Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Re-gifted

I'm thrilled with Boo's new school. And not just because her teachers tell me she's one smart little cookie. Perhaps even, "gifted."

I brought it up this morning to Matt as Boo walked into a wall on her way to the bathroom. "There goes out gifted child, honey."

Matt told me to keep something in mind. We see the dreamy, imaginative Boo. The one who completely lacks any common sense. The one who takes the decorative fans from China and throws them behind her, then falls to her knees and cries, "My duty is to my heart!" Ok, Mulan, we hear you loud and clear. We see that Boo. We don't see the Boo in a classroom setting.

They keep telling us she's smart. And they're the experts. So we'll just keep on keeping on doing what we've been doing for the past three years. Be supportive, encouraging, and pro-learning. The school does have some routes we can take that don't involve moving or spending 12 grand a year for preschool. They said they'd be thrilled to have her again next year, but feel she needs to be in a school that can cater to her super-Boo-tastic smarty smart brain.

Obviously she got her smart genes from her father.

In the meantime, I have to wonder. Yesterday she was picking her nose. I told her to get a tissue and blow her nose instead. She replied, "But if I blow my nose, there won't be any snot left for me to eat later."

That's my gifted girl.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think its very common for gifted kids to seriously lack common sense.

playswithyarn said...

i have a solution.

buy my condo in Ladue School district.

It will be cheaper in the long run when you think about tuition for 3 kids for 12+ years each.

and then you can sell it and get your money back.

oh, and the "+" is referring to pre-school. i don't think your kids will be held back.

Anonymous said...

I think it's more common than people would expect. My three year old just got IQ tested, and we just about dropped through the floor at the results. Sure, they're not precise since it's tough to pinpoint IQ an intelligence at that age, but still. And out here, there aren't any gifted preschool programs that I'm aware of. It's just one of those things. I have a feeling that since G will be one of the older children in her class (and no, I won't let them put her forward a grade or two since that happened with both C and I and it didn't help us in the long term), add that to her super-smarts, and I think she's going to be okay. =) I'm sure the same can be said of Miss Boo!

Anonymous said...

"But if I blow my nose, there won't be any snot left for me to eat later."

That is a great understanding of logic and cause and effect! Yay Boo!

Unknown said...

Ha ha ha snot snort

Mutha Mae said...

LOL to Playswithyarn.

Now why would I want my kids at Ladue when the Metro in the city was ranked higher than Ladue?

Snicker

Nice try, K. Too bad Jack doesn't live here any more. Maybe he would have bought your condo!!

KP said...

But if I blow my nose, there won't be any snot left for me to eat later.

I just wanted to say that is so awesome.

Just out of curiosity (I don't have children) what kinds of tests are three-year-olds taking?

Mutha Mae said...

Kathy, I know at Boo's school, a lady sits with each student away from the other children. They have a five minute minimum to try to get the children to "take the test." It's basically looking through a book and identifying letters, shapes, numbers. It's also comprehension of stories that are read out loud to them- so asking questions about the short story they just heard. If they get that far, and the child is still interested, they can keep going with the test. As they go along, the test gets more and more advanced. Boo's classmates each lasted about five minutes. Boo went for 35 minutes before it became too difficult for her and they stopped.

Some schools have a similar exam to pass before the child can be eligible to apply. The city has a few gifted free schools. The child has to pass the exam and then win the lotto drawing of all the kids who passed the exam. The city currently has one gifted preschool and it's free.

There are many benefits to the schools in the city. You just don't hear those on the news. You only hear of the bad. I hope I can help shed some good news as our experiences continue.

Anonymous said...

That test sounds interesting! It's great that she can sit and answer harder and harder questions for that long.