Can gifted kids learn anything in school?

Question

Any ideas for enrichment within the kindergarten classroom (without making extra work for the teacher)? How can we keep the love of learning alive, and provide ways for kids to learn at their own pace? I've had no luck talking to the teacher or administration so far, the reactions have been textbook-typical. Help?

Answer 1

FIRST OFF IS YOUR KID GIFTED ??? MOST PARENTS THINK THAT THEIR CHILD SPECIAL.. THERE RIGHT MOST ARE SPECIAL..SPECIAL ED. TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION THIS IS WHAT IT TAKES.1 A GIFTED TEACHER..2 OTHER GIFTED STUDENTS.. 3 A STAND ALONE CLASS. 4 A COMPUTER FOR EVERY STUDENT.5 FUNDING THAT SUPPORTS EACH CHILD.6 A CURRICULUM THAT IS GEARED TO GIFTED...7 LOTS OF GUEST SPEAKERS THAT PEAK YOUNG MINDS.. I WAS IN EDUCATION FOR 30 YEARS AND THAT IS HOW I WOULD DO IT.... HOW IS IT DONE IN OUR SOCIETY ? SPEND ALL THE MONEY ON NON PRODUCTIVE RETARDS AND LET THE NATIONS FINEST FEND FOR THEM SELVES ...IF YOU WANT A REAL EYE OPENER ASK YOUR SCHOOL BOARD WHAT THE DISTRICTT SPENDS ON SPECIAL ED  AND HOW MUCH DOES IT SPEND ON THE GIFTED??   IN MY DISTRIC IT WAS A MILLION DOLLARS ON SPC ED AND NOTHING ON GIFTED..AND THAT MY GIRL FRIEND IS WHY AMERICA IS GOING IN THE SHITTIER.

Answer 2

Ok take her to school then when she comes home get her her own text books for maybe the grade that is ahead of her. Work her in that book and see how far she can go. then just get the next grade up when she needs it and then the next grade and so on! Gifted kids need to be challenged and u could try to make her lesons fun and challening! Hope this helped a little!

Answer 3

You may not have a lot of luck at school, but at home you have more control.  Read at home, work on story prediction and reading comprehension.  Have lessons about animals or the world around you.  Get an ant farm and learn about ants.  My son was fasinated for months, I learned more than I ever wanted to know.  Experement with things in your world.  Learn about solid liquid and gases.  Have fun.  Good luck.

Answer 4

Make sure you school has a gifted and talented program and get your child in it. My GT daughter has had wonderful experiences with this. Realize that school can be fun and socialization is important for them, just like it is for us. But GT kids do get board in school, but then so do the other kids. Some years you will have teacher that do not do well with GT kids and other years you will have the most wonderful teacher for your particular child ever. Be more concerned about safety issues at school. That is always a concern at the best schools. And if you want to keep learning fun, don't pressure them.

Answer 5

Have a classroom with a teacher for every student... That way everyone gets help and learns at there own pace, and they can get the individual attention that they need... It is also a great way to meet their social needs...

Answer 6

my school district has no gifted program ... and my experience makes me agree with the person who suggested to do what you can with your child outside of school.  there are teachers who are wonderful at differentiating instruction and challenging gifted kids ... and teachers who are overwhelmed enough with teaching to the middle (a hard enough job in itself) that they really neglect the gifted kids.  i would ask around and find out what classroom would be the best match for your child next year, and lobby to get him in there.  in the meantime, teach your child chess, get him piano lessons, do science experiments, do lots of reading at home, etc. and keep in mind that kindergarten is mostly about socialization anyway.

if there are no books at your child's reading level in the classroom, at least you can ask if they can get some chapter books in the classroom for free reading time.  you can also ask the teacher if there are other kids doing math or reading or whatever at the same level as your child, and, if so, if they could maybe have a "reading group" or "math group" from time to time to keep them challenged.  our wonderful kindergarten teacher did do this, and did things like having my son making charts to figure out the probability of rolling a six with two dice at the same time his friends were just rolling dice to figure out what number they said.  as i said, it's all about the teacher.....  some teachers are also receptive to having parent help in the classroom so parents can supervise a project while teachers work with small groups at their level.

of course you can also always consider homeschooling or a private school that's more tailored to your child's needs.