days to make the decision, and that lots of people at school would help us make the best decision. And that we would consult the only One who knows everything. For His opinion is the only one we can truly trust.

Progress Report

J got his first 1st Grade progress report. He still gets S=Satisfactory, I=Improving and N=Improvement Needed.

He got all S's except for an I/S for Classroom Behavior.  The teacher's note says:

J does nice work in class. He is working on his social skills with classmates and he is trying not to disrupt others' learning with talking/noises.

Hmmm...does it sound like he could be bored out of his mind?

Attached to the progress report is the Idaho Reading Indicator test results. For "Letter Sound Fluency," J did 55 in one minute. The Fall "on-grade level" is 31. Spring "on-grade level" is 72, which seems like an awful lot to me. That's more than one per second! How fast can you rattle that information off?

For "Reading Fluency," which for some reason is a "non-reported item," J scored 152 words in one minute. Okay, maybe 72 doesn't see like that many all of a sudden. Spring "on-grade level" is 53 words per minute.

And that means he scored a 3, meaning that he's on grade level.  Although I don't think "on" would be the right word. But there is no score of 4 to mean above grade level. The only do these tests to catch stragglers, not advanced kids.

Abstract Thinking

I forgot to add this part to my post about music, although it's the most impressive item of all!

My boys like to hear music lyrics spoken, then explained a little bit, so they can understand the songs we listen to.  We were listening to "Get Out the Map" by the Indigo Girls.  We got to the line that says:
The saddest sight my eyes can see
Is that big ball of orange sinking slyly down the trees

That's a pretty abstract description, and I wondered if J would understand it. As I asked him what it meant, I imagined that he'd think for a few moments, then maybe venture a guess or say, "I don't know." Then I'd break it down for him and ask him what he thought the "big ball of orange" could be.

But there was no hesitation, no pondering. He said, "It's the sun at sunset."

Sometimes I think we're so used to amazing things coming out of his mouth that we're no longer shocked by his displays of intellect. But sometimes he still manages to surprise us!

Ghost Riders In The Sky

We've been listening to music in the car for about a month. Before that, the endless stream of questions prevented much listening!  I got out some CD's I burned back in college, so we've been listening to a wide variety of songs.

I am super impressed by J's feel for music. He identified a song that made him feel like he was in the jungle. Then another one reminded him of a tropical island. He even said that one sounded Spanish! And he's right-on, every time.

Z is amazing with his memory for lyrics. He can sing parts of "For the Longest Time" by Billy Joel, and I think he knows "Ghost Riders In the Sky" as well as I do!

Even better, he typed this out on my computer:   

gostridrsinthesci          

Not bad for 4 years old, especially because he's just starting to want to spell things!

Caillou Correction

Z (4) is watching Caillou, who is also four. Caillou was watching shooting stars with his grandpa. Z shouted at the tv, "they're not stars, they're meteorites!"

On The Ball! Testing Has Begun

Talk about being on the ball! This evening, on the way home from an evening out with the family for Dad's birthday, J suddenly remembered that he "got to leave class and go to a nice lady's office, and she tested me!"

During the drive home, and then when we got in the house, he described the test. He built patterns with blocks to match the pictures she gave him to look at. He had to find matching symbols in a set. She asked him some vocabulary words (he thinks he remembers the word "vocabulary" being one of the vocabulary words). And there were grouping questions, where he had to look at four pictures and group two of them together. He drew out a sample question, with a rake, a bucket, a shovel, and a car. He grouped the rake and the shovel, because they're both garden tools. Dad suggested that a bucket and a shovel would work together, too, but J just didn't think that was a very good answer :)

J told us that the test was for all kids, from his age all the way up to high school. He seemed to feel very cool taking the same test that really big kids take. I hadn't really understood what the Challenge Facilitator had meant when she told me the same information yesterday, but now I believe it means that everyone starts at the beginning, and as the questions grow progressively more difficult, the child won't be able to answer them, and that is the child's level of ability. I like this idea, because it eliminates hitting a ceiling. J couldn't possibly max out a high school curriculum the way he maxed out his kindergarten grammar program.

He also reported that this "nice lady" thought it would maybe take more than one day to finish the tests, but after a break, he finished the whole thing! That was an hour and a half of testing he did, according to the estimate the psychologist gave me at the IEP.


I am amused at how quickly the psychologist got to testing J. It seems that she was being completely truthful when she said that she was excited to test him, because "he sounds fun." But even so, at the IEP, she thought it would be next week at the earliest.

From J's very thorough and accurate description of the test, Dad thinks that he probably did quite well on it. J said it was hard sometimes, but pretty fun, especially the blocks.

I can't wait to hear about the academic testing next week!

First IEP

I met with a whole slew of people today at J's school. I was surprised and a bit intimidated to see 7 people around a conference table, waiting for me. I was already quite nervous, having read all sorts of horror stories about antagonistic schools trying to talk parents out of skipping their children up a grade. There's a very entertaining web page made up of these ridiculous stories, which you can visit by clicking this link.

I was prepared with some of J's work, which I'd hurriedly gathered from his "art book" (a binder I slip his special creations into) and other mounds of paper throughout the house. I was prepared to defend my stance that J is gifted. I was prepared to discount J's teacher's apparent disinterest in his abilities.

And I needed none of it!

Everyone there was quite cooperative, even J's teacher. The Challenge Facilitator (she helps run the Gifted program) asked me to tell them about J. I told them that our first inkling was when he was 2, and I was explaining about Easter to him. I told him that the Easter Bunny would come and leave things in his Easter basket. He interrupted me to say, "Yeah, I know, and last year, there were cars in my eggs." I looked back at pictures, and sure enough, he got Hot Wheels in his Easter eggs!  There were exclamations of "whoa!" and "he was TWO? And he remembered when he was ONE?"

