I knew she was going to be different in those few days after they first put her in my arms. After struggling trying to hold her pacifer in place she out right rejected them - before she was one week old. She only took to them again when we kept a few on ice to alievate teething pain, but as soon as they warmed up she'd spit them out. She hated being swaddled. So, when I was still in the hospital w/ her I loosely wrapped her up and layed her down in the middle of the bed. A nurse came in and "scolded me" for not swaddeling her. I mentioned she didn't like it, but the nurse said something along the lines of "just because they might not like doesn't mean it's not good for them" Um - yeah - whatever.
She was never a particularily a cuddle bug - usually there were other things that interested her. At 3 months she was figuring out how to get things just out of reach, using whatever was handy, most of the time her feet, to get what she wanted.
At 7 months she started cruising. She was leaning up against the back of the couch, and took a side step - and never stopped moving. A couple of months later she figured out crawling, but that was only a method to get from point A to point B when the route did not have anything she could grab on for cruising. But, she didn't start walking w/o assistance until she was 11 1/2 months - her doctor attributed it to the fact that for her it was like walking on stilts, because she's got such long lean legs.
By that 1st year appt she had more than 50 words though. The main reason she didn't like a paci - it interfered w/ talking. One day at church, she was 9 mos, we were hanging out in the lobby w/ another mom and her little boy who was a few months older. She crawled over and introduced herself. He did not reply and just sat there sucking on his pacifier. She said "eh" and raised her arm - 2 more time, both times he ignored her. So - what's a girl to do when the boy she's trying to get attention from is ignoring her? Take his pacifier. I intervened, and the boy was stunned. She still doesn't let anyone ignore her.
By 18 months she was speaking full sentences. Books were always a big deal to her. She also had this obsession w/ my TS Elliot's book Cats. It didn't matter where I put it on my bookshelf she could find it with ease. She is still obsessed with cats. She's been a cat for Halloween now 2 yrs in a row. When she wasn't looking at her books or obsessing about cats, she loved to type. Whenever she could she would sit at our computer and type. Eventually she would start telling me what letters she was typing. So, I decided to capitalize on this and teach her how to spell her name. Her favorite word is 'again' so everytime I told her how to spell her name she'd delete and say "again" so sever
al times a day she was drilling herself on how to spell her name. At 22 months she was doing it on her own. The nursery teacher at church came running up to us when we picked her up one Sunday and exclaimed "She can spell her name" Um, we know. :) Six months later she was writing it.She also memorized many of her books - her top 3. A very hungery Caterpiller, Brown Bear, Brown Bear what do you see? and The Z was Zapped, by Chris Van Alsberg. To keep her entertained in the car we'd ask her what happened to the letters in the Z was Zapped, and she loved to impress anyone who cared about how well she knew that book. I am sure we got some raised eyebrows, if you've read that book, you'll know what I'm talking about. Let's just say that not many 2 yr olds associated the letter A with Avalance.
We also found out she was VERY good at puzzles. It didn't take her long to figure one out and could put it together w/ ease and speed. But, she wasn't content to just putting the puzzle together she wanted to know what the pieces represented, so she learned shapes, insects and thanks to her uncle fish. She could take what she learned and put it to real world applications. One day we were having a snack of pineapple chunks, and she looked at the one speared
to her fork and said "Mom, these look like little, yellow trapazoids." Not only is she extremely smart, she's stunning. We've had people go out of their way to compliment her on her looks, even stopping cell phone conversations to tell us how beautiful she is. We tried modeling w/ her. She got a call back, but we couldn't afford the $700 they needed to have her headshots taken, including prints. It was cool she got a call back though.
It was at this point we knew we HAD to get her into preschool that fall. That meant potty training, but thanks to a move and a baby sister that was pushed back and didn't start school until January the next year. We chose Challenger School for her. One part convience (they were a five minute walk from our house) and that we heard they were among the best for the academically minded preschooler. We made a good call. She went to school every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon for 3 hrs. It was a nice break for both of us.
At age 3, She started school knowing 10 colors, all of her letters by site, both upper and lower case, nine shapes, could count and recognize her numbers to 20, and very good at puzzles and problem solving. By March she earned her Alphabet Crown. This is where the child know the 2 sounds of each letter and vowel. By summer time she was reading 1 sylabol words. When she returned to school that fall, they retested for her alphabet crown, and then proceeded on to their Blender badge. This is where the child can blend a 12 or so consonent/vowel sylables. Before she got her progress report in November, her teacher told me that if she had the time to sit w/ her one on one for a whole day, she could finish all of their pre reading booklets. She found the hardest book they had, and Naomi read it to her with no problems.
