Any parents of gifted children here ?

[tamarind]

wwcookie,

Thanks for sharing

Can you share with us how you have him assessed ? Also, what enrichment classes did you let him attend ? How do you teach him at home ?

[applepie]

Tamarind,

Your girl can draw very well !

Here's a snapshot of my son's enrichment class history

As baby, he attended kindermusik, tumble tots and baby jumper gym
Attended shichida classes since he was three, switched to iGenius abt a year ago
Attended berries since three, and still attending now
Was with Act 3 for speech and drama classes for abt one and half years, think he really became more vocal and articulate better after attending the classes here
Attended Art class to gain some exposure to different forms of drawing
Was with Seimpi for abt a year but stopped when he requested to
Was with CMA for abacus and mental calculation for abt a year, but stopped when he started primary one as I do not want to stress him out
Now with MPM for maths for about a year now

As for my home teaching, i strive to teach them as much as possible with the limited time i have (I am working full-time) :-

(i) my kids grew up with flash cards since young. I make my own flash cards, both words and picture cards - a lot of time and effort taken to do this as you need to do research, find images, print, paste, and of course not forgetting to flash regularly ! I must say i am fortunate to have a supportive hubby who helps me with the above. At times, our kids suggest topics to us to make the cards haha.. that makes us a flash card family

(ii) we do a lot of right-brain worksheets with our two kids since young. Nowadays, they also have the left-brain ones. You can buy this from Maha Youyi bookshop. But, they are quite expensive now. When I last chanced upon them at the recent World Book Fair, it cost abt 9 dollars each ! wow ... so ex ! Luckily, when we went on a trip to Shanghai a few years back, we bought quite a fair bit of such books and a lot of other types of books because they are so much cheaper there.

(iii) we play different types of games with them - board games like scrabble, boggle, monopoly, snakes and ladders, IQ games like rush hour, IQ logic, tangrams etc, card games like snap, happy family, UNO. My son loves such games and that's why i am keen to register him for Logicmills once he finishes his course at iGenius.

<wwcookie>

But sometimes, we wonder if our children are deprived in some ways as we do not expose them to those card games that most kids play, like those transformer cards ? (if i am not wrong ). In fact, due to peer influence, my son recently asked for PSP, but we were not agreeable to that as we do not want him to get addicted to computer games.


(iv) We make it a point to read bed-time stories to them before sleep. Now, we only read to my girl now since my son is already an independent reader. But, at times, we will read to both of them together for bonding sake.

(v) We make regular trips to the zoo, science park, sentosa, the various parks for walks and picnics, cycling. We also bring them to dramas and theatre shows to expose them to the music and art scene.

Whether we will let our son take the GEP qualifying exam or if he qualifies, will we let him take up the challenge, we will decide later. What iis important now is that we want him to enjoy what he is learning, develop his character in the right track and grow up to be a happy boy. I am sure that's what all of us, as parents out there wish for, right !

[tamarind]

applepie,

Thanks so much for sharing.

I think you have put in a lot of effort to develop your boy’s potential, and your efforts paid off.

I haven’t done much except teaching my girl to read regularly, since I am a full time working mum.

My kids also don’t know transformers, I don’t think they are deprived at all. But they know Little Einsteins which are much more educational.

[wwcookie]

Hi tamarind,


I had him assessed by a psychologist using the Wechsler Pre-School and Primary Scale of Intelligence – Third UK Edition (WPPSI-III). It’s a one to one assessment.

As for enrichment classes, here goes

1. Speech and Drama (English) at Julia Gabriel since aged two and a half – he loves listening to stories and going crazy during drama time and I believe it is here that he develops into a very vocal and articulate boy
2. Shichida for one year from aged 4 to 5 – he loves looking at flashcards and doing their activities but just doesn’t dig the linking memory part which is the core of the program
3. Speech and Drama (Mandarin) at Julia Gabriel for about one and a half years when he was in K1 and K2
4. Bit by Bit School (computer) for about two years when he was in K1 and K2 – we stopped when he started primary school but he still goes for their holiday programs
5. Science class (Ascend Int’l) at United Square since K1 – this is his favourite class as according to him, he gets to do all sorts of ‘gross’ experiments there :twisted:
6. Berries – he was there for about three terms but we stopped in March this year and got a Chinese tutor for him instead
7. Creative Maths class (Synergist) since beginning of this year – very interesting program where the kids get to solve puzzles, play games etc based on mathematical concepts
8. Drum lessons with School of Rock when he was in K1. Changed to Ossia Music (we thought the teacher at School of Rock is not very good) in K2 but he lost interest cos he just wants to play rock songs :twisted: and the songs taught at Ossia is mostly jazz :roll:

At home, I mostly read to him or we play board or card games (those that teaches strategy, memory or maths). Sometimes when I get the inspiration, I will teach him mathematical concepts using real life items/situations such as weighing whatever items he can get his hands on using the kitchen weighing scale, or solving problem sums such as how is he going to divide his bunch of pencils equally between him, his daddy and me. However, since he started primary school this year, these moments have become very rare as he needs to go to bed early and by the time I reached home in the evenings, there’s only time to check his homework and then he needs to zzzz

[wwcookie]

applepie:

But sometimes, we wonder if our children are deprived in some ways as we do not expose them to those card games that most kids play, like those transformer cards ? (if i am not wrong ). In fact, due to peer influence, my son recently asked for PSP, but we were not agreeable to that as we do not want him to get addicted to computer games.

