Any parents of gifted children here ?

[metz]

Hi En

EN:

Chamonix wrote [quote]He's motivated in a different way - he would often read, then turn his head towards me and test my knowledge.

My ds was competing his knowledge with his PCF teacher. Last year he did not write lengthy apart from simple work in school. How old is your ds? My ds does not attend any enrichment until mid this year (P1), so it's kind of surprising that he is able to write information on whale at the start of P1. [/quote]He's 5.5 years old now. No academic-related enrichment classes except Chinese for my kids. In fact, he just started K1 this July. I'm not sure if my ds is doing the same but I know for a fact he loves sharing his knowledge with his teachers. So, I think they either love or dislike him. He enjoys contributing to his John Langrehr Thinking Program (within school hours) so much that the faciliator asked him to give others a chance.

That must be really exciting for you! Hmm, no prize for guessing that Whale was his favourite topic early this year/late last year, right?

EN:

Tamarind wrote [quote]This thread is intended for parents who think that their kids are gifted, to discuss about what are the best ways to nurture their kids' giftedness.

I'm quite lost too. Having a child who's interested in zoology, current environmental issue, those topics that are not covered in P1, I totally don't know what to do. Has the ability to read Roald Dahl but not interested. Would rather pick difficult topic & struggle reading. Ended up, we take turn to read page by page.

He uses words like bulbous, humongous, gigantic, enormous to exaggerate his point of \"big\".

Of course, I take some short cut. Let him watch tv if his topic of interest is on air. Teaching him to use dictionary, so don't have to depend so much on me. Ended up he saw world map in the dictionary & start scrutinizing & questioning me.

Since he is meticulous & pick up skills easily, I taught him how to fold his own clothing & put it inside his own cabinet. Of course, the neatest cabinet is his. Job done better than my ex-maid. :lol:
[/quote]That makes two of our kids. Although my son has finished 2 Roald Dahl titles independently, he has no interest in the rest. As for the non-fiction books like encyclopedias, he would prefer us reading them together. His reason was that he felt lonely when he reads them by himself. He likes having discussions as we read. Btw, his favourite read is Calvin and Hobbes.

For my ds, he sounds older than his age sometimes. For instance last evening, he told me abt a diamond that his classmate had brought to school. I said that the diamond couldn't be real or her parents wouldn't have allowed her to do so. And his reply - \"Mommy, I have to admit that I'm not sure if she has sneaked out the diamond from her house, but I think the diamond is real.\"

[metz]

Hi Windflower,


I have not been following your posts, so can’t comment much. But at this juncture, you should be celebrating with your son! Not because GEP is prestigious but that your son has a chance to try something different.

My view is that the GEP preparatory program is no different from the brain training programs offerred to babies/toddlers. If sending/exposing babies/toddlers to such expensive brain training programs is an acceptable practice, then what’s the problem with spending money on GEP preparatory classes? As most forumers have mentioned here, "giftedness" cannot be trained by such classes. So, why be bothered by it?

[tamarind]

sleepy:

just to contribute my 2 cents


I used to think that my girl is exceptionally bright (able to piece 24 pcs puzzles independently at 2yo, mastered multiplication at 4yo, read way way beyond her age group)
hmm... maybe even scale towards giftedness?

then I realized there are so many children who are super high achievers. They are fast learners with excellent memory, read widely & extensively too

So many high achiever kids in Singapore. To not be one would probably be an exception rather than the norm in future??!!

Sleepy,
I do not think that there are many children who are super high achievers. A child who has above average learning ability, can be taught to English/Maths/Chinese which is very advance for his age, by going to many enrichment classes, or hothousing by the parents at home. They many be super high achievers, but I do not think that they are gifted, if they can learn things only if someone else teach them and drill them for hours everyday.

A gifted child may only need to study for only less than 10 minutes a day. She does not need to go to enrichment classes. For example, just give her a \"How to Draw flowers\" book and she is able to draw beautiful flowers. She seems to be playing all day long. But she can achieve the same thing as those super high achievers described above.

Some parents who have kids in GEP, posted in this thread that their child has never gone to any enrichment classes. The parents have not done anything special to nurture the child. Such kids are truly gifted.

I don't see why we should avoid using the word \"gifted\". I think \"gifted\" has become a dirty word in Singapore, simply because of all those parents who try their best to \"squeeze\" their kids to get into the GEP. In fact, I feel that parents should learn to properly identify giftedness. So they know whether their child is really suitable for the GEP.

