Advice for a Gifted 4 Year Old

[NightOwl]

I've had this girl from birth and she's hyper intelligent. She's easily closer to the level of a 6 year old. And she was just passed over for our local pre-k program in our school district. They had more applicants than spots, so they held a drawing and she was not drawn. The parents want her to remain with me for another year, which I am ecstatic about, but I'm not sure how to proceed with her.

She will be my oldest by 14 months, but light years ahead of the others educationally.

She's proficient in letter recognition, letter sounds, and how to use phonemes already. She counts to 20, is completely independent with the potty, dressing herself, and other self help skills. So she's already at first grade level. I'd love to take some credit for her advancement, but she has a grandparent with a genius level IQ, so it's just in the genes.

With a child this advanced, does anyone have suggestions for the following year? She's already beyond prepared for kindergarten. But I want her to be stimulated and continue making progress. I'm thinking I may introduce sight words and start teaching her to read. Any suggestions are appreciated.

I'd give her lots of open ended play and art. Variety of blocks, imaginative play supplies, chances to explore a variety of art mediums. I'd read older type books to her as opportunity allowed, should it interest her. I might toss in some fun science and sensory exploration activities as well.

[Snowmom]

I would go with where her interests lie (is she mathematical, creative, etc) and go from there.

In my daughter, her interests were in more scientific & mathematical challenges. We did interactive lego "camps" at preschool & Kinder levels (making movable, electronic lego creations). You can find a lot of those type of lessons online.

You can get more info on gifted children & ideas here: https://www.nagc.org
There should also be local organizations who can help with challenging, yet age appropriate ideas. Our school district led us to our local one.

[Annalee]

Originally Posted by Snowmom

I would go with where her interests lie (is she mathematical, creative, etc) and go from there.

In my daughter, her interests were in more scientific & mathematical challenges. We did interactive lego "camps" at preschool & Kinder levels (making movable, electronic lego creations). You can find a lot of those type of lessons online.

You can get more info on gifted children & ideas here: https://www.nagc.org
There should also be local organizations who can help with challenging, yet age appropriate ideas. Our school district led us to our local one.

I had a little boy like this once....when he entered school he was reading at 6th grade level....interesting thing was he would pick up my cell phone and read my text if I left it laying around....no social skills as he was on the autism spectrum.....a joy to keep.....he loved building with small things like erector sets, little legos, small magnets with pipe.....I just found things that met his interest/needs.....he liked using instructions with the things he built.....I always thought he would end up being an engineer!

[Michael]

Our son Jonathan is gifted. We had him tested at 5 years old and was evaluated to have had a 7th grade comprehension. We homeschooled him and he just graduated from college.

It is important that you get a gifted child tested and evaluated. They need a very structured and stimulating environment. If they are not constantly challenged, they tend to "dumb down" and adapt to their surroundings to fit in. That would be a huge loss. I know the term "dumb down" is not PC, but that is what professionals call it.

It is important that the family place their child in a program that is suited for the gifted child. It has nothing to do with your daycare and program not being adequate but highly gifted children, depending on how advanced they are, are considered a handicapped to a classroom. If they don't fit in, they are a huge burden and are usually left to learn by themselves or become the teacher's helper with the other children. That is not a good situation.

Here is a good article.
http://crushingtallpoppies.com/2014/...ggle-socially/

[Ariana]

Originally Posted by Michael

Our son Jonathan is gifted. We had him tested at 5 years old and was evaluated to have had a 7th grade comprehension. We homeschooled him and he just graduated from college.

It is important that you get a gifted child tested and evaluated. They need a very structured and stimulating environment. If they are not constantly challenged, they tend to "dumb down" and adapt to their surroundings to fit in. That would be a huge loss. I know the term "dumb down" is not PC, but that is what professionals call it.

It is important that the family place their child in a program that is suited for the gifted child. It has nothing to do with your daycare and program not being adequate but highly gifted children, depending on how advanced they are, are considered a handicapped to a classroom. If they don't fit in, they are a huge burden and are usually left to learn by themselves or become the teacher's helper with the other children. That is not a good situation.

Here is a good article.
http://crushingtallpoppies.com/2014/...ggle-socially/

I agree with this wholeheartedly! I was gifted but in my small town there were very few resources and I only had the opportunity in one grade to attend a gifted environment. After that I was in a regular classroom and I definitely "dumbed down" to fit in with my peers and had zero support for my unusual interests in science. I remember explaining evaporation to my friends and having them laugh at me. I learned quickly that it was not appreciated. Lets just say I fell through the cracks as it were!

My instincts tell me that this child needs major open ended creative play opportunities and long term projects geared for 6 year olds. A long term project being an indepth month long look at one subject exploring it fully and completely.

[Heidi]

Here is another great resource for gifted children and those who love them:

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/