Received an email from the teacher...

**McD** · 09-06-2011, 04:01 PM

Dubya started kindergarten on 8/22/11. I was a bit concerned about having him in public school for a variety of reasons. One of the reasons is because Dubya is very smart and I was worried that a public school system may not be the best fit for him.

My concern increased considerably when we were given a packet of shapes (square, heart, circle, oval, etc) at the Open House and were told to make sure he knew them before school started. Um...yeah...Dubs has known his shapes shortly after he started talking in full sentences. Which was at 18 months. So again, just very concerned about whether his schooling would be geared towards children with all capabilties and learning or what.

I received an email from the teacher today. He is reading several levels ahead of his age and has been selected for the talented/gifted classes.

I am so stinking proud of him. He works SO hard and is being rewarded for it. It has also helped appease my concerns that the teachings would be geared towards everyone else and he would be bored. Yay!

**Greebo** · 09-06-2011, 04:03 PM

Speaking as someone who was in the G&T program himself.

The temptation will be strong for W as he gets older to not bother with his regular homework because it will be boring.

My parents allowed me to skate on this as well - so I had crap grades and crap work habits despite my (to be blunt) above average comprehension.

Instill in W early the importance of doing homework even when it's just boring and easy homework.

**Daisygirl** · 09-06-2011, 04:40 PM

Hooray for Dubya!!!

And congrats to you too, Mommy - you've done a great job preparing your son for school!

**fernykins** · 09-06-2011, 05:35 PM

My youngest was gifted. He had a photographic memory. hen he was in 3rd grade they had him do 4th grade work by the time he hit fifth grade they couldn't do anything for him so he totored the kids in his class. when he was in high school his ROTC teach told me he knew he was smart but not that F$%^Ken smart. He was the Valdictornian. He was in Who's Who. At the Navel Academy he had an open door policy. Day or night if you needed help he would stop what he was doing and help. He was asked how do you know this stuff, his answer was I just do. After graduation and he was asigned to a ship. The mids he was in charge of he would take the time and work with them before any testing. They all pasted the tests well above average. He believed is doing your best and helping others to do their best. Your son is gifted Teach him to do his best even if he knows it already. We need these smart children they are our furture.
Fern

**brenda67** · 09-06-2011, 05:43 PM

I agree with Greebo 100%..My oldest son is very intelligent too! He could say the whole alphabet at the age of 2 learned it in in a couple of hours to give you and idea..He never did have good grades because he said it was to easy so why bother..but would get 95 plus on ALL test including his Regent's exam's..He never did homework and never ever studied for a test..Good luck with dubya I hope he has something to continue to stimulate him and keep him interested in school...

**Nishu** · 09-06-2011, 05:46 PM

Originally Posted by Greebo

Speaking as someone who was in the G&T program himself.

The temptation will be strong for W as he gets older to not bother with his regular homework because it will be boring.

My parents allowed me to skate on this as well - so I had crap grades and crap work habits despite my (to be blunt) above average comprehension.

Instill in W early the importance of doing homework even when it's just boring and easy homework.

What a shock that was, to find out when I grew up that no one gave a crap about how intelligent I was while all the hard working average people just skated past me.

If that kid gets a strong work ethic in addition to his smarts, he'll be unstoppable.

**frugalfranny** · 09-06-2011, 05:58 PM

Way to go mom and son!

You have every right to be proud!!

**nodmicks** · 09-06-2011, 06:00 PM

Woo hoo for the little guy!!!

**McD** · 09-06-2011, 06:28 PM

That is precisely why we have been praising the hard work and effort he has put into everything versus telling him he is so smart. We noticed that the more people who told him he was smart, the worse his attitude became when something didn't come easily to him.

My older brother is incredibily smart but puts more effort into getting out of doing everything than it would take him to just do something. Not something that will fly in this house.

Eta-I say that with all the wisdom of a mother who has young kids still.

. It's a great theory right?

**Greebo** · 09-06-2011, 06:50 PM

Originally Posted by Nishu

What a shock that was, to find out when I grew up that no one gave a crap about how intelligent I was while all the hard working average people just skated past me.

If that kid gets a strong work ethic in addition to his smarts, he'll be unstoppable.

You said it. In the real world, being smart comes a distant 3rd to a good work ethic.

**Nishu** · 09-06-2011, 07:10 PM

Originally Posted by McD

That is precisely why we have been praising the hard work and effort he has put into everything versus telling him he is so smart. We noticed that the more people who told him he was smart, the worse his attitude became when something didn't come easily to him.

My older brother is incredibily smart but puts more effort into getting out of doing everything than it would take him to just do something. Not something that will fly in this house.

Eta-I say that with all the wisdom of a mother who has young kids still.

. It's a great theory right?

This is awesome, I really think your kid is going to be so much better for it. I don't ever tell my kids they're smart. They get plenty of praise, but it's for the hard work they do. (Really, being intelligent isn't an accomplishment anyway, right? It's more luck of the draw.)

Have you heard of the book Nurture Shock? There's a great section about gifted kids and how being told they're smart actually makes them afraid of trying things they might fail at. And other stuff. It's a good book. As a mom of a baby genius I think you should probably read it.

**dancemommy** · 09-06-2011, 07:51 PM

Congrats! All 4 of my kids are in GT classes and I agree with all of the posters- being a hard worker is as important as being smart. We expect straight A's from our kids and we get them, but we also expect that they will do the extra credit when offered, etc just to challenge themselves. My eldest probably is the "least smart", but the hardest worker- he accepts nothing short of perfect for himself. I dread the day the kid gets a B in a class and know it'll happen sooner or later in college. His biggest struggles are in the areas that require creativity. My older daughter is super creative, but not a big fan of school. She gets straight A's and does her work, but gets frustrated easily. Our youngest is our smartest- she has a photographic memory. She is only in 2nd grade, but I can tell that it is going to be a challenge to keep her progressing. We are thankful that our kids do well in school because it also allows them the time to focus on other things as well that challenge them- sports, dance, theatre, etc. Good luck :-)

**Paws** · 09-06-2011, 08:15 PM

Originally Posted by Greebo

Speaking as someone who was in the G&T program himself.

The temptation will be strong for W as he gets older to not bother with his regular homework because it will be boring.

My parents allowed me to skate on this as well - so I had crap grades and crap work habits despite my (to be blunt) above average comprehension.

Instill in W early the importance of doing homework even when it's just boring and easy homework.

Greebo's response is spot on.
My son was placed in gifted and advanced classes starting in the second grade up until he graduated.