As I have mentioned before, the purpose of identifying a gifted child, is because a gifted child needs to be taught in different ways compared to a normal child. Since the child learns so easily, there is no need to drill her. It is more important to develop creativity, and a love for learning on their own. I am very happy when I see my girl creating her new books everyday at home, complete with drawings and sentences, because she is interested to do so, not because I told her to. This is much better than doing any assessment books.

Personally I think if you feel that your child is exceptionally bright, then she is gifted. You don't need to wait for her to be \"certified\" by the GEP selection process, which is not an accurate way of measurement anyway.

I found an ebook about Gifted Children.

http://books.google.com.sg/books?hl=en&id=gQAbiuia2AUC&dq=gifted+children&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=_HeZvCYnr_&sig=vhw4wDtB2j4AkuTElTk_eZMA2uQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA14,M1

Read page 14 :
...
In this book, \"giftedness\" refers to children who are of above average intelligence in this way.

It does not necessarily refer to people who we might instinctively describe as geniuses...


I think many people mistake that that a gifted child is a genius. After so many years of GEP, any genius like Newton or Einsteins discovered ?

[tamarind]

EN:

I'm quite lost too. Having a child who's interested in zoology, current environmental issue, those topics that are not covered in P1, I totally don't know what to do. Has the ability to read Roald Dahl but not interested. Would rather pick difficult topic & struggle reading. Ended up, we take turn to read page by page.

EN,
Don't worry I am sure that you are on the right track

I make my girl read a page (about 200 words) out loud to me everyday, even though she can read any book on her own now. I simply love to listen her read, even when I am very tired after work. I really treasure this period of her childhood

[en107rn.01056yahoo.01056com.01056sg]

Tamarind, I understood what you say about you need to work harder to teach your son just trying to achieve the same result as his sister. I give a lot of support & attention to my daughter but ds just naturally pick up things in school & advance a little further.


Chamonix,

Haha. You got the wrong answer, sorry. Whale is not his favourite topic early this year, late last year. Whale is just a book we read casually. It's part of the mammal topic that he covered. Favourite topic is shark. The biggest, the smallest, the most ancient, the most dangerous, in what kind of water, body part of sharks, the food chain, where can it be found, sharks is natural predator even in the mother's womb etc. See... I got to read, watch & see him draw for months while he compile his facts. At the final lapse, I started to feel phobia. Told my hubby to take over the reading on sharks. I cannot stomach in the facts anymore.

We are kindred spirit. Your kid had Kawasaki disease. My daughter had bad case of pneumonia which lead her to be bulimic (cause she throw out her phelgm along with her food). My ds only read 2 Roald Dahl books & yes, prefer to read non-fiction.

Chamonix wrote
[quote]As for the non-fiction books like encyclopedias, he would prefer us reading them together. His reason was that he felt lonely when he reads them by himself. He likes having discussions as we read. Btw, his favourite read is Calvin and Hobbes. [/quote]Yes. That is exactly what my son say too!

[jedamum]

Windflower:

Cheers to jedamum for attaining the highest level of kiasuism in the family!

:lol: Thanks thanks...but i only try to be kiasu within my means....ie no shifting houses, pv, clan-joining for P1 priority. My boy is even in a very neighbourhood neighbourhood school. Didn't realise that laziness and kiasuness can go hand-in-hand. :lol:

[mummyloves]

EN:

Tamarind, I understood what you say about you need to work harder to teach your son just trying to achieve the same result as his sister. I give a lot of support & attention to my daughter but ds just naturally pick up things in school & advance a little further.

Looks like this thread is getting longer and longer... and there are so many sub topics related to the thread.

One of my questions that i raised earlier- is there a high correlation between giftedness and wearing glasses?? really curious for a poll

another related question: sharing about how to handle another sibling who is not as fast a learner/ gifted as the other sibling... My ds1 is kind of advanced compared to his peers, whereas ds2 (1 year younger only) is average... i feel that he feels overshadowed by his brother and am worried that it may affect his self confidence... when we talk about a subject or ask a question, he would not have the confidence to answer and would just wait for his brother and then echo his answer...

anyone with similar exp and how do you deal with it...

[naggo-nitemare]

I gather from the earlier posts tt there are a number of parents with children who learn to read speak at an early age, spout big words n relay alot of info on their favourite topics. The parents are unsure whether their kids are bright or gifted.