Then I told them of how he learned to read. He could read 3- and 4-letter words at age 3 1/2, but wasn't really interested until I "hit the jackpot" buy buying him Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? for his fifth birthday. He read the entire book to me when we got home. 6 months later, when he started kindergarten, he was reading Magic Treehouse books. Now, he's reading 6th grade books, and this summer, he read the Chronicles of Narnia. One lady asked, "Did he just read one of the books?" "No, the whole series," I replied. "And then he watched the movie and told me which parts were different." "Wow!" she said.

I also said that he'd taught himself to add and subtract at age 4, and by 4 1/2, he'd moved on to multiplication by grouping things in equal numbers to count them.

I could have gone on and on, of course, but they seemed to be satisfied, and asked J's teacher to speak. "Well, it's only the 18th day of school," she quipped, "but when J answers questions, it's like he's on a totally different page than any other first grader. He explains that such and such is true because I know that such and such is true. And he thinks in the abstract. It's very obvious that he's thinking very differently from most kids."

"Phew!" I thought. I was so worried that she would have no way of seeing his talents and abilities in a regular first-grade classroom setting.

Then the Challenge Facilitator began to explain the testing process. J will have to test 90th percentile or above to skip to second grade. They don't want him to move up just to become an average second grader. They want him to remain at the top of his class. But skipping a grade doesn't mean he will qualify for the Challenge (gifted) program. For that, he will have to test 98 percentile or higher.  So if he tests between 90th and 97th, we'll have a tough decision to make. But I remember testing in the 98th percentile when I was a kid (although I had no idea what that meant), and I certainly feel like J is smarter than I am, so I have hope that he'll qualify for both skipping and Challenge.

She also talked about the test she'd be administering, which would be academic in nature. It's long, so she'll break it up into 2 or 3 parts to avoid wearing J out. He will be tested by his age, not by grade.

The school psychologist chimed in to talk about her portion of the testing. It will be for cognitive and reasoning skills. I believe this is the part I remember about my own testing as a child. We did puzzles and built with blocks and such things. It was fun. I think J will enjoy it. The psychologist had an excited gleam in her eye when she said, "I can't wait to meet him. He sounds fun!" I'm sure he'll be a very interesting case for her.

One of the administrators had been taking minutes. He read them back to us and I signed a consent for testing, and that was that. I thanked them all for making it so easy.  Then I went out in the lobby to wait for school to end.

While I was out there, the Challenge Facilitator came out and sat down to chat with me. She explained that she'd asked me to talk about J because some parents ask for their child to skip because they'd gone to a Montessori preschool. They claimed that their child already knew everything from kindergarten, so they needed to skip. Early education does not a gifted child make! I feel bad for those parents, who has obviously been planning all of that for years, and made some false assumptions. All that hot-housing was for naught! 

The Facilitator was pleased that J had real reason to be tested, and cleared up some questions that had occurred to me as I sat there and waited. She also told me about a special immersion program in our district at a different elementary school. I was not aware that our district had that program, although our pediatrician had discovered a similar program the next district over. And to my great relief, it is much closer to our home than his current school!  If J tests high enough for the gifted program, and skips to second grade, he would be able to go to that school next year as a third grader. Well, I guess there's great demand to get into that school, so it might not work out that quickly for us. We'd have to win another lottery to get in. It is attached to a regular elementary school, so Z would be able to go there for kindergarten. We'd love to have him get J's kindergarten teacher, but not enough to drive him to a separate school.

I have faith that everything will work out for the best. I'm doing the best I know how, and I can only leave the rest up to God.

Human Compass

Z (4) sat down on the kitchen floor a few minutes ago, with his legs sitting out straight. He asked, "Mom, is this way North?"

"Why, yes, Z, it is North!"

"Then this is South, right?" as he spun around 180 degrees.

"Very good, Z!" I cheered.

"And this way is West." He was right again!

"And this way is East!"

"That's really good, Z. How did yo know that?" I questioned.

"My really smart brain just told me."

And there you have it.

A New Path Presents Itself

I felt rather guided the other day. I had not planned to do anything in particular, and for some reason, I decided to make a phone call. A mom from Mommapedia had referred me to a website for parents of children who need special education. The website is devoted entirely to disabled kids, so I was hesitant to call, but the Mommapedia mom assured me that they could help.

And they did! Actually, it was a she. And she just did some web research, but came up with lots of pages to look at and lots of different options. And lots of different phone numbers. And every one of these sentences starts with "and." And I'm sorry about that.

The first number I called was the Idaho State Department of Education, who gave me some information and the name and phone number of the new head of gifted programs in my school district. I know I've called and talked with the head of that department before, and was given the usual runaround. But there's a new gal in town, and she gave me all sorts of new information!  I was very excited to find out about a school rather closer to our home that has a gifted immersion program. It doesn't start until 3rd grade, but I was thinking we'd have to drive 1/2 an hour to a school in the other district to get him an immersion program!

She told me to talk with J's principal. I don't know why I'd never thought to do that. And she described a possible path for us to take, involving J skipping first grade. I don't know how I feel about skipping grades in general. I didn't want J to skip kindergarten. It was fun, and only half a day, a great way to get used to going to school. I didn't see any reason to start his school career in first grade. But moving up to second grade now means that he could start the pull-out gifted program immediately. Which is a big benefit from a jump that he could probably handle quite easily.

To make things even easier, J is buds with an outstanding 2nd grade teacher. They talk at "parent pick-up" while J's waiting for me to take him home. I don't know if we could get him into his class, but they would both like that to happen.