(iv) We make it a point to read bed-time stories to them before sleep. Now, we only read to my girl now since my son is already an independent reader. But, at times, we will read to both of them together for bonding sake.

It's Duel Master cards! My son loves to play those too and tried to force me or his daddy to play with him at home but we just can't understand (or won't understand :twisted: ) the game! He found a couple of boys who brought the cards to the holiday class at science buddies recently and was so excited - he even asked me to sign him up for their regular classes (the boys told him they attended regular classes there) so he can continue to play with them :lol:
As for PSP, erm... my son has one too and he used to be SO ADDICTED to it until my mom confiscated it from him two months ago

As for reading, even though he can read independently, he still wants me to read to him when im at home

[tamarind]

wwcookie,

You have him assessed by the psychologist in Singapore ? So far I have not heard of any kind of assessment for gifted children in Singapore. I know about the Mensa IQ test but I heard that it is not accurate for children under 10.

Thanks for sharing

Does his primary school cater to children like him ?

[wwcookie]

tamarind:

wwcookie,

You have him assessed by the psychologist in Singapore ? So far I have not heard of any kind of assessment for gifted children in Singapore. I know about the Mensa IQ test but I heard that it is not accurate for children under 10.

Thanks for sharing

Does his primary school cater to children like him ?

I had him assessed by Querubin Psychological Services. You can call Polene at 62724292. The assessment is NOT for gifted kids - they also assess kids with learning difficulties. It just happens that my son's results put him in the 'gifted' range. The assessment instrument they use is suitable for preschool kids unlike the Mensa one which is only suitable for kids above 10.

His primary school has the GEP program but its only for P4 and above. Sadly, the school has no special programs/arrangements to cater to kids like him in the lower primary levels

[tamarind]

wwcookie,

Thanks for your information

It is sad that Singapore does not have any schools that cater to gifted children below the age of 8 or 9. I mean nursery/kindergarten that the child attends daily, not those once a week shichida class. Actually I heard of other gifted children in the internet, like a boy who can read at 3 years old, and a 3 year old child who can do fractions. I know some of these kids are being home schooled, while others are sent to schools like Kumon which I strongly believe is not suitable for highly intelligent kids.

Even those very expensive schools like Chiltern House only teach the alphabet at 4 years old. Hopefully in futre there will be pre-schools here that cater to very young children who are gifted.

[wwcookie]

tamarind:

wwcookie,

Thanks for your information

It is sad that Singapore does not have any schools that cater to gifted children below the age of 8 or 9. I mean nursery/kindergarten that the child attends daily, not those once a week shichida class. Actually I heard of other gifted children in the internet, like a boy who can read at 3 years old, and a 3 year old child who can do fractions. I know some of these kids are being home schooled, while others are sent to schools like Kumon which I strongly believe is not suitable for highly intelligent kids.

Even those very expensive schools like Chiltern House only teach the alphabet at 4 years old. Hopefully in futre there will be pre-schools here that cater to very young children who are gifted.

Its not so bad in preschool cos there's still play in the curriculum to keep them interested, but when they reach primary school where they are expected to sit still and listen to the teacher drone on for hours on end about stuff that they already know - then it gets really scary! Yup agreed - cram schools (like Kumon) are not for these kids cos they definitely don't learn by drilling.

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

Hi


I’m new here & chance upon the gifted discussion. It is a bit lonely and daunting not being able to share my son development with friends having kids the same age. I am also trying to think of any clubs or enrichment classes that will make my son happy.

I have not tested my son yet. I am not sure if he is gifted either or maybe I am in denial. I started reading through Gifted web page when a friend of mine told me that my son might be gifted. He was 3 when I received that comment.

After reading through the gifted webpages, all feedback from the childcare teachers, the looks given by total strangers when he talks, the hilarious toddler who keeps on taking tissue paper to wipe his mouth then the table for every spoonful he takes, the clothes label, the sand in the shoes tantrums and the incessant questions of why why why neatly put into place.

Unlike your children who are excellent in reading, comprehending advance text and math, my son is only interested in science or geography. He reads widely and has even covered the science enrichment meant for Pr 3-6. His concentration is only on non-fiction books. He has done quite well in English and math but I know he is not interested in the subjects (the look he gave me). Having to coach my elder daughter, I am only free to read, exchange ideas, find out information on the net only at 10 pm. By then, I am extremely tired & here I have my wonderful son, waiting for me to read with him his non-fiction book and any other questions that he is likely to raise. My day will end only at 12 midnight and he will be up and about again slightly before 8 am.

My heart nearly stopped recently when he told me that we would like to join chess club in school which is open to primary 2 onwards. I’m worried because I don’t know anything about chess and neither do my husband. But he seems comfortable learning from the older kids and it does put my worry away.

So far, he has never attended any enrichment classes except childcare when he was 1.5 yrs old and his kindergarten is PCF in the West area. Whatever development in reading, talking, drawings, chess is solely attributed to his interest.

With regards to GEP classes in primary 4, chances might be null or my son will not be of interest at all cause it is not his forte.

Sorry for being long winded. It has been a relieve to be able to share this with all of you. I am open to any suggestion as to how I should treasure and help my son with his interest & endless energy. I am a working mother so my time spend with my children are limited.

Please feel free to share the wonders of joy in bringing up gifted daughter/son.