A bright child can read alot of books at an early age. A gifted child will do so plus apply the concepts absorbed in different situations w/o guidance.

Let’s take math as an eg. A 6-yr-old bright child will read all the murderous maths bks n be able to tell pple that he knows what fractions are. A gifted child will read these books n will be able to tell u that half means 50% n a quarter means 25% n tt if A has 2.5 times of what B has, the ratio is 5:2, w/o attending any enrichment course or guidance.

This is based on my experience. When my son was 4 yrs old, we were lying in bed, talking abt his pet sbjt ie math, n i told him what half is. Then i asked him what 3 qtrs in percentage is n w/o hesitation he said 75%.

And from my encounters with other GEP kids who are exceptionally gd in english, I realise tt not only do they read alot, there is a high level of word play in their everyday language. Most of the time, in humorous silly ways. Their wit is also impressive.

Pre-GEP selection parents, don’t worry n wonder too much. Enjoy ur child’s learning journey n explore together as best as u can.

[tamarind]

EN:

Tamarind, I understood what you say about you need to work harder to teach your son just trying to achieve the same result as his sister. I give a lot of support & attention to my daughter but ds just naturally pick up things in school & advance a little further.

EN,
My son is still unable to achieve all the same results as my girl at the same age. Although he is reading very well, his writing and maths skills are just that of an average 4 year old boy, which is perfectly fine for me

mummyloves:

Looks like this thread is getting longer and longer... and there are so many sub topics related to the thread.

One of my questions that i raised earlier- is there a high correlation between giftedness and wearing glasses?? really curious for a poll

another related question: sharing about how to handle another sibling who is not as fast a learner/ gifted as the other sibling... My ds1 is kind of advanced compared to his peers, whereas ds2 (1 year younger only) is average... i feel that he feels overshadowed by his brother and am worried that it may affect his self confidence... when we talk about a subject or ask a question, he would not have the confidence to answer and would just wait for his brother and then echo his answer...

anyone with similar exp and how do you deal with it...

My girl is only 5 years old, not sure whether she will wear glasses in the future...

We are always careful not to compare her brother's abilities with her. I actually praised my younger boy much more than I praise her. Whenever my boy shows some improvement, I will praise him highly, he loves the encouragement and is motivated to learn more. I would say he is a confident little boy who even likes to argue with his sister.

[tamarind]

naggo-nitemare:

I gather from the earlier posts tt there are a number of parents with children who learn to read speak at an early age, spout big words n relay alot of info on their favourite topics. The parents are unsure whether their kids are bright or gifted.


A bright child can read alot of books at an early age. A gifted child will do so plus apply the concepts absorbed in different situations w/o guidance.

Let's take math as an eg. A 6-yr-old bright child will read all the murderous maths bks n be able to tell pple that he knows what fractions are. A gifted child will read these books n will be able to tell u that half means 50% n a quarter means 25% n tt if A has 2.5 times of what B has, the ratio is 5:2, w/o attending any enrichment course or guidance.

This is based on my experience. When my son was 4 yrs old, we were lying in bed, talking abt his pet sbjt ie math, n i told him what half is. Then i asked him what 3 qtrs in percentage is n w/o hesitation he said 75%.

And from my encounters with other GEP kids who are exceptionally gd in english, I realise tt not only do they read alot, there is a high level of word play in their everyday language. Most of the time, in humorous silly ways. Their wit is also impressive.

Pre-GEP selection parents, don't worry n wonder too much. Enjoy ur child's learning journey n explore together as best as u can.

Thank you for sharing !

More intellectual characteristics of a gifted child from this ebook, very good for parents who want to learn more about gifted children and how to nurture them

http://books.google.com.sg/books?hl=en&id=gQAbiuia2AUC&dq=gifted+children&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=_HeZvCYnr_&sig=vhw4wDtB2j4AkuTElTk_eZMA2uQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA26,M1

One key aspect of high intelligence is the ability to understand new ideas very easily. Where most children might need a second or third explanation before they grasp a novel concept, or rely on repetitious practice in order to master an unfamiliar skill, gifted children often will not. Instead they typically master new information very quickly ...


Many gifted children are also perceptive and quick-witted. At much earlier ages than other children - often from the point when they first learn to talk - they are capable of abstract thought and of engaging in debate and logical argument.