I talked with the principal over the phone, and it's truly a miracle that she occupied the post of gifted coordinator just 3 years ago! I told her briefly about a few of J's abilities, and she actually believed me. She will be calling me this week to set up a meeting with a few key people, such as the school psychologist. She will also speak to J's teacher about the evaluations she has done. I'll be very interested to know what she's found out, since I'm sure her usual evaluations have a ceiling far below J's capabilities.

And then J will be tested. This is a HUGE step in the right direction, and an answer to prayers. We can not pay for private testing after Z's seizures wiped out our health savings account. The school will pick up the tab and make recommendations for his schooling. Then we get to decide what to do. We could leave him in 1st grade, even after going through all of that. It's a no-risk proposition, and I'm quite excited about it.

As for how I'm feeling about skipping J? While it's a scary decision to make, I keep reminding myself that this is J. He's always been mature and crazy smart. I really think he can handle it. In fact, I think he'd thrive on the challenge. I'm not at all sure that skipping just one grade will be enough, but it's a step in the right direction. And he naturally has some skills that need to catch up, like his handwriting and study skills.

Dad isn't so sure. He worries about J being the youngest in his class, about sports, about all sorts of things that most people think of. I did, too, before I began my research about giftedness.  I want him to feel good about this, too, if the says J is likely to succeed. But mostly, I think I could never make this decision without a good deal of serious prayer!

Food Update

The peanut butter and crackers was a huge success! Only 2 apple slices and 2/3 of his juice came back home. Which actually was perfect because Z was starving and "so so so so so so so so so thirsty." I guess, technically, the apple slices and juice didn't make it home, because Z polished them off in the car.

Today, I packed half a PB&J, but cut up into little squares to make them more fun and faster to eat.

I never knew lunch-packing could be so complicated!

Friends and Food

I am so happy to have made a friend who has gifted children. She understands the challenge, and actually is going through far more than I think I'll have to with my children. Her daughter is highly gifted and has some sensory issues. She has been a difficult child, with tantrums and all that fun stuff from early on. Now, they have to take her to weekly psychology appointments just to help her be happy. Poor thing!

I was talking with this friend about the problems her daughter had when she started first grade. Apparently, kindergarten was really great for her. It was fun and interesting, and her family got a much-needed break from the high-intensity tantrums and difficult behavior. But everything came back with a vengeance when first grade rolled around. That's one reason I've been worried about J starting first grade. And because it's not all coloring and learning songs and snack time. The learning takes up more time in the day, but it's all stuff that J already knows. That equals a much greater chance for boredom and misbehavior.

Anyway, one thing she learned from her daughter's psychologist is that her daughter is trying to be good and hold herself together all day long in school, so when she gets home, she falls apart. I think everyone can identify with that. She's dealing with stress that is much too "old" for her in ways that are age appropriate. She freaks out about textures. She's grumpy from dealing with stress and boredom all day, so little things annoy her, like how scratchy that fabric is. Most kids don't end up with these sorts of behaviors, even though they're age-appropriate, because they're not subjected to the same amount of stress. At least, that's my understanding.

That got me thinking about J and the strange problems he's having with lunch. It's his first time eating lunch at school. He was so excited to take food from home in his Buzz Lightyear lunchbox, and helped me choose what things to pack. The first day wasn't so bad, but food kept coming home untouched. I've been trying to figure out what is going on, and asked him to tell me about it. He says that the food is "absolutely disgusting,"  even if it's exactly what he wanted, made to his exact specifications. I almost laughed (except I was trying very hard not to be angry with him for wasting all the food that I'd so meticulously made to his exacting standards) when J told me that "bacteria is affecting the taste."  Affecting was a new and very grown-up word choice for a 6 year old, instead of saying "making it taste funny."

I asked for ideas on a mom's online forum, and they thought it had nothing to do with J's "giftedness." Ooh, it makes me so mad that so many of them put that in quotes! As if they've met my son and have decided that he's just a regular kid. One even pulled the "everyone evens out by third grade" garbage on me. I chewed them out after thanking them for their lunch ideas :)

Anyway, some of the moms thought it was a decent idea that his giftedness plays a role in his lunch problems. Gifted kids are talkative, and more words coming out of the mouth means less food going in the mouth. J is also notoriously slow at making decisions and at eating, so that contributes to running out of time to eat, I'm sure. And I wonder if he's trying so hard to behave and keep himself together all morning, so at lunch time, he's sort of "freaking out" about little things that bug him, just like my friend's daughter.

Lots of online moms suggested that I just need to pack less food. They completely ignored the part where I said that J is asking for more food, because he's starving all day.

It just goes to show that moms without gifted kids just don't know what its like to have gifted kids. Just like I don't know what it's like to have a physically disabled child or an autistic child.  However, I did take some of their advice, and today, I packed apple slices, peanut butter, crackers, and iced juice. Fast to eat, fun to dip, and no treats so he'll have to eat the "main course."  I also packed it in a paper bag, since one mom said that her daughter's insulated bag reportedly makes everything taste like plastic.  Here's to hoping that he doesn't bring any food home uneaten!

A Day of Vocabulary Expansion

J (6.5) is having trouble with his lunch at school. He hasn't been eating it. Well, he does fine with the pudding and applesauce, but he says everything else is "absolutely disgusting." Even though I make it to order, with strawberry jam and white bread.

So today, he was telling me about what he thinks is happening to make his lunch so "disgusting." His explanation is that "bacteria have affected the taste."

Tonight, instead of going to sleep like he should, he called down to me that "the Latin name of watermelon is citrullus vulgaris."

