You Know Your Child Is Gifted When... Part Two

Verbal Proficiency (Words, Words, Words)

• Talk early (and never stop talking!)
  Neither J nor Z spoke early. But they never stop talking! They may have spoken earlier if we had not taught them to sign, but we communicated with them much younger because we did.
  
• Skip the period of grammatical errors ("I falled," "he gots") that most toddlers go through
  J used adverbs correctly from the beginning. I don't really know how many mistakes most toddlers make, but J didn't make many. Z makes a few more, like saying, "There's ours house!" and "That hurted." It would almost be sad if he didn't, though.
  
• Pronounce words correctly from the start
  It seems like J & Z don't attempt words if they can't say them. We thought maybe Z didn't know the color orange, but he just couldn't say it right, so he didn't. I think they're definitely on the side of pronouncing things right off the bat more often than not.
  
• Quickly develop a large and advanced vocabulary
  J & Z's vocabularies are a source of great amusement to us. It's so funny to hear tiny voices say unexpectedly complex words.
  
• Use complex sentence structure (conjunctions like "however" and "although")
  If parents don't use words like "however," it's unlikely their children will. Ours use the word "but" instead, because we parents do.
  
• Make up elaborate stories
  Z is more of a story-teller, but neither really makes up stories.
  
• Easily memorize poems and stories
  We need to get Z on video reciting his two favorite books. They're quite complex, with phrases like, "Across that sea so wide banana tree she spied. 'How delectable,' she sighed!"
  
• Enjoy reciting poems and rhymes
  I had to dig back into the memories for this one. J used to recite nursery rhymes quite easily. Both of them like singing songs better now.
  
• Prefer books with more words and fewer pictures
  Z still likes picture books, but he's only 2. J prefers books that teach him a concept, non-fiction books, or complex stories.
  
• Catch you if you skip parts of books you're reading aloud to him
  Don't let Z catch you skipping a page of his favorites!
  
• Teach himself to read by asking questions ("What's this letter?" "What's this word?"), watching TV, and/or hearing the same books read aloud several times
  I suppose most of their letter learning came from Leap Frog videos, but they were both very interested in letters and wanted me to teach them. They love games involving "what's the first letter in..." or "can you see anything that starts with..."
  
• Read early and progress rapidly
  J began reading words at age 3 1/2, but he was afraid of reading big words and sentences. He finally overcame that fear around his 5th birthday, but watch out. He jumped past the See Jane Run kinds of books and reads books with several paragraphs per page, silently (in his head), just 2 months later.
  
• Enjoy playing with words and inventing words
  J & Z both like to change the first letter of each word they say. So instead of saying, "Mommy, can I have more lunch?" they say, "Bommy, ban I bav bore bunch?" And then they'll switch to another letter and repeat it over and over again. I think they get bored with plain old English.
  
• Easily and spontaneously describe new experiences
  I suppose so. They're hardly ever at a loss for words.
  
• Give complex answers to questions (even simple questions)
  Oh my, J is just like his mother this way!
  
• Explain his ideas in complex and unusual ways
  Sometimes, I suppose. I would need to hear an example to stir up my memories.
  
• Have an early interest in printing letters, names, and words
  Both J & Z love(d) to type messages to their dad on instant messengers. J learned to write rather early, but Z doesn't seem interested. He'd rather type. He spells Dad, Mom, and his name easily. He "wrote" his first word, Dad, in fridge magnets just after he turned 2. But they definitely both posess great interest in letters. Z knew the entire alphabet, upper and lower case, before his 2nd birthday.