So yesterday Z had her first day at the gifted kids summer camp. (many kids are actually wearing colorful t-shirts with the word gifted on logo, I didn't buy one for Z though.)
We got her into the classes with the 6 and 7 year olds, I didn't think it would be enough but she is only signed up for the 1st session, which is two weeks long and she only goes to the morning classes.
When I came to pick her up yesterday I came a little early so I could see how her lunch went, socially. She did sit with some girls rom her class and then part way through lunch she went and sat at a different table with her seat mate from her first class. Z told me that girl is her new friend.
She said that the girl who sat on the other side of her was "kinda mean and bossy."
I asked her more questions about her day "was it too hard, to easy, just right?" She said that it was stuff she did when she was three and that she thinks the kids in the class are all younger than her. She was not boasting or even complaining, she was just telling me in a natural way. I guess she doesn't realize that the kids are all older than her.
She said that she really wants to go into the 3rd - 5th grade group where they have classes about Harry Potter.
I am thinking about asking the adminstration to let her for the next session. I only signed her up for the 1st session because I was worried it would be too easy and I thought we might have other things to keep us busy this summer. (and we do.) So I don't know if it is worth it to approach the admin and ask for radical acceleration.
For now the next two weeks are probably okay. Z says that it is "fun" but that she isn't going to learn anything - she says they are only teaching about extinction, evaporation, how rainbows are made and other things she already knows.
Oh well.
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2 comments:
I hope its okay for me to say that I can relate. When you said you were sending Z to the gifted camp I thought, oh no, poor Cher is going to be in for a disappointment! I've sent Mia to a gifted programme - 2 of them, actually. She was always so bored. It was actually rather scary to see how different she was from the other children. It takes a long time to really appreciate the spectrum of giftedness and how far EG (or PG in your case) is from MG. Its like a whole other world.
And in my experience, there is less sympathy, understanding and leeway given from those who deal with MG children. I don't know why this should be. Teachers who do not have a personal investment in their students still don't seem all that willing to separate the needs of an EG/PG child from those of the MG children and educate them appropriately.
Infact there is also the risk that some teachers with "issues" will treat a PG student badly or resent them for being outside the "normal square" (normal as it is relative to giftedness, that is!). For example, when Mia attended a gifted class last year, she was obviously miles ahead of the other children, and the work was just as obviously too simple for her, but instead of acknowledging that the structure of the curriculum wasn't right for Mia, the teacher said Mia would have to make changes to fit into that structure. It was daft, it was dumbing her down - in a gifted class!!
I'm not saying EG/PG children are better than MG children! You know that. I'm just saying I wish there was more acknowledgement of how much they are *different* from each other and learn in different ways.
In any case, the important thing for Z is that she is making friends. I'm sure that was your main intention with the camp.
Eek, sorry to rave on so much in your comments section!!
Hi Cher!
I just wanted to comment here. Grace was offered an automatic spot in a program in Chicago after testing. The problem was...she would have liked the courses for the 8 and up. She's only now just 5, as of Spring. The program was for 95% and up. That's a HUGE range from Grace and we all know it. We wanted her to make friends as well, but I have realized that she makes friends based on interest, rather than "similarity". (Ami is the exception!)
I have to agree that a different kind of camp may be better. I say "may" because she may not find someone with her interests at all. That would be a bum deal indeed. Good luck!
F
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