That came out of nowhere, sort of! I know his first grade class has had lots of watermelon-themed activities lately, but do you really think the other kids remembered its Latin name? I'm sort of wondering why the teacher even mentioned it!

First Grade Starts Soon

We met J's teacher tonight. Dad wanted to somehow find out who is the best teacher in first grade. I wasn't comfortable asking. I mean, it's like asking a parent who their favorite kid is. I know the answer I'd get; "All our teachers are wonderful." It's like the line from The Incredibles, "The law requires that I answer no!"

And I guess I figured it wouldn't really make any difference. I don't know what J will need to learn in first grade, but it won't be reading.

But maybe we should have asked.

Dad decided to bring a book with us to Meet The Teacher night. It was one of Jared's recent reads, titled "Hoot."  I enjoyed it. I enjoy the books my 6 year old brings home!

Dad said, "We've come to warn you about him. He just finished reading this book."

Mrs. McG said, "Oh, do you like to read? I liked that book, too." Then she went on about liking picture books, and does J like picture books? "I read them to my little brother sometimes," he responded. "But I like big books now."  Mrs. McG's smile never wavered. I was wondering why, if she'd read that book, did she not find anything odd with a 6 year old reading it.

Dad tried to bring it up again. Mrs. McG said, "Well, in first grade, we'll be working on reading comprehension, so it'll be different."

And that was that.

Reading comprehension? It's just what I'd feared. Another, "Oh, everyone thinks their kid is special" reaction. As if J is a trained monkey who can sound out words but doesn't have a clue what he's reading. I didn't know this, but turns out J has been discussing the Christian symbolism from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe with his dad. If that's not reading comprehension, I don't know what is!

Each child was supposed to draw a picture of something he/she would like to learn about that year. Jared went one step further and wrote his name, then "I would like to learn how to draw well." And then he drew three chicks. Or three chickens in varying stages of growth, I should say.

Dad and I felt like Mrs. McG blew us off, but is otherwise very nice. On the way home, we concluded a discussion we'd had the night before. As we went to bed, I told him that I was tired of the everyone-thinks-their-kid-is-special reaction, so I almost felt like not saying a word to the new teacher. But we decided it wasn't fair to her to leave her hanging like that. On the way home from meeting her, however, we said, "We tried to warn her. I guess she'll just have to figure it out on her own."


After an unsatisfactory experience in his classroom, we went to visit J's engineering teacher, who is an acquaintance of ours. He was happy to see us, as most people don't stop in to see him on Meet The Teacher night. I remember going to see him one year ago, and his reaction was actually quite the same as Mrs. McG's. We thought he'd be excited that J loves K'Nex and Legos, which is what engineering class consists of entirely. I felt like he had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes at us.

But that was last year. This year, the story was quite different. "Your child is very different, special. Maybe  you know this already," he said in his charming French accent. He asked what we planned to do about it, and we discussed the lack of options available to us. He pulled out a worksheet that he'd be using for his first lesson and showed it to J. "Easy peasy lemon squeezy," he said. "Yes, J, it is very simple. But you know, you can build whatever comes into your mind, you can make it more complicated if you want to." Then he told us that he would try to find ways to challenge him in his class. He would even let him get out the K'Nex, which are usually reserved for higher grade levels.

Then he took us to see Mr. H's classroom. Mr. H, he said, is a math- and science-minded person, and he has a large K'Nex roller coaster set up in his classroom. We were pleased to walk in and see one of J's teacher "buddies." J chatted with Mr. H all last year while waiting for me to pick him up. And he teaches Second Grade.

On the way home, Dad commented, "Well, we know which teacher we want to request next year!" and then went on to tell me what Mr. H had said. "I'd absolutely love to have J in my class. He's a smart kid!" I didn't hear that conversation word-for-word, but I did see Mr. H's face, and it was very enthusiastic, almost awe-struck. Speaking of awe, that's the best word to describe J's face when he saw the three-track roller coaster made with K'Nex that Mr. H had set up in his room. I could see the wheels turning, thinking of all the fun "modifications" (that's a word he would use) he could make to his own roller coaster K'Nex set.

I wish people would believe me when I tell them about J's abilities, but I guess that's just how it goes. The marked difference in our conversations with his new teacher and his engineering teacher pointed me to this conclusion: people who know J know he's different. So I guess we'll just have to let Mrs. McG get to know J.

Conversation with J, Sleep Troubles

It's 10:30 at night, and I can't get J (6 1/2) to go to bed. He insisted that he's starving, so I gave him some toast and milk. He told me that by squeezing his cheeks, he was compressing the milk. When I told him that you can't compress liquids, he was absolutely incredulous!  He just couldn't believe it. He began talking about water bottles and air pressure. When I told him that the molecules in liquids are just too close together already, he said, "that is extremely weird!"

After going on about it for a while, he went upstairs to ask his dad. I'm not sure he really believed me. How could it be that liquids can't be compressed!!!  I just listened in on their conversation about how baby brother L drinks his bottle and has to let air in, about pumping up bike tires, etc. And then J offered his own example, about scuba divers breathing compressed air.


It's hard for me to send him to bed when he's obviously enjoying the mental stimulation, but last night he couldn't sleep until 1 am! I can't handle that kind of schedule, and all-day First Grade is going to kick his butt in just two weeks.

His pediatrician recommended Melatonin to help him sleep, but so far, it's not helping at all!

Espionage!

Today, J told me that his "persona has been sabotaged!"

After a little probing, I discovered that he doesn't actually know what either word means, exactly, but wow, he knows those words!

He thinks sabotaged means "ruined completely," and "persona" was referring to Firefox Personas, which are themes to decorate your browser.

To Tell, or Not To Tell?

That is the question!