It was at this point we knew we HAD to get her into preschool that fall. That meant potty training, but thanks to a move and a baby sister that was pushed back and didn't start school until January the next year. We chose Challenger School for her. One part convience (they were a five minute walk from our house) and that we heard they were among the best for the academically minded preschooler. We made a good call. She went to school every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon for 3 hrs. It was a nice break for both of us.
At age 3, She started school knowing 10 colors, all of her letters by site, both upper and lower case, nine shapes, could count and recognize her numbers to 20, and very good at puzzles and problem solving. By March she earned her Alphabet Crown. This is where the child know the 2 sounds of each letter and vowel. By summer time she was reading 1 sylabol words. When she returned to school that fall, they retested for her alphabet crown, and then proceeded on to their Blender badge. This is where the child can blend a 12 or so consonent/vowel sylables. Before she got her progress report in November, her teacher told me that if she had the time to sit w/ her one on one for a whole day, she could finish all of their pre reading booklets. She found the hardest book they had, and Naomi read it to her with no problems.
About this time we found out she was very good at singing - not so much pitch and key, but her ability to remember the lyrics. The primary chorister said she's one of the best singers but one of the youngest in the group.
Then we found out we were moving across the country. No more Challenger, and we found out that equivelent preschools cost more than double than what we were paying in Utah. So, when we can, I work w/ her on her writing and math. She is reading books that are about a first grade reading level. And to kee her busy she attends tap and ballet class once a week.
As an educator I learned about many different kinds of giftedness. She is above average or exceptional at just about all of them. She's very good at physical activity, primarily dance. Logical - she's very adept at puzzles and problem solving. Her sister got a puzzle block set from grandma recently. Where there are six differnt puzzles, one for each side of the block. This is where we found out the puzzle was defective. She couldn't solve one of the puzzles because 4 of the puzzles either had pieces the same or missing a picture all together. She had a horrible meltdown that she couldn't solve it. As previously mentioned she's good at reading and writing, and thanks to a family who knows a foriegn language, she's picked up German and French, she's learned some Spanish from PBS and sign language from school and church. She's very good at math and adds quickly. She's also very social. She's a natural leader and can get children her age, younger, or older to follow her about and do what she does.
The difficult part of all this is school. She missed the deadline to start this year and I checked a checklist for the what the average kindergartner shoul
d know by the end of the year, and she's already there. None of the schools will admit her early, but the school she'll attend next year will test her for first grade. So, 4 is to young for kindergarten, but 5 is not to young to be in first grade? I've also done a lot of reading and I worry about what her school life is going to be like. I don't mind the idea of some peer tutoring - if it's something she enjoys, but there doesn't seem to be a priority given to the gifted children. I want her to excell, not just do extra work because she's done early, or forced to help the others. I hope I can help her navigate her school life, that she is getting the attention and stimulation she needs to help her succeed in life and get the most out her her abilities. At some point I may have to start a blog just to chronical our experiences. In the meantime, I hope I can keep things interesting enough for her until she starts school next year.
Then we found out we were moving across the country. No more Challenger, and we found out that equivelent preschools cost more than double than what we were paying in Utah. So, when we can, I work w/ her on her writing and math. She is reading books that are about a first grade reading level. And to kee her busy she attends tap and ballet class once a week.
As an educator I learned about many different kinds of giftedness. She is above average or exceptional at just about all of them. She's very good at physical activity, primarily dance. Logical - she's very adept at puzzles and problem solving. Her sister got a puzzle block set from grandma recently. Where there are six differnt puzzles, one for each side of the block. This is where we found out the puzzle was defective. She couldn't solve one of the puzzles because 4 of the puzzles either had pieces the same or missing a picture all together. She had a horrible meltdown that she couldn't solve it. As previously mentioned she's good at reading and writing, and thanks to a family who knows a foriegn language, she's picked up German and French, she's learned some Spanish from PBS and sign language from school and church. She's very good at math and adds quickly. She's also very social. She's a natural leader and can get children her age, younger, or older to follow her about and do what she does.
The difficult part of all this is school. She missed the deadline to start this year and I checked a checklist for the what the average kindergartner shoul
d know by the end of the year, and she's already there. None of the schools will admit her early, but the school she'll attend next year will test her for first grade. So, 4 is to young for kindergarten, but 5 is not to young to be in first grade? I've also done a lot of reading and I worry about what her school life is going to be like. I don't mind the idea of some peer tutoring - if it's something she enjoys, but there doesn't seem to be a priority given to the gifted children. I want her to excell, not just do extra work because she's done early, or forced to help the others. I hope I can help her navigate her school life, that she is getting the attention and stimulation she needs to help her succeed in life and get the most out her her abilities. At some point I may have to start a blog just to chronical our experiences. In the meantime, I hope I can keep things interesting enough for her until she starts school next year. 
1 comment:
That was fascinating to read. You write well - have you ever considered publishing?
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