I’ve been thinking about gifted boredom lately. It’s a real issue for these gifted kids of ours, isn’t it?
Leo entered a half-day Kindergarten program last August. We knew that he was ahead academically but we sent him other reasons. We wanted him to socialize with his peers, we wanted him to get used to our public school, we wanted him to experience “specials” (gym, music, Spanish, art, library, etc.), and, maybe- just maybe- a small part of us needed a little break from his intensity. We also needed some time to figure stuff out and that “stuff” lead to testing and eventually the decision to homeschool.
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“Let it gooooooo!!” |
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Anatomically correct Santa Claus |
We ask children to do for most of a day what few adults are able to do for even an hour. How many of us, attending, say, a lecture that doesn’t interest us, can keep our minds from wandering? Hardly any.
~John Holt, How Children Fail
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[…] out on our centerpiece where he had landed that morning). I overheard Leo saying, “Santa is just a random guy with a penis.” Now this I had to see … quickly, I tip-toed to the doorway where I could […]
“…because humming is not singing”. I just about spit out my lunch reading that. Yup, that is my son as well. I’m enjoying reading your blog. My son is almost 4 and we are new to this whole “gifted” thing. It’s nice to read other parents stories about their children and being able to nod my head in understanding instead of feeling like my son is an outsider.
Welcome, Michaela! You’re going to fit right in here. The gifted thing is a wild ride. It’s certainly *never* boring. YOu aren’t alone 🙂
What a great story! My son is learning to adapt and behave and share the humor with me later. One of my favorites was when he was 3 or 4 and got in trouble for talking in line. The teacher had made a comment about being able to see them and he turned to his friend and said “I’m always watching you!” in mimic of the lady from Monsters Inc. I couldn’t help but laugh when he told me.
Oh my gosh! I can just see it! Too funny, Apryle!
2nd grade, her teacher had mentioned algebra and solving for x. Bored during math the next day, she decides to solve for x. She still did the problems correctly, just a little more creatively. “Mom, I got in trouble for doing algebra but she taught it to us yesterday!” She also corrected this particular teacher on a random presidential fact (her obsession) in front of the class the first week of school. Needless to say, we’re not one of her favorite families…
Aw, love these kids even if other adults don’t always appreciate them 🙂