I used to think it was obvious, but now I'm wavering.

I didn't know I was gifted when I was growing up. I remember getting tested, I think in 5th grade, and I remember going to G.A.T.E. stuff, but I never really knew what that meant.

I was genuinely surprised when I went to a "regular" English class in 9th grade and they were looking things up in a dictionary.

I was genuinely surprised when I got straight A's the one and only time (Math always kicked my butt--or so I thought. I was still ahead of most students, but I got B's in my higher classes.)

I was flattered when I was inundated with college pamphlets and even scholarship offers. I was flabbergasted when my one and only BYU (there was never any question of where I would go) send me a Christmas card, a tee-shirt, and an invitation to be in a special Freshman program.

I really had no idea.

And I didn't realize that I had no idea about any of this until my son was a few years old and flabbergasting us daily. And then he started telling everyone how smart he is.

Of course, I wanted to teach him that even the smartest cookies in the jar shouldn't go bragging about it all the time. I mentioned this to my mother, and she said, "Stop telling him he's smart."

That moment was an awakening for me. I realized that she'd done that very same thing to me. She'd kept my smarts a secret from me. And I had just assumed I was average, regular. I don't know how I like that approach.

I can see how it could be beneficial. I appreciate the fact that I'm not cocky, nor was I an outcast because I thought myself intellectually superior to my peers (saying phrases like that is sure to make you an outcast!) On the other hand, feeling average, I did average things. I could have done so much more! I should have done so much more. "Where much is given, much is required," and I feel like more should have been required of me. I feel like more was required of me, but I was ignorant of exactly how much I had been given.

So I'm in a quandry about how to approach this with my own smarty-pants children. I tried not telling J that he's smart, but, well, it's so obvious that everyone comments on it. And while I just traipsed through life in my own little world, not comparing myself to anyone else, J already knows he's quite different. How could he not notice, when he's reading 6th grade books while his "very bright" classmates are learning to read? He feels different, like so many gifted children do. Apparently, I did not. At least not much.

So I have talked frankly with J about his giftedness. Not long after the conversation with my mom, we started telling him that being smart just means that God gave him an extra good brain, and it doesn't mean he's better than anyone else. It just means that it's easier for him to learn things, so that means he needs to learn even more than everyone else. I hope that properly instills in him some humility and sense of duty to use his gifts.

I hope I'm doing this the right way!

An Elephant

Our first real inkling of J's amazing-ness was when he remembered what he got in his Easter basket the previous year, and he had just turned 2.

Today, he amazed me again.

He had made a little craft, the kind with plastic beads that you set on a peg board, then use the iron to melt the beads together on one side. He was admiring his work, saying how he liked that it was the same front and back, and even if you flipped it side to side. I asked him, "Do you know what an axis of symmetry is?"

"No," he replied.

I gave a brief explanation.

"So this smiley face has one axis of symmetry, right here," and he karate chopped his crafty creation right down the middle.

"Yup! Very good!" We had talked about axes of symmetry extensively when he was 3. He was always very good at it, and I was happy that he'd picked it up again.

Moments later, I mentioned that I'd taught him about symmetry before. He recalled, "yeah, I remember you cut out a man, and an airplane, out of paper and I folded them along their axis of symmetry. And then you tried to trick me by cutting out a cow spot, and it had no axis of symmetry."

Wow. He is exactly right! That was three years ago, give or take a month or so. Half of his lifetime.

More books

We haven't been to the library in quite some time. J decided to read the Chronicles of Narnia. He's on The Horse and his Boy right now. He says that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is still his favorite.

More Books

J seems to have left Magic Treehouse behind. He doesn't seem so interested in finishing the few he hasn't read. He's on to much bigger books!

At the end of April, Z had a seizure in the car as I was pulling to pick J up from school. There was lots of drama. I left J in the car with little L (the baby) and carried a non-responsive Z in to the school nurse. I didn't know what was wrong with him at the time. While the school nurse called 911, I ran back out to the car to get J and L. I found that J had grabbed a book to read while he waited for me. And the book he'd grabbed was the book I'd just finished reading, and was planning to return to the library on the way home (yeah, that didn't happen. We went to the ER instead).

He read Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale. It's quite a good book, although an easy read for me. J loves to claim that he has read a grown-up book. Technically, it was in the Young Adult section. But that's pretty grown-up to him. I just looked up the grade equivalent. Here are the stats on the book.

Grade Level: from 7

Pages: 306

Age Level: 12-17

We teased J that if he wants to claim he's read a grown-up book, he should pick up Cardinal of the Kremlin (his dad just finished that one.)

Handwriting?

Today was J's kindergarten end-of-the-year "celebration." It was cute, with all the kindergarten kids (all four classes) getting up on choir stands and singing some fun songs. One was to the tune of "New York, New York," only the words New York were replaced with "First Grade."

Then the teachers handed out awards. Each child got one, of course, and I wondered what J would get. Some kids got awards for being able to sound out any word put in front of them. Some were for being good at math. Some were for building with Legos. Never in a million years would I have guessed that he'd get an award for "Heavenly Handwriting!"

I think his handwriting is pretty good for a kindergartner, but it's his teacher's previous comments that have me stymied. In our last parent-teacher conference (here's the blog post about it), she referenced his poor hand-writing to prove that he still needed to work on things. As if I thought that 6 months of school would have him ready for the working world ;)

I got the email address of the lady in charge of all things gifted at J's school. I'm trying to figure out the best way to ask for J to be tested early. I'm not too optimistic about that. But in his school district, they don't test until the end of first grade! A friend of mine paid to have her daughter tested after HUGE problems with her in a regular first grade class room. They switched her to a different district, which tests at the end of kindergarten. Oh, I wish I'd known all of this before we bought a house! The other district is only a mile or so East of here!

Z's Reading

Z, who turned 4 a week and a half ago, is doing quite well with the books his big brother, J, brings home from kindergarten. About once a week, he brings home a photocopied half-sheet "book" that he's supposed to read to his parents. Ha. Once he asked me if he could read to me, please, because if he does, he gets to raise his hand and get a Skittle. But even a Skittle isn't enough motivation to get him to read these books to me. He currently has his nose stuck in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

But Z is eating them up. They are even better than the Bob books I mentioned in an earlier post. They're simple, with simple words. His favorite one, which we must read every night, is titled We Can Fix.

I'm rather sick of it, but he flies through it now, so I don't suffer too long.

Tonight, it was upside-down when I pulled it out of the special folder marked, "J's special books." (These were given out by the teacher.) I decided to tease him, and left it upside-down. He hardly looked at the cover page, but said, "We Can Fix!" Then I opened it and kept it upside-down.

"Mom! I can't read it upside-down!"
"Sure you can," I said, pointing to the first word. "What does that say?" It was simply the letter I.
"I, but the n's look like u's!" he giggled.

When I finally flipped the book right-side-up, he surprised me by reading the sentences backwards. To be silly, of course. He started off reading, "bed a fix can I." (I can fix a bed.) But as he got further into the book, he got more crafty and read, "tep a fix nac I." (I can fix a pet.) He never could wrap his little brain around the word "xif" because, really, it makes no sense. But almost everything else, he read completely backwards.

Because, you know, he's got to keep this reading thing challenging.

End-of-the-year IRI

End-of-the-year IRI testing was last week. In this test, kids rattle off as many letter sounds as they can in one minute. The goal (grade-level) was 30 sounds. The teacher asked that we practice the test at home, but J didn't feel like it. Even so, J managed 45.

Of course, there's no reward or even mention of a score higher than 30. I wonder what the other kids' scores were?

This morning at breakfast, Z brought over a small MagnaDoodle and poised the magnetic pen to write. I love that he's suddenly decided to draw letters, and he loves that he's rather good at it.

"Mom, how do you spell 'dude?'"

"D....." I started to reply.

"Is it d-o-o-d?" he ventured.

"Wow," I thought. "Not bad for a kid who hasn't had his 4th birthday yet."

And I love his word choice. It's so him!

Research Project

Finally, J is taking an interest in his kindergarten homework!

This month, Mrs. G didn't send home a 1st grade challenge packet. She's crazy busy incubating chicken eggs in her classroom, among other things. And something magical happened; it was J week! The regular homework assignment was to draw 5 things that started with J. Of course, J was very excited to draw himself, so he decided to actually do his homework.

Thankfully, the problem of writing has been overcome. He hated homework because he had to write. But it's easier for him now, after getting so much practice at school, and having several more months of school under his belt. Now he has no problem labeling his drawings.

That was last week. This week, it's letter E. He's supposed to draw 5 things that hatch from eggs. I said, "Oooh, I bet we can come up with a lot of weird things that hatch out of eggs, instead of easy ones like chickens." He said, "Like a peregrine falcon!" I didn't know he knew what that was! Then he suggested a red-eyed tree frog, too.

We talked about even more animals that lay eggs, then stopped by the library. He said he wants to do 10 or 15 drawings, not just 5! And he's practically turning this into a research project, checking out books about different animals. He's learning about each animal as he draws them. So far, he's drawn a secretary bird (because they stomp on their prey), a platypus (Mom! Did you know they're poisonous?) a German cockroach, an echidna, and a manta ray. Technically manta rays are ovoviviparous, which I explained to Jared, but I say close enough for kindergarten.

Tonight, he said, "this homework is fun!"

The "Dumb One" in the family

A while ago, I was reading on a web site devoted to giftedness and came across a shocking story. I'm sorry I don't have a link for you, but this is the gist of it:

Dad was taking some courses at the local college to keep up with his profession. Mom was getting her Master's. And their 9 year old gifted daughter was taking a college class because she was that far ahead. One night, the 6 year old daughter was sobbing. The mom asked what was wrong, and she said, "I'm the dumb one in the family. I'm the only one who isn't in college!"

Shocking and funny, huh?

Well, it happened to us. Z turns 4 in a few weeks, and has been down in the dumps because he can't read. I told him that J didn't know how to read when he was 3, either, which helped a bit. And I told him I'd teach him how to read.

He's been doing great. He knew all the letters, upper- and lower-case, and the sounds each makes before his 2nd birthday. And he's actually better at guessing a word from the individual sounds than J was. So we asked at the library (for the second time) and were pointed toward BOB books. They're simple, with just a sentence or two per page. Z loves them! He's reading words like log, Pop, Jim, swim, the, sun, land, etc.

J also brings home little Harcourt "books" from kindergarten and hands them straight to Z. If he weren't only 3, Z would ace kindergarten!

Library

We just came home from the library with another stack of books. I have been learning slowly what to say to the librarians so they know what I'm looking for. I asked about the FableHaven books, and they said they're in the teen section. "Whoa!" I said. "I'm looking for something for a 6 year old!" So she looked them up for me and said that they're for 9-10 year olds, not really teens. So we decided J will be okay with them and she reserved the first one for me.

I also asked about Ribsy by Beverly Cleary. I haven't been able to find it anywhere! She found it online and reserved it for me, too.

Then I asked about books for Z, who is almost 4 and is a bit intimidated by sentences. He is just nervous, but he can do it if I can just get him to try! She asked another librarian, who found "Bob books." They have two nearly identical sentences on facing pages, and just the last word is different and easy to read. So I'll read the first part, and let Z read the last word. For example,

They march with a flag.
They march in the sun.

I really think it will help Z build confidence in his reading ability!

I've asked these very librarians almost identical questions and never gotten these recommendations, so it definitely pays to ask again and again!

Carried Away

J (6) was fake-laughing about his fake flatulence (they're smart, but they're still boys). He was really hamming it up, so Z (3) just told J, "I think you got carried away."

Parent-Teacher Conference

I talked to Mrs. G about J today. I think she was surprised that I wanted a conference with her, because she isn't having problems with J. Maybe it's because I'm a first-time parent, but I want to talk to her just so I know what's going on from the teacher's perspective.

She seemed a tiny bit defensive, probably because most of her Spring conferences are only if the parent thinks there are problems. She said that she still has to coach J on how to do things, and showed me his journal. She looked through and found the word "robot." She remembered having to help him spell that. And she shows me his handwriting, saying it still needs work. "Of course, it's way better than the other kids..." I got the feeling that she was trying to prove that she can still teach J something. Like he's not perfect yet. I hope I didn't come across as though I think he is. Of course his writing can improve. He's 6! And of course he doesn't know how to spell everything. Just because he can do a lot of things like a 2nd, 3rd, or even 5th grader doesn't mean he does everything as well as a 2nd, 3rd, or 5th grader. I think I need to show my appreciation for her more, so she'll realize I do think she's doing a great job.

I asked her about friends. She says J has lots of friends. She mentioned that he seems to be bored at times, and ends up being social because of it. It's not a big problem, though.

She says that she knows where I'm coming from, because she has seven kids who were all gifted. I asked her, "What did you do?" She said they were in the GATE program and they did lots of stuff at home. While the sound of that stresses me out, I realized on the way home that "enrichment" is a natural part of our family life. I don't even remember what our discussion was about, but both J and Z were engrossed, asking questions, and sharing their ideas. And it was rather deep, if I remember correctly.

J read a book to Z out in the hall while we were waiting for our turn. When we were leaving, Mrs. G walked us out. I turned the book to the page where he'd left off, and asked if he wanted to finish it before we went home. He did read it, but silently. Mrs. G flipped it open to a random page and asked J to read it to her, and he freaked out! His eyes got wide and he fell on the floor, the equivalent of hiding behind my skirt, I think. That surprised me, because J has no qualms about reading to our immediate family or his grandparents. He had no problem giving a short talk in church, either. And that was in front of about 50 people! I guess J really has no opportunity to show his stuff in his classroom, which I suspected was the case. How often would he have the chance to read the word "viciously" in the books his class is reading? (it was in the book he read in the hall, though) How often would he have the chance to show that he can multiply when the other kids are learning how to count past 30?

While I think he's doing fine in his class, I know that he has needs that aren't being met. He could learn so much more if he weren't the only kid like him.

Reconciling Science & Religion

This morning, J said, "I know that there weren't really any people alive when the dinosaurs were on the earth."

"That's right," I said. "Can you imagine what it really would be like if there were dinosaurs and people together?"

He ignored my invitation for a discussion on that topic and asked, "So when did Adam & Eve come?"

Ah, yes. Quite interesting. And while I'm no dummy, I am pretty sure I didn't start wondering about how evolution, the fossil record, and the Bible all reconcile until I was in college.

Twenty Questions.

We played Twenty Questions for the first time last week, and my boys eat it up! I started by choosing an animal for the boys to figure out. Then they wanted turns. Z chose a baby zebra (his favorite, because they have brown stripes that turn black later, he says), then J chose a kangaroo, then there was a horse and some other things. Then it was J's turn again.

I had learned that his animal had no legs, it was definitely not a pet, it had no tail, and he wasn't sure about if it had a mouth. Completely perplexed, I gave up.

"It's an ammonite. I saw it on Dinosaur Train."

And I was thinking that kangaroo was an unusual choice! J definitely stepped up the game!

I think we might have to put some restrictions on the animals, like ones that aren't extinct.

Easy Road Trip

Wow, let me tell you how wonderful it is to have a kid who can read on a road trip!

We drove from Idaho to Arizona last week. It took us two days. Late the second day, after the sun had set, J grabbed his backpack full of library books and a dollar store clip-on book light. He read two Magic Treehouse books and half of Beezus & Ramona in just an hour and a half!

When we got to Grandma's house, I hid the library books he hadn't read yet. I checked out the maximum 15 books, and I think he only has 2 or 3 left for the return trip!

Ophelia

We're visiting Grandma right now. Having struggled with getting some of her children to read well, she was very anxious to hear J read. I have no idea what they were reading, but I think Grandma was having fun, giving J obscure words to see if he could read them. She was properly impressed when he encountered the word "Ophelia" and didn't skip a beat!

J's Aunt, also visiting, was impressed with his skill at reading out loud. He really is quite good at phrasing and inflection. I remember working on that with him twice, and as usual, he picked it up very easily.

I was pleasantly surprised to find J in the back row of the van with a book of silly songs, with 2 cousins and his brother packed in there with him, leading them in singing a song about a food fight. On this trip, J has really enjoyed his reading skills, and I think he got his younger cousin really excited about learning to read, too!

Check-Up

J had his 6 year check up today. He turned 6 last week. There really isn't anything to report, except that his pediatrician wanted to know if I'd followed up on the information he gave me. I told him that I'd found a a woman from church who sends her daughter to the school he told me about, and that she'd told me that we'd have to pay for the testing to see if J qualifies for the school. Then the doctor asked if my husband has found a job yet, since obviously, we won't be paying for testing if he's unemployed.

But he'll find a job, and I'm pretty sure we'll get J tested. J will finish out his kindergarten year where he is, and if the tests show that he falls in the highly gifted range, we'll make the decision to move him or leave him.

Hallelujah!

I can't believe what I found today. Idaho actually does have gifted resources! They have a web site and a monthly meeting for parents, even. I really thought this state was devoid of help for me.

I don't know why it is so hard to find this site, but what's important is that I did find it.

Treasure Valley PAGE

I'm so excited!

Article

Sometimes I wonder if people think I'm just bragging about how smart my kids are. I don't think most people understand how difficult it can be to keep them happy and growing. And they don't realize that when my kids are not consistently challenged, they act up, getting wild and obnoxious and into trouble. I realized this when J would drive Z nuts in the car, poking and hitting him, or singing nonsense at the top of his lungs. I found I could get him to stop by giving him a math problem.

I bet most people think that my job is a breeze. I mean, good grades and college are guaranteed, right?

This morning, I read a good article about gifted kids:

Finding the Gift in Giftedness by Jennifer ?

This quote from the article really struck me:

"Think of it this way: if you put IQ scores on a Bell curve, the gifted child would be as far to the right as the mentally disabled child is to the left. They are, in their own unique way, “special needs” kids – which creates a big problem when the educational system teaches to the middle or to the lowest common denominator."

Yay! Finally, someone understands and has explained the challenge I face! That's why I sometimes get overwhelmed trying to figure out what my kids need!

That quote also led my thoughts to the other end of that Bell curve. No one would dream of sticking a traditional "special needs" kid in a regular kindergarten class and tell the teacher and parents, "Your kid will be fine. He'll adapt. Let's give it two or three years, then we'll see if your kid needs any special classes." It wouldn't be fair to the teacher, because he would need so much extra attention and create extra work. And DUH, the teacher and parents already know that the child needs special classes.

But that is the system. That's what we have to work with. The decisions we have to make sometimes feel very heavy.

Gifted Academy

I love our pediatrician. He seems to be a very intelligent man himself, and has an amazing memory. He remembers lots of incidental things about us. Even if he just writes them down in our kids' file and reviews them before he comes in, that's still terrific!

A few weeks ago, he called me out of the blue at about 5:30 pm. He had heard of a charter school in Boise that is only for the highly gifted and called to give me the information.

Of course, I don't know if J would qualify, but I wonder what the testing process is like, and if it is free. And I worry about J changing schools. He seems so happy at his math & science magnet school. I don't know what the commute would be, but it really could only improve from the commute we have now (it's a 15 minute drive each way, and it's sort of in the middle of nowhere, so we can't combine trips. And it's the opposite direction of all our errands and stores.)

I guess it's something to look into, something I need to pursue.

Report Card

J got his second report card today. I realized that I never posted about his first report card, so I'll summarize them both in this post.

Of course, elementary school report cards, and especially those for kindergarten, are quite soft. There aren't A's, B's, and C's, but S's, I's, and N's. Jared got all S's for "Satisfactory Development." Again, there's no grade for anything exceptional. I love how they report tardiness, since at this age, I'm sure the blame is purely parental.

Then there's another section that uses numbers. 1 is not meeting standard, 2 means that the child is learning well, 3 means they know their stuff, and 4 means above-level ability. J got all 3's except for one 4 in "counting to 31."

I was surprised that he only got one 4. I mean, they're learning to count objects and make a tick on a paper to represent each object, and he's multiplying and dividing in his head. They're learning sight words like "a" and "like," while he's reading 4th and 5th grade level books. How can he possibly not be getting 4's?

The clue is in the descriptions of the tasks they're requiring of the children. They didn't evaluate him on addition and subtraction, just "number systems," whatever that means. They graded him on stating the days of the week in order, and using a calendar to say today's date. These are things that you can't really excel at. You can do them, or you can't. He is just not in an environment that would show his reading or math abilities.

I had to laugh at his one 4: "Rote count to 31 by ones." This is the kid who comes downstairs to complain that he can't sleep, even though he counted all the way to 200 and then got bored.


The most interesting part is the teacher's comments. First quarter, she wrote:

"J is a very capable and intelligent young man. He excels in all areas. Keeping him challenged is a challenge for me. He is kind to others in the classroom."

This quarter, she wrote:

"J seems happier in kindergarten now. He often shares his knowledge with the group, enriching our discussions. I am happy to be his teacher."

My husband and I both commented, "I didn't know he wasn't happy before!" I'm guessing J's just gotten into the groove and isn't nervous about things. He seems to feel more comfortable with his knowledge, which is great. I really wish I could be a fly on that wall to see how he's doing! I want him to be confident and happy, without the arrogance he can sometimes show.

3 1/2 yr old Vocabulary

We had a visitor come on Sunday after church. She asked Z where his big brother is, to which he replied, "I don't know. He arrived, but now I don't know where he is." Arrived? Well, I suppose that's another way of saying "came home." Our visitor asked him if he's smart, to which he replied, "yup."

Later that night (and ever since), he was showing me how one of his toys works and said, "this is the proper way to do it."

It's really fun to hear the words J and Z come up with!

Vocabulary

J (almost 6) & Z were wrestling with their dad. Dad had J pinned or something, and kept asking, "Do you give up? Do you give up?!?!"

J replied, "No, I can defeat you, dad!"


Then on the way home from school on computer day, he told me all about the drawing program they'd played with that day. He told me that it was a lot like Tux Paint (the free kids' drawing program we have at home--I highly recommend it!) but the school program had a lot of cool features. Features.

We have a new family addition, just 5 1/2 weeks old now. We saw his first smile just yesterday, to which J responded, "Aw, look at that toothless grin!"